KULIM: The number of electric vehicles (EV) sales in Malaysia have shown a significant increase from 1.2 per cent of Total Industry Volume (TIV) recorded last year to 2.6 per cent in the first half of this year, reflecting a nearly 150 per cent jump.
However, Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) Liew Chin Tong said a more concerted effort between the government and the industry is required to further accelerate EV adoption in the country.
He said strong collaboration involving all stakeholders is pivotal as Malaysia is playing catch up with rapid EV sales growth in neighbouring Southeast Asian neighbours, namely Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
"We had a slow start. Of course, other countries could be even slower, but I hope we can have a more concerted effort to push more infrastructure to create better conditions for EV to be adopted.
"In the first half of this year Malaysia recorded 2.6 per cent of EV car sales of TIV, an increase of almost 150 per cent, but there is a lot of room to grow.
"Globally, in 2018 only 2 per cent of the global sales of cars were EV and it has since grown to 14 per cent in 2022 and 18 per cent in 2023.
"That means there is room for growth if you go by this exponential growth, it is quite significant.
"So, I hope, together with the industry, with the government, with everyone, we can drive the growth of EV adoption," he told reporters after launching Chery Auto Malaysia's Completely Knocked Down (CKD) unit of the OMODA E5 fully electric SUV at the Inokom Plant here.
Present were MITI deputy secretary-general (Industry) Datuk Hanafi Sakri, Chery Auto Malaysia president Leo Chen and Sime Darby Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson.
Liew said to further push EV adoption, the government has increased the target of providing direct current (DC) electric vehicle charging bays in the country.
"We have increased the target from 1,000 to 1,500 DC charging bays, and we are maintaining the target of having 10,000 charges by the end of 2025.
"We are pushing hard, and we hope we can achieve more in 2025, as I think by 2025 the adoption and growth will be quite steep and exponential.
"As I said, from 1.2 per cent of adoption to 2.6 per cent, it will grow further, and we hope this comes together, in tandem with more EV cars, more chargers. I think the market is there," he said.
Liew stressed that accelerating EV adoption is crucial in achieving the government target to regain Malaysia's position as a net petrol exporter.
"We want to reduce dependence on petroleum. Malaysia was a net exporter of petrol. Now we are a net importer.
"We are now the number 21 largest importer of petroleum. We spent US$12.2 billion (RM53.5 billion) on importing crude petroleum.
"So, we want to reduce dependence on petrol because of the climate, because of the huge subsidy bill, and because we also want to restore energy security, we do not want to be net importer of petrol.
"Therefore, EV can help with all these purposes. We need to do more to achieve the target 20 per cent EV percentage of TIV by 2030," he said.
Earlier in his speech, Liew said in 2022 and 2023, the total amount of fuel subsidy (RON95, diesel and LNG) stood at about RM50 billion, about one-eighth of the national budget.
"The current debate about subsidy rationalisation is useful from the fiscal point of view. But for the users who rely on their vehicles, they still need to drive unless there are viable alternatives.
"As a nation, we should do a lot more for public transport to reduce the need for driving.
Electric vehicles of all forms, including PHEVs, should also be looked upon as a solution," he said.