.Life lessons from an EV pioneer

 

Qabil (a pseudonym to protect his identity) was a mid-level executive in a government environmental agency at about the time when the first EV car sharing scheme using the Renault Zoe EV was launched in 2015.

He leased the Zoe EV and used it both as his daily transport to office and after office hours as an Uber and as a Grab car until early 2021 when he needed to focus on his new job. He now drives a used Tesla.

For his dedication and perseverance in lowering carbon emissions, Qabil is my world champion torch bearer for EVs.

When I met him at a TNB conference, I asked for his insights as a former user of Tesla, Zoe, Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi iMiEV and what led him to buying the Tesla for his current drive.

“The car has cameras feeding into computers in the car and it learns the road that you frequently drive on. It will learn when to slow for a corner, for instance. Other EVs haven’t reached that state yet,” he said.

His choice to drive an EV was motivated by a sense of cleanliness as well as practicality. The efficiency of electric motors, with 80% energy conversion versus the 30% of combustion engines, more than compensates for the low price of petrol in Malaysia.

With EVs available at low prices in Malaysia, from around RM124,000 for an extended-range EV model like the BYD Dolphin, he said it made even more sense to drive an EV for e-hailing services.

“If I was still driving for Grab now, even more so that I”ll use an EV since the prices are competitive with combustion cars,” Qabil said.

The need for daily visits to the petrol station vanished: his home became his energy station, where his vehicle would conveniently recharge while he slept. The cost of the monthly oil changes was eliminated.

EVs have reached price parity with combustion-engine vehicles in Malaysia because of a tax holiday granted to zero emission cars in 2022.

Further traction for EVs came in March when EV maker Tesla received approval to import battery electric vehicles (BEVs) into Malaysia and establish a head office, a Supercharger network and service centres.

At TNB’s energy transition conference, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the second part of the national energy transition roadmap under which the government will invest billions of ringgit to build a smart energy grid for Malaysia.

An intelligent grid system would allow homeowners to sell their excess renewable energy without facing any quotas, seamlessly integrating renewable sources into the national grid.

As all conferences go, it was a chance to network with friends and captains of industry.

I met someone whom I much respected from my days of covering the telecommunications industry, former minister Tan Sri Leo Moggie, who is acknowledged for his capable and honest custodianship of the communications ministry including modernising telecommunications and helping to bring out mobile telephony in Malaysia in the 1980s.

Moggie was also the longest-serving TNB chairman when he retired in 2020.

So, when I saw him in the crowd that was flowing out from the conference hall after the PM’s speech, it was natural for me to ask for his insight.

He said TNB had been actively working on energy transition scenarios and developing a smart grid since 2016 and he said that TNB had a deep strength of a lot of professionals. Moggie wanted to say more but by then he had reached his change station, LRT Pasar Seni, and I wished him well as he left with a wave.

There was a break-out session about TNB’s Electron station of the future and how business people could become profitable charge point operators.

But what I was waiting for was some discussion about the partnership between TNB and the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics, and Internet of Things Institute (MARii) regarding the formation of an Electric Vehicle Interoperability Centre (EVIC).

This collaboration, initiated in February 2020, signalled TNB’s commitment to the government’s emission reduction goals and its sustainability journey towards achieving zero carbon emissions including of the second largest polluter, land transport, by 2050.

There wasn’t any discussion on EVIC however and probably TNB and MARii will introduce this interoperability concept where an intelligent grid will allow EVs to charge up the grid as well as be charged by the grid depending on time of day and peak loads and low loads.

Further exploration of this partnership would have been beneficial, especially for mobility and automotive enthusiasts attending the event.

The increasing availability of EV models in Malaysia presents a moment in time for CEOs and successful businessmen to lead by example and transition to some of the finest premium Continental EVs at some of the lowest prices in the world.

At the same time, the presence of entry level EVs from BYD present an opportunity for a niche group of e-hailing drivers to experience cleaner and more efficient motoring. BYD and Tesla are the top 2 EV makers in the world to date. - FMT

The writer can be contacted at yamin.vong@gmail.com

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