EV Is For The Rich! So Why Is The Govt Heavily Investing In This T20 Segment?

Recently YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry took to his social media to address the reason why the government is invested heavily in backing up the EV industry. This must have been because some quarters are questioning the reason for championing the EV industry which for the time being is a mode of transportation for the wealthy due to its cost.

Tengku Zafrul goes on to add that although EV at the moment is only attainable by the rich, the government will still have to back this segment's growth via subsidies in order for this vehicle segment to flourish. This will in time trickle down to benefit all Malaysians in due time.

The transportation industry in Malaysia is the second largest contributor to carbon emissions at over 20% of which over 90% is coming from road going vehicles. Hence the best alternative to reduce carbon emission is through mass adoption of EVs.

With ample encouragement and growth, the manufacturing cost in the EV segment would come down. A perfect example according to him was the mobile phone industry. Back in 1984, mobile phones were generally large and expensive, costing around RM17,000 which if factored inflation in would be RM49,000 in today's money. However, with the government supporting that segment over time mobile phones have generally gotten cheaper where nowadays nearly every Malaysian owns one.

Therefore, the government now is heavily invested in pushing towards greater EV adoption inorder to realise the vision where EVs one day would be as affordable or cheaper then its current ICE counterpart.

Furthermore, the government is also looking at getting foreign EV manufacturers to set up their facilities here in Malaysia for EV manufacturing and assembly while promoting local players to start developing their own EV. Local manufacturers are also encouraged to explore EV component manufacturing with export potentials.

One such success story from the government's heavy lobbying in the EV industry is Tesla’s agreement to set-up shop in Malaysia. Hopefully more brands would start coming in given the ease of entry in the EV segment in Malaysia.

This would eventually lead to Malaysia becoming an EV hub for the ASEAN region and a perfect choice for foreign manufacturers to invest in, eventually leading to ample creation of job opportunities locally.