Jumpstarting the demand for electric vehicles

 

It’s a chicken and egg situation for electric vehicles, or EVs as they are mostly called. Do we wait for EV charging stations first or wait until there are more EV models to choose from?

Usually, in this waiting game, the government takes the lead by making a policy to promote one or the other or even both.

In the case of Malaysia and the political uncertainty caused by the frequent change of government – three in three years – there’s been more space for the private sector to act. And act they have.

BMW seized on a lowering of excise duty for CBU electric cars to competitively price its first all-electric car, the iX, to test the market.

Malaysian motorists used to high car prices are suckers for tax advantages and they swept up the entire lot of the EVs that BMW Malaysia imported, even though delivery will only be in the new year.

The bigger picture however is the initiative taken by the Malay Car Importers and Traders Association (Pekema) together with the two Malaysian energy giants to install an EV charging network that will dwarf the existing four private EV charging networks.

It’s understood that 300 direct current fast charge stations will be located on all highway rest and service areas where electrical sub-stations exist; for urban areas, 1,000 fast chargers will be located at Pekema members’ showrooms.

According to a Pekema executive committee member in charge of the negotiations with the two domestic energy companies, construction of these charging stations will start from the first half of next year and proceed until 2024.

“Subsequently, another 1,000 regular-charge stations will be installed at fuel service stations in high-density urban areas,” he said, declining to be identified as he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the two energy companies while negotiations were ongoing.

Elaborating on the EV initiative between Pekema and the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) last month, the Pekema official said that the challenge was to convince the two energy companies of the commercial viability.

Under the MARii and Pekema strategic partnership to accelerate electric vehicle infrastructure development, both parties will co-develop connective applications that include e-payment, charger locators, battery management systems and service centre networks for the charging ecosystem.

The development activities will be coordinated through an Electric Vehicle Center of Excellence that will be established through this partnership.

In addition to maintenance of the EV charging network, the COE will also operate as a focal point for after-sales service support as well as implementing training, repairs, warranties, consultation, communication, marketing and coordination of strategic collaborations in electric vehicle-related areas.

“The energy companies thought there wasn’t a business case for EV charging stations because they thought there weren’t enough cars to justify the investment,” said the Pekema exco member.

“When they understood that Pekema would be on board for the joint-investments via its Kumpulan Wang Dana Automotif Bumiputera, they were more persuaded. We stated that our objective was to drive EV sales, service and repair.

“We also told them that some of our members were already negotiating franchises with EV makers from China for more modestly priced EVs. The deal was clinched when they understood that we were not going to be in the energy business per se,” said the Pekema exco member.

He represents a new generation of Pekema members who are digital natives and advocates of EVs and electrification.

The head of e-mobility of one of the energy companies confirmed that there was agreement in principle with Pekema’s proposal to develop an EV charging network on highways where it had substations but “there are details to be sorted out”.

The enthusiasm for electric mobility is driven by the 10-year objectives on climate change pushed by the European Commission. The biggest European corporations are rising to the challenge and committing to decarbonisation goals.

Germany-based DHL, one of the world’s biggest courier companies, is starting to replace its city delivery vans with EVs. In Malaysia, it will start with 21 Nissan eNV200s from the UK and 10 Peugeot e-Experts from the Stellantis group.

The call now is for property developers and town planners to allocate EV charging spaces in high-density areas, commercial units and residential apartments. Malaysia is a heaven for EV charging bays when one observes that every condominium has covered car parks.

It would also be a sweetener if Tenaga Nasional were to extend discounts on off-peak periods for EV charging at homes and offices. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.