KUALA LUMPUR: The national car agenda should be restructured as it has become irrelevant due to the limited opportunities provided for local talents in the segment, Gerakan Ekonomi Malaysia (GEM) said.
GEM president Armin Baniaz Pahamin said the national automotive policy is leaning more towards a rebadging system which rebrands an existing car model as a national car.
"The economy is affected by the new automotive policy which is not holistic, mainly on the aspects of national cars.
"Groups that are most affected by this include engineers and suppliers as the number of engineers needed would lessen when most of the research and development (R&D) of a vehicle is done in other countries by external engineers," he said in a statement today.
Armin said Malaysia-made cars are the biggest contributor to the economy. This is reflected in the sales of Proton Saga, Persona, Exora and Iriz that constitute 80 per cent of Proton Holdings Bhd's total sales.
"This shows that we have the expertise to produce vehicles successfully," he said.
He added that Proton's latest models such as the X50, X70 and X90 are re-badging models from China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd.
"The demand for local expertise such as engineers and suppliers will reduce without the production of new car models from local R&D. National cars are one of the main contributors in the economy, accounting for four per cent of the gross domestic product.
"The automotive segment opens up thousands of opportunities, increases demand for technical expertise, enables knowledge transfer and reduces dependency on foreign companies and suppliers," said Armin.
He added that as Proton's major shareholder, DRB-HICOM Bhd needs to play its role in prioritising national cars.