Malaysia’s EV sales ‘stagnate’ as high prices, inadequate charging points hinder adoption

Malaysia’s car market saw a bumper 2023 with total sales surging nearly 11 per cent annually. EVs, however, accounted for just 10,159 units, barely more than 1 per cent of the nearly 800,000 new vehicles that hit the road last year, according to data from the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

“Sales have hit stagnation,” said David Tiah, a senior engineer with Smart Malaysia, which was among dozens of car makers making a case for their EV offerings at the five-day Malaysia Autoshow 2024 which opens on Wednesday.

“The main thing for consumers would be affordable EVs. A lot of people say they would buy an EV if it’s within 70,000 ringgit to 80,000 ringgit (US$14,941 to US$17,066). Anything over 100,000 ringgit is just too pricey for them.”

The costs of converting to an EV are a sticking point across the region.

Major EV players in China, the world’s largest EV market, have seen a sharp slump in sales over the first quarter of this year, when deliveries went down by 31 per cent annually to 1.76 million units for pure electric and plug-in hybrids, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The slide triggered a price war in China, led by BYD – the country’s biggest EV maker – after it reported a 43 per cent decline in first quarter sales this year. BYD slashed prices of nearly all of its cars by between 5 and 20 per cent since mid-February.

BYD’s aggressive move led to broad price cuts among its competitors, averaging at around 10 per cent for 50 models across a range of brands, Goldman Sachs said in an April report.

Thailand, Southeast Asia’s automotive hub, reported a 684 per cent spike in EV take-up in 2023, with sales totalling 78,314 units compared to 9,729 units the previous year, according to government