JPJePlate Rollout Marred by Unauthorised RM250 Sales to Existing EV Owners

The Malaysian Transport Ministry (MOT) recently introduced a special licence plate, the JPJePlate, specifically for newly registered electric vehicles (EVs), as part of a pilot project aimed at differentiating fully-electric vehicles from internal combustion engine (ICE) ones.

These plates are mandatory for all new EVs registered from Sept 9, 2024, and features a new design, with a white reflective background and black embossed lettering. The plate, made of aluminium, includes an RFID chip embedded for future Intelligent Transport System (ITS) integration, such as toll payments, though this functionality is yet to be seen.

Priced at RM98, the JPJePlate will be added onto the cost of new EVs and is provided along with a window identification sticker and a tamper-proof number plate screw. For new registrations, only authorised car dealerships for the time being are allowed to handle the plate installation.

However, MOT has stated that existing EV owners will be able to apply for the special plate starting in Nov 2024, although it will not be mandatory for them to switch from their current plates for now.

Despite the clear guidelines, we have come across several posts on the local Tesla Owners Facebook group showing sales personnel across various dealerships are already peddling the new EV plates to existing EV owners ahead of the Nov rollout. These plates, meant only for newly registered EVs, are being sold by some parties for up to over RM250 - more than double the official RM98 price.

The situation raises questions about how these ‘sellers’ are getting access to the plates, as only Handal Ceria, the appointed vendor, is authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

Moreover, as only selected brand dealers are allowed to have access to these plates, how is a BYD salesperson allegedly registering and installing the new JPJePlate on an already registered Tesla, which should not have been possible since plates are intended to be issued only by the dealership of the EV brand in question.

This incident exposes potential loopholes in the vetting process for plate applications.

Given that Handal Ceria is responsible for managing the production and registration of these plates, how are dealers and sales personnel managing to bypass the system to provide these plates prematurely?

Why hasn’t the system flagged such cases, where a dealer for one brand is issuing plates to a vehicle of another brand at this early stage when these plates are supposingly still in shortage of supply?

These incidents raise concerns about the enforcement and integrity of the JPJePlate rollout, which MOT needs to further scrutinise of the process and its regulation to further tighten the issuance of these plates.