Special number plates specifically for electric vehicles in Malaysia are currently in their final stages of development, and these are awaiting technical finalisation before their official launch, reported New Straits Times. The Malaysian government is in the process of appointing a vendor for the overseeing of its implementation, said transport minister Anthony Loke.

“We are currently finalising the technical aspects. Once this is completed, we will promptly make the announcement,” Loke said. While the adoption of the EV-specific number plates will be voluntary to begin with, these will eventually be made mandatory on new EVs, the transport minister said. Meanwhile, owners of existing EVs will have the option of switching to the EV-specific plates.

These number plates to denote electric vehicles in the country are said to incorporate RFID technology as an additional feature, according to the New Straits Times report, however no specific timeline has been revealed for their implementation.

The transport minister disclosed in July 2023 that the ministry is working on a special series of number plates specifically for electric vehicles in Malaysia, alongside a road tax structure that will be cheaper than that for petrol-powered cars. This EV tax structure was announced earlier this month; see the kilowatt (kW)-based table, here.

In October 2023, the road transport department (JPJ) issued a request for proposal (RFP) for the implementation of a special number plate design for zero-emissions vehicles.

The transport minister previously said that the EV-specific plates will be RFID-linked for an added safety element, as in the event of a fire involving an EV, emergency responders will know that the vehicle they will have to deal with has a high-voltage powertrain and EV battery, which requires a different set of SOPs compared to ICE vehicle fires.

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