MIDA & MARii, Electric Vehicle Conference 2023 Successfully Attracted Over 300 Attendees

The first Electric Vehicle (EV) Conference 2023 was held yesterday jointly organised by The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) saw an impressive turnout of more than 300 attendees both physically and virtually.

This year's conference themed, "Gearing Up for EV Revolution: The Malaysia Story," highlights the government's commitment to driving the EV industry forward and supporting the development of related technologies.

The conference which was launched YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Bin Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) also saw the attendance of YB Nik Nazmi Bin Nik Ahmad, the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC).

Other key attendees were YB Liew Chin Tong, Deputy Minister of MITI, Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MIDA, Datuk Phang Ah Tong, Chairman of MARii, and Dato' Ahmad Suhaimi Bin Endut, Undersecretary, Public Asset Management Division, Ministry of Finance Malaysia (MOF).

During his speech, Tengku Zafrul said, “EVs are the intuitive solution for low carbon mobility and zero-emission vehicles, and the nascent global EV industry provides significant room for growth, particularly in ASEAN as a manufacturing hub and market for EVs. This is easily achievable as Malaysia is one of the leading electrical and electronics (E&E) manufacturing hubs in ASEAN.

Meanwhile Nik Nazmi further added that, "NRECC has taken into account the importance of balancing energy demand and reducing carbon emissions, and this includes the development of EVs and its ecosystems  in Malaysia. The country aims to install 10,000 EV charging points by 2025, 1000 DC chargers and 9000 AC chargers through the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint. NRECC is also committed to increasing electricity generation from Renewable Energy sources through the Electricity Supply Generation Development Plan 2021-2039 while strengthening the grid and developing the Electric Vehicle (EV) ecosystem.”

Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of MIDA, expressed, “We are optimistic that electric vehicles will increase in popularity and become more widespread, particularly with the growing demand for environmentally friendly transportation in the ASEAN region. Through proactive initiatives, MIDA is poised to position Malaysia as a prominent global value chain player and the preferred technology partner for electric vehicles, in line with the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) and the New Investment Policy (NIP), towards achieving low carbon mobility.”

“In this regard, I urge the industry players to take the initiative and increase the involvement of local companies in high-value-added activities in both the domestic and global supply chains. By working together, we have the potential to create positive economic spillovers, such as transferring technology, providing high impact jobs, offering investment opportunities, and increasing exports, all in line with our NIP,” he added.

Datuk Phang Ah Tong, Chairman of MARii, commented, “Today’s event is especially significant, on steering the growth of the EV industry in Malaysia and staying relevant to the global shift towards electrification, as the world is moving towards carbon emission reduction and producing cleaner air for the benefit of our beloved Malaysia, the planet and the future generation.”

With the 15% EV and PHEV target in mind under the 12th Malaysia Plan, the government is very committed in being the driving force to attracting investments in the EVs industry. As of now, Malaysia has recorded more than 15,000 units of xEVs (plug-in hybrid, hybrid and full battery electric vehicles) as of 2022.