SINGAPORE: Mr Koh Jie Meng has driven from Singapore to different parts of Malaysia more than 20 times in his electric Hyundai Kona SUV since he bought the car in 2019.
Mr Koh Jie Meng, who has been driving an electric vehicle since 2019, said he now has no doubts about the feasibility of owning one, even as an HDB dweller. “When I first got the car, it was kind of pathetic - the kind of DC rapid charging infrastructure outside of Kuala Lumpur. So you fast forward to this year, actually there are already a pair of 50kW DC chargers in operation in Ayer Keroh Rest Stop, both north and south bound,” said Mr Shahrol.
He lauded the move by local company JomCharge, which announced last October that DC chargers will be installed at various points along North-South Expressway to reduce range anxiety for electric car drivers travelling between major cities like Johor Bahru, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. He added that in Kuala Lumpur, there are currently three DC charging points, with two more set to be built soon.A Singaporean driver who made regular road trips to Malaysia, Lee Hon Sing, expressed surprise at how little money he had to spend charging his car during the trips.
On paper, his car had enough range to complete the journey without recharging but he was worried and decided to charge at Ayer Keroh just in case. “But fast forward to this year onwards, it's pretty easy for any electric car to come up to Kuala Lumpur by fast charging at Ayer Keroh,” added Mr Shahrol.For Singaporean electric car owners who want to drive to Johor Bahru over the weekend when the border reopens, Mr Koh said a two-hour to three-hour congestion at the Causeway would only reduce the battery life by around 3 per cent if the driver sets the air-conditioner at full blast.
He knew that there were no DC chargers along the journey so he would not recommend that route for drivers. “For such services, it’s still quite early yet . Only these workshops are good at repairing EVs and they know not to mess things up when they look at it,” he added. However, both Singapore drivers Mr Koh and Mr Lee said they have been lucky so far, and not experienced any breakdown or issues with their cars while travelling in Malaysia.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.