Malaysia to use cheaper all-EV fleet instead of Mercedes-Benz official cars for ASEAN leaders: Anwar

Electric vehicles will serve as the official vehicles for visiting Asean leaders attending state events when Malaysia chairs Asean next year, prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said. As such, the Malaysian government will strive to secure “as many EVs as possible”, reported The Star.

“[It is] interesting that the Cabinet decided recently, everywhere we go, head of governments will get huge [Mercedes-Benz cars]. What happens now, we think if we are serious about sustainability and energy transition, let us showcase it in Malaysia. All cars to be provided for heads of government, ministers, officials will be only EVs,” the prime minister said.

The decision to use electric vehicles despite their potentially smaller size was due to their cost-effectiveness compared to other vehicles. “We will inform all Asean leaders that we want to provide larger cars, but this is the biggest EV available,” Anwar added, according to Bernama.

Malaysia to use cheaper all-EV fleet instead of Mercedes-Benz official cars for ASEAN leaders: Anwar

In terms of battery-electric vehicles for government official use, the Malaysian prime minister said during the tabling of Budget 2024 in October 2023 that the Malaysian federal government will replace its official cars with electric vehicles, and the minister of natural resources and environmental sustainability Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad reiterated the point in February, saying that the transition to EVs will begin this year.

There is yet to be an official indication of the government’s EV of choice, though the attendance of the prime minister, along with four other ministers at the Malaysian launch of the Maxus MIFA 9 electric MPV suggested a particular interest in the model.

Priced from RM270k at launch, the Maxus MIFA 9 undercuts the Toyota Vellfire – a perennial favourite of ministers – by a significant margin, with the latest iteration of the Japanese luxury MPV priced at RM438k.

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