(June 6): In an interview on state-owned CCTV programme Dialogue, which was picked up by Chinese tech website CNMO, Geely chairman Li Shufu said that the fundamental reason for the high cost of Malaysia’s automotive supply chain lies in the lack of competitiveness of local parts, Paultan reported.

Li said the competitiveness of Malaysia’s automotive industry is being restricted by its automotive supply chain costs — about 30% higher than China’s and more than 10% higher than Thailand's.

He said that Malaysia’s automotive parts supply still relies heavily on overseas imports, and that the relatively small size of the local automotive market meant it was difficult to get enough scale to keep costs down, Paultan reported.