Charging an electric car in Malaysia? Here’s what you need to know.

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August 01, 2022 9 min read

Charging infrastructure in Malaysia

Range anxiety remains as one of the top concerns for consumers when considering the purchase of an EV in Malaysia. As such, matters concerning the EV charging infrastructure in Malaysia become even more crucial when you’re on the brink of deciding between purchasing regular fueled cars or a fully electric car.

Of course, you’re probably wondering how many charging stations are available throughout Malaysia. Are these charging stations located strategically so that you wouldn’t be stranded in the middle of a road trip because of a drained battery? Are there enough charging stations forevery EV owner, or will it become another issue like parking where it becomes a struggle to find an available one during your time of need?

Well, these are valid questions. And they’re certainly concerning enough to make anyone hesitate from getting an electric car.

Here’s what you should know about Malaysia’s EV charging infrastructure:

How many EV charging stations are there in Malaysia?

Firstly, before we get into the topic, it’s important for you to know that there are two types of charging available for EVs: AC and DC. (You’ll read more about this later on in this article).

Here’s a quick summary of the difference:

DC provides fast charging (2-3 hours per car); whilst
AC charging takes nearly half a day (7-12 hours) to fully charge an EV.

But first, how many of these charging stations are available in the country anyway?

As of April 2022, there are about 500 public AC chargers and 9 public DC chargers in Malaysia today. ChargeEV has the largest AC charger network in the country, with over 300 units of AC chargers in-operation across states of Johor, Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Putrajaya, Sarawak and Selangor.

Basically, the amount of EV charging stations in Malaysia is still considerably low, despite being one of the first ones to start the initiative in 2016.

But it still stands that the lack of robust EV infrastructure in Malaysia (along with the country’s strong dependency on fossil fuels) becomes a huge challenge. Especially when it comes to converting fueled-car users into EV owners.

And of course, it becomes a huge challenge when you’realready an existing EV user in the country.

In fact, according to a survey conducted by BFM radio station via a Twitter poll, 40% of respondentswould not consider an EV because of this very reason.

So, now it’s time to get into the next most frequently asked questions…

How much does it cost to fully charge an EV in malaysia?

Of course, any purchasing decisions will eventually boil down to the lifelong cost of maintaining it. You’re probably wondering how much you can actually save when driving an EV. After all, what good is going “green” if you can’t even afford to sustain that lifestyle? Does saving the environment have to correlate with a huge dip into your financial savings too?

As much as it’d be great to showcase the exactcosts so that you can make better informed decisions…

The fact is:it depends.

Basically there are two types of EV charging stations: AC charging and DC charging.When it comes to electric mobility, two separate electrical currents can be used to fuel an electric vehicle (EV)—AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current).

Both AC and DC are important in the electric mobility world. You get AC power from the grid that is then converted to DC so it can be stored in an EV’s battery. When using an AC charging station, the conversion to DC happens inside the EV via an onboard charger, which is often limited. When using DC fast and ultra-fast charging stations, the conversion happens outside of the EV, using a larger converter.

To fully recharge an electric car in Malaysia, here’s how much TNB charges (as of January 2018):

Renault Zoe (22kWh) = RM14.57

Mini Cooper SE (29.8kWh) = RM19.74

Hyundai Kona (39.2kWh) = RM25.96

BMW i3s (42.2kWh) = RM27.96

Porsche Taycan (71kWh) = RM47.03

Tesla Model 3 (50kWh) = RM33.12

Generally, it can cost anywhere from RM50 to RM150 to fully charge an EV. Some stations will charge RM1.20 per minute of charging. However, it also highly depends on the car model and the type of charging you’re using, with DC charging being the more expensive option of the two.

Where to find fast-chargers for electric cars in Malaysia?

Here’s a list of available DC fast chargers around Malaysia (SOURCE.)

DC fast chargers available in the Klang Valley

ABB Malaysia / ABB Terra

Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Damansara, Selangor

Charging infrastructure in Malaysia

How many EV charging stations are there in Malaysia?

How much does it cost to fully charge an EV in malaysia?

Where to find fast-chargers for electric cars in Malaysia?

DC fast chargers available in the Klang Valley

DC fast charging locations outside the Klang Valley

BMW and Porsche DC fast charging networks

Highway DC fast charging locations

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