Over the past two years, there’s been a surge of electric vehicles entered for the Malaysia Car of the Year contest. For the 2024 edition, there are 16 EVs nominated to date.

Judges get to test the cars and to prepare for this, I’ve installed a wall-charger if I need to charge the EV test cars. If you have a house, nothing beats the convenience and economics of home charging.

Some days, work requires that I spend a few hours on the road. Once, the schedule was so busy that I agreed to join a Zoom meeting at a time when I knew that I would be driving between assignments.

In such cases, I would join the meeting by parking my car in a safe place and then, with the engine idling, I could Zoom in air-conditioned comfort. But it would be an uncomfortable meeting.

I knew it was very irresponsible for me to pump exhaust gases and thermal heat to the environment where there were vulnerable people while I was comfortably inside. Then, there was the heat, noise, and vibration of the combustion engine itself.

Third, I knew that the heat stress would lead to premature ageing of the engine, if not permanent damage.

Recently, I accepted a 3:30 pm Zoom appointment knowing that I would be driving a smart#1 EV on that day. I parked the EV at a safe place outside a fuel station, invoked the transmission to P, and engaged with the meeting in cool and silent comfort.

The EV provided me with a feel-good ambience that helped the meeting proceed productively.

Reprehensible though it is, idling a combustion car to enjoy air-conditioned comfort while waiting was not unusual before in tropical hot Malaysia. But with the current heat spell, idling combustion cars with the aircon on are being increasingly observed.

EVs have the power to change this. Several EVs besides Tesla offer features similar to Camp Mode, pioneered by Tesla, which allows users to keep the car’s climate control system running for extended periods while parked. This feature is especially useful for camping, resting, or using the vehicle as a temporary office without draining the battery excessively.

Camp mode started a new trend in EV motoring.

With Mercedes-Benz launching its EV G-Wagen at this week’s Beijing China Car Show, we will soon see affluent campers enjoying Camp mode in the humid tropical jungle.

That camping mode style for the tropics might also extend to BYD’s humongous Yangwang U8.

For cold weather, some examples of electric vehicles with climate control include:

Ford Mustang Mach-E’s “Intelligent Range” feature, which allows users to precondition the cabin temperature while the vehicle is plugged in, preserving battery life.

Audi’s e-tron SUV offers a feature called “Climatronic,” which allows users to pre-condition the interior temperature of the vehicle before driving, helping to conserve battery power by using external power sources.

Nissan Leaf offers a “Climate Control Timer” feature that allows users to schedule cabin preconditioning to optimise comfort and range, like Camp Mode in Tesla vehicles.

EVs can indeed transform into mobile offices, enhancing the work-life balance for those who need to work remotely or on the go.

Conversely, many countries and states have regulations in place to limit the idling of vehicles, whether for environmental reasons, public health concerns, or energy conservation. While the specific time restrictions vary according to jurisdiction, the general aim is to reduce unnecessary idling and its associated impact.

Malaysia has no law on this. But in its role as a custodian for urban well-being, the housing and local government ministry should consider this because of the obvious danger when the driver of the car has the engine idling in an underground car park.

Highway operator PLUS has installed “No Idling” signs at most of its rest stops.

Various parts of the US and Canada have laws restricting vehicle idling to reduce air pollution and conserve energy, while in the UK, local authorities can issue fines to drivers who leave their engines running while parked. Singapore also has regulations against excessive vehicle idling.

These regulations generally aim to educate drivers about the impact of idling on air quality, climate change, and public health. They also serve as an important tool in promoting sustainable transportation practices and reducing heat and carbon dioxide pollution.

The shift towards electric vehicles presents a promising solution to the challenges posed by traditional combustion engine cars in hot climates.

Malaysia can accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility by encouraging the sale of budget urban EVs in the RM60,000 to RM100,000 bracket.

One step in this direction can be seen in Perodua’s accelerated schedule to introduce EVs by 2025. Hurray to a RM70,000 small EV next year?

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

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