TANJONG MALIM, July 31 — The electric vehicle industry’s development should not focus solely on vehicle sales but must be supported by a comprehensive ecosystem, said Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

He said this ecosystem includes developing local technology, building a skilled workforce, and establishing an adequate network of public charging stations.

“I came to Proton Tanjung Malim today to see Proton’s progress and officiate its first production line for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) that combines an internal combustion engine (ICE) and is also an EV.

“So the technology they’re building is in very high demand going forward because cars like this combine two technologies, ICE and EV, and they can give us a travel distance of 1,100 kilometres,” he said after officiating the line-off ceremony for the Proton e.MAS 7 PHEV Order Assembly at Proton EV’s Assembly Plant here today.

Johari said that while hybrid technology is not new, Proton has managed to make it more affordable for the public.

“It has become an affordable car option for the public to consider. Additionally, when we look at Proton’s approach to localisation, it is truly something to be proud of for our country.

“On certain models, Proton has achieved up to 82 per cent localisation; on others, about 72 per cent. But overall, I can see that all this localisation reflects the development of our small, medium enterprise (SME) industries and component manufacturers through Proton,” he added.

Johari said the government is also paying attention to the development of the EV charging infrastructure, which remains a major challenge in accelerating the country’s EV adoption rate.

“When we go out, we want to find public chargers, but there aren’t any. So we want to sell (EV) cars, but people are afraid there won’t be charging stations.

“Additionally, not everyone lives in terrace houses, bungalows, or semi-detached homes; some live in flats, and there are condominiums that don’t even have public chargers,” he said.

Johari highlighted that Malaysia currently has about 1,000 public chargers, versus a target of 30,000.

Therefore, he said that the development of charging facilities needs to be accelerated through collaboration among various parties, including Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), local authorities, and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT).

“These are issues we need to address. It’s not about banning EVs, as they and hybrids are the future,” he said.

Johari said during a meeting with the Chinese minister of commerce, he was informed that the success of EVs in China is due to the government spending billions of dollars on building public charging stations, whereas Malaysia spends billions on exemptions and there is no excise duty collection.

“For four years, we have allowed EVs into Malaysia without import or excise duties. This resulted in RM3.3 billion worth of duties not collected,” he said.

Meanwhile, Johari added that human capital development is an important component in strengthening the EV ecosystem, as nearly the entire 9,700-strong workforce at Proton consists of local workers qualified in technical and vocational education and training (TVET), engineering, and technical fields. — Bernama