Malaysia has set a new price floor for imported electric vehicles, requiring a minimum Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value of RM200,000 and a motor power output of at least 180kW. The move follows the end of tax incentives for Completely Built-Up (CBU) EVs that ran from 2022 until 31 December 2025.
Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) Deputy Minister Sim Tze Tzin told the Dewan Rakyat today that the revised policy was not meant to raise prices but to mark a strategic shift in the national CBU approach.
“These measures are not intended to increase the price floor of EV CBU vehicles. Instead, they represent a rationalisation effort and a strategic transition in the national CBU policy, taking into account several factors,” he said.
Sim was responding to Julau MP Datuk Larry Soon @ Larry Sng Wei Shien, who asked whether the government had conducted an impact assessment on recent policy decisions that resulted in higher prices for imported EVs, particularly in terms of consumer affordability, EV adoption targets, investor confidence and Malaysia’s competitiveness as a regional EV hub.
He outlined a three-phase national EV strategy. The first phase, from 2022 through end-2025, focused on adoption through incentives to encourage Malaysians to buy EVs and support ecosystem development. The second phase pushes local assembly to strengthen industrial capabilities. The third phase aims to increase localisation so domestic vendors benefit from the sector’s expansion.
“Malaysia should not merely become a consumer market but should also develop its own industrial capabilities,” Sim said.
The government has set adoption targets for EVs and other electric vehicle categories (XEV) of 20 per cent by 2030, 50 per cent by 2040 and 80 per cent by 2050. Sim added that investors need clear and consistent policies before committing to long-term investments.
Source: Malay Mail
