[ UPDATE 19/07/2023 11:00 ] Malaysia’s first Tesla Supercharger location is at Pavilion KL with a total of 8 DC fast charging bays.
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As part of the approval to allow the establishment of Tesla in Malaysia, the US-based electric vehicle brand is also required to set up a minimum number of fast DC chargers which will help to expand the current EV ecosystem in the country. According to Minister of International Trade and Industry, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Malaysia’s requirements for Tesla also includes the installation of at least 50 Superchargers within 3 years.
Since MITI approved Tesla’s application in March, this means they will need to fulfil their EV charging station commitments by 2026. On top of that, at least 30% of these Superchargers must be accessible to other EV brands as well.
Our requirements to @Tesla includes the installation of at least 50 super chargers within 3 years & at least 30% of these must be usable by other brands as well. https://t.co/D0c7fFSWEZ
— Tengku Zafrul 🇲🇾 (@tzafrul_aziz) April 19, 2023
As highlighted by Paultan, Tesla Malaysia’s application was approved under the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Global Leaders program which is running from 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2025. Besides setting up a head office and service centre, applicants are required to install at least 50 units of “ultra-fast chargers” with a capacity of 180kWh” (Likely a typo, should be 180kW). The applicants must ensure that at least 30% of these ultra-fast chargers are open to the public such as other vehicle brands.
Tesla Superchargers are essentially DC fast charging hubs which allow Tesla owners to charge their EVs quickly. Tesla claims that a quick 15-minute charge can add up to 270km of driving range which is great for interstate travel.
One of the benefits of owning a Tesla is its ecosystem which offers an integrated and connected EV charging experience which greatly addresses range-anxiety concerns. The vehicle can recommend the nearest Tesla Superchargers while taking into account your current driving range and planned trip. On top of that, the vehicle can also precondition the battery so that your Tesla is in its optimal state to receive the maximum charging rate when you reach the Supercharger.
There are currently over 45,000 Superchargers worldwide including in both Singapore and Thailand. In Singapore, there are 9 Supercharging locations while Thailand has 3 around Bangkok.
Most new Tesla Supercharger locations are utilising their V3 Superchargers that support up to a maximum rate of 250kW. Most locations come with at least 3 Superchargers while some locations such as Bangkok’s Central World have 9 Superchargers.
With a minimum requirement of 50 units of DC chargers set by MITI, Tesla could easily fulfil this by having about 17 locations in Malaysia with at least 3 Superchargers each. That doesn’t sound much in comparison to Gentari which currently has 26 DC charging locations as of 19th April 2023. Hopefully, Tesla will place these fast charging hubs at strategic interstate locations throughout the country including the East coast of Peninsular, as well as East Malaysia.
