Malaysia now has 6,416 public EV chargers, but is the 30,000 target by 2030 still within reach?

Malaysia's public EV charging network continues to expand, with 6,416 public chargers as of 31 May 2026, according to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).

Bernama reported that the latest figures comprise 2,143 DC fast chargers and 4,273 AC chargers nationwide, an increase from the 5,360 public chargers recorded at the end of November 2025.

While the numbers are moving in the right direction, the pace of deployment raises questions over whether Malaysia remains on track to achieve its target of 30,000 public EV chargers by 2030.

Compared to the 5,360 chargers recorded as of 30 November 2025, the public charging network expanded by 1,056 chargers over the following six months, representing a 19.7% increase. Breaking it down, Malaysia added:

• 352 DC chargers (from 1,791 to 2,143 units)
• 704 AC chargers (from 3,569 to 4,273 units)

This works out to an average deployment rate of approximately 176 public chargers per month, comprising around 59 DC chargers and 117 AC chargers.

However, deployment appears to have picked up in recent months. Since the end of March 2026, when Malaysia had 5,839 public chargers, another 577 chargers have been added in just two months, averaging nearly 289 chargers per month.

If Malaysia continues installing chargers at the six-month average rate of around 176 units per month, the country would add roughly 7,600 more chargers by the end of 2030.

That would bring the total public charging network to approximately 14,000 chargers, leaving Malaysia around 16,000 chargers short of the government's 30,000-unit target.

To achieve the 2030 goal, Malaysia would need to install approximately 23,600 additional chargers from June 2026 onwards, equivalent to around 550 chargers every month until the end of the decade.

In other words, the deployment rate would need to accelerate to more than three times the current six-month average.

Malaysia had originally targeted 10,000 public EV chargers by the end of 2025, but the country closed the year with 5,360 units. The focus has since shifted towards achieving 8,000 AC chargers by Q3 2026, while maintaining the longer-term target of 30,000 public chargers by 2030.

More recently, the government has acknowledged that expanding the charging network is becoming increasingly complex, particularly for DC fast chargers, which often require additional electrical infrastructure such as new substations.

This has prompted closer collaboration between government agencies, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and charge point operators (CPOs) to strengthen grid readiness and support future charger deployment.

As BEV adoption continues to rise, we will need to see whether Malaysia can sustain this recent acceleration in charger deployment. A significantly increased overall rollout rate will likely determine whether the country's 2030 charging infrastructure target remains achievable.