Thumbs up for Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030

KUALA LUMPUR: Analysts are upbeat on automotives following the draft document titled ‘Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint 2021-2030’ by the Ministry of Environment and Water, the country’s electrification agenda looks to have been outlined and subject to final Cabinet approval.

The blueprint essentially en tails four focus areas, 10 strategies and 45 action plans surrounding Vehicle fuel economy and emission improvement, electric vehicles (EV) and low emission vehicle adoption, Alternative fuel adoption and GHG emission & energy reduction via mode shifts.

Within the fuel economy and emission improvement space, key proposals broadly include a shift in vehicle taxation system (road tax/excise duty) based on vehicle carbon emission (currently based on engine capacity), compulsory vehicle performance evaluation, end-of-life vehicle scrapping incentive (for specific cases where replacement is for low emission vehicles) and introduction of a fuel levy (of RM0.01/litre) on all diesel and petrol purchases.

“Duty exemptions for EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are seen as a transition technology to full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and as such, the blueprint entailed proposals for tax incentives for both BEVs and PHEVs,” commented MIDF Amanah Investment Bank BHD (MIDF Research) on the blueprint.

“For the former, this involves 100 per cent import and excise duty exemption for completely built ups (CBUs) up till 2022 (for a maximum of 10,000 total volume), and thereafter, a 50 per cent exemption from 2023 to 2025.

“For PHEVs, a 100 per cent import and excise duty exemption for CBUs is proposed (2020 to 2022), 75 per cent exemption for period between 2023 to 2025 and 50 per cent exemption between 2026 to 2030.”

PHEV qualifications will be established based on electric range per charge and with no engine charging; set at more than 30km (2020 to 2021), rising to 55km (2022 to 2024), 75km (2025 to 2027) and 100km (2028 to 2030).

In terms of charging infrastructure, a national target of 7,000AC charging points and 500DC charging points is set, with government funding to be established for 2000 AC charging points and 200 DC charging points as an immediate phase (2020 to 2021), with the rest expected to come from the private sector involving a public tender for a national fast charging network (2022 to 2025).

These services are expected to be provided with tax incentives under the Green Income Tax Exemption (GITE) for ‘Services’ until 2030. It is also proposed that in areas not serviced by private operators, fast chargers are installed every 100km and at every rest stop along major highways (2022 to 2025).