No parking fees needed to fuel up your petrol or diesel vehicle at any station
While most Malaysian car buyers are considering an electric vehicle as their next new car tomorrow or maybe in a few years from now when battery prices come down by 50 percent and battery driving range moves past 1,000 kilometers or so, there is ONE BIG issue that we feel should be addressed and communicated to new electric car buyers.
Most new charging stations are located in shopping mall and office building car parks which means you need to PAY FOR PARKING when charging up your electric vehicle battery.
Yes, there are many open air EV charging car parks that have FREE entry and a café or shop nearby for the EV owner to SPEND money having an expensive cup of coffee or tea.
We have yet to come across a EV charging station that offers coffee shop priced drinks (RM2.50 to RM3.50) and stall priced food.
Maybe it is because EV owners are above middle class and so they will not want to drink of eat in a coffee shop. Wrong! We have met dozens of EV owners in and around Petaling Jaya in coffee shops and at town council stalls having a meal and have spoken to some of them when we share a table or happen to get a conversation going.
They all love the savings in maintenance costs (so far as their cars are new) and the speed/velocity from even the simplest electric car on sale (like the BYD Dolphin).
However, they all have issues with charging points, charging rates at some locations, long waiting time to charge and they need to plan their journeys in the weekends.
So, what will happen with Perodua and Proton release their electric cars which are targeted for the lower and middle class Malaysian?
Will there be enough charging points that will offer FREE car parking?
Will there be enough charging points along all highways when traffic volumes increase on the weekends and long holidays?
Will the cost of charging ‘per minute’ go up when demand rises by 200-500%?
Will Gentari and TNB Electron actually deliver their stated number of EV charging points by 2025?
