KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Malaysia is taking steps to strengthen its position through various policy measures, leveraging the existing electric vehicles (EV) ecosystem and ensuring a solid talent pipeline to help the development of the EV industry in Malaysia, said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti).

Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said Malaysia is seriously looking into policies that will support energy sectors to ensure that the EV ecosystem is complete and fully supported, including standards, certification and verification related to charging systems and battery disposal activities.

"Opportunities abound in the areas of renewable energy (RE), energy efficiency, energy storage systems, and support services for EVs, such as EV charging stations, operation and maintenance,” he said in his keynote address at Malaysia’s EV Conference 2023.

He added that Malaysia has an established EV ecosystem, backed by solid research and development and standards facilities with agencies such as the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia, as well as an established components’ sub-sector that could service the whole EV value chain, comprising semiconductors, sensors, automotive electronics, transceivers, batteries and auto assembly.

To capitalise on the EV market, Tengku Zafrul said the government will also strengthen Malaysia’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

"In fact, our Yang di-Pertuan Agong in his royal address at the Parliament yesterday also expressed support for the continued empowerment of TVET, lauding the government’s move to encourage public-private joint ventures on TVET to ensure a better match of graduates’ skills to the current needs of the local industry,” he said.

He added that the government has made a firm commitment to strategically develop the automotive industry, particularly the EV industry, as part of the zero greenhouse gas (GHG) target by 2050.

This includes offering full import, excise and sales tax exemptions for locally assembled EVs until Dec 31, 2025, and full import and excise duty exemptions for imported EVs until Dec 31, 2023.

There are also special tax incentives for developing critical components such as the battery management system, battery pack and capacity, on-board charging, charging infrastructure, and modular-based battery swapping technology, he said.

Additionally, road tax exemptions of up to 100 per cent will be provided for EVs, as well as individual income tax relief of up to RM2,500 on the cost of purchase, installation, rent, hire purchase, and subscription fees for EV charging facilities.

"More EV-related incentives are expected to be announced in the revised Budget 2023, which will be presented on Feb 24 in the Dewan Rakyat,” he said.

On the EV industry’s growth, Tengku Zafrul said Mida approved 26 projects worth RM14.7 billion in the EV and related ecosystems, including assembly, parts and components manufacturing and charging components.

He said the shift to RE sources and electric transportation is a significant step towards Malaysia’s commitment to net-zero GHG by 2050, as outlined in the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP).

Tengku Zafrul added that under the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030, Malaysia aims to have EVs and hybrid to account for at least 15 per cent of the total industry volume (TIV) by 2030.

"By 2025, the government aims to provide 10,000 public charging facilities, comprising 9,000 units of alternating current (AC) type and 1,000 units of direct current (DC) type,” he said. — Bernama