While driving around Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur over the weekends on errands or getting groceries, some of us definitely have noticed more electric vehicles like Tesla and BYD on the roads.However, while more EVs are hitting the street, electric motorbikes are almost absent on the road.
To address this puzzling question, at a press conference on Sept 5, we called upon the government to set a target for the transition to fully electric motorbikes. We emphasised that electric motorbikes should comprise 40% of total industry volume by 2030 and 100% by 2040. With that, the carbon emission reduction transportation policies have been pro-luxury EV models while neglecting entry-level, consumer-affordable EV models, not to mention electric bikes, which have seemingly become the forgotten children of the government’s energy transition vision, causing Malaysia to lag significantly behind neighbouring countries in transitioning to electric motorcycles.
Also, the protracted Vehicle Type Approval processes lasting six to eight months, and unclear guidelines for deploying charging infrastructure are another significant barrier to adopting electric motorbikes in Malaysia. The entrepreneurial and cooperatives development ministry and Tekun should assist food and parcel delivery riders transition to electric motorcycles.