Malaysians’ interest in electric vehicles is growing, but the local ecosystem is still lacking – MyEVOC

It seems EVs really are the cars of the moment, at least according to Bernama. The state news agency spoke to Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club (MyEVOC) chairman Datuk Shahrol Halmi, who said the market is reacting favorably to the influx of new zero-emission vehicles.

Shahrol said there are about 500 electric vehicles on the road today, and many more people intend to buy one. “There is a bright future for electric vehicles in Malaysia, and many are expressing interest in owning one as it is smoother and quieter than a conventional car,” he said.

The growing interest in electric cars is not surprising. After all, the government has exempted these vehicles from import taxes, excise duties and road taxes from this year, which has led to much cheaper cars, which always attracts the attention of buyers in our price-sensitive market. As a result, there is now a wide range of electric vehicles to suit a variety of budgets and needs, Shahrol said.

“The current trend in Malaysia is for high-end electric vehicles from Porsche, BMW, Hyundai, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, and now Tesla, MG and Audi have also entered the market. Buyers are spoiled for choice,” he said. It’s worth pointing out that Tesla and Audi EVs were imported via parallel importers and not official means, while MG has yet to begin local sales – although it apparently plans to do so later in the year. ‘year.

Shahrol added that the recent popularity of electric vehicles is good for the country, given the obvious lack of local emissions. “The Malaysian government is encouraging the use of electric vehicles, granting exemption on import duties and more. They are better for the environment and do not emit carbon dioxide which pollutes the air. also in line with the government’s 2021-2030 Low Carbon Mobility Master Plan,” he said.

There’s a “but” to all of this, of course – Shahrol said Malaysia still has work to do to improve its ecosystem to match other countries in the region like Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. “They are working more actively to become leaders in the field of electric vehicles and are continuously improving their ecosystem to enable their employees to easily use electric vehicles,” he said.

He is undoubtedly referring to the lack of meaningful incentives for automakers to build their cars and batteries here, unlike those countries. As a result, most vehicles are imported as CBU imports, with the only locally assembled electric model being the Volvo XC40 Recharge P8.

Shahrol also pointed to the relatively high cost of electric vehicles (even with tax exemptions) and the lack of widespread charging infrastructure, although he believes these issues will be addressed as electric vehicle sales increase. “I hope EV users will be more involved in providing feedback from vendors, charging station operators and the government for a brighter EV future,” he said.