The just-concluded Budget 2014 speech made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak contained a fair amount of points covering the transport sector and its related infrastructure, but did not make any mention of the status of the current exemption for hybrid/electric vehicles.
The full import tax and excise duty exemption for hybrid/electric cars and motorcycles announced in Budget 2011 is due to end on December 31, 2013. It was presumed that some announcement would be made on the matter in some form in today’s speech, but it didn’t happen, so one wonders what the tax/excise status will be for hybrids/EVs come Jan 1, 2014.
The silence on the subject is rather telling – it may yet be that the long-anticipated National Automotive Policy (NAP) review by MITI will cover this matter, and soon, because the industry will not be able to conduct proper stock and product planning if the issue remains in the dark.
We had earlier reported that the government might still dole out incentives, but in a different package. In a recent session with the Malaysian Automotive Institute (MAI), we were told that the upcoming revised NAP would see manufacturing licenses and pre-packaged customised incentives given for energy efficient vehicle (EEV) production and investment.
Ever since full duty exemption was given, the hybrid car segment has seen a big boom led by Toyota and Honda. From just 332 hybrids sold in 2010, over 15,000 hybrids found new homes last year, while 8,571 units were sold in the first seven months of 2013.
So, the question begs, where to now, and how? We’re assuming that this should push MITI to announce the revised NAP before the year is out, or at least make a statement on the matter.
The post Malaysia Budget 2014 – no hybrid incentive updates appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
via Paul Tan's Automotive News http://paultan.org/2013/10/25/malaysia-budget-2014-no-hybrid-update/
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