Penang Road Transport Department (JPJ) seized 51 luxury vehicles in the first five months of 2026 for failing to renew their road tax, according to officials [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The seized vehicles included BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Jaguar, Ford Mustang, Porsche, Mini Cooper, Hyundai electric cars, and Toyota Vellfire models. Their total estimated value reached RM14 million [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
From January 1 to May 21, these unpaid road tax offences caused government revenue losses estimated between RM174,000 and RM175,236.92, JPJ officials said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. This follows enforcement efforts launched in June 2025 targeting luxury car compliance, under an operation named "Ops Luxury" [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The Penang JPJ director, Zulkifly Ismail, emphasized that owners' excuses -- claiming they forgot or rarely use the cars -- are unacceptable. "Even if a vehicle is rarely used, it must still have a valid motor vehicle licence if it is driven on the road," he said [2]. He added the high road tax rates on luxury models make the losses substantial [3]. For example, road tax for a Ford Mustang can exceed RM10,900 annually [2, 4, 5].
Some vehicles seized had road tax expired for multiple years, including a BMW since 2020, a Jaguar since 2021, and a Ford Mustang since 2022 [2, 3, 4, 5]. Owners of some seized cars hold honorific titles like Datuk and Datuk Seri [2, 3, 4, 5].
Penang JPJ did not identify any repeat offenders from last year's operation, which saw 73 luxury cars seized between June and December 2025, costing about RM88,000 in unpaid tax [2, 3, 4, 5]. Zulkifly said the department will continue periodic enforcement to catch violators [4].
Despite ongoing enforcement since mid-2025, many vehicles without valid road tax remain on public roads [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Penang JPJ held a press conference on May 22 to announce the latest seizures and to reiterate the need for compliance [4].
