PETALING JAYA: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) is encouraging the introduction of more affordable electric vehicles (EVs) in Malaysia in order to advance the country's EV industry.

Its deputy secretary general of industry, Datuk Seri Norazman Ayub, said there will be EV cars coming to Malaysia in the second quarter of this year priced from as low as RM120,000.

"We have now encouraged the importation of more EVs particularly from China because we want to have more EVs which are affordable for the rakyat," he said during his keynote speech at the 70th platinum anniversary dinner of the Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia.

Hence, in terms of charging infrastructure, Norazman said the government aims to provide at least 10,000 units of public charging facilities by 2025.

"We will be working with highway concessionaires such as PLUS Expressways Bhd for the charging stations.

"We want to invite any particular investor to invest in charging stations to be part of the development of the EV ecosystem," he added.

Previously, Miti minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Malaysia is committed to attracting investments in the EV industry and achieving the national target of making electrified vehicles, including hybrid, account for 15 per cent of the total industry volume by 2030.

Tengku Zafrul said the government is prioritising the development of the EV ecosystem and the Local Government Development Ministry's Town and Country Planning Department is also drafting a circular to facilitate the approval process of charging stations at the local government level.

-- BERNAMA