KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): EP Manufacturing Bhd has clarified to Bursa Malaysia that its four-wheel electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing memorandum of agreement (MOA) with a US-based company is not a legally binding agreement.

In a filing with Bursa on Wednesday (Oct 19), the company responded to the bourse’s request to furnish the stock exchange with additional information on EPMB’s recent partnership with California based EV player Saean Group Inc.

EPMB on Monday (Oct 17) announced that it has signed an agreement with Saean to establish a strategic alliance to mass-produce electric cars for the Malaysian and Southeast Asian markets, with an initial targeted volume of 20,000 units per annum.

The group plans to commence a completely-knocked-down (CKD) assembly in Malaysia by early 2026, by producing 5,000 units of vehicles for the local market, while the remaining 15,000 units will be catered to other Southeast Asian markets.

Bursa raised questions as to whether EPMB will enter into a definitive agreement with Saean, given the short duration of the agreement’s effective period, and the timeframe to enter into such agreement.

EPMB explained its targets to execute the definitive agreement before the expiry of the MOA, to agree on further material terms and conditions regarding the partnership.

Bursa also required the company to give a financial breakdown of the EV production, to which the company said the financial commitment is yet to be determined as both parties (EPMB and Saean) are still in the midst of discussion.

“The Company will perform further assessment of different aspects, among others, EPMB’s core competencies, resources, existing supply-chain, market environment and other external factors, in order to detail the form of collaboration going forward.  

“Critically, the roll-out plan is heavily dependent on how the Parties configure participation with other automotive suppliers. The Company expects to work alongside [the] existing Assembly Plant as contract assembler, to mitigate [the] investment sum in the early years,” said EPMB.

Shares of EPMB closed one sen or 0.88% higher at RM1.14 on Monday, following its partnership announcement.

At Wednesday’s close, EMPB shares fell 1.72% to RM1.16 sen, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM249.41 million.