Malaysia yet to meet 10,000 EV charger target, has 5,839 units as of March

Malaysia has yet to reach its target of 10,000 public EV charging points, originally set for end-2025 by then environment and water minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in 2021.

Speaking to The Edge, Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) chief operating officer Nizmar Mohd Nazar said there are 5,839 public chargers in the country as of 31 March 2026, compared with 5,624 as of 31 December 2025.

Of the total, 3,868 are AC chargers and 1,971 are DC fast chargers, Nizmar said, adding that this translates to a charger-to-vehicle ratio of around 1:16.

Nizmar said charger deployment is influenced by factors including grid readiness, site economics, regulatory processes, and demand maturity.

He said the target should be viewed in the broader context of accelerating battery electric vehicle (BEV) adoption rather than as a standalone performance indicator for infrastructure rollout.

For MARii and charging point operators (CPOs), focus has shifted from the number of chargers deployed to the mix of infrastructure, with DC fast chargers increasingly prioritised due to shorter charging times, he added.

EV Connection Sdn Bhd managing director Lee Yuen How, operator of the JomCharge network, said the shift towards DC chargers reflects changing demand as newer electric vehicle models require higher charging capacity.

He said Malaysia has met its target for DC chargers.

“Even though we didn’t meet the [overall] target, we met the targets for DC chargers. The government targeted 1,500,” Lee said.

Kelvin Soon, managing director of ChargEV and DrivEV, subsidiaries of Yinson GreenTech, said emphasis should be placed on deploying the right chargers in the right locations.

He said high-capacity DC fast chargers are more suitable for highways and travel hubs, while AC chargers are better suited for offices, hotels and residential areas where vehicles are parked for longer periods.