Tanjung Malim is rapidly evolving from a traditional industrial zone into an "intelligent automotive eco-city." Following the launch of Proton's dedicated EV plant, premium brand Zeekr (under the Geely group) confirmed it will use Malaysia as its first global assembly hub outside of China, starting with the Zeekr 7X. This follows BYD’s announcement to build a 150-acre CKD plant in the KLK Technology Park, set to begin production this year.

By assembling locally, these brands can bypass the 20% tax gap applied to fully imported cars, potentially lowering retail prices by 15% to 20%. This "technology for market" strategy aims to capture the traditional fuel vehicle replacement market while creating thousands of high-tech jobs for Malaysians in high-voltage systems and power electronics.