Malaysia is the newest candidate in a growing number of countries giving loads of freebies for EV buyers. In 2021, the government of Malaysia has announced to waive all taxes for EV till 2025. Also joining the waiving party would be the road tax (which is known to cost an arm and a leg otherwise). With that said, car manufacturers have been taking advantage of these tax holidays in order to entice buyers for their range of EV’s. There have been since number of new EV launches happened over the past 3 months in Malaysia. In no particular order, let’s start with Volvo…
Volvo XC40 P8 EV
| Volvo XC40 EV Specs | |
|---|---|
| Price | RM262k |
| Horsepower | 402hp AWD |
| Battery Capacity | 78kWh |
| WLTP Range | 418KM |
| Standout Features | Fully integrated Google Car |
Hyundai Kona EV
| Hyundai Kona EV Specs | |
|---|---|
| Price | RM199k |
| Horsepower | 204hp 2WD |
| Battery Capacity | 64kWh |
| WLTP Range | 484KM |
| Standout Features | Most affordable EV, and the longest range |
Mercedes EQA EV
| Mercedes EQA EV Specs | |
|---|---|
| Price | RM278k |
| Horsepower | 188hp 2WD |
| Battery Capacity | 66.5kWh |
| WLTP Range | 429KM |
| Standout Features | Stylist Interior, best in this list |
Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV Specs | |
|---|---|
| Price | RM259k |
| Horsepower | 325hp AWD |
| Battery Capacity | 72.6kWh |
| WLTP Range | 430KM |
| Standout Features | Biggest Cabin Space |
Thoughts
You do noticed that no EV’s above 300k was included in this list, the reason was the affordability factor.
This list is what most Malaysian would be able to afford. At least for slightly above average income earner.
My personal favourite would be the Volvo XC40 EV. It has the best overall package and it’s not shy of features as well. But if cabin size is an issue, say if you have a big family of 5 that you need to ferry on a regular basis, I would suggest the Hyundai Ioniq 5 over Volvo XC40 EV.
On the price factor alone, I do find the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in Malaysia to be fairly overpriced. It has the least warranty given at ONLY 2 years! Sime Darby (the official distributor) would expect buyer to pay and additional 10 grand just for an ’extended’ warranty of up to 5 years that Mercedes and Volvo would happily give without any extra charge. The global version of Hyundai Ioniq 5 was a good car, but was sadly dumb down in both the minor specs (a lack of connectivity option Hyundai Blue Link, no HUD and no long range version) and the value was not that great in this segment. Not to mention it’s fighting with the luxury segment. I would suggest most to skip unless space is the number 1 factor for you.
If you do not need any bells and whistles, the Hyundai Kona EV is the best bang for buck. And the longest real world range too.
Anyway, it is all depends on your needs. What do you want from an EV? If you are aiming for an EV solely for saving the mother nature due to lower carbon emission, I’d suggest you to forget about EV for now. You can do that without having to buy an EV.
Lastly, do look through the ‘standout features’ that I have marked down the standout features on each of this EVs so to make your decision making easier.