ID :
240026
Mon, 05/14/2012 - 12:28
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/240026
The shortlink copeid
Announcements From Car Makers On EEV Production In M'sia Soon: MITI
SHAH ALAM (Selangor, Malaysia), May 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Deputy
Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Mukhriz Mahathir today said
the government expected some announcements from vehicle manufacturers or
assemblers, including big car makers to produce Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEVs)
in Malaysia soon.
"We hope to see some announcements being made by some of the big car makers
in the near future based on the incentives we offered and I'm quite confident
they will be taking advantage of some of the special incentives we are
providing," he said.
Mukhriz told reporters this after officiating the two-day National
Automotive Technology and Digital Engineering Symposium (NATDES) organised by
the ministry's agency, Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), which began Monday.
He said the incentives for automakers to produce more EEVs in Malaysia has
been announced in the previous National Automotive Policy (NAP) but it took
some time for them to understand the benefits offered to them by the government.
Asked when the much-awaited NAP review would be unveiled, he said, "Let the
(MITI) minister, Mustapa Mohamed announced it and the NAP would provide a road
map for the local automotive industry from this year up to 2020."
He also said there was some misconception on the scope or meaning of EEV
because people tended to assume it was meant for hybrid and electric cars but
EEV also included car with internal combustion engine which have higher mileage
per litre of fuel and lesser omission of carbon dioxide.
"For all these type of cars we have provided incentives. So, we are not
looking at electric or hybrid but also fully combustion engine cars which are
becoming more energy efficient even for diesel," he said.
At the moment, he said EEV comprised mostly hybrid and electric cars
representing about one per cent of the total vehicles on the road.
Asked how the government wanted to boost the EEV production while still
subsidising the fuel price, Mukhriz said the government could not cut the
subsidies drastically as the usage of more EEVs was still at the early stage in
this country and very few people were using them.
"If subsidies are reduced in the short term, it would give quite a negative
impact on many people. On this awareness, we must implement it in phases," he
said.
Meanwhile, MAI Chief Executive Officer Mohamad Madani Sahari told reporters
that with the incentives provided by the government, hopefully the percentage of
EEVs on the Malaysian road could reach double-digit by 2020 from a mere one per
cent at present.
He said MAI was not only looking for the greener vehicle but expected the
car manufacturing process as well as the selection of parts material should also
be greener, such as the recyclability of those parts.
-- BERNAMA