EVs Are Great For Women Drivers In Malaysia. Yes Or No?

EV are currently surging into Malaysia’s automobile landscape since the first quarter of 2021. It is an effort taken to reduce greenhouse gases (GHS) that are generated by air pollution.

Adoption of EV in the automotive industry have been established in the global market such as China, United States and also Europe. Within the south-east Asia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam are already established automobile markets and manufacturing hubs.

The Malaysia government has also implemented a number of incentives, including free road tax, import duty exemptions, and rebates, in an effort to boost the market for electric vehicles.

The question is, are EVs great for women drivers in Malaysia?

Obviously there are Pros and Cons in accepting EV no matter the gender. However, based on the statistic in Malaysia, EV buyer are most likely for be male than female. The factor includes, the traditional view of cars as a male domain, men are more likely to be interested in new technologies and more.

Therefore, what are the causes for women to have less interest in investing to an EV:

1. Higher cost 

Despite the government effort in giving various of incentives towards the growth of EV in Malaysia, the cost to have one is still costly especially towards the income group of M40 and below.

Most of the EV cars in the market cost around 100k+ to own them. Considering women mostly make less compared to men (not all) , it makes EV less accessible for them.

2. Charging EV cars felt unsafe for women

Imagine you are single lady driver, in desperate need to charge your car and you are in a rural area. The only charging station nearby gives off an eerie and solemn vibe with not much people or cars there. In addition, you need to wait for at least 30 minutes to wait for the car to recharge. Especially in the middle of the night, it must have been scary for you right?

The security matter need to be taken by the charger station provider in order to give more sense of safety especially to the women EV drivers. For instance installing CCTV in the area, providing security guards, set station in bright and busy area and more.

3.  Not much charging port in rural part of Malaysia

As of now, there are a total of 2,020 EV charger all across Malaysia. Most of the chargers are located in the main cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru and Penang area. In an effort to encourage EV users, Malaysia’s target of having 10,000 EV chargers by 2025 will be comprised of 9,000 AC chargers and 1,000 DC fast chargers.

However as we are entering the second quarter of 2024, they only managed to provide only 20.2% from the target set by 2025. The slow growth of charging station all across the country causing women especially to have doubt in the efficiency of charging EV especially when traveling to the rural area side of Malaysia.

4.  No frequent maintenance, but more costly!

EV are typically requires less maintenance compared to conventional vehicle because they have fewer moving parts and fluids to change. EVs don’t require oil changes, spark plugs, or timing belts, which can save money and time.

Some female car owners don’t know what is wrong with their car once it broken down. They tend to not aware of the regular maintenance that are needed to avoid major damage to the car. Therefore, having a car that need less attention will be a plus point for women drivers.  

However, it will cost more to repair EV cars. The reason for this is that it take longer to identify and address since the technology is still considerably new.

Other than that, EV parts are more expensive compared to how much it normally cost in a commercial petrol cars. For example, a share from a Kia EV6 user mentioned that it costs around RM 10,000 to change all four of its tyres!

So, do you think EV are great for women drivers in Malaysia? I personally would say NO. For now at least. Maybe with the further advancement of the technology where it provides more cheaper options. I would say probably yes! 

This is an effort that we can take for a greener earth and less dependency to the fossil fuel.

Proton recently have already released on their first EV cars Smart #1 which is a a brand owned by Geely and Mercedes-Benz.

Perodua is also in their utmost effort to start their mass EV producing starting from the end of 2025.

In the early of this year, the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has given his assurance that the government is committed to transitioning its fleet to electric vehicles starting from a smaller scale.

With Malaysia effort to enforce higher adoption of EV in the country, I would say that EV cars will eventually have their future in Malaysia’s automobile industry and starting to cater to the needs of women drivers in Malaysia. So what do you think?

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