If I'm not mistaken, the cheapest EV car is RM100k which is out of reach for low-income earners or some in the middle-income group. There are no EV cars in the range of RM40k-50k. Even though subsidies for petrol will be removed by the government soon, majority of people can't afford the cheapest EV, not to mention lack of infrastructure especially for people who often travel on long journey outstation trips.

Apart from hybrid, I believe smaller or low engine capacity turbo engine cars will be the focus as demand for 2.0 litre engine or higher be lesser. Apart from reducing subsidies for petrol, the government can also increase road tax for higher capacity engines if they wish to.

I don't know but I suspect people will put hybrid EV (HEV), 1.0, 1.2 or 1.5 litre NA turbos or small cc NAs ahead of full EVs in the event the transition to full EV is more rigorously implemented by the government, for example removing fuel subsidies, increasing road tax on high cc engines or even targeted subsidy for the middle and high-income group although I'm not sure how they can implement it. As some have mentioned here, to me the main disadvantages of full EV are the high price of entry for the masses especially low income group (minimum price RM100k for the cheapest EV car) and the lack of charging facility and cost of electricity charging. Full EV mostly appeal to people who stay in landed properties who have installed solar panel electricity to keep the overall electricity costs including cost of EV charging down. Frequent charging outside may not be economical, though I read some EV manufacturers provide free EV charging for the purchase of the EVs until a certain period, that I'm not sure. Also, as mentioned earlier on the disadvantage of full EV with frequent outstation long journey trips when charging facilities in small cities or towns are lacking, unlike petrol stations where you can find it everywhere.

For the next family car, I"m looking at the upcoming Nissan Kicks which is a HEV which may be useful when the cost of petrol jumps up after the subsidy is removed. Personally I don't think the government will remove a huge chunk of subsidy but do it in several small stages to not put a burden to the lower income group who will not be able to transition to full EV anytime too soon.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: May 21 2024, 12:22 PM

Petrol costs of less than RM200 for 2 cars combined per month, either you are working from home or your office is very near to your home. Although my workplace is quite near to my home, my petrol costs about RM200 a month for 1 vehicle which I consider to be rather low.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: May 21 2024, 12:28 PM

Good to know. May I ask which SUV EV have you bought? The Chinese SUVs are looking real good inside out at the moment. As I've commented before, the Chery Omoda E5 looks like a RM300k vehicle when compared to equivalent petrol versions such as Toyota Corolla Cross, Honda HRV etc.

I presume it depends on the capacity option that is chosen since higher capacity will be able to generate more solar electricity power? It depends on the availability of sun light and the angle it hits the solar panel too but that's another matter. I've read that most who have installed solar panels have reaped the benefits, some getting almost free electricity in every month.

Rafizi has cooked up some formula it seems to target the rich and perhaps middle-income also since the Prime Minister already mentioned earlier to distribute the wealth equally. Nevertheless I'm not sure how effective will the implementation be as there are loopholes. For instance, higher petrol price for the a certain group of people while the lower income group continues to benefit from the fuel subsidy. As I've said earlier, the government can always look at other ways to earn more revenue instead of removing fuel subsidies across the board, such as increasing road tax for higher capacity vehicles being one of them.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: May 23 2024, 07:42 AM