Prinx Chengshan has begun building its new tyre factory in Kedah Rubber City, creating over 1,000 jobs and boosting Malaysia’s northern industrial growth.
6.6 Million Tyres Expected to Be Produced Annually in Phase One
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 18, 2025, as China’s Prinx Chengshen launched construction of a new tyre factory in Kedah Rubber City (KRC), a northern Malaysia industrial zone located 138 km from Penang Port and 15 km from the Thai customs checkpoint.
Chengshan Group Chairman Che Hongzhi, Vice President Shi Futao, and Prinx Tire (Malaysia) General Manager Kao Tai attended the ceremony together with Malaysian federal and state officials. The company described the event as a milestone for its overseas expansion strategy.
Che said the Malaysian plant will operate alongside Chengshan‘s Thailand factory as a “twin stars” configuration to expand global production capacity, strengthen supply-chain resilience, and improve service speed to customers worldwide.
“This project represents both an iterative upgrade of the advanced experience from the China-Thailand Intelligent Factory and a dynamic practice of responding to the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative while deepening China-Malaysia industrial cooperation. It is destined to become a solid bond linking China-Malaysia economic ties and a benchmark model for Chinese businesses going global,” he added.
The Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) Chief Executive Dato’ Mohamad Haris Kader Sultan said Chengshan‘s entry into KRC reflects confidence in northern Malaysia’s economic prospects and the Northern Corridor Economic Region strategy.
“This investment will create high-skilled jobs, activate local resources, and enhance regional competitiveness. With multi-level support from federal and state governmental authorities, KRC will become a model of global-local ecological integration, fueling sustainable regional prosperity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Haim Hilman, Chairman of the Committee for Industry & Investment, Higher Education and Science, Technology & Innovation, noted that Prinx Chengshan‘s presence in Kedah Rubber City signifies a pivotal transformation for Kedah and Malaysia’s industrial development.
According to him, over 1,000 high-quality production jobs will be created, along with benefits for local suppliers and infrastructure. He added that KRC is positioned to become a northern innovation and high-tech manufacturing hub that will support industrial growth across ASEAN.
High-Tech, Green, and Sustainable
Prinx Chengshan‘s plant in KRC will cover 102.63 acres and will be developed in phases. Phase one is planned to produce 6 million premium passenger-vehicle tyres and 600,000 commercial-vehicle tyres annually. The facility will comprise production, R&D office, residential zones, and six major operational sections, including raw-material warehouse, moulding shop, mixing shop, curing shop, semi-finished product shop, and testing shop.
The company said it will implement end-to-end digitalisation based on systems used in its factories in China and Thailand. A fully automated stereoscopic warehouse will link raw material storage to finished-product delivery, supported by 5G-enabled collaboration tools and intelligent quality inspection systems designed to increase efficiency and precision.
Prinx Chengshan also said that the project will integrate “green development” throughout its construction and operations, aiming for full-cycle sustainability. It plans to support upstream and downstream sectors by increasing cooperation with Malaysian rubber suppliers and equipment manufacturers. Technology transfer and skill training to elevate the local workforce are also part of the plan to achieve a transformation from mere “product export” to “technology export and ecosystem co-construction”.
