Miti proposes one-time subsidy for EV ownership

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) has presented a proposal for a one-time subsidy for electric vehicle (EV) ownership to boost the growth of the industry in the country.

Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong said the proposal was presented to the Ministry of Finance during the National EV Steering Committee meeting.

"It has been observed that this subsidy can encourage people to switch from using internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs and further help the country reduce petrol subsidies for the long term.

"This suggestion is being fine-tuned by the finance ministry,” he said during the question-and answer-session in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

Liew was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain bin Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar) who asked whether there would be incentives to attract the M40 group who can afford to own EVs.

The Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030 announced by the government in 2020 outlines a target to have 10,000 EV charging stations by 2025 whereby 9,000 units are AC (alternating current) chargers and 1,000 units are DC (direct current) chargers.

In 2023, the annual sales volume of new battery EVs in the country increased by over 400 per cent to 13,257 units compared to 3,127 units in 2022.

As at Dec 31 2023, 2,020 charging stations have been installed in 750 locations across the country, of which 1,591 units are AC type, and the remaining 429 units are DC type.

Liew said the proposal to review the target of 10,000 EV charging stations was also raised in the meeting.

Miti is also discussing with related agencies on the need to increase the DC charging station target.

"The outcome of the study will be debated in the Steering Committee meeting, which will be held in the second quarter of this year,” he said.

In response to an additional question from Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (PH-Tebrau) who asked if the government plans to consolidate EV charging system service fees in one application, Liew said the government has the intention to merge all applications for EV charging payments.

"But it requires the cooperation from charging point operators and the government is planning to hold discussions with them to create 'interoperability' with all companies," he added.