Malaysia is positioning itself as a hub for production of EEVs, which meet defined specifications for carbon-emissions levels and fuel consumption. Malaysian Automotive Institute (MAI) CEO Madani Sahari says his organization and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority are conducting a cost benefit analysis of companies that have sent in proposals.
Two proposals have been looked at and Malaysian-owned Go Automobile Mfg., in partnership with China’s Great Wall Motor, is the first company to be granted an EEV license under the government’s new National Automotive Plan. Go Automobile plans to spend MYR2 billion (USD624 million) to manufacture EEVs in a 3-phase program that will be completed in 2018. Initially, it will invest MYR150 million (USD46.8 million) in EEV production later this year. The second phase boosts production capacity to 50,000 units by mid-2015. The final phase, with a capacity of 100,000 units, is set to be reached in 2018.
The Malaysian government is looking to confirm up to RM7 billion ringgit (USD2.2 billion) in new investment from foreign automakers looking to build energy-efficient vehicles (EEVs) by year’s end (2014) and to date the world’s biggest car manufacturers ‘have not been able to get their Malaysian EEV license’ ?. BMW Malaysia, UMW Toyota and Volkswagen Malaysia all have EEV vehicles that are selling with ready technology for class best fuel efficiency, but they have not been granted an EEV license. Mitsubishi’s Mirage and Attrage cars have been awarded class best fuel efficiency in Thailand since launch but no such luck with MAI.
EEVs include fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids, electric vehicles and alternatively fueled vehicles, including compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen and fuel cell.
MAI’s Madani says national automaker Perodua is spending MYR3.5 billion (USD1.1 billion) to build a new factory and to expand its existing plant, while Mazda will spend MYR700 million (USD218.4 million) to expand its factory in the north to increase both domestic and export operations.
