MITI to announce NAP review in mid-2018: Mustapa

KUALA LUMPUR: A review of the National Automotive Policy (NAP) will be announced in the middle of the year, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

The revised NAP will focus on big data, connectivity, lifestyle, mobility and next generation vehicles.

It was vital for the government to revise the NAP in line with the global development trends in the automotive sector beyond energy efficient vehicles (EEVs), Mustapa said at a briefing on the sector’s performance last year and outlook for 2018 here yesterday.

“We hope in mid-2018, we will have a new national automotive policy. We need to recognise and embrace what is happening throughout the world like carbon emission, environmental issue as well as fuel efficiency,” he said.

The NAP was first introduced in 2014 that saw local automotive sector transitioning into greener technology for EEVs.

The move was in tandem with the government’s aspiration to establish Malaysia as a regional automotive hub for EEVs in Asean.

“Malaysia’s vehicle to 1,000 people ratio is comparatively high with ratio of 348.6 compared to other Asean countries,” he said.

Mustapa said the country’s EEVs penetration is expected to increase 60 per cent in 2018 from 52 per cent last year. This was due to the support and participation of government institutions, automotive original equipment manufacturers, vendors and the public.

The local EEV production increased from 247,912 units in 2016 to 308,807 units last year.

“EEV penetration had increased for fourth consecutive year, reaching 52 per cent of vehicles sold in Malaysia in 2017," he said, adding that the figure had surpassed the government's 50 per cent target.

Mustapa said the total industry volume (TIV) is expected to increase two per cent between 586,000 units and 591,000 units this year on continuous holistic growth in the automotive market.

He pointed out the local automotive sector pledged about RM3.99 billion in investment commitment between 2018 and 2022, in addition to the RM7.6 billion realised as at 2017.

“We expect the automotive sector to contribute 4.5 per cent to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2018, from four per cent GDP growth last year,” he said.

Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) chief executive officer Datuk Madani Sahari said the current EEV penetration was encouraging as new model launches nearly feature EEVs.

“Based on our internal data, of the expected 70 new car launches this year, about 95 per cent are EEV models.

“EEVs accounted for about 90 per cent of the total 58 cars launches last year. Hence, the EEV penetration will increase this year,” he said.

Madani said the 80 per cent local EEV penetration by 2020 is a realistic target, citing that the automotive industry is gradually growing holistically.

MAI expects higher total production volume (TPV) of four per cent for both combined domestic consumption and exports between 530,000 units and 535,000 units.

Madani said imported cars contributed between eight per cent and 10 per cent of the total TIV in the past years.

According to MITI, vehicle exports are projected to hit 34,000 units this year from last year’s target of 31,000 units.

 

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