INTERACTIVE: E-motorcycles stuck in the slow lane

By SHYAFIQ DZULKIFLI

PETALING JAYA: While electric cars continue to gain popularity in Malaysia, e-motorcycles struggle to keep up.

Figures from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reveal a stark contrast: while electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 5.15% of the 870,327 cars registered last year, electric models made up just 1.53% of the 704,714 new motorcycles on the road.

From 2015 to 2025, electric car adoption expanded at an average annual rate of 95%, rising from 55 units to 44,813.

The adoption of e-motorcycles, however, grew at a slower pace of 45% annually, increasing from 262 units in 2015 to 10,781 units in 2025.

The gap has continued into this year, with electric cars recording 14,591 registrations as of March 31 compared to just 2,764 e-motorcycles.

The Star, in a 2024 report on the lukewarm response to e-motorcycles, quoted customers and industry experts citing limited range - typically around 100km - and low top speeds as some of the reasons the machines have failed to gain traction in Malaysia.

The government, via Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), introduced an incentive in December 2023 to encourage Malaysians to buy e-motorcycles.

Known as MARiiCas, the incentive came in the form of a RM2,400 rebate on the purchase of selected e-motorcycles to those earning up to RM120,000 a year.

However, the rebate has been discontinued according to a notice on MARii’s website.

Despite their slow start in Malaysia, e-motorcycles have already gained notable traction in another Asean country.

Vietnam reported a robust motorcycle market in the first quarter of this year, driven by rising demand for electric scooters.

A report in Vietnam News said that the popularity of e-motorcycles in the country comes as cities such as Hanoi move forward with plans to curb fossil fuel vehicles in urban centres.

It noted that the Vietnamese capital will impose time-based restrictions on petrol-powered motorcycles within the city’s inner ring road from July 1 this year, with tighter controls expected in following years.

 

Broader vehicle trends

In contrast to the EV trend, motorcycle registrations have historically grown at a faster rate than cars.

Between 2000 and 2025, motorcycles expanded at an average annual rate of 4.43%, compared with 3.68% for cars.

Motorcycle registrations nearly tripled from about 238,552 units in 2000 to about 704,714 last year. 

Car registrations, meanwhile, grew two and a half times — from 352,437 to 870,327 units over the same period.

There were two times when motorcycle registrations were either more than or at nearly the same level as cars.

During the Covid-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, motorcycles briefly outpaced cars.

In 2021, 615,586 motorcycles were registered compared with 530,057 cars.

However, the trend reversed sharply from 2022 onwards, with car registrations surging to a record 870,327 units last year.  

Earlier, in 2007 and 2008, motorcycle registrations grew to the nearly the same level as cars.

Malaysia recorded an economic downturn in 2009. 

Motorcycle registrations peaked earlier at about 719,042 units in 2022.

Since then, cars have decisively pulled ahead.

In total, there are 15.38 million cars and 13.06 million motorcycles registered on Malaysia’s road as of last year.

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