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Technical English Project - A Study of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installation Progress in Malaysia 19jan16 - R5
Technical English Project - A Study of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installation Progress in Malaysia 19jan16 - R5
Abstract
Purpose This paper assesses the effectiveness of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging
station installation progress in Malaysia. Aspects of studied include: (i) planned vs
actual progress of EV charging stations, (ii) main barriers to building an EV charging
network in Malaysia, (iii) how should those barriers be addressed and overcome?.
Methodology The research approach utilised surveys to collect primary data from
three companies in Malaysia selling EVs: Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Renault. The
results are included in this dissertation's chapters.
Findings To meet 2016 targets, past EV station progress has to be increased at
least thirtyfold. A majority of respondents indicated that Regulatory Approvals and
Land/Equipment Cost were barriers to EV station installation. They also indicated
that vandalism/theft was a significant concern. However, the amount of tariff the
respondents were willing to pay and the equipment and labour-only cost of EV
stations indicated that operating a strategically located, well-utilised EV station may
be a profitable business. The strongest recommendation to overcome barriers was
to install sufficient EV stations to allow driving anywhere in Malaysia. Other strong
recommendations were to install EV stations at petrol stations and provide priority
parking at parking lots comparable to the amounts/locations seen for handicapped
A Study of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installation Progress in Malaysia
parking.
Practical implications EV charging station progress effectiveness findings in this
dissertation can serve as helpful reference to government agencies and other
companies related to building EV charging stations.
Originality This paper's originality is based on the premise that the author as of
this report's date has not found other papers examining effectiveness of Electric
Vehicle (EV) charging station installation progress in Malaysia.
Value EV charging station progress effectiveness has an important significance
due to the relative dearth of EV charging stations hampering sales of EVs in
general. Effective progress of EV charging station installation will deliver more
sustainable transportation and energy solutions in future.
Key Words: Electric Vehicle, Charging Station Progress, Charging Station Barriers,
Tariff, Recommendations
Acknowledgement
I thank Mr Sarves (The Otomotif College) and Ms Hung (The Otomotif College) for
their help and guidance during the preparation of this report.
I also thank survey respondents Mr Yap Tjun Yao (Nissan), Mr Vincent Tang
(Mitsubishi), Mr Isaac Amal (Renault) and Mr Maybell Chai (Renault). I hope that
readers aiming to sustainably progress mankind and our environment would find
this research useful.
Table of Contents
Page
Acknowledgement......................................................................................... 2
Table of Contents.......................................................................................... 3
Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................. 4
Chapter 2: Literature Review......................................................................... 9
Chapter 3: Methodology................................................................................ 10
Chapter 4: Results and Discussion................................................................ 20
Chapter 5: Conclusion.................................................................................... 28
Appendix I: References................................................................................. 31
Appendix II: Bibliography............................................................................... 34
Appendix III: Abbreviations............................................................................ 35
Appendix IV: Glossary................................................................................... 36
Appendix V: Survey questions....................................................................... 37
Table of Figures
Chapter 1. Introduction
In 2012, First Energy Networks Sdn Bhd, a Tan Chong subsidiary, announced plans
to build an EV charging station network in West Malaysias Klang Valley (First
Energy Networks 2012). Tan Chong owns both Nissan and Renault distributorships
in Malaysia.
In 2015, Greentech, a company which operates under the purview of The Ministry of
Energy, Green Technology and Water, announced a target to build 300 Charging
Stations by 2016 (Jayaraman 2015), and 25,000 Charging Stations by 2020 (Lim
2015).
However, as of this report's date (end-2015), it appears there are only about 20-30
public Charging Stations throughout West Malaysia (First Energy Networks 2015
and Archibald 2014). Teslas record for Charging Station network buildup is
between 900-1000 per year (Richards 2015) so unless Greentech surpasses
Teslas Charging Station record by at least eightfold, Greentech may fall short of
their 2020 target.
Could petrol stations and carpark operators earn more revenue than selling petrol
and parking by charging EVs?
Curiosity about the answers to the above questions motivated me to propose the
research question:
How effective has EV charging installation been, what are its barriers, and
how can they be overcome?
The answer to the above question, for the purposes of this report, can be broken
down into three distinct questions, stated in section 1.3 below.
The purpose of the research project for this dissertation addresses the following
question: "How effective has EV charging installation been, what are its
barriers, and how can they be overcome?"
Further specific research objectives were identified in order to respond to the above
research question:
1) Infrastructure planning
2) Budgetary allocations
3) Government/regulatory incentives
The questionnaire prepared for the survey was multiple choice answer type, with
opportunity for participants to write subjective feedback for each question.
Where applicable and relevant, quotes and paraphrasing from respondent input will
be included as part of research data.
The target participants for the survey are the 3 (only) companies currently selling
and distributing EVs in Malaysia. A brief EV-related historical background of these
companies are below.
1.6.1 Nissan
Nissan launched their Leaf EV in Malaysia in late 2013 (Post 2013). The Nissan
Leaf has a range of approximately 195km (Shah 2015a). When launched in 2013, a
new Leaf cost about RM168,000 with full import duty exemption. However, in 2015
GST was applied & its cost increased to RM180,000. The price of the Nissan Leaf
for 2016 is uncertain, and dependent on government decisions to apply import
duties or maintain exemptions.
Nissan Malaysia's vehicle distributorship is owned by Tan Chong. Tan Chong also
owns First Energy Networks, a company that builds EV charging stations.
1.6.2 Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi launched their i-MiEV EV in Malaysia in early 2013 (Shah 2013). The i-
MiEV is the first EV to have launched in Malaysia. It has a range of approximately
150km.
1.6.3 Renault
Renault launched their Zoe and Twizy EVs in Malaysia in 2015 (Shah 2015b). They
have a range of 210km and 100km respectively. Renault Malaysia's distributorship
is also owned by Tan Chong.
The price of a Renault Zoe is about RM139,000. The Renault Twizy is about
RM80,000.
The report has been structured to allow either modular or sequential reading. Post
Introduction (Chapter 1), Chapter 2 will be a literature review of research topics in
relation to EV charging station installations. Concepts, definitions and ideas from
published and available literature will be reviewed and considered for applicability in
this research project.
Chapter 3 describes the research methodology selected for this research project,
along with reasons why such methodology was chosen.
Chapter 4 presents survey data findings along with analysis and commentary on
salient points and issues in relation to answering the research question.
This chapter focuses on existing literature related to key concepts of this report's
research and addresses the following research objectives:
2.1.1 Planned
Despite best planning efforts by exemplary cities (Nelson Nygaard 2014), the take-
up of EV Charging Stations has been slow due to poor payback incentives. There
are 300 stations planned by 2016 (Archibald 2014), and a total of 25,000 planned by
2020 (Lim 2015).
On the other hand, Archibald (2014) stated that in 2014, there were about 40
Charging Stations, with 30 of them available for non-government and public use,
and another 260 planned for 2015.
As of this report's preparation (late 2015 early 2016, it appears that about 14% of
the intended 300 Charging Stations for 2015 have been installed.
For property owners and small businesses, this cost is significant. Unless a
property owner or business is able to get cost incentives from Greentech, payback
would take a long time. For example, even with RM8 income per charge
(Reloadfood.com 2015), tariff paid to the utility company would be about RM7 for a
22kWh Renault Zoe battery at RM0.31 per kWh. With three EVs charged per day,
profit would be only RM1 x 365 ~ RM365 per year. At this rate, payback would be
almost 40 years.
Thus capital cost is one significant barrier hindering EV Charging Station progress
(Nelson and Nygaard 2014).
EV Charging Stations require anywhere from 6kW to 22kW of electrical power per
charger unit for existing EVs in Malaysia. Charging time needed for these EVs
varies from about one to four hours (MyRenaultZoe.com 2013).
The above power requirements indicate that each car will utilise a significant
amount of power: roughly the size of a small household. In other words, prior to EV
Charging Station installation, clearance would be needed from a local electricity
utility company (e.g. TNB) to make sure that there is sufficient power generation and
distribution network capacity at the proposed EV Charging Station location.
A reasonable amount to charge EV users would be the amount they would pay for a
low fuel-consumption car per 100km. Using the Perodua Viva as an example, a
reasonable charge per 100km worth of usable battery charge would be RM14
(Kereta.info 2008). Applying TNB's tariff in Figure 1 above, potential profit per
100km charge would be approximately RM9.
A fast-charge station loaded at 50% EVs per 24-hr day could charge about 12-24
vehicles per day, which translates into a profit of about RM100-200 per day, or at
least RM36,000 per year. Given that EV station equipment cost is about RM12,000
(see section 2.2.1 above), there seems to be potential profit for EV station operators
in Malaysia.
Electricity availability concerns come under the purview of utility (TNB) planning
(TNB 2014 and Ismail et al 2012)
2.4 Summary
This concludes the literature review, which presents some available literature
pertaining to this report's topic, and its structure. The next Chapter describes
methods used to conduct this research, and provides justification for the chosen
methods.
The goal of this research project and was to evaluate how effective EV Charging
Station Installation Progress, Barriers, and Ways to overcome them.
2. Completing the literature review and distilling relevant issues of the topic
areas;
Since epistemology is the study of how we perceive, define and qualify knowledge,
many researchers view that the methods of obtaining knowledge (e.g. data
sampling techniques) should be qualified against the research philosophy that
governs the epistemological approach. An interpretivistic epistemological
philosophy is that the nature of knowledge is dependent on the interpreter, and this
affects the "direct realism" (Saunders et al 2009) accuracy of data obtained. For the
Bryman (1984) uses the term "methodology" synonymously with "philosophy" and
uses the term "method" synonymously with the researcher's available choice of
quantitative vs qualitative research strategies.
sampled/observed would only be valid for that sample but not necessarily a repeat
sample at a different point in time or circumstance. Bryman (1984) uses the term
"phenomenological" as a synonym to "interpretivism". This reflects the concept that
an interpretation at any instance in time is a one-off phenomenon and not
necessarily repeatable at a different time or circumstance. Saunders et al (2009)
also describes the research philosophy term "positivism" as an epistemological view
that knowledge (which is observed and/or sampled) can be reliably captured and
treated as reliable information by applying suitable experimental methods such as
large batch sampling and multiple (quantitative and qualitative) techniques to reduce
uncertainty and make the data collection aggregation as accurate (and as positivist)
as possible.
The survey questionnaire was limited to six questions to minimise time spent by the
respondents answering it. Also, in the event of no participants agreeing to respond
via e-mail, the author planned to meet respondent staff requesting verbal feedback
on "just 6 questions".
3.3.1 Questionnaire
The survey introduction, questions and multiple choice answers was as follows.
Please circle or tick the most correct answer (if any). Please also elaborate with
written feedback if none of the answer options are correct/suitable. Thanks!
Respondent Name / Company / Agency: _________________________________
Date of response: _________________________________
B) Barriers
3) What barriers do you face when installing such stations?
Please rank in terms of most difficult to overcome:
Rank
a) Equipment cost ____
b) Land cost ____
c) Regulatory approvals ____
d) Poor/uncertain payback ____
e) Lack of shade ____
f) Vandalism ____
4) How much does it cost a premise owner to install an EV charging station, broken
down into equipment, labour & land? Please tick one row in each column:
Equipment Labour Land
RM1k - <10k
RM 10k - 20k
> RM 20k
Other subjective feedback: ___________________________________________
Published literature relating to this dissertation's topic also helped guide and
reinforce the selection and definition of research methods (Saunders et al 2009).
1) The survey did not include actual owners of EVs, who may have their own idea
on how to expedite EV charging station installation progress.
2) The survey was only cross-sectional, not longitudinal (Saunders et al 2009), and
even as this dissertation is being prepared, Greentech may be closing in on its
declared EV station targets.
3.6 Summary
The methodology and available results should provide rich pickings and opportunity
for future researchers to resolve remaining issues that prevent EV charging station
installation progress
Survey participant responses will be presented and analysed in the next chapter.
4.1 Introduction
None of the respondents emailed were able to respond by email This chapter
presents an overview of research findings. Further discussion of findings and the
author's observations are also included.
2) Hopefully people and the next generation of students will help influence
government to maintain or re-introduce exemption of import tax/duties for EVs.
Hopefully we can avoid what happened to hybrid vehicles, where hybrids sold
quickly when there were no import duties, but after duties were imposed, the
affordable full-hybrid vehicle market was practically killed.
For survey questions 3 and 6, a simple linearly weighted scoring system was
applied. For example, if there were 5 ranked choices, the highest ranked one would
receive 5 points, the second highest 4 points, and so on -- from each respondent.
30 30
5 N/A N/A
2013-5 2016 2013-5 2016 2013-5 2016
Fi di
Figure 6: Results for Survey Questions 1 & 2 (Planned vs Actual progress)
12
10
8
Sum
6
Ranking
0
a) Equipment Cost b) Land Cost c) Regulatory d) Poor/Uncertain e) Lack of Shade f) Vandalism
Approvals payback
Barriers to EV stations
15000 22kW
EV
Cost of EV stations, RM
10000 station
7kW
5000 EV
station
0
Nissan Mitsubishi Renault
1) Depending on owner budget, respondents were willing to pay between RM5 RM20
per 100km EV charge
Using the worst case cost for EV stations of RM30k per station terminal (findings to
research question #4), this would translate to a payback in less than 4 years for a 3-
station terminal, ignoring factors such as vandalism/theft.
14
12
10
4
Ranking
2
0
a) Install EV b) Install more EV c) Develop d) Allow free e) Ensure
stations at petrol stations at car regulations that charging sufficient EV
stations parks enforce a indefinitely at all stations to allow
minimum % of EV- EV stations driving anywhere
only parking in Malaysia
In the next chapter, overall conclusions will be presented, along with recommendations for
future research.
5.1 Introduction
This chapter provides:
1) Summary findings to the research question "How effective has EV
charging installation been, what are its barriers, and how can they be
overcome?"
2) Information on the report's research limitations
3) Recommendations for future research
4) An overall conclusion for this report
2) It did not explore whether the existing 1000 or so EV users registered in the
Malaysia faced any problems charging their vehicles at the existing 30 EV
Charging Stations. In the UK, a recommended Charging Station to EV user ratio
to avoid long queues is 2:1 (Larson 2015).
3) Survey government agencies and other respondents, e.g. First Energy Networks,
Greentech, and The New Motion. These are the agencies tasked with EV station
installation progress to support EV distributors.
i) Malaysian EVs are typically operated with the air-conditioner on & may need
more frequent charging.
5) Explore which petrol stations already have sufficient incoming 3-phase power
supply to be capable of providing EV charging stations at minimal cost.
Appendix I References
Amy. (2014). Malaysians Dream of Electric Cars, And This Daring Plan Might Make it
Come True. Vulcan Post. Retrieved on 26th December 2015 from
https://vulcanpost.com/111671/malaysia-electric-cars/
Archibald, L. (2014). RM3m Fund Set Up for 300 EV Charging Stations. Malaysian
Reserve. Retrieved 8th December 2015 from
http://themalaysianreserve.com/new/story/rm3m-fund-set-300-ev-charging-stations
Bryman, A. (1984). The Debate about Quantitative and Qualitative Research: A Question
of Method or Epistemology? The British Journal of Sociology, 35(1), p75-92
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford
University Press.
CNN. (2014). Tesla Superchargers Take over America. CNN Money. Retrieved on 3rd
December 2015 from http://money.cnn.com/infographic/pf/autos/tesla-map/
ERS. (2015). About us. Retrieved on 7th December 2015 from
http://www.ers.my/?page_id=566
First Energy Networks. (2012). Launch of first two public EV Charging Stations at KLCC
and Lot 10. Retrieved on 3rd December 2015 from http://www.firstenergy.com.my/news-
events/136-launch-of-first-two-public-electric-vehicle-charging-stations-at-klcc-and-lot-10
First Energy Networks. (2015). Charger Locations. Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from
http://www.firstenergy.com.my/charger-locations/search-charger-locations
Gordon-Bloomfield, N. (2014a). Meet the Latest Electric Car Charging Menace: Copper
Thieves. Transport Evolved. Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from
https://transportevolved.com/2014/08/18/meet-latest-electric-car-charging-station-menace-
copper-theives/
Gordon-Bloomfield, N. (2014b). "Chargemaster Unveils Multiple Tariffs for Uk Electric Car
Charging. We Unveil All." Transport Evolved. Retrieved on 28th December 2015 from
https://transportevolved.com/2014/03/06/chargemaster-unveils-multiple-uk-tariffs-for-
electric-car-charging-we-explain-all/
Greentech. (2013). About us. Retrieved on 7th December 2015 from
http://www.greentechmalaysia.my/content.asp?zoneid=1&cmscategoryid=350#.VmWirmS
GSko
Greentech. (2015). Greentech plans 25,000 electric car charging stations nationwide.
Bernama. Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from
http://www.therakyatpost.com/business/2015/09/10/greentech-plans-25000-electric-car-
charging-stations-nationwide/
Harris, L. (2014). In reply to Meet the Latest Electric Car Charging Menace: Copper
Thieves. Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from
https://transportevolved.com/2014/08/18/meet-latest-electric-car-charging-station-menace-
copper-theives/
IP INFRA. (2015). About us. Retrieved on 9th December 2015 from
http://www.ipinfra.my/aboutus-overview.php#goto
Ismail, Z., Jamaluddin, F. and Ahmad F.A. (2012). A Review of Forecasting Practices at
TNB. Retrieved on 9th December 2015 from
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ct=8&ved=0ahUKEwi_wqeb_83JAhXEA44KHXr1DPEQFgghMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fw
ww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FZuhaimy_Ismail%2Fpublication%2F235697124_A_Re
view_on_Forecasting_Practices_at_TNB%2Flinks%2F0912f512add992a51f000000&usg=
AFQjCNH4soqK5GH4ty470MJ5ztYxCKszIw&bvm=bv.109332125,d.c2E
Jayaraman, P. (2015). Greentech to set up 300 Electric Charging Stations by 2016. The
Malaysian Reserve. Retrieved on 3rd December 2015 from
http://www.themalaysianreserve.com/new/story/greentech-set-300-electric-charging-
stations-2016
Kereta.info. (2008). Perodua Viva Details - Fuel Consumption - Monthly Installment Price.
Retrieved on 28th December 2015 from http://kereta.info/perodua-viva-details-fuel-
consumption-monthly-installment-price/
King, D. (2013). Vandalized EV charging stations in Baltimore remain broken after 10
months. Autoblog.com. Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/03/vandalized-ev-charging-stations-in-baltimore-remain-
broken-after/
Larson, K.N. (2015). Low supply of EV charging stations creates conflict.
Energytrends.org. Retrieved on 28th December 2015 from
http://www.energytrends.org/low-supply-of-ev-charging-stations-creates-conflict-2/
Lim, A. (2015). Greentech aims to deploy 25000 EV Chargers by 2020, includes ChargEV
Network. Paultan.org. Retrieved on 3rd December 2015 from
http://paultan.org/2015/08/18/greentech-malaysia-launches-chargev-network/
Lim, C.Y. (2015). Electric vehicles are the face of future mobility. The Star Online.
Retrieved on 28th December 2015 from
http://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/features/2015/02/02/electric-vehicles-the-face-of-future-
mobility/
Loveday, E. (2013). Tesla says sub-10 minute Supercharging is possible. InsideEVs.com.
Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from http://insideevs.com/tesla-says-sub-10-minute-
supercharging-is-possible-we-doubt-it/
MyRenaultZoe.com. (2013). Charging. Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from
http://myrenaultzoe.com/index.php/zoe-description/charging/
Nelson Nygaard. (2014). Removing Barriers to Electric Vehicle Adoption by Increasing
Access to Public Infrastructure. Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from
http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/OSE/FINAL%20REPORT_Removing%20
Barriers%20to%20EV%20Adoption_TO%20POST.pdf
Post, L. (2013). Nissan Leaf All-Electric Car launched in Malaysia. ExpatgoMalaysia.
Retrieved 26th December 2015 from http://www.expatgomalaysia.com/2013/11/17/nissan-
leaf-launched-malaysia/
Reloadfood.com. (2015). First time ride Renault Zoe electric car with UberX experience.
Retrieved on 8th December 2015 from http://www.reloadfood.com/2015/02/first-time-ride-
renault-zoe-electric-car-with-uberx-experience.html
Richards, M.G. (2015). Tesla passes 500 Supercharger Stations Milestone (over 2800
individual Superchargers). Treehugger.com. Retrieved on 3rd December 2015 from
http://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-passes-500-supercharger-stations-milestone-over-
2800-individuals-superchargers.html
Shah, H. (2013). Mitsubishi i-MiEV launched in Malaysia for RM136k- the first all-electric
vehicle to be sold in this country. Paultan.org. Retrieved on 26th December 2015 from
http://paultan.org/2013/03/21/mitsubishi-i-miev-launched-in-malaysia-for-rm136k-the-first-
all-electric-vehicle-to-be-sold-in-this-country/
Shah, H. (2015a). Nissan Leaf EV price revised to RM180,566 with GST. Paultan.org.
Retrieved on 26th December 2015 from http://paultan.org/2015/04/29/nissan-leaf-ev-price-
revised-to-rm180566-with-gst/
Shah, H. (2015b). Renault Zoe and Twizy EVs now open for booking, estimated to be
priced at under RM140k and 70k. Paultan.org. Retrieved on 26th December 2015 from
http://paultan.org/2015/04/23/renault-zoe-and-twizy-evs-now-open-for-booking-estimated-
to-be-priced-at-under-rm140k-and-rm70k/
Southern California Edison. (2015). Domestic time-of-use Electric Vehicle charging.
Retrieved on 28th December 2015 from https://www.sce.com/NR/sc3/tm2/pdf/ce114-12.pdf
Subhash. (2015). Greentech Malaysia Work with Dutch Company to Roll Our Electric
Vehicle Infrastructure. Drive Safe and Fast. Retrieved on 9th December 2015 from
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electric-vehicle-infrastructure/
Tien Chew. (2013). Where are the Electric Car Charging Stations in Malaysia? ExpatGo
Malaysia. Retrieved on 3rd December 2015 from
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December 2014 from http://pennwell.websds.net/2014/kl/pga/slideshows/T1S7O3-
slides.pdf
Appendix II Bibliography
Bernama. (2015). Malaysia's Electric Vehicle production to start in July 2016. Retrieved
on 28th December 2015 from
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/malaysias-electric-vehicle-production-
to-start-in-july-2016
EVWorld. (2015). Malaysia to become Electric Car production centre. Retrieved on 28th
December 2015 from http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=34947
Malay Mail. (2015). Malaysia to be regional hub for BAIC electric cars, Mukhriz says.
Retrieved on 28th December 2015 from
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/money/article/malaysia-to-be-regional-hub-for-baic-
electric-cars-mukhriz-says
EV Electric Vehicle
FEN First Energy Networks
TNB Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Appendix IV Glossary
Please circle or tick the most correct answer (if any). Please also elaborate with
written feedback if none of the answer options are correct/suitable. Thanks!
Respondent Name / Company / Agency: _________________________________
Date of response: _________________________________
B) Barriers
3) What barriers do you face when installing such stations?
Please rank in terms of most difficult to overcome:
Rank
a) Equipment cost ____
b) Land cost ____
c) Regulatory approvals ____
d) Poor/uncertain payback ____
e) Lack of shade ____
f) Vandalism ____
4) How much does it cost a premise owner to install an EV charging station, broken
down into equipment, labour & land? Please tick one row in each column:
Equipment Labour Land
RM1k - <10k
RM 10k - 20k
> RM 20k
Other subjective feedback: ___________________________________________