Sime Darby is ready to bring in more electric vehicles (EVs) provided the market conditions support such a move, The Edge reported recently. During a panel discussion at the Malaysian Institute of Accounts’s International Accountants Conference, company CFO Mustamir Mohamad said the rate of EV adoption depends on factors such as government regulations, incentives and the readiness of necessary infrastructure.
“We are fortunate because our businesses span 18 countries, which gives us the opportunity to see how the EV trend develops in accelerated markets such as (mainland) China, Hong Kong and Singapore and to bring forth some of these learnings to our other markets such as ASEAN,” said Mustamir.
Sime Darby Motors, which is the company’s automotive subsidiary, currently offers a handful of EVs through the various brands it represents. From MINI, there’s the Cooper SE, while the Porsche Taycan has been on sale here since September last year. Other brands in the company’s portfolio like BMW, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Hyundai and Volvo already have their own EV models, but they aren’t available here yet.
Mustamir said the company is therefore in a good position to introduce more EVs when the market is more conducive and receptive, including getting more people to be more mindful of the environment and to make the switch to EVs.
A greener mindset should be backed by policies to accelerate EV take-up, although it remains to be seen what the government has planned. In a previous report, Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) CEO Datuk Madani Sahari said a “handsome level” of tax incentives is being readied to benefit both customers and industry players, adding that users would also enjoy direct incentives such as lower road tax, a green parking scheme, toll rebates as well as infrastructure rebates.
During the panel discussion, Mustamir also revealed that Sime Darby is preparing to launch the BMW iX in China. The all-electric crossover, along with the i4, have already appeared on the BMW Malaysia website, although there are no details on a launch for now.
Mustamir stated that there have been a lot of progress with regard to EV rollouts regionally, and Malaysia doing its fair share as well. “Over the next five years for example, there will be a lot of development when it comes to EV and the government needs to help us out in terms of incentives and infrastructure,” he said.
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