The Road Transportation Department (JPJ) has updated its latest Malaysia vehicle registration database which includes electric vehicles (EV). In July 2024, a total of 1,884 EVs were registered which accounts for 2.45% of the total industry volume for the last month. That’s a slight 1.46% drop from the previous month where a total of 1,912 EVs were registered.
Top 25 EVs registered in Malaysia for July 2024
The BYD Seal remains the #1 EV in Malaysia with 298 units registered in July, followed by the Tesla Model 3 with 273 units. This is followed by the BYD Atto 3 and BYD Dolphin with 249 and 155 units registered respectively. Taking fifth place is the GWM Ora which JPJ currently combines for both the Good Cat and the 07 with a total of 111 units registered.
BMW has bounced back last month with the newly launched iX2 taking the #6 spot with 100 units, followed by the MG4 at #7 with 75 units and the Mini Countryman at #8 with 69 units. The Neta V surprisingly has jumped to the top 10 spot with a total of 59 units registered, followed by Smart (#1 and #3) with 58 units.
The biggest shocker is the Tesla Model Y which despite its ongoing promotions, only registered 47 units in July, the lowest since official deliveries in Malaysia started in March 2024.
BYD dominates Top 5 EVs in Malaysia with Seal, Atto 3 and Dolphin
Looking at the first 7 months of the year, the BYD Seal and Atto 3 dominate the top two positions with 2,062 and 1,990 units registered respectively. This is followed by the Tesla Model Y with 1,794 units and the Model 3 with 1,599 units. The affordable Dolphin takes #5 place with 1,018 units, followed by the Chery Omoda E5 with 429 units, GWM Ora (#1 and #3) with 388 units and the Smart (#1 and #3) with 340 units.
Newcomer MG4 which only started deliveries in April has already recorded 291 registrations so far which is quite an impressive feat for a new EV player.
Chinese brands dominate over 50% of EVs registered in Malaysia
If we look at the data by brand, BYD leads the pack with a total of 5,070 registered, followed by Tesla with 3,399 units and BMW with 1,067 units. The list continues with Chery at #4 with 429 units, GWM at #5 with 388 units and Smart at #6 with 340 units.
This is then followed by MG at #7 with 291 units, Mercedes-Benz at #8 with 279 units, Volvo at #9 with 240 units and Lotus at #10 with 186 units.
On a month-to-month basis, BYD and Tesla have seen a decline since May, however, brands such as BMW and GWM are seeing significant growth last month, presumably with newer models such as the BMW iX2 and the GWM Ora 07.
So far a total of 12,547 EVs have been registered in Malaysia between January to July 2024, which represents 2.92% of the total industry volume. As a comparison, there were 13,301 EVs registered for the full year of 2023. If the market maintains its momentum, it is forecasted that EV registrations this year should exceed 21,500 units, which marks a 61.64% increase year on year.
As announced previously, Malaysia has set a target for EVs to achieve 15% of total industry volume by 2030. At the moment, options for affordable EVs are quite limited as the government has set a minimum of RM100,000 for imported EVs. Proton is set to launch its eMAS7, Malaysia’s first “national” EV, by the end of this year, while Perodua is currently expected to release its first EV by the end of 2025.
A cheaper locally assembled EV could be released soon in the form of a Dongfeng Nammi 01 which could be priced well below RM100,000.
