BIMB Securities remains 'neutral' on EV adoption outlook

PETALING JAYA: The future of the electric vehicles (EV) market in the country looks promising as structural incentives and increasing ESG awareness provide a supportive backdrop for long-term electrification.

But underinvestment in distribution infrastructure presents a structural bottleneck, said BIMB Securities Research.  The absence of proactive upgrades in substations and feeder lines, particularly in high-density urban and legacy residential areas, continue to constrain home-charging scalability. 

Until grid resilience improves materially, EV uptake may remain biased towards landed homes or public charging networks, delaying broader adoption. 

In this context, BIMB said, it sees selective upside for contractors exposed to grid enhancement projects and power distribution assets, while turning cautious on EV original equipment manufacturers and charging infrastructure players with concentrated exposure to the residential segment.

It retains its “neutral” stance on both the automotive sector and Malaysia’s EV adoption outlook.

Within its coverage, it maintains “hold” calls for Sime Darby Bhd and MBM Resources Bhd, while reiterating its “sell” call on Bermaz Auto Bhd.

Its target price for the three stocks are RM1.76, RM4.30 and 65 sen a share respectively.

Despite offering EV models across the board, it continues to favour Sime Darby for its balanced exposure, anchored by strong EV traction from BYD and BMW, and resilient Internal Combustion Engine volumes via Perodua. 

This diversified product mix enables Sime Darby to ride both ends of the adoption curve, supporting earnings stability as the market transitions.

In contrast, Bermaz Auto’s narrower model range and higher premium bias limit its relative defensiveness in a more price-sensitive and infrastructure-constrained EV landscape.

To ensure that EV adoption can scale sustainably, Malaysia must undertake several key actions, said BIMB. 

First, a comprehensive mapping and stress-testing exercise should be conducted to identify weak substations and prioritise them for upgrades.

Secondly, it suggested, public-private funding mechanisms should be mobilised, particularly involving government-linked companies and institutional investors, to finance grid modernisation efforts.

Thirdly, the development of a domestic battery recycling industry should be incentivised to manage end-of-life battery waste and enable second-life usage.  Finally, the adoption of smart load management technologies should be encouraged, particularly for home and commercial EV chargers.

These systems can balance power draw across time and location, reducing peak stress on the grid.

It adds that Malaysia’s current electricity generation capacity stands at 27,288MW, and is projected to rise to 40,000MW by 2029.  However, generation is not the primary bottleneck, the real pressure point lies in the distribution segment. 

Substations and feeder lines, particularly in mature urban areas, are not equipped to support EV charging loads ranging from 11–20kW per household. The issue becomes more acute when multiple households charge their vehicles concurrently, resulting in localised demand spikes that risk overloading transformers and causing power disruptions.