NEW electric car prices are now moving lower for many brands
The Electric Vehicle market in Malaysia is growing, however it is relatively small when you compare to the number of petrol and hybrid vehicles being sold.
The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has just shared the production and sales number breakdown for 2023 and the total sales of new motor vehicles rose 11 percent year-on-year in 2023, making it the second consecutive year Malaysia saw more than 700,000 new vehicles being registered. From this impressive figure, there were 10,159 electric vehicles (EV) registered (not including private imports).
Right now the EV market share in Malaysia accounts for about 1.5 percent of total vehicle sales. However, the Malaysian government’s target is to have 125,000 EVs on the road by 2030 (which is about 15 to 18 percent) and we have a few thousand brand new electric cars yet to be delivered to customers who made bookings in the past 5 to 6 months.
Yes, there are still a number of smart#1 customers, about 1,500 or so BYD customers and another 2,000 or so of Volvo, BMW, Tesla, Audi and Mercedes combined electric car customers yet to get their shiny new electric cars.
Government incentives for NEW EV ownership
You will benefit from various government incentives. These include:
- import and excise taxes exemptions
- sales tax waiver
- road tax exemptions
- MYR500 personal tax exemption for electric car
- charging hardware and services
Meanwhile, the full excise tax and sales tax exemptions for completely-knocked down (CKD) EVs as well as the extended duty exemptions for completely built-up (CBU) to December 2025 will further strengthen EV sales.
So should you get electric car or not?
You now know the good and the bad of going electric. Now, it’s up to you to decide if the benefits of the transition outweigh the costs for your business. Before you decide to commit, it’s worth asking yourself some important questions:
- Do you greatly desire to reduce your carbon footprint?
- Do you have the liquidity to shoulder the upfront costs of buying EVs?
- Do you have long distances to travel across the country?
- Do you have access to charge points in the areas where you must travel for business?
- Can you spare the time to charge your electric car?
If you answered yes to most, if not all, of these questions, you just might be ready for the great leap to electric.
