Looking forward to travelling long-distance in your new EV for the first time?
Here is a suggested checklist from Datuk Shahrol Halmi who is a well known expert in the Malaysian electric car ownership group MyEVOC (Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club). He shares his insight for the many new electric car owners coming into ownership this 2023 as brands like BYD and ORA deliver their new vehicles by the hundreds.
1. Install the essential charging apps – at a minimum the suggested ones in the post below. Set up payment methods where applicable (e.g. link your credit cards).
2. Try the apps out before the trip, especially the CPO ones such as Setel, JomCharge, ParkEasy, ChargEV, ChargeSini etc.
3. Check and see if your destination has overnight charging facilities via PlugShare if you’re heading to a hotel, and call the hotel to see if there’s any way to pre-book the charger and if you need your own public charging cable.
4. Might be too late now, but look into installing charging points in your kampung if you’re planning on going back regularly. We strongly advise using an experienced electrician for this – “cincai” installations could be hazardous over the long term!
5. Get familiar with your BEV’s range estimations – most new BEV owners are favourably surprised by how far they can extend the range simply by controlling their right foot!
6. Plan to charge at off-highway charging hubs where possible. Peak travel periods mean that you’ll be competing for space with everyone else and the RnRs are already super congested. It’s going to be stressful enough with the traffic jams, don’t add to the stress by being frustrated when the charging points are blocked.
7. If you’re travelling during the day and your BEV has a glass/panorama sunroof, plan on covering it somehow. The extra heat from the roof will make the aircond work harder, and it will sap range (and make passengers uncomfortably hot!).
8. Enjoy the smooth silent torquey ride, and be safe!
Picture taken at the MyEVOC-donated 22 kW wall-box at Resorts World Kijal, Terengganu which is one of the first charging points on the east coast!
