Doctor’s Prescription: EVs

With the recent hike in oil price, everyone has become Mr. Grumpy and Mr. Rebellious. Some say we should boycott Petronas while in the Middle East, oil wars about oil are not about to stop. Similarly in Europe, strikes and demonstrations are taking place as we speak. On the local front, Malaysians are now left in desperate corners to fend for their own.

Government officials are having a tough time transferring this news to the consumers. What are the consumers going to do now? Income levels are still the same, yet the price of everything around us keeps on increasing. Life is actually getting tougher now than before. Even as a working middle class individual (who make up three quarter of our population), we still feel the pinch. Can you imagine the poor? The truth is that the economies in Malaysia are divergent and disparate, therefore 'reality bites' more for poorer, less developed nations.

Yet Malaysians just didn’t see this coming. We were not educated or aware of the fact that natural resources like oil, for instance, is limited in supply. The planet only has finite resources. From forests, rivers, lakes to other resources like tin, coal, and precious “black gold”.

It has taken several millions of years for the planet to produce oil and we took only about 50 years to deplete its resources. We tend to use natural resources without much consideration for the future generations. And now, when reality hits us, we start putting the blame on others.

(It's worthwhile reminding ourselves that in the 1990s, a barrel of oil was selling at US$10-20; in 2006 US$70; and today June 2008 we're at US$135 per barrel.)

So now that we are all feeling the burden of paying for gas, what are we going to do? Public transportation is not going to improve overnight. An old friend from WWF-Malaysia told me that he attempted to use public transportation for a week, after the government announced the price hike. It actually took him longer to get to work because of the bad service (e.g., buses not arriving on time and etc). Give public transportation a few more years.

In the future, oil prices can only go up, and not down because reserves are low. We could ideally drive smaller capacity cars to reduce oil consumption. Or we could also turn to those fancy hybrid cars, except, we have not had the chance to try it out here in Malaysia. Why isn’t the Malaysian government taking any pro-active initiatives to promote hydrid cars? Who do car manufacturers talk to?

Now we are told to buck up and face up to the facts. No more subsidies, we were informed. Be more prudent, we were advised. But life doesn’t work that way. Show the people alternatives! Invest in more sustainable technologies and practices – those that do away with oil. Give us tax incentives if we choose to use green technology to minimize our dependence on oil or coal, or anything that’s limited in resources. Why didn’t we anticipate this? Why weren’t there alternatives? What were we thinking?

Were we not foolish to think that oil will always be available? Were we not foolish to think that our children will be living in conditions that are similar to today?

So let EcoKnights’ prescribe a simple remedy:

OPEN YOUR EYES WIDE, and LISTEN and EXPLORE the kind of alternatives are available out there.

Take vehicles for instance. Cars in Malaysia are NOT a luxury, but a necessity. Imagine that many cars are now hire-purchased upwards to 9 years! Imagine the interests one has to cough up, the loss of discretionary spending power for more productive purposes rather than just servicing unending loans. Painfully count the numbers - of wasted funds, which are a form of individual tax, the benefits of which elude us.

Of course, one can also argue for greater utilization of local public transport, but these have always been the most inconsistent and arguably the worst managed public service. One spends hours in erratic, uncomfortable, crammed spaces, which once again makes the task of getting to and from work all the more wasteful in terms of loss of time, energy and productivity.

The obvious solution to these two main problems has always been there. We, on the other hand, failed to explore it, and are now, scrambling to look for alternatives.

Take the EV (abbreviation for “electric vehicle”) for instance. The EVs have been around for more than a decade yet it never really made it to be successfully commercial in the larger parts of the planet. Why is this so? If we have all watched “Who Killed the Electric Car?” we’d learn to understand that the EVs’ failure was due to the manipulation of the US government, with leading oil and gas industries, and the automakers association.

Oil is such a lucrative commodity that if we don’t push for cars, and insist that cars are powered by oil, then there is no justification for the existence of car makers AND oil and gas suppliers. These big guys would essentially be out of a job. To ensure that everyone stays in the industry and reap the benefits from the consumers, the EV was shot down in so many ways, up to a point where General Motors decided to recall all EVs and ended up crushing them at undisclosed locations in the United States. This caused the outrage of many Americans, who were pretty much happy using electric vehicles. Not only were these EVs cheaper to maintain, they did not emit any carbon at all. Plus, the EVs were known to have the lower coefficient drag which means the design is made to cut through air and provide minimal friction, thereby increasing efficiency. With a charger kit, you can basically charge the car any where as long as there is a plug point. And the list of benefits goes on.

Yes, we are switching from one energy mode to another but electric vehicles are still economical and relatively easy to use. Again, there is no carbon emission. If one billion petrol-driven cars switch to electric-driven vehicles, we could potentially be reducing CO2 emissions by a whole lot. Take Tesla Motor’s EV for instance. Not only is it a performance car, it only consumes about USD 0.02 cents worth of electricity for 2 miles. Comparing this to gas-driven cars, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which is the wiser option. But hold your horses’ guys because Tesla is not coming to Asia anytime soon although you can still log on to their website (www.teslamotors.com) and request to be on a waiting list.

I mean, if Carlos Ghosn thinks that electric cars can make it, well, I will jump on the proverbial bandwagon. By late 2010, or so it seems, they will have developed an under USD 3,000 electric car in India. Depending on practicality and aesthetics, that would good news. It would be a more feasible car which could very well be the start of the next Ford Revolution.

Good news though - Some more affordable highway speed EVs are approaching the production stage. The first will be the Green Vehicles Triac, (this one is spot on with the ladies). With an 80 mph top speed and a 100-mile range (soon, the optional capacity boost battery pack will add 25%), sustainable living is a real possibility. In fact, this zero-emissions vehicle has the extra advantage of being allowed in the carpool lane with only a single occupant. Charging takes 6 hours to go from zip to full, and is as simple as plugging in a toaster). It will be available in July 2008. At a cost of just $20,000, the Triac will have a top speed of 80 mph and range of 100 miles per charge.

In October 2008 the Aptera typ-1e is scheduled for release. At a price of $26,900, the typ-1e will have a top speed of 85 mph and range of 120 miles per charge. In 2009 the CityZENN, ZAP Alias, and Miles XS500 are planned for release. The Alias will have a top speed of 156 mph and range of 100 miles at a cost of around $32,000. The CityZENN projects a top speed of 80 mph and impressive range of 250 miles per charge, though no price has been set. The XS500 will have a top speed of 80 mph and a range of 120 miles at a cost of around $37,000.

So why don’t we have EVs here in Malaysia? This is because there is no demand from our fellow countrymen. Not many are aware of such technology or have knowledge of such products. I can assure you that only a handful of Malaysians are aware of EVs let alone informed of its availability. Yet the local automotive industry has not explored this. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment too have not explored this option. Neither has the Ministry of International Trade and Investment (MITI). So what does it take to present a simple solution to the oil crisis and climate change problems?

In this case, a bit of common sense and some support from everyone out there.

This is why I dedicated time for this article. I will provide you with information about Tesla Motor’s EV, one of the best in the world and if brought over to Malaysia, would not only help minimize our dependency on fuel, but also reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere.

What I need from you guys is this:

1. Log on to the website as a registered user.
2. Send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it indicating your interest to learn more about EVs and why you would want to purchase an EV (electric vehicle) and how the government should encourage such wise alternatives.
3. EcoKnights will compile all these requests and submit it to the appropriate authority to request for public dialogues and the possibility of exploring avenues to bring the EV to Malaysia, and Asia.

To get you all hot and excited about EVs, here are some visuals which will lead to some drooling for the guys…and girls.

Above: The EV1. Read on more here at www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com.

Above: A close up of the rear end of the EV1.

Above: Tesla Motor's sweet baby! Fast, furious and friendly!