SHAH ALAM, Feb 29 — Selangor public health and environment committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin today said the state currently has 681 units of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
The figure was short of the target for 1,000 units to be built by the end of last year, and Jamaliah said the Selangor government was aiming to achieve this only next year.
“According to Selangor state government records, EV charging stations that have been built involving the government and the private sector are 681 units so far. The Selangor state government is encouraging the use of EVs with a target of providing 1,000 charging bays by 2025,” she said in a reply to Taman Medan assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin’s question regarding the use of EV in Selangor during the state assembly sitting.
In July last year, then state tourism, environment, green technology and Orang Asli affairs committee caretaker chairman Hee Loy Sian reportedly said Selangor aimed to build 1,000 E charging stations by the end of 2023, to promote the use of electric vehicles among the public.
In an effort to encourage the use of EV in Selangor, Jamaliah, who is also the Bandar Utama assemblyman, said the state government is in the final stages of discussion about incentives.
“The state government through local councils such as MBPJ has been providing free parking schemes to hybrid and electric motorists since 2011.
“In addition, the state government, in the final stages of the discussion, on the proposed incentive as an effort to increase the use of EVs by spreading the implementation of the free parking scheme for EV users throughout the state by local councils to be implemented this year,” she said.
Speaking to the press later to explain the matter, Jamaliah said the target was reviewed to meet the current needs of EVs.
“Initially, the Selangor State Government planned to install alternating current (AC) chargers, but it has reconsidered its strategy in response to the increasing battery capacities. Understanding that the EV environment is still rapidly developing, the state government of Selangor has reviewed its target by incorporating direct current (DC) chargers that charges a car’s EV battery in a much shorter time.
“For instance, during the state’s initial plan to develop the infrastructure, electric vehicles typically had a travel range of 200km to 250km, while hybrid vehicles could travel up to 70km.
“The rapid advancement in the automotive industry has seen car manufacturers integrating larger and more efficient batteries, resulting in electric vehicles with an extraordinary travel range exceeding 600 km,” she told Malay Mail.
Malaysia’s adoption on the usage of EV has been highlighted by the federal government after announcing the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030 in 2020.
The blueprint outlines a target to have 10,000 EV charging stations by 2025 whereby 9,000 units are AC (alternating current) chargers and 1,000 units are DC (direct current) chargers.
As of December 31 last year, 2,020 charging stations have been installed in 750 locations across the country, of which 1,591 units are AC type, and the remaining 429 units are DC type.
In 2023, the annual sales volume of new Battery EVs in the country increased by over 400 per cent to 13,257 units compared to 3,127 units in 2022.
