Tesla electric cars have been on sale in Malaysia, unofficially for almost 7 years and their popularity got a boost in the last 15 months from the recon car market.
To get a better understanding, this move started way back in 2016 when Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (GreenTech Malaysia) offered the Tesla Model S to selected Malaysians to lease and not buy outright.
Under the Tesla Special Programme key decision makers and executives were invited to lease a Model S to appreciate and experience the immense technological and environmental benefits of driving one of the world’s leading electric vehicle (EV) models.
This move was expected to cultivate ardent EV enthusiasts to influence key decisions that could help pave the way for a more conducive policy environment to propel EV growth in Malaysia.
Well, this had little effect on Malaysians due to the very high price and also the lack of charging stations around the country, even in Klang Valley that was only a handful.
Meanwhile, in 2021 private car importers, Approved Permit holders (PEKEMA) convinced MITI to allow them to import in brand new Tesla cars, including used Tesla’s as there as no official Tesla brand guardian in Malaysia.
The Malaysian Ministry Of International Trade And Industry has already incentivize the sale of electric vehicles in the country by temporarily exempting these cars from road tax, and from excise and import duties.
As long as the imported EV meets the international standard that has been set, namely UNR100 for electric cars and UNR136/MS2413/MS2688 for electric bikes, they will be eligible for the above mentioned tax exemption.
Interestingly, in 2021, Tesla set up business in Singapore (where AP Holders are not needed) located at 17 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh. Their first model launch was the Tesla Model 3 which was priced at SG192,348 excluding COE. The basic model was listed at SG112,845 excluding COE.
Now, for Malaysia, Tesla will need a ‘Malaysian partner’ which will have to be a AP Holder. It is known that Tesla does not work with distributors and instead all their outlets are ‘company owned store and service’. This is probably why they have not set up shop in Malaysia to date.
So, now that we have a SSM document stating Tesla’s arrival in Malaysia, it will be interesting to find out who the AP holder is as they will be making an insane amount of money once this very popular brand starts selling officially in Malaysia with a factory warranty.
