Originally scheduled to be announced sometime in April, the government has finally revealed the new road tax structure for electric vehicles (EVs), withw transport minister Anthony Loke unveiling the new rates earlier today.
There’s good news for EV owners, because as promised, the new EV road tax isn’t just lower than the current structure that was first determined in 2019, it is cheaper than that for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, very much aligned with its policy on providing incentives to encourage the use of EVs.
While all EV’s registered in Malaysia presently do not pay road tax, given their exemption from this until end-2025, they will begin paying for it when the exemption period ends, with the new structure coming into effect on January 1, 2026.
The new EV road tax structure is still kilowatt (kW)-based and grouped in motor output power bands, with the ministry saying that is the most relevant manner to go about determining things during a special presentation on the matter for selected members of the press late last week.
However, the intent has been to make the new structure as simple and easily understood as possible. As you will see below, the new rates are significantly cheaper than that defined currently, with up to an 89% reduction in rates from the previously assigned ones, which are of course not being paid at the moment.
Under the new structure, each power band has its fees arranged in blocks, with each 9,999 watt (or 9.9 kW) block adding on a set price in each power band (as denoted in the table above). The new fees start at RM20 at the very lowest tier, from 1 watt to 9.9 kW, but this will never be applied given the output of EVs.
At the highest point of the up-to-100,000 watt (100 kW) band, the rate increases by RM10 for every higher block of output, capping at RM70 at 100 kW. From the 100,001 watt to 210,000 watt (210 kW) band, road tax prices vary from RM80 to RM280, with a RM20 increase per 9.9 kW block within the band.
From the 210,001 to 310,000 watt (310 kW) band, road tax fees range from RM305 to RM575, with the subsequent block increase in it being set at RM30. As for the 310,001 to 410,000 watt (410 kW) band, expect to pay anywhere from RM615 to RM1,065, with each 9.9 kW block increase set at RM50.
As such, with 100 kW, the Kona e-Lite will pay RM70 for its annual road tax when things kick off at the start of 2026, as opposed to RM243 under the replaced structure. The Ora Good Cat 400 Pro and 500 Ultra (105 kW), along with the Nissan Leaf (110 kW), will pay RM80, while owners of the BYD Dolphin Dynamic Standard Range, at 70 kW, will have to fork out RM120 a year for their road tax. Sounds very reasonable, no?
Most premium EV offerings will also pay what should constitute very affordable rates for their road tax, with that for a Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+ being RM305 instead of RM2,779 on the old rate and that for the BMW iX1 xDrive30 and xDrive40 at RM335 and RM365 respectively.
Meanwhile, Tesla Model Y and Model 3 Highland SR RWD owners will be paying RM305 and RM280, well under the nearly RM2.6k they would be paying if the structure was not revised. Elsewhere, those with vehicle models in the 300 kW output zone will have to dish out RM545 a year, surely preferable than the RM4,503 listed under the old structure.
As electric motor outputs climb, so do the rates, of course, and BYD Seal Performance buyers will need to plonk out RM965 a year (RM7,504 on the old rate), while Kia EV6 GT owners will pay RM1,240 (RM7,623 on the old structure).
About the only people who might (and this is a very big might, actually) feel hard done by would be Lotus Eletre R and Porsche Taycan Turbo GT owners, paying anywhere from RM4,290 to RM6,715 for road tax annually. Well, if you want all that power, surely you can afford to pay for it.
Elsewhere, the rates for electric motorcycles remain unchanged, with the ministry saying that the existing rate of RM9 to RM42 for e-motorbikes is acceptably low enough. Also, persons with disabilities, whose road tax exemption was also mentioned in Budget 2022, will also be exempted from paying road tax for one EV.
On the whole, the revised EV road tax structure should surely look a far sight better than the old one for most owners and those looking to adopt such vehicles. What do you think of the new EV road tax structure? Yay, or is there still some beef with the new rates? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the new road tax structure for EVs effective from January 1, 2026:
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