Malaysia is looking to attract investment from Chinese companies to develop the electric vehicle (EV) sector with the aim to build up the EV infrastructure to encourage wider ownership of EVs, said Transport Minister, Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
According to Loke, the government is looking to overcome the hurdles of EV infrastructure development by encouraging companies with the expertise and technology to set up shop in Malaysia. Loke explained that EVs are a major trend that will shape the future of public transportation and personal mobility and the country must ready itself.
“Our industrial policies are encouraging more EV-related industries to be relocated to Malaysia, especially on producing batteries in Malaysia. There are incentives to welcome more companies into Malaysia and I was made to understand that there are a lot of Chinese companies who are actually interested to invest in Malaysia in terms of putting their plants here and so on,” Loke added.
The Transport Minister also noted that infrastructure needs to be developed sustainably, with integration and interconnectivity in mind. The infrastructure should also bring value to economic development not just to the region but the area where the transportation network is.
“We must look at the transportation sector not just as a means of transportation from point A to point B but more as an economic multiplier. Whatever transportation project that we embark on, we must look at the economic side of it,” Loke said.
