by Tan Aik Keong (AK)
Countries around the world have been pushing electric vehicle adoption toward a net-zero goal for a while now — hardly a new topic, especially in Europe, which remains well ahead of Southeast Asia here. Several countries have announced internal-combustion bans outright: Norway by 2025, the UK by 2030, the EU by 2035, all set to prohibit new non-zero-emission petrol car sales within their borders. Across Asia, EV sales in China, Japan and India have all been climbing steadily in recent years.
Where Malaysia actually stands
Take China and Norway, two of the world's biggest EV markets, measured by EVs' share of total car sales (including both plug-in hybrids and full battery EVs): in Norway, roughly 8 in 10 cars sold are electric, an 88% share. In China, that figure sits around 30%. By comparison, Malaysia's EV sales made up just 4.12% of the market in 2023 — a long way from EV-powerhouse status.
What China and Norway got right
China and Norway, as EV powerhouses, share a few specific factors that make their citizens genuinely willing to buy electric.
Government policy and financial incentives. In Norway, EV owners don't pay purchase tax or road tolls; in Beijing, EV owners skip the long wait for a car licence plate.
Widespread public fast-charging infrastructure.
Lower total cost of ownership than a petrol car, alongside a wide range of models to choose from — China alone offers more than 300 EV models.
Recent headwinds worth noting
That said, a few recent developments are worth flagging: Apple shelved its entire EV effort, "Project Titan"; Norway now looks unlikely to hit its 2025 ban target; South Korea sold just a single Tesla in January one year; and China is in the middle of a price war between EVs and petrol cars.
What's actually holding Malaysia back
Given these precedents, where does that leave Malaysia's own EV development?
Public charging coverage. Government policy plays a huge role here. Without a strategic subsidy push and a real effort to build out charging infrastructure that benefits both EV owners and charging operators, users simply won't get interested enough to learn about or buy an EV. Peninsular Malaysia's east coast in particular is often called an "EV desert" by EV owners.
Affordability. There's currently no EV sold in Malaysia under RM100,000, which keeps EVs off most ordinary buyers' shortlist — until local players like Proton and Perodua launch genuinely affordable EV models.
Petrol subsidies. Malaysia's petrol prices remain relatively cheap. Without a more targeted petrol subsidy policy, most drivers will likely stay on the fence about EVs.
High-rise home charging. Many high-rise residential managements in Malaysia worry about fire risk from EV charging, and some buildings simply don't have enough power capacity to support residents installing chargers. In China, by contrast, high-rise EV owners typically don't run into this problem at all.
Closing
In short, there's real room for Malaysia to grow before it becomes an EV powerhouse. It'll take government weighing multiple factors and rolling out policy on several fronts at once, before Malaysians are genuinely willing to shift their thinking and embrace this new car technology.
Part of the AK AI Corner column. Originally published in Oriental Daily (东方日报) on Mar 2, 2024.