01The cheapest road tax in the market
Road tax is the one ownership cost that is exactly knowable in advance. JPJ publishes a fixed schedule, your engine size is on the registration card, and the answer follows without estimation.
RM20
Lowest annual road tax
Perodua Axia, on a sub-1,000cc engine
82×
Spread across our measured models
RM20 against RM1,637 for a BMW X5
RM110.40
Cost of the 1,601st cubic centimetre
On a saloon — RM180.30 on an SUV
| Model | Body | Engine size | Annual road tax | 5-year retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perodua Axia | Hatchback | 1,000cc | RM20 | 74.0% |
| Proton Saga | Sedan | 1,332cc | RM70 | 70.5% |
| Perodua Myvi | Hatchback | 1,495cc | RM90 | 79.4% |
| Toyota Yaris | Hatchback | 1,496cc | RM90 | 75.9% |
| Honda City | Sedan | 1,498cc | RM90 | 77.2% |
| Nissan Almera | Sedan | 1,498cc | RM90 | 59.0% |
| Toyota Vios | Sedan | 1,500cc | RM90 | 72.2% |
| Proton Iriz | Hatchback | 1,597cc | RM90 | 75.2% |
| Perodua Alza | MPV | 1,500cc | RM120 | 77.2% |
| Perodua Aruz | SUV | 1,500cc | RM120 | 71.4% |
The Proton Iriz is the instructive entry. At 1,597cc it sits three cubic centimetres below the boundary and pays RM90. Had its engine been designed 4cc larger it would pay RM200.40 — a difference of RM110.40 every year, or RM1,104 across a decade of ownership, for no change a driver would ever notice.
02The 1,600cc cliff
Malaysia's road tax schedule is flat in four bands up to 1,600cc and progressive above it. That structural break produces the single largest jump in the whole table, and it lands exactly where a great many engines are designed.
| Engine size | Saloon rate | Non-saloon rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,000cc | RM20 | RM20 | The cheapest band, and identical on both scales |
| 1,001–1,200cc | RM55 | RM85 | Flat |
| 1,201–1,400cc | RM70 | RM100 | Flat |
| 1,401–1,600cc | RM90 | RM120 | Flat — the last cheap band |
| 1,601–1,800cc | RM200 + RM0.40/cc above 1,600 | RM300 + RM0.30/cc above 1,600 | The cliff |
| 1,801–2,000cc | RM280 + RM0.50/cc above 1,800 | RM360 + RM0.40/cc above 1,800 | Progressive |
| 2,001–2,500cc | RM380 + RM1.00/cc above 2,000 | RM440 + RM0.80/cc above 2,000 | The scales cross at 2,300cc |
| 2,501–3,000cc | RM880 + RM2.50/cc above 2,500 | RM840 + RM1.60/cc above 2,500 | Non-saloon now cheaper |
| Above 3,000cc | RM2,130 + RM4.50/cc above 3,000 | RM1,640 + RM1.60/cc above 3,000 | The gap widens sharply |
03SUVs pay more, until suddenly they pay less
Malaysia runs two schedules — one for saloons, one for SUVs, MPVs, vans and pickups. The usual assumption is that the non-saloon scale is punitive. For most of the range it is, and then it reverses.
| Displacement | Saloon pays | Non-saloon pays | Which is cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,500cc | RM90 | RM120 | Saloon, by RM30 |
| 2,000cc | RM380 | RM440 | Saloon, by RM60 |
| 2,300cc | RM680 | RM680 | Identical — the crossover |
| 2,500cc | RM880 | RM840 | Non-saloon, by RM40 |
| 3,000cc | RM2,130 | RM1,640 | Non-saloon, by RM490 |
This produces a counter-intuitive result at the top of the market. A 3.0-litre BMW X5 pays RM1,637 a year, while a 3.0-litre saloon of the same displacement would pay RM2,130. The SUV body style, which costs more to tax on every mainstream engine in Malaysia, becomes a tax advantage precisely on the cars where the bill is large enough to notice.
04How much road tax should actually influence you
Having established that road tax varies eighty-two-fold, the honest next step is to say how much that matters against the other costs of owning the same cars.
| Model | Road tax a year | Depreciation a year | Road tax as a share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perodua Axia | RM20 | RM1,544 | 1.3% |
| Proton Saga | RM70 | RM1,593 | 4.4% |
| Perodua Myvi | RM90 | RM1,889 | 4.8% |
| Perodua Aruz | RM120 | RM2,539 | 4.7% |
| Honda HR-V | RM360 | RM7,163 | 5.0% |
| Mazda CX-5 | RM440 | RM7,942 | 5.5% |
| Toyota Alphard | RM834 | RM16,344 | 5.1% |
| BMW X5 | RM1,637 | RM41,757 | 3.9% |
Road tax never exceeds about 5% of what the same car loses in value in a year, and on the cheapest car in the table it is barely 1%. That is the proportion to keep in mind: it is a real, recurring, exactly-knowable cost, and it is not the cost that decides whether a car is affordable.
Where it genuinely does matter:
- Choosing between variants of one model. If a 1.5 and a 1.8 version of the same car sit either side of 1,600cc, the smaller engine saves RM110 to RM180 a year for the life of the car.
- Very long ownership. RM110 a year is RM1,650 over fifteen years, which is meaningful on a car worth RM20,000.
- Older cars, where depreciation has flattened. Once a car is past ten years old and losing RM2,000 a year, a RM440 road-tax bill is a fifth of its depreciation rather than a twentieth.
- Sabah and Sarawak. The East Malaysian schedule is separate and lower, so the Peninsular figures here overstate the bill there.
05What to actually do with this
- If road tax is your priority, buy under 1,600cc. Ten of the twenty-nine models we measured qualify, and they include the strongest retainers in the market — the Myvi at 79.4% and the Honda City at 77.2%.
- Check the exact displacement, not the badge. A '1.6' can be 1,597cc or 1,600cc and pay RM90, or 1,598cc in one variant and something above the line in another. The registration card is the authority.
- Do not pay a premium to save road tax. At 1.3% to 5.5% of annual depreciation, the tax will never repay a materially higher purchase price.
- If you are looking at a large car, compare the two scales. Above 2,300cc the SUV body is the cheaper one to tax, which is the opposite of the rule that holds below it.
- In every case: road tax is the small, certain number. The large, uncertain one is what the car is worth, and that is worth checking properly.
Frequently asked questions
Which car has the lowest road tax in Malaysia?
Of the models in our retention analysis, the Perodua Axia at RM20 a year, because every variant uses a sub-1,000cc engine and sits in the lowest band JPJ has. The Proton Saga follows at RM70 on 1,332cc, then a group at RM90 including the Perodua Myvi, Toyota Yaris, Honda City, Toyota Vios and Proton Iriz — all under 1,600cc.
Why does road tax jump so much above 1,600cc in Malaysia?
Because the schedule changes shape there. Up to 1,600cc the rates are flat — RM20, RM55, RM70 and RM90 for a saloon — and above it they become a base rate plus a per-cc charge. The result is a cliff: a 1,600cc saloon pays RM90 and a 1,601cc saloon pays RM200.40, a 123% increase for one cubic centimetre. On the non-saloon scale it is RM120 to RM300.30.
Do SUVs pay more road tax than cars in Malaysia?
Below about 2,300cc, yes. Malaysia assesses SUVs, MPVs, vans and pickups on a separate non-saloon scale that charges more in the mainstream bands — RM120 against RM90 at 1,500cc, RM440 against RM380 at 2,000cc. The two scales cross at exactly 2,300cc, and above that the non-saloon scale is cheaper: at 3,000cc it is RM1,640 against RM2,130.
How much does road tax matter compared to other car costs?
Less than most people assume. Across our measured models road tax runs between 1.3% and 5.5% of what the same car loses in value each year — RM20 against RM1,544 on a Perodua Axia, RM1,637 against RM41,757 on a BMW X5. It is worth optimising when choosing between variants of one model, and it is not worth paying a higher purchase price to reduce.
Is road tax the same in Sabah and Sarawak?
No. East Malaysia uses a separate and lower schedule, so every figure in this article, which is the Peninsular private-individual rate, overstates what the same car would pay in Sabah or Sarawak. JPJ's renewal guide sets out the applicable rates.