Glove maker Careplus has announced it is disposing its Careplus Mall, which comprises 40,680 square metres of land together with a single-storey retail complex, in Seremban for RM42 million as part of its plan to fund its expansion into electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Careplus Properties has signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Delloyd Asset Portfolio for the disposal, which is expected to generate a pro forma gain of RM2.09 million. The deal is expected to be concluded by the end of 2026.
The company said that more than 65% of the proceeds from the disposal, amounting to RM27.31 million, will be used to fund the ongoing construction of its NexV Manufacturing vehicle assembly plant in the Chembong Industrial Area in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan. It added that another RM13.36 million of the proceeds has been earmarked for the repayment of borrowings related to the construction of the facility.
The plant is being developed on a 74-acre plot of industrial land, with an estimated construction cost of RM150 million. The project was announced in 2023 as a joint venture between Careplus and GoAuto Group, and in early 2024, it was reported that work on the plant had begun, and that it was set to be ready by 2025, which is not the case, given the latest indication of its build status.
The question is which carmakers the NexV manufacturing hub will build for when it is ready. The original intent of setting up the plant was for it to assemble Neta EVs, but the latter has effectively vanished from the scene, In 2024, the company inked a deal with Central Auto Distributors (CADB) a subsidiary of Malay Vehicle Importers and Traders Association of Malaysia (Pekema), to assemble the Dongfeng Box when it was up and running.
Now that Dongfeng has seen a stewardship change here, will the plant still handle assembly of the brand’s models? It could well do so, as Volt Auto has said that it has CKD plans for the brand, aiming to kick off the programme this year. It has however not revealed the identity of the local assembly partner. The answers, in due course.
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