KUALA LUMPUR: In expectation of future demand for electric cars, a Malaysian government organization is preparing for the required ecosystem to support them by installing electric car chargers nationwide.
GreenTech Malaysia, the agency in charge of development and promotion of green technology, announced plans to set up 300 electric vehicle (EV) chargers by year-end in Peninsular Malaysia at a four-day green technology event — the international greentech and eco products exhibition and conference Malaysia (IGEM) 2016.
The EV chargers will be initially free for registered users. GreenTech said the move will encourage the adoption of electric cars on the roads. It aims to install 25,000 EV chargers in public areas by 2020.
“We are moving in transiting our automotive industry to also adopt electricity. Since 2013-4, we saw that the energy consumption for the auto sector has surpassed the industry sector, [meaning] the auto sector today is the single largest energy consumer in Malaysia, contributing to the air pollution and climate change,” GreenTech Malaysia’s group Chief Executive Ahmad Hadri Haris said.
GreenTech Malaysia signed a number of memoranda of understanding at IGEM 2016, notably with Petronas Dagangan, a unit of state-backed oil firm Petroliam Nasional (Petronas), and with German automaker BMW, to establish an EV charging ecosystem in the country. It is collaborating with Petronas to install 66 electric car chargers by the end of this year at existing gas stations, while also introducing BMW’s proprietary ChargeNow platform for BMW customers.
Over 100 electric cars are currently on Malaysian roads, while there are roughly 95 EV chargers available in public locations such as shopping malls and hotels. About 82% of Malaysians own cars, according to a 2015 report by consultancy PwC quoting figures from the U.S.’s Pew Research Center. This is due to to Malaysia’s inadequate and unintegrated public transportation system.
Uptake of electric cars in Malaysia has so far been slow. In 2014, tax exemption for overseas-assembled hybrid cars and EVs was discontinued, affecting most of the available green car models in the country. At the IGEM exhibition, automakers like Mercedes Benz and BMW launched new environmentally-friendly vehicles including hybrids and electric cars, some of which are locally-assembled. The tax exemption still applies for locally-assembled hybrid and electric vehicles.
One of GreenTech’s initiatives in encouraging the use of electric cars is its Tesla EV program. It is bringing in 100 Tesla Model S vehicles under a program which will see the sporty electric cars being leased to government-linked companies and corporates.
“Ultimately, one day Tesla will be here. When they are here, everyone can purchase directly,” Ahmad said, adding that he hoped Tesla would enter the country within the next two to three years. GreenTech Malaysia is in talks with Tesla to enable Malaysia to be allowed to place orders for the upcoming Tesla Model 3, branded as an affordable electric premium sedan due out in 2017.
Ahmad went on to say that the challenge in convincing Tesla to enter Malaysia is whether there are the right local policies, infrastructure and public awareness to help grow the nascent green car market. U.S.-based Tesla Motors has yet to successfully enter the Southeast Asian market after withdrawing from Singapore in 2011. Sales of Tesla’s Model S were suspended in Indonesia early this year due to issues with charging infrastructure.
