Private companies welcome to invest in EV charging facilities, says Loke

KUALA LUMPUR: Private companies are welcome to invest in providing electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities nationwide, says Anthony Loke.

The Transport Minister said there were only a “few hundred” charging facilities currently nationwide.

This is despite the ambitious target of 10,000 charging facilities targeted nationwide next year according to the National Energy Transition Roadmap.

“Of course, this (more charging facilities) requires investments from the private sector to prepare said facilities at strategic locations such as highways and more.

“We hope more private entities will partake in this effort, as without a sufficient number of charging facilities, people will be discouraged from using EVs,” he told a press conference after launching EVlution’s nationwide EV charging stations rollout here on Tuesday (April 16).

The rollout is a collaboration between RHB Banking Group, EVlution and Mastercard.

It also marks the start of EVlution’s initiative to deploy some 2,000 EV charging stations nationwide by 2025.

It also aims to have 100 EV charging bays operational within the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor by the first half of this year.

To this, Loke commended their efforts, pointing out how the ministry fully supported the strategic partnership between EVlution, Mastercard and RHB Bank to enhance accessibility and convenience of EV charging.

Earlier during his speech, Loke said decarbonising the transport industry was an important aspect for Malaysia to meet the commitment of net-zero emissions by 2050.

He added that the ministry was also looking at updating the road tax mechanism for EVs, with this to be announced in early May.