PETALING JAYA (Oct 21): The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) will help Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) produce Malaysia's first electric vehicle (EV) priced under RM100,000. 

Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Miti is optimistic that Perodua will reach its target of producing the EV by the end of 2025.

“The reason why we want to assist and facilitate Perodua is because we want to make EVs affordable.

“Perodua has been in discussion with Miti, and we are optimistic about its plan of achieving the target by the end of 2025,” he said after the JAC Motors brand launch here on Monday.

Zafrul also said that as of September, almost 16,000 new passenger battery EVs (BEVs) were registered in Malaysia this year, surpassing roughly 13,000 BEVs registered throughout 2023. 

“This positive momentum brings us closer to our target of 20% of total industry volume comprising EVs by 2030,” he said.

On charging infrastructure, Zafrul noted that within just three months, 565 new chargers were added, bringing the total number of public charging stations to nearly 3,200 as at end-September. 

“We aim to have 10,000 public chargers, reducing the ratio of chargers to EVs to one-to-nine by the end of 2025,” he said.

According to Zafrul, Malaysia’s automotive industry is a central pillar of the nation’s economy, contributing approximately 4% to the country’s gross domestic product annually. 

“With the rapid evolution of the EV market, Malaysia is well poised to capture a significant share of the Asean EV market, projected to reach US$2.7 billion (RM11.6 billion) by 2027,” he added.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee