The halcyon days of ICE are drawing to a close, but EVs are still not fully charged yet to take over
by ABDUL RAZAK CHIK / pic MUHD AMIN NAHARUL
THE electric vehicles (EVs) have brought about a sea of change in our transportation landscape. The future is indeed electrifying; so very different from the days when life was just about ICE (internal combustion engine).
In the past, when fussing over the merits of one car over some other, the basics were clear enough — engine powered by a drive train egged on by pumping pistons in explosive combustion chambers, sending crankshaft throbbing, madly belching smoke at the rear tail pipe.
As efficient as it gets, they are nowhere near the level of environmental consciousness brought about by the EVs. In the local market, we had the introduction of the Nissan’s Leaf as the first Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) sold commercially in 2013.
There were aficionados of the trend — especially seeing that Hollywood stars in California were among the early adopters of the “drive electric to save the world” mantra but still not yet gaining much traction locally.
Today, the public reaction to EVs have ranged from: “I don’t want to be seen dead in a (name of EV make withheld),” to “I am already driving one, and thinking of graduating to their new model to be launched in time for CNY.”
Then there are those who are open minded enough not to come to judgement until they have thoroughly tested the quintessential EV — the Tesla.

Although majority of Malaysian have yet to fully embrace the EV trend, it is only a matter of time because in five years, the govt expects there to be 125,000 EVs on the roads
The Numbers
For now, the vast majority of Malaysian motorists have yet to begin embracing the EV creed the way our Thai neighbours have but that has not meant the day when everyone drives one will not come! The kingdom is expected to have more than 27,000 EVs on its roads by 2028 with an industry that is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.06% from now till then.
In tiny Singapore, almost 8,000 EVs are roaming its busy roads as of May last year while giant Indonesia expects to have 2.5 million by 2025, mostly centred around its big cities.
There are now more than 12,000 EVs registered in Malaysia which was the figure quoted for 2023.
If you are a naysayer, notice how they are becoming more ubiquitous. A mere 1,642 EVs were sold in Malaysia in 2020. In 2021, it went up to 2,717. This rate of sale shows EVs make up only 0.4% of total vehicle sales in the country. In five years, though, the government expects there to be 125,000 EVs on our roads. “Beep beep, honk honk!” is all you will ever hear apart from the low-pitched motor whine which I am sure my neighbour’s dog Fido will have his eardrums pinging the entire day.

Charging an EV is much easier particularly when the govt have decided to increase the number of charging stations to 10,000 by 2025
Pushback
There may be pushback but rather muted since just about every government has committed to attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) on arresting climate change and Malaysia has rolled out initiatives to help “clear the air”. (All save perhaps the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea aka DPRK aka North Korea or Kim Jong-un-Land to you and me!).
Our Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) has introduced the BEV Global Leaders Initiative (BEV GLI) — a mouthful but one that raised eyebrows since this has opened and stirred up the local automobile industry and shaken the way that affects the local manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing no end.
Now, foreign companies can sell cars without the need for approved permits (APs) — in one fell swoop eradicating “middlemen” who in the past were the reason imported cars were expensive! In 2022, the Finance Ministry announced that battery and fuel cell EVs are exempted from road tax until Dec 31, 2025.
The advent of this new policy can be seen immediately in the zip and pizaz displayed by the Tesla staff during their two car launches last year.
Young and energetic, they approach you with a bubbly greeting, introducing themselves; “Hi, I am Mike… I am your Tesla advisor!” (Yup, they are not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill salesmen and women any more).
There is no longer the traditional marketing pattern of their erstwhile brethren since every step of the car buying process can be done online except for when you get your keys and drive the car away.
Get to know a couple of EV brand personnel more closely and you’ll learn they come from as diverse a field ranging from having worked as airline cabin crew to gigging as a busker or wedding party cover singer — not exclusively those with traditional sales and marketing background.
This pivot to EVs is bringing about a sea change in the way our local automotive industry has so long been mired in. Protectionist policies, local content rules and AP restrictions have made fortunes for some who were well-connected albeit with a certain nous for business sav v y and industrious work ethic.
Less rigid rules on equity ownership, local content and technolog y transfer governing the automotive industr y are needed for the development of the entire eco-system required to spur our embrace of EVs.

Gone are the days when the EV could only give us 100km of range as most EVs now can go at least 500km of range
Charging Anxiety
Why are we rather lukewarm in accepting EVs although almost everyone accepts its inevitability?
Charging anxiety immediately comes to mind. I was in this group of doubters until I got my third EV to test drive.
Here’s a tip — do not look at the percentage battery charge left in the instrument display, just look at the mileage remaining. It’s a matter of being less war y with 50% batter y power remaining as opposed to 200km outstanding. Indeed, this worked for me as I was less anxious knowing the next available charging facility was a mere 100km away at most compared to thinking I have only half a “belly-full” and needed to “top-up” pronto!
To be sure, the way to get past this is to improve charging infrastructure. When the day arrives so we have easily accessible charging facilities like we do petrol stations, and the worry about “running out of gas” will be overcome.
The EV players (battery manufacturers) themselves are not sitting idle on their hands. It was not so long ago that the first EV batteries gave only 100km of range. We have moved on where a range of up to 500km on one single 100% charge is the norm. The holy grail for now is to double that and get batteries to give a range of more than 1,000km — that is an insane, for now, range of over 805km!
Swappable batteries are being touted as the game changer but progress appears rather glacial. Taiwan has shown the way with swappable batteries for EV scooters. Riders simply pull up to a battery facility, remove the pair of “dying” batteries from their machines, insert freshly charged batteries and off they go. They ride off leaving their “dead” pair of batteries in the slot(s) just vacated by the pair they just swapped.
So, one answer is to make charging easier than it is now and the government has given a commitment to increase the number of charging stations to 10,000 by 2025. As at the beginning of the year, there are just under 1,300 charging stations, supplied by infrastructure providers such as GreenTech Malaysia and Charger+. Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is not a laggard in this field either as it, like all oil giants of its ilk, faces the prospect of extinction if they don’t move away from a reliance on fossil fuel.
This push is led by Gentari Sdn Bhd, a Petronas wholly owned clean energ y solutions company. Its oft-stated mission is to independently pursue and deliver integrated sustainable energy solutions. One of its pillars is the promotion of the switch to EVs through its green mobility pillar.

Some of the EV brands currently available in Malaysia — Tesla, Ora and MG
In the third quarter of last year, Gentari through its EV Charge Go There subsidiary introduced a mobile charger as a pilot scheme aimed at businesses. It offered a charging option for EVs that are deployed on location in the course of events like trade shows and exhibitions, customer engagement and track days. Acting like a “donor”, the batteries which are packed and carried in converted multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), could perhaps act as mobile units “patrolling” our highways. Here’s hoping it won’t gain the unsavour y reputation of tow truckers on the prowl, in case some EVs run “dry” suddenly.
This quest to set up more charging stations has opened up a new business opportunity. Should you end up in Bandar Seri Sendayan, you can charge your EV at the Coffee Bear Cafe. It is run by an entrepreneurial family team who have set up a charging stand in their cafe. The only problem is you must have the right cable length to hook up to their charger located indoors.
So, sipping coffee while charging your EV — neatly sums up how the hip culture is so suited to the wider embrace of technology. That bodes well for its prospects.
- This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition
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