The recent months have seen reports of the increasing scope and frequency of planned investments in Thailand and Indonesia with regards to the adoption and even production of electric vehicles (EVs) in these two countries. And all this is perhaps enough to make it clear that a static Malaysia is falling well behind in this aspect.
But perhaps all this will change is short time with the upcoming formulation of a specific policy for EVs as part of its planned revision of the National Automotive Policy (NAP 2020).
In a recent interview on local media channels, Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) CEO Datuk Madani Sahari said that the government understood the importance of electrification and would be tweaking the policy, specifically for the EV segment, in a bid to attract EV investment into the country. Putrajaya, thus, has plans to launch the specific policy on EVs sometime this year.
Yet, the question remains – is the average consumer in Malaysia ready for the EV lifestyle that comes hand-in-hand with owning one then? First of all, most owners of EVs who live in landed properties would have the option to install a small wall-box charger to plug their cable into.
It offers better regulation of power, and comes with some level of safety in terms of voltage protection, compared to plugging it directly into a regular wall socket.
As for those living in high-rise buildings, even though they may have their own parking lots, the wiring involved to install a charging socket is considered part of the common area, which requires approval from the building’s Joint Management Body (JMB) and additional costs.
Thankfully, a number of high-rise property developers within the Klang Valley and in Johor Baharu have started taking notice of the growing trend of EV ownership in this country, and have begun incorporating charging stations into high-rise building designs. So, the following are a quick introduction to some of these properties designed with EV owners in mind!
