Sales of fully-electric vehicles in Malaysia look to surpass that of 2023 well before the year is out, with the current sales volume for new passenger vehicles already close to the 12,000 mark seven months in, based on registration data from the road transport department (JPJ). Last year, EV-only sales in the country totalled 13,257 units.
Based on the performance so far, sales numbers should meet that projected by the Zero Emissions Vehicle Association (ZEVA) earlier this year, where it estimated EV sales to reach 19,000 to 20,000 units this year.
In all, JPJ data show that a total of 12,547 full EVs have been registered up to July, although this figure also includes commercial vans/trucks and reconditioned vehicles, not just of new passenger vehicles.
In the larger scheme of things, sales of electrified vehicles – both battery EVs and hybrids – should provide for a decent slice of the total industry volume this year. Earlier this year, minister of international trade and industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz indicated that sales of all electrified vehicle types, including hybrids, had reached nearly 11,000 units in the first three months of 2024.
By June, that number had swelled to 22,501 units, as indicated by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) last month. The association also reported that 6,617 full EVs were sold in the first half of 2024 (January to June), but this figure did not include sales data from Tesla, which is not a member of the MAA (Mercedes has also long stopped reporting numbers to the association).
Adding the 1H Tesla numbers (3,079 units, from JPJ registrations) brought the !H sales numbers to 9,696 units, which when added to July’s best selling EVs (as seen below) more or less tallies with that indicated for the top 20 performers from January-July.
Within the spectrum, the JPJ data lists all registrations, and thus provides a fair bit of insight as to which vehicle models have been the most popular. We decided to take a closer look, listing down sales by model for the previous month (July) as well as over the course of year so far (seven months).
Some things to note. We’ve kept the ranking to the top 20 EVs to make it easier to digest, and these largely accounts for the real movers within the segment. Also, a couple of entries show doubling of models within a nameplate. There’s a reason for this.
The data input by JPJ isn’t always cleanly deciphered – for example, you’ll notice that the numbers for the GWM Ora lumps both the Ora Good Cat and Ora 07 in. That’s because the input lists a registration for either simply as an Ora, with body colour and vehicle type (electric) as well as date of registration (where applicable, as some have these blanked out) the only identifiers.
Likewise, the smart #1 and #3, for which the liberty has been taken to pair them in the table, since they cannot be identified specifically due to how the data for them has been keyed in.
With that out of the way, let’s start with July. The month saw 1,787 EVs being registered, and topping the sales chart was the BYD Seal, with its 298 units for the month edging out the Tesla Model 3 facelift (273 units). The two other BYD models on sale here, the Atto 3 and Dolphin, continue to perform well, placing third and fourth with 249 units and 155 units respectively.
The aforementioned Ora models placed GWM fifth, but it’s almost a given that the BMW iX2 was the stronger performer individually in July, viewed in a direct head-to-head. Meanwhile, MG served up 75 units of its MG4 to buyers last month, and while take up for the Tesla Model Y slowed in July, it isn’t all too surprising, given the talk about the Juniper facelift.
In terms of overall volume in the first seven months, the top 20 performers have sold a total of 11,741 units between them. The Seal, which made its Malaysian debut in February, tops the standings with 2,062 units, with the Atto 3 a shade behind at 1,990 units.
As for the two Teslas, the Model Y (1,794 units) remained ahead into July, placing it third, but it’s likely to be inched out by the Model 3 (1,599 units) if its sales continue to remain soft.
The fifth best-selling EV of the year is the BYD Dolphin (1,018 units), and it looks well perched to keep that slot until the end of the year, being well ahead of the Chery Omoda E5 (429 units), which had a very soft July when sales dropped by 72% from June.
Elsewhere, BMW looks to be doing fairly well as a brand in the EV sweepstakes, as shown by the numbers for the i5 (235 units), iX2 (215 units), i4 (165 units), i7 (162 units) and iX (154 units), while Lotus and Porsche look set to trade electric blows earnestly until the end of the year.
Who will finish top of the heap at the end of 2024? There’s still five months to go before the whistle blows, but barring a major shake-up, BYD looks set to finish first where brand is concerned, its three models collectively (5,070 units) outpacing everyone else so far.
As for individual models, things look a bit tighter, but the Seal is in a good place. More importantly, the numbers managed so far this year show that the path continues to progress for electrification, even if the wait for real, substantial growth in both volume and scope remains.
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