Malaysia needs more long-term offers, cash discounts on redemption and new EV purchases – ZEVA

While electric vehicle sales in Malaysia increased by about 860% last year up 2,631 units compared to 2021 274 carsMuch work remains to be done for the country to achieve its electrification goals as outlined in Low carbon migration blueprint (LCMB), according to the Zero Emission Vehicles Association (ZEVA).

The association, which includes several stakeholders – such as Tenaga Nasional, BMW Malaysia, Gentari, Pekema and chargeEV, among others – is working to develop a battery-powered electric vehicle ecosystem in Malaysia, for know the goal is yes Electric vehicles account for 15% of new car sales every year in 2030 means 700,000 electric cars will appear by 2030based on calculations running under the EV scenario in 2022.

As of the end of 2022, the association estimates that in addition to about 2,200 EV batteriesthere are nearly 40,000 plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) as well as 2,600 electric scooters and more than 100 electric busesonly 6% of the 700,000 units expected to be available by 2030. With just eight years to go, ZEVA said without intervention, the country will be 15 times less than the national target.

While it appreciates incentives announced by the government in Budget 2023The association believes that additionally, need more long-term incentives to catalyze the expected EV growth trajectory. It says that while more approval permits are being issued for foreign EVs sold in the country, it believes The charging industry also needs to step up.

Currently, the number of EV chargers in the country is estimated to be close to 800 for AC devices and 100 for DC fast chargersIt’s a less than 10% of the target have 10,000 chargers by 2025, as stated in the LCMB. This issue needs to be addressed, as the two top concerns in electric vehicle adoption are concerns about range and the lack of charging infrastructure at the destination.

After a series of discussions and internal interactions with the automotive industry, end users, public transport providers, transportation companies and several government agencies, ZEVA realized that for the charging industry to development, the ‘hidden costs’ of doing business need to be addressed. This includes costs for facilities, such as land costs for a new utility station, new cable trenching as well as mechanical, civil and electrical consulting, among others.

Asking for government assistance, they said first movers would appreciate the assistance, as their properties will only use a fraction of these facilities’ maximum capacity. ZEVA says the next players who want to deploy their chargers nearby will be able to easily take advantage of these existing facilities, thus encouraging more investment.

The association has proposed incentives for the government to consider in the construction of Revised Budget 2023to be made on February 24th. These include start-up cost incentives for any local/city council interested in setting up public charging for 20 vehicles in the city, funding allocation limited to RM500k for each rest area serving for six DC chargers on the highwayand a grants to property managers who do not have land to install EV chargerslimited to RM10,000 each.

Besides the above, ZEVA also proposes a suitable funding R&D on electric vehiclesespecially for the automotive industry, as well as cash discount for transaction gasoline/diesel vehicles for electric vehicles and Cash offer when buying new EV in addition to the already existing tax exemptions (Electric vehicles have been sold at virtually tax-free prices, with free road tax until the end of 2025).

In addition, as the government is talking more and more about targeted fuel subsidy restructuringZEVA said that savings from group fuel subsidies T20 can be used to incentivize the charging infrastructure. It says its initial calculations indicate that all the incentives it is proposing above will represent only a small percentage of fuel subsidy savings, at around 16.5%.

The association has also proposed that the government extending existing incentives until 2030 make room for the industry to react. It says that with all this, the country should be able to hit the 700,000-unit mark with EVs by 2030.