Malaysian mobile operator CelcomDigi announced a new partnership on Tuesday with Yinson GreenTech under which new postpaid 5G customers can also get an electric bike on an instalment plan.
Under the deal between Yinson GreenTech and CelcomDigi’s Innovation Centre, customers who sign up for any CelcomDigi postpaid 5G plan can simultaneously subscribe to a 36-month instalment plan to lease-to-own one of two rydeEV e-bikes.
CelcomDigi currently offers postpaid 5G plans ranging from RM70 (US$15) to RM201 per month. Adding an e-bike will cost 5G users an extra RM299 to RM430 per month, depending on the e-bike model. The lease plan requires no upfront payment (for eligible customers), charges no interest and includes RM10 postpaid plan rebates for the duration of the instalment plan. Once the lease is up, customers can return the e-bike or purchase it for 1 ringgit.
The lease plan includes unlimited battery swaps at appointed battery stations within Klang Valley, road tax and insurance coverage, and e-bike maintenance (excluding tyres). Early adopters also get a free helmet.
The 5G + e-bike scheme follows an MoU signed by CelcomDigi and Yinson GreenTech in September 2023 to explore development of innovative electric vehicle services and infrastructure for Malaysian consumers, which CelcomDigi says contributes the government’s plans to drive EV and green energy adoption in Malaysia.
That includes the government’s new Electric Motorcycle Usage Scheme under its Budget 2024, in which anyone who leases or buys an e-bike is eligible for a RM200 monthly rebate over a period of 12 months, which effectively knocks RM2,400 off the price.
“Major shifts in the transportation landscape all point to electric vehicles being the future, and we now have the opportunity to accelerate EV adoption in Malaysia. Change can come fast if we think differently about cross-industry collaborations,” said CelcomDigi CEO Idham Nawawi. “Together [with Yinson Greentech], we can make EV more accessible to a large number of Malaysians at scale, quickly, in the most convenient and familiar way – now as easy as subscribing to a postpaid plan.”
