Malaysia: RM3m fund set up for 300 EV charging stations

About RM3 million has been set aside in 2015 to create 300 more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations nationwide in a bid to boost demand for EVs in Malaysia. The charging stations will be located in major cities around the country where they expect a high penetration for EV in the coming years.Bild Malaysia RM3m fund set klein

Currently, there are 40 EV charging stations, 10 of them located in government offices in Putrajaya setup with government support, while others are from private and public-private initiative such as in the premises of Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (Greentech Malaysia) office in Bangi and Petaling Jaya City Council, as well as commercial and retail areas such as Bangsar Shopping Centre, Suria KLCC, and Lot 10.

The funding will come from Malaysian Electricity Supply Industries Trust Account (MESITA), while the EV charging stations will be set up by First Energy Networks Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tan Chong Motor Holdings).

Mesita, managed by Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), comprises of TNB Generation Sdn Bhd and independent power producers.

While private ownership users may not be as dependent on EV charging stations since their vehicles can be charged at home for up to 10 hours for full battery charge, the charging stations is crucial for as a supporting infrastructure when vehicles need to be charged in public spaces and more so to support the EV car sharing programme Cohesive Mobility Solution (Comos) that will be launched next year.

Comos, is the fruit of an alliance between Malaysian Automotive Institute (MAI), CMS Consortium and Greentech Malaysia, and the group aims to increase the EV car fleet to 3,500 units nationwide by 2020.

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the media appreciation luncheon for the IGEM 2014, Greentech Malaysia CEO Ahmad Hadri Haris said over and above the home charging facilities that EV owners can enjoy, the government must ensure that there is an additional 5% public charging stations for EV.

“The ratio for EVs against charging stations is 1:1.2 to 1.25. This includes charging facilities at home. Ideally, every EV should be able to charge at home first,” he said, adding that the additional charging station is for lifestyle comfort. Hence, one public charging station should be able to be utilised by about 20 users.

The move is in line with Greentech Malaysia’s move to drive the demand for EVs with its proposal under the proposed Electric Mobility (e-Mobility) Blueprint in 2014 for the government to review the reintroduction of incentives to enable EVs to be more affordable in Malaysia. The Malaysian Reserve featured the exclusive report on this proposal last week.

With excise duty and import tax exemptions in place, Malaysian drivers can then own imported completely-built-up (CBU) EV cars for as low as RM130,000. Since the National Automotive Policy took effect in January 2014, CBU EVs cost more than RM180,000.

On whether goods and services tax (GST) will create a significant effect, Greentech Malaysia VP for built environment Azrin Mohamed Ali said the GST impact is marginal compared to the impact of current excise duty and import tax.

In October, MAI announced two local car manufacturers will launch EVs in 2017 that will be retailed under RM100,000.

Aside from the MOU signed for the charging stations, Greentech Malaysia signed six other MOUs for various projects and the project value for all seven projects amount to RM200 million, contributing to the RM2 billion business leads for IGEM 2014. The RM2 billion mark is the highest recorded of business leads for IGEM since its inception in 2010 – exceeding its RM1.2 billion target.

Source: www.themalaysianreserve.com

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