More Companies Should Introduce Electric Ferries - Transport Minister

Yinson Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian business engaged in the development of marine "green mobility," has received investment, according to Minister Anthony Loke.

“When I looked at its presentation, it was building an electric passenger ferry, thus this is something new.

“We hope more private companies will introduce electric ferries because when we mention electric vehicles, it should not be only on cars and motorcycles. “For me, this is a good effort because if private companies can invest in and introduce products that are more environmentally friendly to the transport sector, this is certainly something that is welcomed by the government, especially the Transport Ministry,” he told Bernama.

However, he added, it unquestionably requires 'buy-in' from the operator, and Yinson has already introduced a number of ownership concepts, including electric motorcycles that offer hire-purchase plans.

Many delivery companies require motorcycles, but if they are all expensive, perhaps these private companies won't be interested, he said. He continued by saying that the hire-purchase programme has the potential to draw the interest of more businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), encouraging them to consider vehicle ownership in addition to EV adoption.

“I noticed that this investment is very good because it can boost Malaysia on the EV ownership map because our take-up rate in EVs is still low.

“If these delivery companies can start using electric motorbikes, I think this is a trend that can be expanded,” he said, adding that Yinson is also involved in offering electric ferries. Yinson and the international investment company RRJ signed a collaboration agreement to work together to develop energy infrastructure and technology projects across the globe, including the provision of US$300 million in financing.

The group's advisory, investment, and asset management arm, Farosson, also signed the collaboration agreement. Loke was present when the contract was signed.

The attendees also took part in a hands-on demonstration of Yinson GreenTech's (YGT) solutions for a clean, connected, and technologically enhanced ecosystem in the marine, mobility, and infrastructure sectors during the event. The electric bicycles with swappable batteries from YGT, RydeEV, the electric vehicle leasing service, DrivEV, and the EV charging infrastructure, ChargEV were all featured in the showcase.