Malaysia is considering implementing a tax on electric vehicle (EV) sales as a strategy to finance the expansion of its public charging network, according to Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz on Tuesday.

He stated that the government can no longer rely on EV manufacturers or dealers to invest in building public charging stations. A potential solution involves taxing each electric vehicle sold and channeling the proceeds into a dedicated fund specifically for constructing public charging infrastructure.

As of May 31, Malaysia had a total of 6,416 public charging points. Tengku Zafrul Aziz also noted that to attract electric vehicle manufacturers, Malaysia has foregone 3.3 billion ringgit ($806 million) in tax revenue over the past four years.