Malaysia Poised to Phase Out CNG Vehicles Over Safety Concerns
The Malaysian government has announced plans to phase out Compressed Natural Gas, (CNG) for vehicles and discontinue the sale of Natural Gas Vehicles, (NGV), in the country.
Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook discussed the transition at a recent press conference, as reported by local media outlet Free Malaysia Today, (FMT).
Malaysia initially adopted CNG in the late 1990s, for taxicabs and airport limousines where it is known as NGV.
“The NGV tanks of these vehicles are now reaching the end of their service life and need to be replaced,” he noted.
Fook also raised concerns about vehicle owners who have modified their cars with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, which he described as “very dangerous” and noted have caused explosions in accidents.
To aid in the transition, Fook announced that assistance packages are available for owners of CNG-powered vehicles.
“Taxi drivers using NGV vehicles are eligible for a one-off RM3,000 e-voucher through Petronas’s Setel mobile app,” he explained.
He said upon accepting the package, vehicles will be taken to an authorized automotive treatment facility for disposal and deregistration by JPJ.
Mr Fook emphasised the importance of these steps to “prevent the misuse of the vehicles or any illegal modification that could endanger the public.”
He noted that payments under the support package will be processed “within three to seven working days of receiving a vehicle’s certificate of destruction and deregistration slip.”
