MOT Has Risen To The Occasion But MCA Is Not Confident Due To Lack Of Infra?

Following Transport Minister YB Anthony Loke's much-anticipated and well-received revised EV Road Tax structure, MalaysiaKini reports that MCA VP Wee Jeck Seng is urging the government to take further proactive actions to develop a comprehensive EV ecosystem.

According to Wee, this significant reduction in road tax rates is insufficient to encourage the use of EVs. Instead, the government must also take more proactive steps to create a comprehensive EV ecosystem, which includes providing adequate charging stations, reasonable charging fees, and improving existing infrastructure.

Aside from this, the lack of affordable EV options plays a significant role, which is expected to be remedied when the new EV road tax rate structure is adopted in 2026.

Wee also added, "Several support policies and incentives should also be offered to encourage the installation of charging stations at petrol stations, shopping malls, condominiums, and public places to expand access for EV drivers."

On the up side, the EV community is overjoyed that Loke, despite the delays, has kept his promise. The new EV road tax scheme is far cheaper than its ICE counterpart and up to 85% lower than the previous EV road tax structure.

It is also worth noting that EV owners in Malaysia are now enjoying a tax-free period until the end of 2025. After which, the new road tax structure would take effect in Jan 2026.

As much as we at CariCarz.com would like to disagree with Wee's comments, his argument holds merit. In fact, we’ve raised the same issues on several occasions.

We for one are unable to envision the exponential EV Charger development that the government, particularly the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), intends to achieve by the end of 2025, where 1,500 of them will be DC fast chargers.

According to an announcement made last month by YB Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, there are 2,288 EV charging points across the country, with 503 of them being DC Fast Charging (DCFC).

Based on the data above, we are still short of 7,712 public chargers. This also means 385 EV chargers must be installed each month for the next 20 months to reach this goal. Would this even be possible, given that only 268 EV chargers have been installed since the beginning of the year?

Based on our conversation with key CPOs, the goal is actually attainable, and they are more than happy to invest in EV Charger roll-out to help the government realise its goals. They are however pulled back by the inconsistency of regulation at different local councils (PBT), requirements set by the fire and rescue department, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Energy Commission (ST), among others, which requires channelling funds meant for EV charger rollout to meet all the requirements set by the agencies.

Furthermore, the same CPOs we chatted with add that they are fine with all of the standards, but that it would be preferable if it were adopted later so that funds may be directed towards development at this critical moment, as EV sales are organically related to the availability of charging points. Especially when the public is more confident in gradually increasing EV usage due to low road tax rates.

Guess MOT has done its part; now it's up to the other National Electric Vehicle Steering Committee (NEVSC) member ministries to piece together the remaining puzzles.