Rising fuel costs driven by geopolitical tensions are beginning to nudge interest in electric vehicles (EVs), but the shift remains gradual, with no meaningful pickup in sales so far.
Market observers told Business Times that while higher petrol prices are raising awareness, they have yet to translate into a clear surge in EV showroom traffic.
Instead, early growth in the local EV segment this year appears to be driven more by pricing and product factors than fuel dynamics.
Electronikar editor and analyst Shamsul Yunos said the increase in EV registrations in the first two months of 2026 was largely supported by the introduction of Proton’s e.MAS 5.
“Its aggressive entry price (starting from RM59,800) finally provides an affordable ‘on-ramp’ for those who were already considering a switch but were waiting for a local, value-driven option.
“The ‘oil effect’ is there, but the ‘Proton effect’ is currently the bigger driver of those registration numbers,” he said.
Read the rest of the report here.
