An electric car model called Smart is being displayed at the E-Mobility Asia 2023 in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: VNA)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The ASEAN electric vehicle (EV) market is projected to reach 2.7 billion USD by 2027, more than five times higher than 500 million USD in 2021, Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has said.

In his opening remarks at E-Mobility Asia 2023 in Kuala Lumpur on November 22, Zaful said that Malaysia has many competitive advantages to attract additional high-value investments thanks to the development of a comprehensive ecosystem for the EV industry and new generation vehicles.

Malaysia targets having EV and hybrid vehicles account for 20% of new car sales by 2030, 50% by 2040 and 80% by 2050.

Malaysia has developed a robust electrical and electronics (E&E) sector over the past 50 years, particularly in semiconductor, which has solidified its position in the global supply chain.

Referring to national-branded EVs, he expected the first car to be launched in 2025 and believed that Malaysia will be able to achieve the goal of providing 10,000 EV charging stations nationwide at the same time.

He also expressed a hope to collaborate with member countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines or Indonesia to complement each other’s strength and capitalise on supply chains that have been shifted directly to ASEAN.