With the ministry of finance (MOF) already confirming the expiration of vehicle import and excise duty exemptions for CBU fully-imported electric vehicles this year, prices are expected to increase significantly, with industry players estimating anywhere between a 30 and 100% jump.
The loss of tax-free EVs could be compensated by other incentives, however, according to Bernama. Minister of investment, trade and industry (MITI) Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz told the national news agency that discussions are being held between his ministry and MOF, although “no proposals have been made yet.”
Malaysia is in danger of falling behind its stated EV adoption goals as price hikes loom. The government has previously said it is aiming for these zero-emission vehicles to make up 20% of all new vehicle sales by 2030, rising up to 50% by 2040 and 80% by 2050.
Tax incentives will remain for CKD locally-assembled EVs until the end of 2027, with most mainstream brands already committing to local production, including national carmakers Proton and Perodua. Some foreign makes like Volvo and Mercedes-Benz already make at least some of their EVs here, but a few others such as BYD and Xpeng expect to only start production in the second half of 2026, so expect some price increases at least for several months.
The post EVs may get alternative incentives to boost demand as CBU tax breaks set to end on Dec 31 – Tengku Zafrul appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
