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Will Geely give Malaysia its very own affordable electric car soon?

LAST week, America and the rest of the world were ecstatic following the delivery of the first Tesla Model 3s.

It seems that soon, the electric car non-believers will finally be proven wrong, and while the non-believers of global warming may continue to exist, the new car seems like tangible proof that the argument of the practicality of electric vehicles (EV) will finally be settled once and for all.

But as the first Tesla Model 3s are produced at Tesla's plants and sold to customers at an "affordable" price, Malaysians wonder when they will ever get a taste of the electric future that the rest of the world seem to be heading to.

At US$35,000, the Tesla Model 3 will be priced at RM150,000 if directly converted due to our poorly performing exchange rate, and we all know that once it enters Malaysia it will incur taxes and duties, which will increase its selling price here.

So, when will the average Malaysian be able to drive an EV, and finally skip that expensive weekly visit to petrol station?

Well, the answer is, maybe sooner than you think. And the answer to Malaysia's electric vehicle dreams may lie in the East in China, instead of the West in the United States.

When Proton signed with Geely a few months ago, it gave the local car manufacturer access to the latter's product lineup, that is modern and up to date with the latest tech.

One of the cutting edge products in the lineup is the Geely Emgrand EV300, currently the best-selling electric vehicle in China.

The Emgrand EV300 was launched in Beijing in March this year.

What is surprising is its 300km range, which puts it ahead of established electric cars like the Nissan Leaf, which only has a 172 km range, although it is still much lower than the Model 3, which has a 350kph range in standard form, and 500km in extended form.

Geely is believed to be working on a 500km range model of the EV300, which is due out sometime near 2020.

The rest of the specification list for the current car also looks impressive. A 41 KWh lithium battery pack. Maximum power output of 95kw and 240Nm of torque means this car is not a compromise to an internal combustion engine car, and accelerates better than many of them. The car can be trickle charged in about 13 hours from a normal house socket and fast charged in just 45 minutes.

But the most impressive number that the Emgrand EV300 has is its price tag.

In China, the car is sold at 195,800 yuan before subsidies, or RM124,000 although the government gives an incentive that brings this down to 128,800 yuan or RM80,000.

At RM124,000, the EV300 may be on the expensive side for the Malaysian market. Designed as a B-class segment sedan, it seems a bit of a stretch for the average Malaysian B-segment buyer, which may hover at RM80,000 to RM90,000. But running an electric car can be cheaper than a petrol equivalent.

A very rough calculation reveals that even on Tenaga Nasional Bhd's most expensive tariff rate at RM0.57 per KWh, a full charge of the EV300 would cost about RM23.

Paying just RM23 to travel as far as 300km is significantly cheaper than even the most efficient internal combustion engine sedans, and this is not even factoring in the environmental impact.

Will the Geely EV300 be the basis for Malaysia's first mass market electric car? Will Malaysians be willing pay RM124,000 for a B-Segment sedan with electric drive?

At this point, it's too early to tell, but there is no doubt that this is a very exciting time for the Malaysian car market.​

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