1. IN your opinion, why haven't we seen the adoption of EVs in Malaysia like we have in some of our neighboring countries? What's holding us back?
Electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Malaysia is very slow because there are no cash back and tax incentives for middle class Malaysians to buy one. The Nissan Leaf is RM188k and there are just about 110 plus owners right now in the country and the Mini Cooper SE which was launched at RM218k was sold out soon after its launch because there were just 26 units on sale. Tesla is not officially sold in Malaysia and private importers have it for sale from RM390k for a Tesla Model 3 with standard battery range.
Therefore, what is holding us back. EV ownership in Malaysia right now is for the rich and maybe… just maybe… the upper middle class looking for a 4th or 5th vehicle.
2. Is Malaysia capable of producing our own EVs and PHEVs?
Malaysia has two national car companies. Proton, part owned by Geely Auto can easily start selling electric vehicles in Malaysia, if the right incentives were in place. Geely launched their pure electric car, the Geometry A in Singapore in April 2019… and not in Malaysia. Clearly, Singapore had the incentives and also the growing EV charging infrastructure to attract Geely.
Then there is Perodua who has Toyota and Daihatsu as its technical and engineering partners. Bringing an electric vehicle to market will be possible, but at what selling price. Remember, EVs are not cheap, unless they have incentives and our ringgit exchange rate raises the price of any EV that is imported into the country.
3. Do you have any idea how many charging stations we have here in Malaysia, and how many we should have at this point?
We have a few EV charging networks in the country right now. chargeEV, JomCharge, charge n go, to name a few and in total about 430-450 charging points around the country. There are at least 5 to 6 charging station providers in the country with wall-boxes from Germany, Japan and even Spain ready to install chargers at malls, private car parks, public car parks, homes, condominiums and office buildings.
All that is needed is just for someone to pay for it and Tenaga to ensure there is enough juice running to work it efficiently at every location.
4. Has the lack of direction hindered the manufacture of vehicles here in Malaysia?
In our humble opinion, it is not the lack of direction, but the protection of the TWO national car companies. If for example the Nissan Leaf and the Renault Zoe, which used to be on sale in Malaysia at RM145k were given tax incentives and for some miracle their selling prices fell below RM99k, then the national car brands will have trouble selling as many cars as they are selling right now.
At about RM99k, many middle class Malaysians might opt to have an EV as a second car in the house.
5. What do we need to do to get back on track? And how difficult would it be?
Back on what track? There has never been a track! First we need to have a fair automotive market across the board. No more national car programs. Merit and value to sell a car. Offer equal incentives to all auto manufacturers.
No more fuel subsidies, this will spur middle class Malaysians to look at owning an EV. With cheap petrol, there is little reason to buy an EV right now and it will take a very strong political party to slowly remove fuel subsidies as this will count for possible lost votes. – The Vibes, March 30, 2021
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