Malaysia is punching below its weight in the electric vehicle (EV) market in Asean but until there is a new energy policy that addresses issues including unsustainable fuel subsidies, aren’t there business opportunities even now?
Yes, there are but it’s still early days for Malaysia’s EV market, especially in the global context where governments subsidise the price of EVs to make them competitive against internal combustion engine cars.
Drawing EV investments and growing the EV market is a big challenge, says Phang Ah Thong, chairman of the Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IoT Institute.
He was speaking at the launch of the DongFeng DFSK EC35, in what is probably the first electric commercial van introduced to the Malaysian market by its franchisee, QC Fleet Management Sdn Bhd.
For the most part, the big four automotive companies in Malaysia – Perodua, Proton, Honda and Toyota — will commit their investments to EVs when they are comfortable with the government’s policy stability before even speaking about commercial viability.
It’s the smaller participants in the automotive industry that are willing to go out of their comfort zone and seek growth in this new sector. In the case of QC Fleet Management, its CEO Lim Khoon Yee acknowledged that it was the principal, DFSK, that prodded him to venture into EVs via electric commercial vans.
It was their analysis that the EV market for Malaysia was a niche sector for businesses that needed to comply with environment, sustainability and governance (ESG) commitments.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Malaysia’s dominant electricity provider, was invited to the electric van launch to present business opportunities for the new EV segment in the automotive market.
These included opportunities in the provision of fast-charging infrastructure at commercial properties and stratified properties, said Junaizee Mohd Noor, project director of PMO-EV.
If Junaizee’s presentation actually represents TNB’s positivity towards automotive electrification, then Malaysian SMEs which seek opportunities in climate change must view TNB in a new light as an enabling partner.
On its part towards ESG and decarbonising commitments, Junaizee said TNB will start to replace its 4,217 vehicle fleet to EVs as and when internal-combustion vehicles – motorcycles, pick-ups, vans, passenger cars — are retired.
Let’s see how many EVs TNB will buy this year and whether it’s a Nato policy of No Action Talk Only.
EV car sales to companies will be one of the low-hanging fruits for vendors of electric commercial vehicles. Let’s hope that Hyundai’s popularly priced EVs in Malaysia, the Kona and the Ioniq, are well supported.
Environmentally conscious corporate citizens should also make a resolution to start their own decarbonising journeys starting with company cars and commercial vans where possible.
For instance, start with vans on urban delivery routes which are planned so that the electric van has adequate range and there is enough time for overnight charging.
Companies can also dangle an electric car subsidy or a RM180,000 DC charger as a recruitment incentive for those potential recruits who are environmentally concerned.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
