EV road tax from 2026: the number owners have not seen yet

What ended, and when

Battery electric vehicles registered in Malaysia enjoyed a full road tax exemption through 31 December 2025. From 1 January 2026, JPJ began charging EV road tax under a power-based structure. Because road tax is paid annually, an owner who renewed at RM0 in the closing weeks of 2025 has not yet met the new figure. Renewals falling in the last quarter of 2026 are where it lands for the first time.

Why it is not based on engine size

Petrol and diesel road tax scales with engine displacement in cubic centimetres. An electric motor has no displacement, so JPJ uses the motor’s rated output in kilowatts instead.

The structure is eleven bands, labelled A to K. Under 50 kW the charge is a flat RM20 a year. Above that, each band carries a base rate plus an increment for every 10 kW block above the band’s floor. The result is a figure that climbs smoothly with power rather than jumping at each threshold, which is the part that surprises people who assume a car priced like a petrol 1.6 will be taxed like one. Compare car insurance renewal quotes conveniently through iMoney.

kW, not kWh

The single most common mistake is reading the wrong number off the brochure. Battery capacity is quoted in kilowatt-hours (kWh), and it is the number carmakers lead with because it maps to range. Road tax uses motor output in kilowatts (kW), a different figure that describes power, not storage. A car can carry a large battery and a modest motor, or the reverse. Only the motor rating decides the road tax.

The kW figure is printed on the vehicle registration card, the geran. If your card shows both, use the kW line.

What it means by model

Because the charge follows power, the popular models spread out in an order that has nothing to do with sticker price. Published examples, which we will confirm against the JPJ schedule before this goes live:

• A 70 kW BYD Dolphin at RM40 a year
• A BYD Atto 3 at RM160
• A Tesla Model Y RWD at RM305
• A car rated around 228 kW at roughly RM335
• The most powerful models above 500 kW at RM2,100 and up

Two things stand out. First, for most mainstream EVs the figure remains well under the road tax of a petrol car with comparable performance. Second, two EVs with similar prices can land hundreds of ringgit apart, because one carries a more powerful motor. If you are shopping, the kW rating belongs in the comparison alongside price and range. Learn more about road tax and insurance guide through the iMoney Learning Center.

The exemption that still applies

One EV per registered OKU owner remains fully exempt from road tax, as with petrol vehicles. The application route is the same as for combustion cars.

Renewing without a surprise

Two practical points. Motor insurance must be active before JPJ will issue the road tax, so the insurance renewal comes first in the sequence; the e-cover note is what unlocks the road tax. And because the figure is now non-zero, it belongs in the household sinking fund alongside the insurance premium rather than arriving as a shock in the renewal month.

Once you have the kW rating, the band table gives you the annual figure directly, and iMoney’s road tax calculator does the arithmetic.