SOCAR Mobility Malaysia (Socar) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to leverage shared demand data on electric vehicle (EV) usage in Malaysia as part of efforts to speed up the adoption of EVs.
The MoU outlines TNB's plans to leverage Socar's data on vehicle usage and travel behaviour to identify locations along key travel routes for the installation of charging infrastructure.
The demand data shared would determine the location, number and type of chargers for installation, including direct current (DC) fast chargers.
"We at TNB support the e-mobility movement in the transportation sector to encourage higher adoption of EVs in the country. With sustainability embedded in our business agenda, we are ready to work with like-minded partners like DHL Express Malaysia and Socar to deploy low carbon mobility initiatives.
"TNB is set to take a leading role in driving EV adoption in Malaysia, especially among fleet management operators, and one of the key steps to achieving this is by establishing more EV charging zones that would be utilised optimally based on known travel routes," said TNB chief retail officer Datuk Megat Jalaluddin Megat Hassan.
"This recent collaboration with Socar is more extensive, compared to our initial partnership back in December 2019 when TNB became the enabler for SOCAR's first two EV zones in Cyberjaya with the introduction of the first-ever EVs in their fleet.
"Together, we are confident in fostering more interest from other players in the EV infrastructure ecosystem to achieve a robust synergistic business environment that would benefit the EV community at large."
Socar aims to introduce an EV lifestyle to the masses by offering them on its car sharing platform and making them more accessible by addressing the often cited barrier of cost holding back drivers who have considered switching to EVs.
It aims to expand its fleet by up to hundreds of EVs in the next two to three years. There are plans to roll out up to 50 EV zones by the end of next year.
The company's database of car sharing usage will form the foundation for selecting EV models for the rollout and the locations of new EV zones based on driving preferences and vehicle usage styles among Malaysians.
In turn, this effort to enable positive EV driving experiences is targeted at creating new advocates who will continue the momentum to accelerate EV adoption.
"As a future-centric tech-powered flex mobility provider, we are committed to driving the adoption of sustainable mobility. For us, this means using our platform and resources to enable more drivers to experience the benefits of driving an EV, thus helping them transition from conventional fossil fuel-powered cars," said Socar Mobility Malaysia chief executive officer Leon Foong.
"From talking to Malaysian drivers, we know it is crucial to enable EV use without owning one and to plug the gaps in the current EV charging infrastructure to overcome range anxiety among potential EV adopters.
"We are pleased to once again work with TNB to introduce users to a seamless EV driving experience. In addition, our car sharing model also supports drivers who wish to own an EV as they can generate income to offset ownership costs by listing their EV on our TREVO people-to-people car sharing marketplace."
Foong said the low EV penetration rate in Malaysia, where EVs comprised less than 0.05 per cent of the estimated 14.5 million registered private cars in the country, offered wide room for growth.
He added that EV owners had estimated that with the currently available charging infrastructure, a Nissan LEAF would take over 24 hours to drive approximately 1,000km from Johor Baru to Kota Baru. Meanwhile, a Mini SE would take around 20 hours with eight hours spent on charging alone.
"To overcome this hurdle, each state in the peninsula will need to have 150kW DC fast chargers in at least one key travel hub to facilitate inter-city travel. This illustrates the urgency of developing a strategic EV charging infrastructure roadmap on the journey towards achieving an ideal ratio of high-speed chargers to EVs.
"Having charging infrastructure at high frequency, low-mid mileage travel hotspots can be a great way to introduce people to using EVs to meet their urban mobility needs," said Foong.
Efforts to encourage EV adoption are in line with national and global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation, estimated to contribute around 21 per cent of Malaysia's CO2 emissions in 2016.
OPTIMISING DATA
Foong said Socar's data pool was a key resource for improving the EV driving experience by providing insights that would enable collaboration with charging infrastructure players and other mobility providers to efficiently plan out the locations for EV deployment.
This will complement Malaysia's target to install 7,000 AC (alternating current) charging points and 500 DC charging points nationwide through government funding, coupled with incentives to the private sector to build infrastructure for the national fast charging network under the Green Income Tax Exemption in order to reach 125,000 charging points by 2034.
"For example, our data can help TNB ensure sufficient availability of appropriate charging points and efficient load balancing across strategic locations, while mobility providers can optimise data to ensure charging stations are built in the right locations to cater to both city-based and long-distance driving.
"SOCAR's ability to offer EVs across our coverage zones in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Ipoh and Melaka also gives more people the chance to test EVs in an everyday mobility setting and experience the benefits of driving EVs and the ease of charging through our partner networks," he added.
FLEX MOBILITY
Foong hoped that flexible mobility would be seen as an option for those looking to own EVs as it also provided the option to offset the cost of ownership and maintenance, as they could share their car and charging station access with other drivers on TREVO to earn extra cash.
"EV use is very much a part of the future of mobility and it is fitting that a future-centric concept like multi-flex mobility is proving to be a key factor in expanding EV access and adoption."
A survey conducted by SOCAR Mobility Asia showed there was a clear opening to empower Malaysians through flexible mobility options.
Among the 236 respondents, almost nine in 10 (89.9 per cent) expressed interest in driving an EV through Socar, a promising indicator as only a fifth (19.9 per cent) of them had previously driven a battery electric vehicle (BEV), although almost half (49.6 per cent) had tried driving a hybrid vehicle, suggesting a widespread lack of hands-on experience using pure EVs among the population.
It also showed 73.3 per cent of respondents expressed an interest in using EVs for city driving daily, for commuting (58.5 per cent) and weekend driving (58.1 per cent).
However, amid a global push for drivers to switch from traditional cars powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) to EVs, the relatively high cost of EV adoption remains a substantial barrier in Malaysia as these vehicles cost 30 to 40 per cent more than a similar ICE car.
Malaysian car buyers are reluctant to pay more, with most wanting prices similar to a conventional car (23.88 per cent), while some are only willing to pay 10 per cent (17.21 per cent) or 30 per cent (16.06 per cent) more at most.
As many as 61.8 per cent of respondents were only willing to commit up to RM999 towards owning an EV, underscoring the importance to support customers' desire to access EVs via monthly subscription (53.8 per cent), or hourly (49.2 per cent) and daily (47.9 per cent) rental.
The respondents also reiterated the well-known barriers to adoption, citing the higher price (85.2 per cent) and limited availability of charging stations (72.5 per cent) as reasons for not driving or owning an EV.
Nevertheless, Socar found that positive interest in EV use based on environmental impact (74.6 per cent) and fuel economy (74.2 per cent) were good signs for EV adoption if the barriers of cost and infrastructure could be addressed.
FUTURE COLLABORATION
With maintenance support also being crucial for EV adoption, Socar said it was necessary to partner with pre-vetted and qualified maintenance and service centres that could meet the needs of a highly-utilised fleet.
Based on the same survey, these service centres would likely be starting off by collaborating with major United States and European automotive brands, as the respondents were most interested to see Socar offering the Tesla Model 3 (72 per cent), BMW i3 Electric (58.9 per cent), Tesla Model Y (57.2 per cent) and Volvo XC40 Recharge (56.8 per cent).
With private-public partnerships being key in creating a comprehensive system to accelerate the switch to EVs, Foong said Socar was taking the opportunity to work closely with industry partners to expand the EV ecosystem.
He proposed a collaboration to create an EV digital one-stop shop for Malaysian drivers to enhance EV ownership and driving experience by providing information at the fingertips — including calculating savings from EV use, claiming tax benefits and finding suitable charging points and workshops.
"At Socar, we welcome efforts by the government to encourage greener mobility, including the commitment to expand sustainability-related financing in the 2022 Budget. We also look forward to the Sustainable Financing Roadmap and hearing more about the tax incentive framework for EV importation in the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030.
"This will enable mobility providers to more easily add EVs into their fleet," Foong added.