The National Automotive Policy 2020 (NAP 2020) was launched late this morning at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) building. The morning’s speeches by the MITI minister YB Ignatius Darrell Leiking and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir spoke broadly about the NAP 2020’s goals and direction. In fact, the NAP is so vague about its own goals, the pitch is that the whole thing is ‘VISION DIRECTED’ rather than policy directed.
But let’s talk about what was mentioned in the NAP 2020. Three key focuses were announced: Next Generation Vehicles (NxGV), Industry 4.0, and Mobility As a Service (MAAS).
‘NxGV’ is a term that, when googled, only brings up press releases written by the folks at MARii. In the 68 page NAP Policy booklet, NxGV is defined as vehicles with
• Energy efficient powertrains
• Advanced driving capabilies
• Connected Vehicles
Page 41 of the document goes on to mention that:
NxGV is classified as a vehicle that meets the definition of EEV classifications and is enhanced with Intelligent Mobility applications with minimum of Level 3 Vehicle Automation i.e. Conditional Automation. NxGV vehicle technology is classified according to five levels of Autonomous/ Automated and Connected Vehicle (AACV)
So far, no cars sold in Malaysia are beyond Level 2 of Vehicle Automation.
Information we received about NxGVs seemed to indicate greater electrification, which you can read about here.
As vague as the whole document was, there were some measures mentioned. Take a look at them here:
It’s a lot to take in, and we’ve been told that car company bosses are busy trying to understand what all of this is about and why there is still no solid incentive structure in place.
