KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — The Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry (Miti) has presented a proposal for a One-Time Subsidy for electric vehicle (EV) ownership to boost the industry's growth in Malaysia.
Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong said the proposal was presented to the Finance Ministry (MoF) during the National EV Steering Committee (NEVSC) meeting.
"It has been observed that this One-Time Subsidy can encourage people to switch from using internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs and further help the country reduce petrol subsidies for the long term.
“The MoF is fine-tuning this suggestion,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Liew was responding to a supplementary question from Kuala Kangsar MP Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid, who asked whether there would be incentives to attract the M40 group who can afford to own EVs.
The Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030, announced by the government in 2020, outlines a target to have 10,000 EV charging stations by 2025, whereby 9,000 units are AC (alternating current) chargers, and 1,000 units are DC (direct current) chargers.
In 2023, the annual sales volume of new Battery EVs (BEVs) in the country increased by over 400 per cent to 13,257 units compared to 3,127 units in 2022.
As of December 31 last year, 2,020 charging stations have been installed in 750 locations across the country, of which 1,591 units are AC type, and the remaining 429 units are DC type.
Liew said the proposal to review the target of 10,000 EV charging stations was also raised in the NEVSC Meeting No. 1/2024, and Miti, together with related agencies, including the Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IoT Institute and the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation, are studying and fine-tuning the need to increase the DC charging stations target.
“The outcome of the study will be debated in the NEVSC Meeting, which will be held in the second quarter of this year,” he said.
Meanwhile, in response to an additional question from Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah, who asked if the government plans to consolidate EV charging system service fees in one application, Liew said the government intends to merge all applications for EV charging payments.
"But it requires the cooperation from charging point operators (CPOs), and the government is planning to hold discussions with the CPOs to create 'interoperability' with all companies," he said.
— Bernama
