Special BEV Number Plates Coming by End-2024 – MoT

The Ministry of Transport has confirmed that special number plates for battery EVs will arrive by the end of 2024.

Following some delays from its initial announcement, the Malaysian Ministry of Transport (MoT) has finally confirmed that special number plates for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will arrive by the end of this year. This follows the ministry’s announcement regarding the new road tax structure for BEVs, which is set to be announced earlier in April this year.

Malaysian Minister of Transport YB Anthony Loke

Speaking during the Mou signing event between GAC Motor and WTC Automotive, MoT minister YB Anthony Loke said the new number plates will be implemented on newly-registered vehicles, while existing BEV owners are encouraged to make the switch, although it is still legal for them to run their existing number plates.

“They (current BEV owners) have an existing number, most people would like to keep their number because they spent money on that number. So, if we change that, we will have to take back the old number, and then they won’t be happy. What we will do is give them options, to adopt the new number or to use the existing number, but we have not finalised the mechanism,” Loke said.

These special number plates will feature an ‘EV’ lettering, which MoT hopes will reduce the issues of illegal parking in EV charging stations, also known as ICE-ing, as well as help first responders prepare themselves before attending to an accident involving an EV.

Plug-in hybrids like the Volvo XC90 Recharge T8 are not entitled to these special number plates.

More importantly, the special BEV number plates will not be extended to other electrified vehicles like plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), despite the former also requiring access to public charging stations and special parking lots like BEVs. In response to this, the Road Transport Department (JPJ) simply answered that vehicles with combustion engines like PHEVs will not be issued with these special number plates.

According to JPJ’s proposal, non-ICE-based vehicles like hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are also entitled to these special number plates, which is rather ironic since FCEVs can’t use public charging stations like PHEVs do.

Both BEVs and PHEVs in China use the same green-coloured number plates to differentiate them easily from ICE-based cars.

In some countries like China and Germany, special number plates are given not only to BEVs but also to other types of vehicles that can be plugged in to charge, like PHEVs. Both PHEVs and BEVs are pretty easy to differentiate from other ICE-powered vehicles in China, thanks to their distinctive green number plates.