Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) today inaugurated the Electric Motorcycle Use Promotion Scheme.
The initiative, which was announced by the Prime Minister during his Budget 2024 speech on 13 October 2023, is in line with the Government’s desire to realise the sustainable development agenda. In general, the global automotive industry is currently in a transition phase to introduce and manufacture electric vehicles (EV) in line with current technological developments and the world’s need to urgently reduce carbon emissions.
The increase in the use of EVs in the country can encourage the local automotive industry to intensify EV development and production activities. This initiative, which offers assistance in the form of rebate incentives, is to help give people the confidence and opportunity to experience electric motorcycle technology as a medium of daily transportation.
This initiative, branded as “MARiiCas”, provides a rebate of up to RM2,400, which is open to Malaysians with an annual income of RM120,000 and below. With the slogan “Promoting Sustainability”, this initiative is in line with the Madani Government’s desire to achieve a zero carbon target as early as 2050.
It will indirectly improve environmental sustainability through the application of electric vehicle technology while improving the quality of life of the community. “MARiiCas” will be coordinated by the Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) with the Malaysian Institute of Automotive, Robotics and IoT (MARii) as the implementing agency.
This launch session also saw the activation of the MARiiCas application platform by MARii to enable applicants to check eligibility and apply for this incentive. Through this platform, applicants can also access information related to the electric motorcycle models offered as well as check application approval. This platform can be accessed through the incentive.marii.my website starting December 8, 2023.
Tengku Zafrul Aziz said “In line with the Government’s desire to achieve net zero carbon emissions as early as 2050, one of the missions under the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 which is “Push for Net Zero” has outlined EV as the main growth driver of the green economy. Therefore, the launch of MARiiCas today is timely and MITI believes that this initiative can boost people’s acceptance to switch from the use of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) to EV. From another perspective, it is hoped to help achieve the target of 20% annual sales of electrified vehicles (xEVs) in 2030 as set under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR)”. According to him, the Government’s commitment to further increase the level of people’s acceptance to switch to electric-based vehicles is comprehensive, which means that the benefits of EV mobility are not only limited to cars, but also include electric motorcycles which are also an important means of transport for the people.
“MARiiCas” is implemented in collaboration with local electric motorcycle manufacturers.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of MARii, Azrul Reza Aziz, until now, as many as 11 local electric motorcycle manufacturing companies involving as many as 12 models have been registered and passed the main qualification requirements that have been set to be listed as electric motorcycle supplier companies under this program.
According to him, these companies have met the main criteria in terms of local installation commitments, achieving a minimum travel distance of 100km for each full charge and obtaining a Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) Certificate from the Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ).
