The Malaysian Automotive Council will be set up in two months’ time, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad.
The purpose of setting up this council is to provide a platform for policy makers to interact, so can have improvement for the industry and a clear direction as which we previously moved,” he told reporters at a media briefing on an update on the National Automotive Policy (NAP).
Mustapa said he will be the chairman of the council, with other members from the government and business community.
“In the next couple of months, hopefully by the end of March, we’ll have the first meeting for the Malaysian Automotive Council,” he added.
The NAP, which was announced a year ago, is aimed at making Malaysia as an energy efficient vehicle (EEV) hub by 2020.
According to Mustapa, the local automotive industry contributes RM30 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP). A total of 666,465 vehicles were sold last year, a 1.6% increase compared with 655,793 the year before.
Investments amounted to RM11.5 billion were approved last year, translating into a new capacity of 332,000 units.
On car prices, Mustapa is confident of achieving an average reduction of 20% by end-2017 following a drop of 5% and 7% for 2014 and 2015, respectively.
“We are about 8% (reduction to achieve) before we get into 2017, that’s in the Barisan Nasional Manisfesto,” he said, adding that it would be a “bonus” if a 30% reduction target is achieved.
He noted that there will be an increase in the costs of CKD (completely knocked down) vehicles due to the weakening ringgit.