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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — The Proton e.MAS 7 has emerged as Malaysia’s most popular EV for the month of January 2025. Based on the latest vehicle registration data from the Road Transport Department (JPJ), 1 out of 4 EVs registered last month is an e.MAS 7, beating top EV contenders from BYD.
EV continues to grow despite industry decline
In January 2025, a total of 1,691 EVs were registered in Malaysia which marks an increase of 20.5 per cent versus January 2024 (1,403 units registered). This indicates a growing interest in EVs despite the total vehicle registrations in Malaysia recording a 23.2 per cent decline from 70,186 registrations in January 2024 to 53,930 registrations in January 2025.
Comparing January 2024 and January 2025 data, petrol vehicle registrations fell by 23.7 per cent (Jan 2024: 61,753, Jan 2025: 47,093), while green diesel registrations dropped by 44.3 per cent (Jan 2024: 2,525, Jan 2025: 4,533). Meanwhile, petrol hybrids show a slight growth of 7 per cent (Jan 2024: 2,101, Jan 2025: 2,249).
Top 30 EV models in Malaysia for January 2025
Proton’s first EV emerged as the most popular EV model last month with 421 units. This is followed by the BYD Sealion 7 at #2 with 151 units, BYD M6 at #3 with 136 units and BYD Atto 3 at #4 with 104 units. The list continues with the BMW i5 taking #5 spot with 103 units, followed by the BYD Seal at #6 at 95 units. Both the Xpeng G6 and Zeekr 007 share the #7 spot with both models registering 81 units each.
This is then followed by the GWM Ora Good Cat and 07 (Both are combined in JPJ’s data) at #9 with 43 units and the MG4 at #10 with 41 units. The Leapmotor C10 has also popped up on the top 30 list at #13 with 30 units registered.
The compact Zeekr X is ranked at #17 with 20 units registered, putting it right between the Smart #1 and #3 (Both are combined in JPJ’s data) at #16 which recorded 26 units registered and the Volvo at #19 with 18 units registered.
Interestingly, Tesla didn’t register that many vehicles in January with just 10 units of the Model Y and 3 units of the Model 3. Another odd entry is the Dong Feng “Viper”. It is likely to be a data entry error and this could be referring to the Dongfeng Box.
Top 20 EV brands in Malaysia for January 2025
In this terms of registrations by brand, BYD still takes the lead with 505 registrations, followed by Proton at #2 with 421 registrations. BMW remains the most popular premium EV brand and it currently takes the #3 spot with 230 registrations last month (264 units including Mini).
Zeekr which made its debut in Malaysia last December has emerged on the top 5 EV brand list for January 2025. It holds the #4 spot with 101 units, mostly driven by the Zeekr 009 MPV. This is then followed by Xpeng which currently takes the #5 spot with a single EV model.
It is no surprise that the Proton e.MAS 7 has emerged as the most popular EV in January as consumers are on the look out for new value for money options. For its sub RM120,000 price tag, the e.MAS 7 is seen as a serious contender for its generous amount of space and performance for a C-segment SUV.
Overall, Proton’s first EV ranks #25 last month beating the likes of the Toyota Yaris (391 units), GWM Haval H6 (344 units) and Mazda CX-5 (293 units). — SoyaCincau