Decision methodology

No black box.
Here is the whole method.

Every recommendation runs this pipeline, in this order, over 184 Malaysian trims. The maths is published so you — or anyone who knows the field — can check it.

Six criteria decide the ranking

Your four sliders set the weights; the engine spreads them across these six measures. Weights always sum to 1.

Lifetime cost

0.24

Ten-year ownership cost — financing, insurance, servicing, road tax

tco_excluding_rm

Lower is better · base weight

Range fit

0.15

How the car's range matches your commute and long trips

behaviour_score

Higher is better · base weight

Charging access

0.13

Chargers near your postcode and along your usual routes

infrastructure_score

Higher is better · base weight

Emissions

0.15

Well-to-wheel CO₂, using your grid region's carbon intensity

co2_kg_yr

Lower is better · base weight

Purchase price

0.17

What you pay on the road, before running costs

purchase_price_rm

Lower is better · base weight

Running cost

0.16

Yearly electricity or fuel for how you actually drive

running_cost_rm_yr

Lower is better · base weight

How a recommendation is built

Your inputs

Distance, driving days, charging access, budget, postcode, grid region and electricity bill. Nothing else is asked, and nothing is inferred.

Budget screen

Anything above your maximum is removed before scoring, so an unaffordable car is never ranked first.

Charging feasibility gate

Battery-electric cars are removed when you have neither home nor workplace charging and fewer than five public points within 20 km. Plug-in hybrids stay — they still run on petrol.

20 km · 5 points

Cost engine

Ten years of financing interest, insurance, servicing, road tax and the opportunity cost of your deposit. Purchase price and running cost are scored separately so nothing is counted twice.

Energy engine

Yearly electricity or fuel for your actual mileage, priced on TNB tariffs and pump prices, plus well-to-wheel CO₂ at your grid region's carbon intensity.

Range engine

Real-world range after tropical heat and highway speeds, checked against your daily distance and the long trips you actually make.

Infrastructure engine

Operational public chargers around your postcode and the density and worst gap along your usual long-distance corridor.

TOPSIS ranking

Every surviving car is ranked by how close it sits to the best possible combination of all six criteria, and how far from the worst.

6 criteria

Grid emission factors

Electricity is not equally clean across Malaysia. Published factors, kg CO₂e per kWh.

0.740

kg CO₂e / kWh

Peninsular Malaysia

0.539

kg CO₂e / kWh

Sabah

0.199

kg CO₂e / kWh

Sarawak

Step 08

How the final score is computed

Vector normalisation, then your weights, then distance to the best and worst possible outcome.

Eq. 43 · Vector normalisation

rᵢⱼ = xᵢⱼ / √( Σᵢ xᵢⱼ² )

Eq. 44 · Apply your weights

vᵢⱼ = wⱼ × rᵢⱼ

Eq. 46 · Ideal solution

A⁺ = { min v_money , min v_env , max v_conv }

Eq. 47 · Anti-ideal solution

A⁻ = { max v_money , max v_env , min v_conv }

Eq. 48 · Distance to ideal

Dᵢ⁺ = √[ Σⱼ ( vᵢⱼ − vⱼ⁺ )² ]

Eq. 49 · Distance to anti-ideal

Dᵢ⁻ = √[ Σⱼ ( vᵢⱼ − vⱼ⁻ )² ]

Eq. 50 · Closeness coefficient

TOPSISᵢ = Dᵢ⁻ / ( Dᵢ⁺ + Dᵢ⁻ )

Your four sliders spread across six weights that sum to 1.Higher closeness ranks higher.

Sources

The framework is built on published work, not house opinion.

[1]
Woody, M., Adderly, S. A., Bohra, R., & Keoleian, G. A. (2024). Electric and gasoline vehicle total cost of ownership across US cities. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 28(2), 194–215. doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13463
[2]
International Energy Agency (2026). Total cost of ownership difference between BEV and ICE cars, and BEV payback period.
[3]
Shahrimal, M. W., Idris, M., Yusuf, A. A., & Fattah, I. M. R. (2025). Electric vehicle life cycle assessment: life cycle emission and life cycle cost of various electric vehicles. stepxjournal.org/index.php/stepx/article/view/2
[4]
Yamada, T., & Akisawa, A. (2025). Evaluation of charging frequency for electric vehicles considering drivers' charging behaviours and high output chargers. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 170, 110955. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2025.110955
[5]
Solaratap Malaysia. Solar Calculator Malaysia 2026. solaratap.com.my/solar-calculator.html
[6]
Onn, C. C., et al. (2018). Greenhouse gas emissions associated with electric vehicle charging: the impact of electricity generation mix in a developing country. Transportation Research Part D, 64, 15–22. Malaysia-focused well-to-wheel evidence. doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.06.018
[7]
Safiei, N. A., & Mohamed, N. (2025). A well-to-wheel analysis of greenhouse gas emissions for electric vehicle and internal combustion engine vehicle. Progress in Engineering Application and Technology, 6(1), 805–813.
[8]
Energy Commission Malaysia / Malaysia Energy Statistics (2026, provisional 2022–2024 data). Grid emission factors by region.
[9]
Champeecharoensuk, T., et al. (2025). Total cost of ownership analysis of electric vehicles in ASEAN. Energy for Sustainable Development, 85, 101650. doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2024.101650
[10]
ERIA Study Team (2023), p. 64 — flat maintenance benchmark values used in the life-cycle cost section.

See it run on your own numbers

The same eight steps, applied to how you actually drive.

No black box.Here is the whole method.

Six criteria decide the ranking

Lifetime cost

Range fit

Charging access

Emissions

Purchase price

Running cost

How a recommendation is built

Your inputs

Budget screen

Charging feasibility gate

Cost engine

Energy engine

Range engine

Infrastructure engine

TOPSIS ranking

Grid emission factors

How the final score is computed

Sources

See it run on your own numbers

No black box.
Here is the whole method.