One Off EV Subsidy Proposed, But Finalised EV Road Tax Would Be A Better Solution!

The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) had yesterday put forward a plan for a one-time subsidy aimed at bolstering the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and facilitate the transition away from traditional internal combustion engines.

Deputy Minister Liew Chin Tong disclosed that this proposal has been formally presented to the Ministry of Finance during a session of the National EV Steering Committee (NEVSC) convened in Dewan Rakyat.

By the looks of it the subsidy could be fashioned similarly to the on-going RM2,400 subsidy given to buyers of electric motorcycles who are earning below RM120,000 annually.

Malaysia currently offers various incentives to promote EV usage, including exemptions from excise duty, import duty, and road tax, along with income tax relief for expenses related to charging facilities.

However, what we at CariCarz.com view that a good way to promote EV adoption further is the simple act of formulating and announcing the new EV Road Tax rate for 2025 onwards. Quite a large number of potential EV owners are on the fence about committing to this high ticket purchase simply due to the existing calculation being just too costly.

Additionally, both national car manufacturers, Proton and Perodua, have committed to introducing their own EV models by 2025. By then, the floor price put in place to help bolster this effort will be removed.

Also addressed in the same parliament session was the matter of charging infrastructure, especially when travelling long-distance. Liew highlighted that the government is focused on expanding the network of fast chargers across the country.

This is especially so as considering an exponential uptake on EV adoption in 2023 where 13,257 vehicles were sold compared to 3,127 units in 2022.

Liew also touched on the government's goal to deploy 10,000 EV chargers by 2025, comprising 9,000 AC chargers and 1,000 DC chargers. This target however has since been considered a pipe dream. To date, only about 2,020 chargers have been installed across 750 locations nationwide.

Liew did also say that there are more proposals coined to bolster the EV charger deployment that would be presented at the NEVSC’s next meeting slated for the second quarter (Q2)  this year..

We at CariCarz.com do commend these efforts, however we also feel that the government is falling short especially when it comes to the matter of execution. Thus far we have seen that NEVSC has not made a big difference in expediting the matter of EV charging station licensing, which has resulted in many ready-to-operate new facilities sitting idle, case in point the DC Handal DCFC on the new WCE Highway.

EV chargers on major highways and the East Coast are still far too few as well. Even TNB’s planned 6 DC Charging facility along the highways that was supposed to be complete in March 2024 has not materialised yet.

Moreover, the government-set goals mentioned above are technically not financing any EV charging facility estsblishment directly. This is also perhaps the reason for the slow roll-out, largely due to the high cost involved that has to be shouldered by private companies.