Why Tesla In Malaysia Is Here To Stay And How Fast Is It Growing?
Tesla unanimous in the western front holding a predominant share in the EV market spreads its wings to our shores, Malaysia. The leading autopilot giant for EVs has planted its interest in expanding its legacy here, in Malaysia. The public in response to the EV manufacturer news has been nothing short of positive, nonetheless, what are the implementations that Tesla plans in the future and has already done?
HOW DID MALAYSIA CATCH TESLA’S INTEREST?
The billionaire visionary, Elon Musk, who had infamous influence in the ups and downs in crypto currency back in the early 2020’s extended his reach for a firm platform in Malaysia to engage the southeast Asian automobile industry. However, one must understand that there are ample reasoning as to why Malaysia was heard as a strong outcry for Tesla to come to plant its legs here.
- The electric and electronics, semiconductor sector in Malaysia is among the largest producers, ranked as the 7th largest producer.
- Malaysia can provide reliable chain of supply for the electronics for Tesla’s vehicles
- Higher GDP per capita compared to neighbouring countries indicating that a large share of the Malaysian population has the financial means of affording a Tesla.
TESLA BRANCHING OUT TO OUR DOORSTEPS
Tesla’s operation began with rolling out its Model Y available for booking from the 21st of July,2023 with deliveries set for early 2024. During the time, Tesla was adamant about expanding its low-volume production of its electric cars to a high volume following the expected revenue from sales. Tesla also stated that its head office and service center will soon be finished setting up in Cyberjaya.
TESLA’S HEADQUARTERS, THE BASE OF ITS ELECTRIFYING PRESENCE
Tesla’s first headquarters is based in Cyberjaya, set to become its central hub for all kinds of Tesla-related inquiries and relations, including a service centre offering advanced diagnostic tools, trained staff, and technicians that cater to the needs of Tesla’s customers. Tesla explained that it’s looking forward to soon expand its experience centers within metropolitan areas across Malaysia to accommodate customers’ interest in experiencing and gaining insight firsthand of its EV models.
SECOND EXPERIENCE CENTER
Following the success of the Cyberjaya’s headquarters opening, as promised , an expansion of its experience center is opened right smack in the middle of KL. The experience center is located at Damansara Heights Pavillion. The center offers a showcase of its current models available and merchandising included
TESLA’S BOOMING EXPANSION OF ITS SUPERCHARGER STATIONS
Following the requirements imposed by MITI (Ministry of Investment, trade, and industry) BEV Global Leaders program to allow Tesla’s entry, among the requirements that touch upon charging infrastructure are:
- Setting up of 50 units of DC fast charging chargers with a minimum of 180 kW and at least 30% (15 units) must be open for public use within 3 years from its initial year of operation.
Tesla superchargers are essentially DC charging station in which offers fast charging for Tesla owners. Tesla supercharger stations in Malaysia have grown to 10 serves to house 48 supercharger stalls and 11 destination chargers (57 chargers)
TESLA DESTINATION CHARGING AND SUPERCHARGING? WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?
SOUTHEAST ASIA’S LARGEST TESLA SUPERCHARGING STATION, GAMUDA COVE, AND TESLA’s LATEST INSTALLMENT OF CHARGERS
Gamuda Land has collaborated with Tesla in bringing the largest Tesla Supercharging station in Southeast Asia. The charging station is located at Gamuda Cove and hosts a total of 6 Superchargers and 18 destination chargers dwarfing even the Tesla Cyberjaya headquarters which has 4 superchargers and 3 destination chargers.
TESLA’S SUPERCHARGER IN KUANTAN AND PENANG
Tesla’s latest expansion of its charging infrastructure has made its way to Kuantan, Pahang and is now available for use for Tesla owners living in the East Coast marking its very first supercharging station for the region. Penang has also seen Tesla’s promise of erecting its Supercharging stations come true, Sunway Carnival, Seberang Prai is equipped with 4 DC chargers.
TESLA SUPERCHARGER V4 OVER V3? DOES MY TESLA EV BENEFIT FROM ITS DIFFERENCES
The short answer is not yet, at least until certain infrastructure changes are made to support the extra capability of the V4 and you have a compatible Tesla model. But comparing the generation-apart chargers are some quality-of-life changes that make it much easier in terms of usage such as:
- There are many variations of the Tesla supercharger, with the latest being the V4 recently deployed at IOI City Mall and IOI Mall Puchong, the previous installations in Malaysia were entirely its older generation, the V3.
The charging technology supports up to 350kW why is it still limited to 250kW?
- Existing vehicles in the market aren’t many that support 800V architecture for its batteries, including Tesla where the only exception is the Tesla Cybertruck while Tesla’s other current models, the Model 3, Model Y, and Model S operate at 400V
- The decision to allow for faster charging via 800V will most likely take gradual steps as upping the charging would be ahead of current market demand.
Tesla’s Wall Connector is being given away free
After the launch of Tesla in July 2023, the connector was offered as a complimentary addition to purchasing any Tesla model ordered before the end of October 2023. The good news is that, Tesla is currently running its second Home Charging Programme 2.0 (HCP 2.0) that ends on 30TH June 2024. Some terms and conditions that are tied to the campaign are:
– Customers can choose their installer of choice or take on the service from Tesla’s authorized installer
– 12 months of warranty is provided for the wall connector.
If you’re deciding on a Tesla and coincidentally happen to be within Tesla next HCP, then I’d suggest looking for an installer that provides quality installation and stellar aftercare services such as Energi Elite. Backed up by positive reviews of satisfied customers.
This type of program definitely helps bolster sales of Tesla models as customers who already are interested would have increasingly good reasons to adopt a Tesla.
What does Tesla do better than its competitors?
Knowing that among the top registered electric vehicles are Tesla models, such as the Tesla Model 3. How did they take a large share of the electric vehicle market, outside of and in Malaysia? The answer lies in a few advancements they’ve made that gave a reputation to the Tesla brand.
Take the wheel, Tesla’s leading self-driving tech
Tesla is inseparable and has built largely its reputation following its self-driving technology residing in all its Tesla models. Subsequently, the requirements required by MITI to allow Tesla as an applicant to enter the Malaysian market without a shared partner.
- Cars imported are to be fully battery electric vehicles and have certified Level 2 Autonomous driving
- Level 2 Autonomous driving qualifies when a vehicle can control both steering, accelerating, and decelerating with the presence of a driver able to take over control of the car at any given time
- In Q1 of 2024, under its Vehicle Safety Report Tesla recorded statistics of crashes with its autopilot to be 16% better than its previous year’s records. Without the Autopilot technology, crashes were seen to be higher.
Do Malaysian roads see the same effectiveness when using autopilot?
As shown in a posting, the Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club on Facebook, highlighted a user’s experience with Tesla’s self-driving in an awkwardly positioned divider that jutted out slightly on the Federal Highway. The autopilot handles the situation well and did not require the input of the user to navigate its way.
Conversely, users on a forum group of Tesla owners in America and Facebook of the same group as above have the same shared sentiment:
- Potholes and speed bumps are still some obstacles that the autopilot vision can’t discern completely yet to react accordingly. So be reminded that the autopiloting system still has caveats that need ironing out
Tesla’s stellar ratings under safety tests
Among the highest rating of safety is bestowed upon the Model 3, which coincidentally is one of the top-selling EVs currently in Malaysia. Listed are some of the safety ratings that Tesla smashed:
- Under the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety), the vehicle scored the lowest probability of sustaining an injury over other vehicles evaluated under the testing.
- Subsequently, Tesla earned 5 stars on all 4 categories in Europe New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP)
- Automatic Emergency braking (AEB) extended to its Model S, Model X and Model 3 ever since October 2016.
Some miraculous feat that was achieved in a real-life scenario that involved Tesla, is when its Model 3 went down an embankment at 76 meters and that the vehicle occupant’s injuries were described as moderate.
Conclusion
As written in the article, there are many reasons why Tesla is being adopted following the growth of EVs in Malaysia. Tesla’s establishment in Malaysia leads to more promising prospects that would help bolster say the charging infrastructure, as it is actively being implemented currently. It is interesting to see, how Tesla’s next course of action will affect the rate of EV adoption rate and other areas of technology.
