We try and find out as there are only a handful of Tesla EV’s in Malaysia right now.
Some Malaysians have been asking this question as they want to join the Tesla owners ‘club’. With only a handful of Tesla’s running in Malaysia it is not very easy evaluate the residual value of a Tesla in Malaysia right now and this means we need to take a little ‘advice’ from Tesla buyers in North America to get a rough guide.
In North America, a Tesla Model 3 will depreciate about 44 percent after 5 years and have a 5 year resale value of USD26,000 (which is about RM109,000). Today, a brand new Tesla Model 3 is priced at RM289,000 in Malaysia and we estimate a used price after 5 years (sometime in 2027) to be about RM160,000 which is actually better than the resale value of used 5 year old BMW 330e plug-in hybrid which is about RM120,000 at best (RM269,000 when new).
The current chip shortage affecting the auto industry around the globe has trickled down to the used car market.
Right now it can be difficult to get stocks of some new cars and even motorcycles due to limited production that many have turned to the used car market, and inventories are now low there too.
Meanwhile, electric cars have been doing relatively well in the North American used car market because of expanding charging points and Tesla’s branding.
In North America and progressive first world countries like Germany and Norway, Incentives for new electric car purchases have resulted in automatically lowering their resell values.
Meanwhile, Yahoo Finance mentions that Tesla has been able to sell every Model 3 it produces in recent years, ending each quarter with more orders to fulfill. And due to the vehicle being new and popular, resale prices have been remained quite high.
Meanwhile, Malaysians will probably shy away from the much older Tesla Model S (prices ranging between RM420k and RM480k for a 6 to 7-year-old car) as this is an electric car that has battery technology from a different era and the lifespan (like with older smartphones and lithium run devices) will get shorter very fast and build quality issues have been mentioned in recent years from the center stack screen to cabin touch and feel points.
Still, it is a Tesla and if the asking price is low enough, the cost of new batteries and interior upgrades might be worth the effort.
The Tesla Model S was introduced in Malaysia by Greentech Malaysia back in November 2016. It was called the Tesla Special Programme and GreenTech Malaysia served as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding and confidence in EV technology to create the foundation for a thriving domestic EV market with a long-term target of encouraging Tesla to establish an office in Malaysia.
For reference in case you did not know this, the Tesla Special Programme was open to Government Linked Companies, Government Companies as well as GreenTech Malaysia’s Corporate Members, with a view of expanding the programme to Multinational Corporations and Public Listed Companies.
The Tesla Special Programme provided two options namely, Lease Only and Lease-to-Own. Interested parties had to contact GreenTech Malaysia and for further details on the leasing mechanism and its benefits of the Tesla Special Programme were on a website, www.greentechmalaysia.my/tesla100.
All applicants for the Tesla Special Programme had to demonstrate a commitment to the green agenda and adhere to the terms and conditions of the programme which was more of a marketing hype then anything else.
So, the information shared might not be very accurate, but it is a guide for the Tesla buyer right now and we will review this in the coming months.
