KUALA LUMPUR: There needs to be adequate electricity supply for consumers and industries before the nation can transition to greater use of electric vehicles, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

       "The nation's electricity needs have to be looked at seriously.

       "In this respect, the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) is looking at ways to ensure that demand for electricity is met, not only for consumers but also for industries and households.

       "The transition to energy efficient vehicles (EEV) and electric vehicles (EV) has to be done carefully so that the nation's electricity supply is sufficient," the International Trade and Industry Minister said when replying to a question raised by Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz (PN-Bachok) in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Nov 10).

       He also noted that the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Centre under the Environment and Water Ministry was working with the private sector to develop the supporting infrastructure including charging stations for EEV and EV.

       He said that these were among the efforts made to develop Malaysia as an automotive hub for EEV and EV in line with the National Automotive Policy which was unveiled last year.

       Among them, he said, included the development of Next Generation Vehicles (NxGVs), Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0).

       On foreign investment towards realising this aim, Azmin noted that a South Korean company has agreed to invest RM4.24bil to set up a plant in Sabah to manufacture copper coils and batteries for EEV and EV.

       He also said that a recent investment mission to Europe saw discussions held with several large car manufacturers on collaboration to develop EEV and EV.

       "One of them has decided to set up a plant in Gurun, Kedah, which will provide us the opportunity to develop high-tech, high-precision and green technology," he added.

       Earlier, Azmin said that several incentives were provided under Budget 2022 to further promote the use of EEV among Malaysians.

       This, he said, included import duty exemption for completely built-up units (CBU), road tax exemption and RM2,500 tax relief for purchase of such vehicles and related equipment.