Malaysia’ s EV financial incentives began in 2022, when manufacturers were exempt from import and excise duties. In addition, EV owners were exempt from paying road tax and were able to claim tax exemptions of MYR 2,500( AUD 905). These exemptions were in exchange of EV charging costs, such as its purchase, installation, rental and subscription.
For a period of time, vehicle imports were also exempt from taxes. CKD EV imports were exempt from all sales and service taxes until mid- 2022. Moreover, CBU EVs were“ tax-free” from 2022 until December 2025.
Under the updated policy, OEMs are now required to pay import duties on their CBU EVs. The import duty rate depends on the country of origin and ranges from 5-30 per cent. There is also an additional 10 % excise duty and a 10 % sales tax.
To support local assembly, CBU EVs must be priced below MYR 250,000($ 90,841 AUD) and have a minimum of 200 kW of motor power per vehicle. These requirements were revealed in early January 2026 in a policy document posted by MITI.
SINGAPORE
In line with its objective to boost EV adoption, Singapore created the Electric Vehicle Early Adoption Incentive( EEAI) program and Vehicular Emissions Scheme( VES). In September 2025, the Singaporean Government announced that both programs would be extended until the end of 2026.
Under these programs, hybrids were initially ineligible for tax rebates, however, the government has only extended this privilege to EVs. Additionally, buyers of ICE vehicles will face additional surcharges on top of their purchase.
Singapore also has the Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme( CVES), where commercial vehicles were split into three categories according to their emissions. The“ most pollutive” vehicles face a surcharge of SGD 15,000( AUD 16,786). Contrastingly, the“ least pollutive” vehicles may receive SGD 20,000( AUD 22,378) in financial incentives. According to the Land Transport Authority( LTA) website, the CVES program“ encourages buyers to choose commercial vehicle models that have lower emissions across the identified pollutant categories.” The program began on 1 April 2025 and will end on 31 March 2027.
As part of its Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore will ban registrations of new ICE vehicles by 2030. An objective of the plan is to totally phase-out ICE vehicles by 2040 and progress towards cleaner energy consumption.
Though Singapore is experiencing accelerated EV usage, citizens and experts are concerned with the total phase-out of petrol-powered vehicles. Director of the Centre for Government and Sustainability from the National University of Singapore, Professor Lawrence Loh, told Channel News Asia( CNA) that the country’ s petrol stations are at a“ cross-roads.”
If Singapore succeeds in a total phase-out of ICE vehicles, Professor Loh commented that petrol stations should be put to“ optimal use.” However, CNA’ s article reports that petrol companies are adapting alongside the country towards a fuelfree future.
THAILAND
Thailand’ s EV incentive policies come in the form of its EV 3.0 and EV 3.5 programs. EV 3.0 was the first initiative that lasted from 2022 until 2025. Its successor, EV 3.5, began in 2024 and will end in 2027. Like the policies of other countries on the list, this policy allows buyers, EV importers, and local manufacturers to enjoy reduced excise duties and more.
Under EV 3.5, buyers of passenger EVs were able to receive rebates of THB 100,000( AUD 4,542) in 2024 and THB 75,000( AUD 3,406) provided that the vehicle is priced below THB
10 ISSUE 57 FEBRUARY 2026 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU