The rise of electric vehicles (EV) has seen not just the usual automotive players step up their battery-powered offerings, but companies from other sectors want a piece to the future pie too. Ho Wah Genting Berhad (HWGB) is one of them. Primarily an investment holding company engaged in the provision of management services, HWGB last year revealed plans to introduce a Chinese EV called the Seiyong S1 in Malaysia. In March 2021, property developer Malton signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HWGB to potentially acquire a 14% stake in the latter’s EV unit HWGB EV.
Malton has now said that the MoU with HWGB
has expired. “The board of directors of Malton wishes to announce that the
validity period of the MoU, which was in force for a period of 12 months, has
expired on March 25, 2022,” the developer famous for its Pavilion shopping
malls said in a Bursa filing. Malton did not elaborate on why it chose not to
proceed with the investment. When the MoU was signed, the company said that the
deal was for it to access information on the EV project, and conduct its own
feasibility study.
Malton not having a part in it does not
mean that HWGB’s plan to CKD locally assemble the Seiyong S1 won’t go ahead, as
it can still proceed independently. The five-door hatchback from Beijing-based
Seiyong Motor has a 31.9 kWh battery that’s good for a claimed 302 km range
(NEDC cycle). The electric motor puts out 35 kW (47 hp) and 150 Nm of torque,
and top speed is 110 km/h.
Seiyong claims that charging the S1 from
30% SOC to 80% can be done in around 40-50 minutes via DC fast charging, and
that regular charging will take around 10 hours. In China, the S1 a.k.a. Little
Bee is available in three variants, priced from 70,000 to 90,000 yuan. At 3,720 mm long, 1,640 mm wide and 1,494 mm tall, the S1 is
slightly smaller than a Perodua Myvi.
