The Malaysia Electric Vehicle Charging Network (MEVnet) is now accessible to the public. Created by the Department of Town and Country Planning (PLANMalaysia) in collaboration with the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC), the new platform is designed to become a major point of reference for the development of Malaysia’s EV charging infrastructure.
Previously known as the National EV Charging Station Dashboard (NEVCSD), it is one of several modules that are part of an even larger big data project by PLANMalaysia called the Malaysia Urban Observatory (MUO). In general, the online dashboard allows the public to monitor the progress of the EV charging infrastructure throughout Malaysia.
The type of data available through MEVnet
Being a national-level big data project, there are so many data points contained within MEVnet. Hence, it is so easy to get overwhelmed by them at first but let us walk you through some of the dashboard’s main features.
For starters, you can take a look at the overall statistics of the national EV charging infrastructure through this cloud-based dashboard. As of today, MEVnet stated that there are currently 1,430 EV charging bays in 620 locations throughout Malaysia.
The data is then further divided into the type of chargers and whether they are located indoors or outdoors. Meanwhile, do note that the percentage shown on the left side of the dashboard is based on the government’s target of 10,000 charging points and not the proposed figure shown on the right side of the dashboard.
The MEVnet dashboard also lets you dive deeper into state and local government data by setting the parameters on the top right section of the dashboard. This not only allows you to check out existing EV charging sites but also locations that PLANMalaysia has earmarked as suitable locations to deploy EV chargers.
You can learn more about a location by clicking on the charger icon on the map, regardless of whether it is an operational EV charging site or a proposed site. A table would then pop up and displays several information regarding the location including its type, the amount of AC and DC chargers, and whether the chargers are located indoors or outdoors.
The accuracy of MEVnet’s data
As for the accuracy of the data, it is hard for us to verify each of the spots since there are already close to 1,500 EV charging sites but we did find some discrepancies. For example, Sunway Pyramid currently has nine JomCharge/Gentari AC chargers while there are also another five AC chargers operated by ParkEasy/Shell Recharge.
All of these 14 chargers are located indoors, yet MEVnet said that there are 16 indoor AC chargers at Sunway Pyramid. The listing did get the amount of outdoor DC chargers correctly as the mall’s four Tesla Superchargers are located outside near its main entrance.
Based on our conversation with PLANMalaysia’s staff when MUO was showcased at the Smart Nation Expo back in September, we learned that the data for NEVCSD was mainly supplied by MGTC and Malaysia Automotive, Robotics, and IoT Institute (MARii). However, MARii’s logo was not on MEVnet though which is rather intriguing.
According to MEVnet’s FAQ document, the database will be updated every month. That being said, it is still subject to data availability.
Don’t use MEVnet to locate EV chargers
Despite having an elaborate map, MEVnet is not something that you should use to locate EV chargers since it is not designed for that purpose. While it may pinpoint the location of the charging site as well as the amount of charging bays there, MEVnet did not provide essential information such as the charging speed and fees as well as chargers availability.
If you want to look for a nearby EV charger, you should use a proper EV charger finder or trip planner app such as PlugShare or A Better Route Planner (ABRP). In case you need more information, check out our must-have EV charging apps in Malaysia guide right here.
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