It is undeniable that the Malaysian government has introduced a number of EV-specific incentives to promote the use of electric vehicles (EVs), including complete import and excise duty exemptions that are valid through the end of 2025.

Despite this, EVs remain prohibitively expensive for the bulk of the population for one key reason, which is the price of buying one. EVs presently cost above RM100,000 in Malaysia. This is supposedly caused by regulations put in place by the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), not because EVs are costly by nature, but something entirely different.

According to a report by SoyaCincau, a new Completely Built Up (CBU) EV may only be imported into Malaysia in accordance with MITI’s Franchise AP policy which states that an EV can only be imported if its list price in our market exceeds RM100,000. This policy will be in effect until December 31, 2025, much like the exemptions from import and excise taxes that we previously indicated.
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