Malaysia needs to catch up with neighboring automobile producers that are shifting their focus to EV production. What are the major challenges in Malaysian EV industry? The Netherlands and UK governments have announced that it will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Norway has already banned the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in Oslo, and the country plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars nationwide by 2025. As of July 2023, there is no official announcement on when Malaysia will stop selling engine cars. However, the Malaysian government has set a target of having 15% of new vehicle sales in Malaysia be EVs by 2030.
In these early stages of development, the Malaysian EV industry needs to address specific challenges in order to accelerate the growth of the market. Firstly, there is still a general lack of awareness (and urgency) about EVs among consumers in Malaysia. Current EV prices are getting more competitive, but still beyond the affordable reach of majority of Malaysians, making it difficult for the public to realistically consider EVs as a serious alternative. In my opinion, price is going to be the most critical factor to adoption, and contrary to expected beliefs that technology solutions will get cheaper as they mature, in this particular case, that might not be true, as critical materials such as rare earth magnets and ingredients for batteries are getting scarce. For the few that do make the switch to EV, they are then concerned about the range of their new cars for their daily needs, worrying about the lack of infrastructure such as charging stations, and possible running and maintenance issues with unfamiliar technology. Addressing basic issues like these need to happen to remove the barriers to adoption.
With public awareness and interest, the industry will also have to step up to challenges to support the pivot from combustion engine to electric. How can we coordinate to build the charging infrastructure and solutions? Do we buy, build, or just make parts? What standards are available, and what services will be needed to sustain it? How do we develop the talents we need to grow and sustain an ecosystem for a technology and application still unfamiliar? How much support will we get
from the government still refining the policies on the subject?
Fuel expenditures savings and industrial expansion
Reduction in total primary energy supply and energy consumption
Greenhouse gas emission reduction
Source: Malaysian Green Technology And Climate Change Corporation
27
MSCA 2023 I VOL.5
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online