Kuala Lumpur: The investment, trade and industry ministry (Miti) has presented a proposal for a one-time subsidy for electric vehicle (EV) ownership to boost the growth of the industry in the country.
Deputy investment, trade and industry minister Liew Chin Tong said the proposal was presented to the finance ministry 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.
“This suggestion is being fine-tuned by the finance ministry,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Liew was responding to a supplementary question from Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar), 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 of 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% to 13,257 units compared with 3,127 units in 2022.
As of Dec 31, 2023, 2,020 charging stations had 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 that Miti, together with related agencies, namely the Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IoT Institute and Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation, were 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 to be held in the second quarter of this year,” he said.
Meanwhile, in response to an additional question from Jimmy Puah (PH-Tebrau) who asked if the government plans to consolidate EV charging system service fees in one application, Liew said the government intended to merge all applications for EV charging payments.
“But this requires the cooperation of charging point operators (CPOs), and the government is planning to hold discussions with the CPOs to create ‘interoperability’ with all companies,” he added.
