Malaysia's EV Game Plan Outlined 'Low Carbon Mobility Footprint Blueprint'

‘Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint’ - Oooh, it sounds all progressive and legit. The Ministry of Environment and Water, together with Malaysian Green Technology And Climate Change Centre (MGTC), have brought forward a final draft of their plan to usher in a period of widespread adoption of electric vehicles in the public and private sectors as well as a series of alternative campaigns to lower Malaysia’s carbon emissions output.

Finally! But it's just a proposal for now. Who knows when a proper EV policy will be introduced or how much of the content put forth by this blueprint will be included when that - hopefully - does arrive.

In general, this is an area where Malaysia has been lagging behind. While intermittent government initiatives have been introduced and support for similar moves have been declared, there just has not even been a consistent tone regarding the end goal of shrinking the country’s carbon footprint.

According to the document, the blueprint’s range spans a full decade from 2021 to the end of 2030 and will cover four key areas, such as:

Improving Vehicle Energy Efficiency:

Obviously, this one is one of the most high-impact areas where reduction in CO2 and other emissions can be reduced greatly, especially since most Malaysians don’t foresee the switch to EVs happening anytime soon due to the high cost and lacking infrastructure.

Notably, the Ministry plans to introduce new GHG (greenhouse gases) standards for new vehicles as well as a national average target, requiring all new cars to undergo exhaust emissions testing prior to receiving vehicle type approval (VTA).

Secondly, they also plan to institute more prominent and more defined energy efficiency and emissions labelling so buyers are properly informed. There will also be an Eco-Driving Program module taught in driving schools.

Electric Mobility:

Here’s where it gets interesting: EVs. The proposed blueprint would deliver full tax exemptions on a number of fronts: government fleets, taxi and ride-hailing, and crucially, excise duty and import tax exception for up to 10,000 individual battery electric vehicles until a local option is available.

There’s also an allocation for the expansion of public charging infrastructure, support for manufacturers of local EVs, and even exemptions/subsidies for electric motorcycles including a national standard for battery swapping.

Alternative Fuel:

While not as hip or in vogue as electric cars, alternative fuels are an important part of the equation to reducing the overall carbon footprint and volume of greenhouse gasses emitted. Plenty of cars can be modified to run on environmentally sustainable biofuel, some of which can be derived from numerous organic sources, even palm oil which Malaysia has in abundance.

The blueprint would support the exploration and research of extracting biogas from palm oil mills, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants. More broadly, there will be a biofuel policy and a B100 programme to offer these at fuel stations alongside other biodiesel blends. And the same would apply to bio-CNG or organically-derived compressed natural gas.

Hydrogen would also be put on the map, so to speak, with additional support and exposure to be brought on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and their manufacturers. Infrastructure plans would also be considered in due course.

Timeline

The Ministry has not disclosed the full year-per-year breakdown of the blueprint but has outlined the next five years, with a midterm review planned for 2025.

Until then, 2021 should still be pretty quiet while the groundwork is being set. This mostly surrounds the amendment to various regulations under the 1974 Environmental Quality Act (EQA).

That said, they do plan to implement the 3-year import tax and excise duty exemptions for CBU electric vehicles (up to 100,000 units) as well as begin the campaign for electric ride-hailing and delivery vehicles. This year should also see the contracts for the installation and maintenance for 2,300 EV charging points drafted and tendered.

As we’re already approaching the month of May and will soon cross over into the second half of the year, there’s no shortage of work to be completed if their self-imposed timeline is to be adhered to.



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