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While this seems counter-productive in light of the government’s efforts to ramp up electrification in the country, the move has logical intent, very much aimed at protection of trade in the short term. However, MITI minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that this timeframe is very much defined.
“Right now, electric cars priced below RM100k, and electric motorcycles under RM12k cannot be sold in Malaysia. We can’t do this forever, so it’s only up to 2025. Then, we have to open up,” he said on the sidelines of the Tesla Supercharger station launch at Pavilion KL last Wednesday, a day before the brand made its debut in the country.
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He said that the condition was put in place to allow local players to get themselves ready for electrification. While it was not specifically mentioned in the document, the move essentially prevents imports from affecting the locally-assembled vehicle market in the under-RM100k price segment.
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“We are giving them (local carmakers) time to prepare for EVs. There have been questions as to why we are not liberalising quicker, but we have to look at the big picture to protect our local automotive industry for a while so that there is a just transition, because it does relate to a lot of employment, from jobs to suppliers,” he told paultan.org.
“I hope by 2025 our local companies have already transitioned, because Tesla’s and Chinese carmakers’ technologies have already shown that they are ready,” he said. He added that mass electrification would help the country possibly meet its net-zero target earlier.
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