Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said thecountry is taking steps to strengthen its position through various policymeasures, leveraging the existing electric vehicles (EV) ecosystem and ensuringa solid talent pipeline to help the development of the EVꦜ industry.

Speaking at Malaysia’s EV Conference 2023, MinisterTengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said Malaysia is seriously lookinginto policies that will support energy sectors to ensure that the EV ecosystemis complete and fully supported, including standards, certification andverification related to charging systems and battery disposal activities. The minister said Malaysia has an established EV ecosystem,backed by solid research and development and standards facilities with agenciessuch as the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia, as well asan established components’ sub-sector that could service the whole EV valuechain, comprising semiconductors, sensors, automotive electronics,transceivers, batteries and auto assembly. To capitalise on the EV market, Tengku Zafrulsaid the government will also strengthen Malaysia’s Technical and VocationalEducation and Training (TVET). He added that the government has made a firm commitment tostrategically develop the automotive industry, particularly the EV industry, aspart of the zero greenhouse gas (GHG) target by 2050. This includes offering full import, excise and sales taxexemptions for locally assembled EVs until Dec 31, 2025, and full import andexcise duty exemptions for imported EVs until Dec 31, 2023. There are also special tax incentives for developing criticalcomponents such as the battery management system, battery pack and capacity,on-board charging, charging infrastructure, and modular-based battery swappingtechnology, he said. Additionally, road tax exemptions of up to 100% will beprovided for EVs, as well as individual income tax relief of up to 2,500 RM(around 367 USD) on the cost of purchase, installation, rent, hire purchase,and subscription fees for EV charging facilities. More EV-related incentives are expected to be announced in therevised Budget 2023, which will be presented on Feb. 24, hesaid. Tengku Zafrul added that under the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint2021-2030, Malaysia aims to have EVs and hybrid to account for at least 15% of the total industry volume (TIV) by 2030. “By 2025, the government aims to provide 10,000 public chargingfacilities, comprising 9,000 units of alternating current (AC) type and 1,000units of direct current (DC) type,” he said./.