Where will 1,000 taxi drivers charge their electric taxis and how will they afford to pay for a high priced electric vehicle when current taxis are low priced petrol powered local assembled cars from Proton and Perodua?
These are the questions most Malaysians are wondering when they read this news that TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) is working with Teksiku (under Mysuri Biz Technologies) to provide 1,000 electric taxis and the needed charging infrastructure.
At the recent two-day 5th International Sustainable Energy Summit (ISES) which was held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the editorial team from www.paultan.org got an interview with Mysuri Biz Technologies CEO, Mohd Noor Ghazali.
Mohd Noor shared with Anthony Lim from www.paultan.org that coverage will initially center around the Klang Valley and also Langkawi island (which is already looking at running electric buses) which environment and water (KASA) minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had already said before that the government decided will be a good location to start electric mobility.
Meanwhile, the taxi service, which will eventually be introduced to other states, will be offered by the company under the name TeksiKu.
Teksiku is a ride-hailing mobile application developed and managed by MySuri which is a Cyberjaya based platform service provider as mentioned in their website. A google search on MySuri shows that they are mostly a mobile app developer.
Meanwhile, the proposed battery electric vehicle to be used as a taxi will be a MG ZS EV which is already quite popular in Thailand.
The MG ZS EV has a possible driving range up to 440 kilometers of electric driving range. It has rapid charging capability and a host of intelligent features as standard.
The specifications of the MG ZS are as follows, Long Range with the 72.6 kWh battery from a single charge on the WLTP combined cycle: Combined Range 273 miles (440 km): City Range: 370 miles (596 km); Combined Driving Efficiency: 3.5 miles/kWh (17.8 kWh/100km).
So, with good urban driving range, taxi drivers might only need to charge every two days, however with most taxi drivers living in low cost flats, or ‘tight’ clustered neighborhoods, we are wondering how they will charge at home (after a long few days on the road).
Or, will there be central EV charging car park for them to use like they have right now for electric public buses.
Next to arrive under MyTeksi will be a range of BYD e6 MPV EV taxis. This EV MPV is already running well in Singapore since 2021 and it has just been launched in Australia for AUD39,999. The e6 has a long driving range of up to 520kms (WLTP) depending on driving conditions.
The e6 is a multipurpose vehicle (MPV). It can accommodate six people comfortably. The electric motor is powered by a 71.7 kWh battery pack. It produces 95 bhp of power and 180 Nm of torque.
