"Electric is cheaper to run" is usually true. In Malaysia in 2026, though, it depends on where you charge. Petrol is subsidised through BUDI95, and public fast charging is priced much higher than electricity at home. Here's the sum, per kilometre, so you can check it against your own car.
Prices are as of September 2026. They change, so the method matters more than the exact figures.
The prices
Petrol. Through BUDI95, eligible Malaysians pay RM1.99 per litre for RON95, up to a monthly quota. The quota went up from 200 to 300 litres on 1 September 2026. Without the subsidy, RON95 was set at RM2.60 a litre when BUDI95 began.
Home charging. Under TNB's tariff from July 2025, a household using up to 1,500 kWh a month pays 27.03 sen (energy) + 4.55 sen (capacity) + 12.85 sen (network) = about 44 sen per kWh. On top of that:
- a small monthly fuel adjustment, up or down by up to 3 sen per kWh;
- a RM10 retail charge once you use more than 600 kWh a month;
- an energy efficiency discount of up to 25 sen per kWh for homes under 1,000 kWh a month, which gets smaller as you use more.
Charging a car adds to your usage, so some of that discount may disappear. The simplest check is your own bill: the total divided by the kWh used.
Public charging. DC fast charging costs roughly RM0.85 to RM1.80 per kWh depending on the network, according to EVSifu's 2026 comparison. ChargEV sits at the low end and Gentari's highway chargers at the top. Slower AC chargers can cost less.
Cost per 100 km
For the cars, we used two petrol cars at 6 and 8 litres per 100 km, and two EVs at 15 and 18 kWh per 100 km. These are round example figures, not any particular model.
| How you fuel it | 100 km costs | Per km |
|---|---|---|
| EV at 15 kWh/100km, charged at home (44 sen/kWh) | RM 6.66 | RM 0.07 |
| EV at 18 kWh/100km, charged at home | RM 8.00 | RM 0.08 |
| Petrol at 6 L/100km, RON95 at RM1.99 | RM 11.94 | RM 0.12 |
| EV at 15 kWh/100km, public DC at RM1.00/kWh | RM 15.00 | RM 0.15 |
| Petrol at 6 L/100km, unsubsidised RM2.60 | RM 15.60 | RM 0.16 |
| Petrol at 8 L/100km, RON95 at RM1.99 | RM 15.92 | RM 0.16 |
| EV at 15 kWh/100km, public DC at RM1.40/kWh | RM 21.00 | RM 0.21 |
| Petrol at 8 L/100km, unsubsidised RM2.60 | RM 20.80 | RM 0.21 |
| EV at 18 kWh/100km, public DC at RM1.80/kWh | RM 32.40 | RM 0.32 |
What the numbers say
- Charging at home costs about half as much as subsidised petrol per km. The EV uses RM 6.66 of electricity to cover 100 km. The economical petrol car uses RM 11.94 of RON95.
- Public fast charging can cost more than petrol. The EV at 15 kWh/100km matches a 7 L/100km petrol car on RM1.99 RON95 when DC charging costs about RM0.93 per kWh. Most public DC chargers cost more than that.
- Your mix decides it. Charge at home 80% of the time and at RM1.40 DC chargers for the rest, and the EV comes to about 9.5 sen per km, still cheaper than petrol. At a 50/50 mix it's about 14 sen per km, the same as a 7 L/100km petrol car.
This is energy only
These figures cover fuel and electricity, nothing else. Insurance, road tax, servicing and tyres differ between an EV and a petrol car, sometimes by more than the energy does. To compare two cars properly, add those in too; see what your car really costs per km.
Work out your own
- Keep every charging and fuel receipt for a month, with the kWh or litres on each.
- Note the odometer at the start and at the end of the month.
- Divide what you spent by the kilometres you drove.
For a petrol car, work out the fuel consumption with the full-tank method.
How OdoTick does it
OdoTick logs charges in kWh and marks each one home, work or public. It then shows what each kind of charging costs you per kWh, and how much more you paid for public charging. It uses the same cost per km for petrol and electric cars, so the two can sit side by side. It's free, works offline, and needs no account.