Malaysia is witnessing a remarkable surge in battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales, with over 12,000 units since 2011. This growth is particularly notable in 2023, with BEV registrations surpassing 9,000 units.

According to a report by Bernama, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz highlighted this trend at the soft launch of the Malaysia Autoshow 2024 yesterday.

The Minister added that EVs are an important catalyst to Malaysia’s manufacturing exports, especially in the electrical and electronics sector, which contributes 40 per cent out of 80 per cent of Malaysia’s export from the manufacturing sector.

“Hence there is a lot of potential in the new generation vehicles wherein more components, for example, semiconductor composite, chips component in a typical car today, or even a hybrid car will be around 1,500 chips (needed in one car.

“When you look at EV cars, it can go up to at least 3,000 chips in one car and these chips come from the E&E sector,” he said.

The Malaysian government aims for 20% of new car sales to be electrified vehicles (including hybrids) by 2030, increasing to 50% by 2040 and 80% by 2050, under the National Automotive Policy or NAP2020. This policy focuses on developing energy-efficient, environmentally friendly next-generation vehicles, including EVs.

The automotive industry contributes about 4% to Malaysia's GDP, with a target of RM104.2 billion in GDP contribution and 1.47 million vehicle units produced by 2030.