Govt studying proposals to increase its EV fleet

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya is looking at proposals to increase the number of hybrid and electric vehicles (EV) in the government fleet, says Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong.

“The proposal to include hybrid and EVs as official vehicles in departments and (certain) positions is currently being fine-tuned by the Finance Ministry.

“Meanwhile, land public transport vehicles are also encouraged to make the switch to electrification,” he said in Parliament yesterday.

Liew also said the ministry has suggested more incentives to promote EV sales to be included in Budget 2023, such as personal income tax breaks, the subscription and installation of EV charging systems, among others.

The are currently 21,659 EV and hybrid vehicles on the road, as well as 902 EV charging points, the minister said.

Policies that support vehicle electrification will be announced during the re-tabling of Budget 2023 on Friday.

At the same time, Liew said there has been a rise in demand for EV vehicles, with 3,400 units moved last year compared to 300 in the previous years.

“Efforts to attract investors to build charging points were also effective, where the number of charging systems increased by 51% in 2022 compared to previous years, bringing the number of charging points to more than 900,” he said.

Liew was responding to Jimmy Puah (PH-Tebrau), who asked about the ministry’s policies to encourage EV usage and increasing charging points.