Govt receives 14 proposals on new national car: MITI

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has received 14 proposals on the new national car from the private sector and individuals.
Deputy Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming said the government would have to take into consideration the National Automotive Policy (NAP) and identify the national automotive industry's direction holistically before studying the economic impact of a third national car.
"At the moment, we have not evaluated all the proposals for the new car project," he said.
He was answering questions from Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) and Wong Chen (PH-Subang) during the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat here today.
Ong said the amount of investment for the project and the government and private sector's involvement would be fully driven by the private sector, adding that the government would only help in terms of facilities and specific assistance, depending on the company's commitment.
He stressed that the automotive industry is an important and strategic element in the Malaysian manufacturing sector.
The automotive industry and other automotive-related sectors employed more than 700,000 people and contributed almost four per cent to the national gross domestic product.
"It is very important for national growth and the new national car project is expected to boost Malaysia's engineering and technological capabilities.
"Currently, the government is in the midst of reviewing the NAP to include elements which are in line with the advancements in mobility technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) to ensure that the local automotive industry is parallel with current developments globally," said Ong.
He added that the review would take into account factors related to the development of the local automotive industry, such as the development of local companies, research and development (R&D), increasing exports as well as the new national car project.
Ong said the project would be carried out in line with the local automotive industry's direction and strategy for the future by taking into account elements such as the Next Generation Vehicles (NXGV), mobility, Industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence.
"The project focuses on the holistic development of manufacturing capabilities by involving the entire value chain and the automotive industry's ecosystem," he said.
Ong said that the project should also emphasise on R&D, trends and the latest technology in the industry which would drive the growth of the automotive industry and related sectors, as well as collaborations with other ASEAN countries.
Additionally, he said the project was expected to create a new technology cluster and new specialised workforce, especially in the country's automotive engineering field.
Ong said MITI had invited interested parties to submit their proposals on the project in September, and the deadline for submissions was set for Oct 15. — Bernama