A Business Times report indicates that the eagerly-anticipated National Automotive Policy revision (NAP 2014), previously speculated to be announced between January 10 and 15, will instead be announced on January 20.
The report reaffirms NAP 2014’s expected focus on tax breaks for ‘clean’ vehicles (set to be categorised as Energy-Efficient Vehicles or EEVs) regardless of the technology or method of propulsion used, providing they are locally-produced.
As such, these incentives will not be limited solely to hybrid or electric vehicles like before; they are likely to also take efficient internal combustion engines into consideration, which should benefit Mercedes-Benz and BMW, who have consistently called for this over the past few years. More details on what could constitute an Energy Efficient Vehicle under NAP 2014 here.
The End-of-Life Vehicle policy (ELV) is also expected to be one of NAP 2014’s highlights, according to BT. Officials have told the publication that the policy would not be made mandatory; it will instead be on a voluntary basis to encourage regular vehicle inspection amongst motorists.
This is in contrast to deputy transport minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi’s announcement in Parliament last November that the government had no plans as of now to impose a lifespan cap on cars because it did not want to burden the public.
Officials have also told BT that Puspakom‘s vehicle inspection infrastructure is inadequate – with 11 million passenger cars in Malaysia, at least 300 more inspection centres would be needed to complement the existing 50 outlets.
BT also reports that the subject of vehicle excise duties are not expected to be one of NAP 2014’s points, but EEV players are set to gain from their fuel-efficient and low-emissions technology, officials said.
