KUALA LUMPUR (April 12): CSH Alliance Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary, Alliance EV Sdn Bhd (AEV), has been appointed as distributor for commercial electric vans effective April 1.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Tuesday (April 12), the ceramics and pottery products manufacturer said it has received the contract from BYD Malaysia Sdn Bhd. BYD Malaysia is the subsidiary to China-based technology company, BYD Co Ltd.

Further to the appointment, the filing noted that BYD Malaysia has agreed for AEV to act as its distributor to distribute and sell its commercial electric vans in Malaysia and the parties will explore to set up a CKD assembly plant or a fully assembly plant in Malaysia.

To recap, on March 21, CSH Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding with BYD Malaysia to distribute BYD T3 model (a pure electric logistics vehicle with low energy consumption and high performance) and provide related aftersales services in Malaysia as well as to explore the possibilities of local assembly of the BYD T3 model.

"On Sept 22, 2021, CSH obtained its shareholders' approval to diversify its business to include the transportation and logistics business to provide middle mile logistics services as well as haulage and hub-to-hub delivery services and other logistics-related business to reduce its dependency on the group's existing businesses of ceramics, construction, property development, property investment and financial services," the group said in a previous filing.

According to CSH, BYD group is a global leader in four major industries (electronics, auto, new energy and rail transit) and a pioneer in achieving zero-emission energy ecosystem affordable solar power, reliable energy storage and electrified transportation.

It added that BYD group is also the world's leading producer of rechargeable batteries and insulated gate bipolar transistors original equipment manufacturer.

At noon break on Tuesday, shares in CSH Alliance were traded 0.5 sen or 3.57% higher at 14.5 sen, valuing the group at RM200.3 million.