malaysia automotive industry

In a parliament sitting last week, Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar explained why Malaysia lags in the automotive sector. "Focusing on the automotive sector, we can see that Proton and the government policies back then were stumbling blocks to the development of the national automotive industry,” said Wan Junaidi, in response to a question posed by Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN, Pontian) at the Dewan Rakyat sitting last Wednesday

Sanjay

Aug 10, 2020

The 6-month long loan moratorium is set to expire in September and its expiry could have some negative impact on the Malaysian automotive industry. The loan moratorium went into effect in April as the country entered the Movement Control Order (MCO) period. Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Datuk Aishah Ahmad told The Edge, “People will not have the money to buy new vehicles. But I think it depends on the category of vehicles. I think high-end vehicles will not be impacted; people

Eric

Jul 27, 2020

Geely has become the first Asian automaker to join IATF, a global automotive quality standards organization. The International Automotive Task Force (IATF) is a group of automotive manufacturers which aims at providing improved quality products to automotive customers worldwide. With its admission, Geely will now participate in the formation and improvement of international quality standards with other global automotive groups to promote the sustainable development of the world’s automotive indu

Arif

Apr 9, 2021

From fuel standards to Approved Permits to tax structures, the last 18 months have been marked by a lot of uncertainties in the Malaysian automotive industry. Last October, the government announced that it is backtracking on its commitment to roll out lower sulphur Euro 4M standard RON 95 petrol by 14 months, from 1-October 2018 to 1-January 2020. The Ministry Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs nonchalantly announced the postponement only on 5-October 2018, saying that the delay was due to the

Hans

Oct 21, 2019

Earlier this year, the NPM (National Platform Future of Mobility) predicted 400,000 car industry jobs in Germany could be gone by 2030. The NPM is a research agency funded by the German government. DW reports that the main reason behind this prediction is the rapid transition from internal combustion engines to electromobility, or electrification, accelerated by the EU's 2030 climate targets for the transport sector. Electric cars require 6 times fewer parts. Hence, far fewer workers are needed

Arif

Jul 10, 2020

Waiting for the announcement of the new National Automotive Policy (NAP) is a bit like waiting for the next installment of the Fast and Furious. You know it’s going to be bad but you still want to watch it. Although the automotive industry already knows what to expect – more of the same old, a lot of lofty goals but lacking in details. However professional managers are obligated to make decisions based on data and official sources of information, so car companies will still need to wait for an o

Hans

Feb 21, 2020

It has been revealed that Perodua Suppliers Association (P2SA) and Perodua will be working together to draw up standard operating procedures (SOP) for the automotive industry. P2SA also claims that the extended Movement Control Order (MCO) to 18 February 2021 will help protect the industry until vaccination begins. P2SA president Musa Zahidin Ahmad Zaidee told Bernama that the association takes the safety of all their members seriously and making sure that all its employees are strictly adhering

Jerrica

Feb 9, 2021

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) welcomes the announcement of the incentives provided to the Malaysian auto industry announced by the Prime Minister today. The incentives are part of the Government’s Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 15 June and 31 December 2020, the Government will allow exemption on 10% Sales Tax for the purchase of new vehicles. For locally-assembled (CKD) models, the exemption will be 100% while for imported (CBU) models,

Brian

Jun 5, 2020

Market intelligence forms the basis of any company’s ability to make reliable forecasts and volume planning. Without it, the company is merely shooting in the dark. What is the projected sales mix between the S, E, and V variants of the Honda City? What’s the monthly sales volume? What’s the colour demand trend? All these questions need to be answered at least 6 months in advance because that’s how the manufacturing industry works. Most of the world’s manufacturing plants operate using the so-ca

Hans

Feb 16, 2021

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has released a list of companies that are allowed to operate during the second round of the Movement Control Order (MCO). Updated: MITI has done a U-Turn on the list of essential services, read more about it here. Update No.2: MITI has once again revised the essential services list, car factories will be allowed to continue operations effective immediately. On Monday (11/1/2021), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that MCO wi

Jerrica

Jan 12, 2021

Last week, we’ve chronicled how Hyundai grew from a small workshop to a world-class automaker. What was left out however, was the hows and the whys behind the rise of Korea’s car industry, which will be discussed in the following text. When Malaysia gained its independence, Korea was a failed state. It relied on donations from the US for 70 percent of its budget, and had nothing worth exporting. In 1960, Malaysia’s (Malaya) GDP per capita was USD 234. South Korea earned just USD 158 - poorer tha

Hans

Nov 23, 2020

Following the announcement of the new National Automotive Policy (NAP) by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry earlier today, UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) has released a statement saying that it welcomes and supports the government’s directions for the automotive industry. “We are pleased that the government has provided an updated ‘roadmap’ for the development of the industry and this will provide direction and guidance which will be of great value to forward planning, especially where i

Hans

Feb 21, 2020

China’s white goods manufacturer Hisense Home Appliances Group will acquire Japan’s automotive air-conditioning manufacturer Sanden for JPY 21.4 billion (about RM 809.7 million). The move will allow Hisense to diversify into the automotive air-conditioning system market. Hisense has ambitions to manufacture air-conditioning units for electric vehicles. In an announcement by Sanden made earlier this week, the company says Hisense will acquire 75 percent of voting rights in the company for 21.4 bi

Hans

Mar 9, 2021

The recently announced 2020 National Automotive Policy (NAP) and recent changes in the government are not sitting well with car manufacturers operating in Malaysia. “It’s a bit unsettling. Less than a week after announcing an auto policy that doesn’t say anything meaningful, the prime minister is stepping down?,” said an executive at a German automotive brand. However, the executive remained optimistic about the mid-term prospects of Malaysia, and sees the current episode merely as a speed bump

Hans

Feb 24, 2020

Just when you thought the car industry can get some respite after MITI’s corrective U-turn to allow automotive manufacturing to resume as the whole of Malaysia except for Sarawak goes back into MCO mode, we have been told by our friends working in the manufacturing sector that the much talked about worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips has hit Malaysia, threatening to halt production lines once more. Not all manufacturers are facing the problem yet but we understand that several major local

Hans

Jan 21, 2021

An economist has called for the government to consider ending Malaysia's protectionist measures for the automotive industry by lifting import and excise duties on imported completely built up (CBU) cars. Barjoyai Bardai, a lecturer from the Universiti Al-Madinah, told Free Malaysia Today that the protectionist measures will ultimately have to come to an end one day. The government should take this opportunity during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) to make a trial run. Under the presen

Jerrica

Jun 23, 2020

Effective since 1 September 2019, Tushar Gupta was appointed as the new managing director for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. His predecessor, Pascal Nouvellon, was promoted to a new global role at Michelin headquarters in France. Armed with an accounting degree and an MBA, Mr. Gupta joined Michelin Group in 2010 as a Corporate Development Manager. In the span of 6 years, he moved up to Zone Director of Michelin Aviation Tyres, Asia Pacific in 2016 until July this year after the success turning

Shaun

Nov 19, 2019

BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia hosted their Customer Appreciation Night 2019 in recognition of their long-time customers and partners. Over 185 attendees comprising of top-level corporate customers and esteemed business partners of the premium automotive brand were treated a gourmet dinner accompanied by lively entertainment. Some also took home lucky draw prizes which included exclusive merchandise from BMW. CEO of BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia (BMW Credit (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. an

Eric

Sep 23, 2019

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) is expected to backtrack on its earlier decision to remove automotive manufacturing from its list of essential services sectors, and will allow automotive manufacturing to resume operations next week. The government has yet to make an official announcement on the matter and those involved have been told to not speak to the media. However WapCar.my understands that discussions is almost complete and automotive manufacturing might be re-insta

Hans

Jan 15, 2021

Market research agency J.D. Power will be shutting down three of its international offices – Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney – as part of its reorganization under its new owner Thoma Bravo LLC, a US-based investment company. Operations in these three offices will be wound down in stages and by the middle of 2020, J.D. Power will only maintain three offices for the Asian region – Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. As J.D. Power’s businesses in Malaysia are managed out of its Singapore office, the reorgan

Hans

Nov 19, 2019

Honda Malaysia today officially presented the All-New Honda City RS e:HEV to Invest Melaka Berhad (IMB). The presentation is in collaboration with SoCar and is in conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration of Melaka State Development Corporation (PKNM). The All-New City RS e:HEV was presented by Mr. Sarly Adle Sarkum, President and Chief Operating Officer of Honda Malaysia to Tuan Haji Ramli Bin Mohd Ali, Chief Executive Officer of Invest Melaka Berhad at a ceremony held in Menara MITC, M

Arif

Apr 2, 2021

Beginning from 15-June to 31-December 2020, the government has waived the 10% sales tax (SST) on locally-assembled models (CKD) while imported cars (CBU) were only reduced to 5%, half of what the CKD models were given. Seeing the overall positive growth in the automotive industry, Proton Edar Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer, Roslan Abdullah hopes that the government will extend the SST exemption period. “Those of us in the automotive industry hope the government will consider in extending the SS

CY Foong

Oct 6, 2020

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has announced its tally for total new car sales, better known within the industry as Total Industry Volume (TIV), for year 2020. A total of 529,514 new motor vehicles were sold in 2020, down 12.4 percent from 2019. The cause of the downturn is of course due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated MCO restricting normal economic activities. For two and a half months between March and May 2020, no cars were sold as showrooms were not allowed to operat

Hans

Jan 22, 2021

Following Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin’s announcement last week with regard to the Short-Term Economic Recovery plan, Volvo Car Malaysia today released its new price list for all Volvo CKD (Completely Knocked Down) models to exclude sales tax, effective 15 June to 31 December 2020. Nalin Jain, Managing Director of Volvo Car Malaysia, said: “We fully welcome the introduction of the sales tax holiday and are grateful for the opportunity to pass on the full benefits to our customers. The

Brian

Jun 12, 2020

In the first two months of 2021, the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG)’s domestic cars market share in Korea, including that of Kia, reached 78.5 percent. After including imported cars, the combined market share of Hyundai and Kia in Korea stands at 65.4 percent. In 2015, when there was more competition from other domestic manufacturers like Renault-Samsung, GM Korea, and Ssangyong, HMG’s domestic car market share stood 12 percent lower, at 66.5 percent. The Korean government, along with several academi

Hans

Mar 16, 2021

The upward trend for vehicle sales in Malaysia has continued into its second month, as data from the the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has indicated that vehicles sales in Malaysia has increased by 94.7% in June 2020. Back in June, sales amounted to 44,965 units, which is an increase of 21,735 units or 94.7 percent compared to May. Although sales figures over the past two months were encouraging, year-to-date figures paint a different figure. With 174,675 units shifted from January to J

Eric

Jul 24, 2020

Malaysia remains an attractive destination for foreign investors and reports alleging that Malaysia is losing out in foreign direct investment (FDI) is wrong, says MIDA (Malaysian Investment Development Authority). The MITI agency also adds that references to data from the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) must be read in the correct context. On Thursday, Singapore’s Straits Times published a scathing report alleging that Malaysia is losing its attractiveness to foreign

Hans

Feb 9, 2021

Say what you want about Made in China because the Chinese have come a very long way from mass-producing cheap knockoffs to becoming the technology hub they are today. Huawei, Alibaba (yes Alibaba is a tech company) and Geely are now familiar names to the rest of the world. Although the latter only made its wave among Malaysians in 2017 after acquiring a 49.9% stake in Proton. Since then Geely-Proton partnership has made technologies such as 4G online connectivity, intelligent voice command, Adva

Adrian Chia

Nov 9, 2020

The Indonesian government will remove the luxury tax imposed on cars below 1,500cc from March 2021 to May 2021. Reuters reports that the tax removal is to bolster the Indonesian automotive industry. Currently only LCGC (Low-Cost Green Cars) are exempted from the luxury tax. LCGC in Indonesia includes locally produced (CKD) hatchbacks, MPVs, and cars below 1,200 cc. The current luxury tax for sedans and other car below 1,500 cc is between 10% and 30%. The tax exemption for cars below 1,500 cc wil

Arif

Feb 15, 2021

Perodua has confirmed that the Malaysian government has revised the excise duty structure for cars in Malaysia, but added that the impact for Perodua will likely be minimal and the company will try its best to not pass any additional cost to buyers. Speaking at a press conference earlier today, President and CEO Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said, “For Perodua, we have been following all the requirements given by the government, as far as declaration is concerned. At the moment, we are still evaluat

Hans

Jan 21, 2020