The novelty of bringing an electric car across the border and up to Kuala Lumpur has long worn off.

We now know that the infrastructure has matured to the point that even city-centric EVs can make the trip with little issue, with owners having plenty of charging options along the North-South Highway.

But the same cannot be said about drives to East Malaysia. For the longest time, this general region of our Northern neighbours suffered from a severe lack of support for electric cars. However, as EVs continue on their path to market saturation, is this still the case?

Or are charge providers now stepping up to the plate and offering support from an ever growing population of electron-powered automobiles? That’s the question we set out to answer on our recent drive from Forest City to Desaru (which was done in a Kia EV6 kindly provided by the folks at myCarriage).

There Are Still Gaps to Plug

There has been an explosive growth in EV charge operators in Malaysia. This corresponds to a relatively dense network of chargers within Johor Bahru City Centre (JBCC) itself. You’ll still be able to find terminals on the outskirts of the city, but connectivity is still fairly poor once you are past Mount Austin.

Happily however, if you leave JBCC with a decent state-of-charge, there’s no reason why you’d have any range anxiety on the drive towards the coastal town. Afterall, it is only about 100 odd kilometres away, well within the capabilities of most decent modern EVs.

Sure, a lot of the roads are free-flowing B roads (which means you’d use more charge), but even so you’d still comfortably reach your destination with charge in the tank.

Sufficient Chargers for now, but What About the Future?

Upon arriving at Desaru, you’d find two charging stations. One is located at Hard Rock Hotel, which has a DC 50kW (CCS), a CHAdeMo connector, and an AC 11kW charger. You’ll need your own Type 2 cable for the AC charging option.

Its neighbouring resort, Anantara Desaru Coast, has another two additional DC 60k CCS chargers. During our visits, around half the cars in the resort’s car park were electric. Despite this, there weren’t any charging conflicts. Drivers would automatically move their vehicles to let others charge.

It is convenient too, considering the chargers are located in the premises of the resort. From here, so long you leave Desaru on a close-to-full charge, you’d comfortably make it back into Singapore without having to worry about range anxiety.

Hidden Perk of EVs – Causeway Congestion

Electric vehicles are inherently more efficient at lower speeds. Unlike a traditional internal-combustion engine, the motor only draws current when you actually need momentum. Otherwise, only the ancillary systems in the car (aircon, infotainment, etc) are operational. They are also much quieter and more refined than their ICE-counterparts, making it less stressful to sit in traffic.

So can you visit East Malaysia with the current charging infrastructure? Well, we have done it, and without any range anxiety, so I guess that answers it. Just make sure you try and leave on a full charge.

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