Malaysian automotive industry: TIV or TPV?

PETALING JAYA: Finally, there is a clear trend that the National Automotive Policy 2014 has gained traction on car exports with the support of some visionary brand owners, including Mazda and Volvo.
“More are to come,” said Datuk Madani Sahari, CEO of Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), at a press conference on Friday.
While the export volume at 27,000 units last year is a fraction of Thailand’s – about one million units a year – it is still a big jump from before when exports were more cosmetic than significant.
“The trend is strengthening. We expect Malaysia to export 122,000 units of vehicles by 2020 and as projected by eight car makers as per their projections,” said Madani.
“While Thailand exports pick-ups and small cars, Malaysia’s exports are higher-end cars.
“The eight carmakers include two who have made Malaysia their first choice. Volvo Cars selected Shah Alam to be the first production plant outside Sweden for the XC 90 hybrid.
“In the case of Subaru, Malaysia is the first plant out of Japan and it’s currently manufacturing the XV and, more recently, the Forester.
“Mazda is Malaysia’s top car exporter, accounting for about 10,000 units last year and it was recognised for this achievement at the MAI Car of the Year Awards.
“Two of the future exporters are from China and one of them will make and export an electric car,” he said.
While Madani did not identify the brand, the EV200 electric car was the centre of attraction at the Malaysia Autoshow last November.
The B-segment sedan from BAIC (formerly called Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation) is to be manufactured in the north in partnership with Amber Dual Sdn Bhd, helmed by industry veteran Ibrahim Maidin.
“As for Perodua, when it started its transformation programme in 2010, it had the objective of planning a plant expansion so that it could export with profit. The Axia is the first model with that in mind,” said Madani.
Last week was a constructive week because it saw two of the custodians of the Malaysian automotive industry presenting their reviews and their projections, which were congruent.
While the Malaysia Automotive Association, comprising industry players and active even before Proton was established in 1983,
focused on sales and production and a 2017 Total Industry Volume (TIV) of 590,000, the MAI’s emphasis was more holistic.
As a government agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the MAI focused on employment, capacity-building, employment and exports.
MAI expects the Total Production Volume (TPV) to reach 570,000 units this year.
“The TPV provides a holistic reflection of the vehicles produced locally for both domestic consumption and exports. It tells us about employment and capacity building,” Madani explained.
“The Malaysian automotive industry is a vibrant and resilient sector of the economy and the TPV is the best gauge for that,” he said.
In the auto industry’s manufacturing sector alone, 25,850 jobs were created last year, an increase of 8.7%from the year before. Out of that amount, 10,130 were created through MAI’s Human Capital Development programmes such as the Automotive Industry Certification Engineering and industry-led Professional Certificate.
Another 24,671 jobs were created in the after-sales sector in 2016 compared with 15,297 the year before. Of the after-sales jobs created last year, 3,477 individuals were employed as part of the MAI’s Human Capital Development programmes.