PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - Malaysia's first electric vehicle (EV) sharing programme for the public that is based on the pay-as-you-use concept will be made available in August.
The programme is a joint venture of CMS Consortium Sdn Bhd (Comos), Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) and Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (GreenTech Malaysia).
Comos executive chairman Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said membership is required before one can rent the cars - either the Renault Zoe or the Nissan Leaf.
"We will start accepting membership in July," he said at the soft launch of the programme here yesterday by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
"We are still finalising the rental rate and all we can say for now is it will be affordable," he added.
However, Syed Zainal Abidin said the rate would not be cheaper than the taxi fare for the same distance and travelling time.
"To rent the cars, members only need to book using their smartphone, where they will be given a unique code and will be directed to the nearest stations with cars available.
"Once they get to the cars, they would key in the code to unlock the car and drive them. When they are done, they can park the cars at any designated EV parking bay under the programme," he said, adding that charges will be time-based.
Syed Zainal Abidin said they would start the programme in the Klang Valley with about 40 cars, followed by Langkawi, Malacca, Johor Baru and Penang.
He revealed that the vehicle pick-up and drop-off points would likely be located at places such as LRT stations, shopping malls and prominent government buildings.
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