Electric vehicles (“EVs”) are vehicles that operate either partially or fully powered by electricity. EVs are more environmentally friendly as they are generally responsible for lower emissions over their lifetime. Thus, EVs can play a major role in climate change mitigation efforts.

Malaysia, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, has targeted to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions intensity (against GDP) by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2005 level. The Malaysian Government has been introducing policies to encourage adoption to EVs, however this has been a slow process. Nonetheless, EVs got a big boost in Budget 2022 (recently approved by the Senate (Dewan Negara) on 21 December 2021) which allows EVs to be exempted from import duty, excise duty, and taxes. This infographic sets out the opportunities and challenges for EV adoption in Malaysia.