Pahang aiming to be East Coast's EV assembly, manufacturing hub

KUANTAN: Pahang aspires to become the assembly and manufacturing hub for electric vehicles (EV) in the East Coast, says state investment, industry, science, technology and innovation committee chairman Datuk Mohamad Nizar Najib.

He said the latest statistics from the Statistics Department showed a dramatic increase in EV sales and in the first half of 2024, as many as 10,663 electric cars were sold, double the 4,409 EVs sold over the same period in 2023.

"The surge in EV usage marks a clear shift in the automotive market. In fact, states on the West Coast such as Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka have become the choice of electric vehicle manufacturers to build assembly and manufacturing plants due to logistics factors.

"We also want to see Pahang become a hub for the assembly and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the East Coast. If logistics is a major criterion, then we will strengthen the promotion of the logistics network and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) which connects Port Klang and Kuantan Port," he said.

He said this when winding up debate on the 2025 Pahang Budget at the State Legislative Assembly at here on Thursday.

Additionally, Mohamad Nizar said that this year saw a collaboration between Perbadanan Setiausaha Kerajaan Pahang to develop 50 EV charging stations throughout Pahang with an estimated investment of RM250mil.

He said the Bentong district was chosen as the pilot district with the construction of the first charging station out of 12 stations to be built in the district.