All the following news and graphics are from The Star. The links are provided. My comments in blue.
Lets do a quick look see.
Promote increase in exports of vehicles, create 150,000 jobs, Malaysia regional hub for auto industry, competitive domestic industry, safer and better quality of vehicles, price reduction framework, RM2.0 Billion soft loans and grants are all just hot air. It does not mean much towards making cars cheaper in Malaysia.
I think that RM2.0B is going largely to Proton to help them reduce their car prices. Do read on. Using our taxpayers money to pay the car manufacturer to lower their prices to us. We will pay for our own "lower prices".
I have said it many times. Inilah cara niaga the "Proton School of Management" ! ! !
The real deal is that there will be no end to the APs.
'To assess the impact of any decision to stop Approved Permits system' is just another way of saying the bank accounts, Porsches and Ferraris of those 98 high spending AP holders is more important than the interests of 28.0 million citizens.
The 28.0 million citizens of Malaysia can eat kangkung. The price of kangkung has come down. No thanks to the PM and his gomen.
And there shall be no reduction in excise duties. This means car prices in Malaysia will remain among the highest in the world. We are back to square one.
Voluntary inspection of vehicles sounds new. Does this mean we do not have to have a Puspakom Certificate (usually involving corruption) before we sell a used car or buy a car? If that is the case then I hope that this is implemented immediately.
My friend Encik Madani Shaari, CEO of the National Automotive Institute, my former Boss Dato Mustapa Mohamed and my new friend Dato Rebecca Sta Maria - I will follow up on this. Jangan pula cakap tak serupa bikin. If you have promised something, then deliver on it asap. Voluntary inspection means voluntary inspection.
Here is plenty news on the NAP from The Star, which I have truncated.
Last chance to buy them cheap
last chance to buy imported electric & hybrid cars at low prices
incentives for electric & hybrid ends Dec 31 last year
prices of such cars to go up by RM30,000
Prius, Prius c, Insight, CR-Z, Civic Hybrid & Serena Hybrid, Leaf, i-MiEV
encourage foreign car makers to turn Malaysia into hub for EEVs
Mustapa said exemption given last four years not brought spill-over benefits
“imported electric & hybrid cars did not create jobs for locals in manufacturing.."
Currently, RM89,900 Honda Jazz Hybrid CKD is only locally assembled hybrid car
There is some slick diversion going on here. People do not really care about kangkung, hybrids, electric cars and EEVs. Suddenly the entire Malaysian motorcar sector has become hybrids, hybrids, hybrids, electric, electric, electric and EEV, EEV, EEV. The debate has been twisted towards hybrids, electric cars and EEVs - as though it was a hybrid electric car that Carl Benz invented more than 100 years ago.
Please dont try to change the subject.
I just want to know how much will the prices drop for Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche, Peugeot, Citroen, Volvo, Alpha Romeo, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Proton, Perodua, Hyundai, Daihatsu, Subaru, Kia, Daewoo, Ssangyong, SUVs, MPVs, vans, pick up trucks, mini buses and the whole lot. The entire range of vehicles. Including the prices of these types of vehicles :
Can you imagine how much less traffic jams there will be, parking space saved and fuel consumption reduced if we all drove this type of cute three wheeler in the Klang Valley? That is outside the box thinking for you. By all logic we should have introduced these three wheelers yesterday - minus excise and import duties. We should give special incentives to import these three wheelers.
This is the 21st centruy lah. We must open our car, motobike and vehicle market completely. There is no way Malaysia can afford to manufacture all these vehicles succesfully on a commercial basis. No way.
Ok folks, here is the beef. The price of hybrids, electrics and EEVs is going up by up to RM30,000. That is what the NAP says. Read for yourself.
incentives for electric & hybrid ends Dec 31 last year
prices of such cars to go up by RM30,000
So how does this tally with 'car price reduction'?
This is exactly what I mean by the "Proton School of Management". They force the price of hybrids and electric cars to go up by up to RM30,000 and then they say, 'This is car price reduction'.
Now here is some arithmetic. Currently, the RM89,900 Honda Jazz Hybrid CKD is the only locally assembled hybrid car. So the price of this Honda Jazz should NOT go up. Why? Because it is a locally assembled hybrid. Fine.
The price of imported hybrids WILL all go up by up to RM30,000. Why? Because the incentives for imported hybrids and electric cars ended on 31 Dec 2013.
This means from now onwards the Honda Jazz SHOULD have an RM30,000 price advantage over similar imported hybrids. The imported hybrids will sell at RM30,000 more.
Do you really think this will be the case? The boys at Honda were not born yesterday. They are not graduates of the Proton School of Management.
They can increase the price of the Jazz to just ONE RINGGIT below the price of the imported hybrids and still be cheaper.
For example if imported hybrid's now have to sell at a minimum price of RM89,900 + RM30,000 = RM119,900 then the Honda Jazz can be sold at a higher price of RM119,899 and still be cheaper (RM89,900 plus RM29,999).
This is called business. This is not the social welfare department. If other hybrids cannot sell below RM119,000, why should Honda restrict the price of the Jazz to not more than RM89,900?
So the price of the Jazz should go up. Unless the gomen puts a brake on the price of the Jazz. But that would NOT be market forces any more. Market forces are only for kangkung.
2. NAP 2014 aims to turn Malaysia into EEV hub
lower prices in 5 years, under a CPR (Car Price Reduction) framework
more competitive prices for certain new cars this year
Government to reduce excise duties when fiscal situation permits (Huh?)
turn Malaysia into energy efficient vehicle (EEV) hub in Asean
EEVs defined by vehicle kerb weight & fuel efficiency
APs in-depth study will be done to assess impact of its proposed termination
have to take views of stakeholders including bumiputra participants
Folks, so the views of 28 million kangkung eating Malaysians like you and me about the APs are not important. The wallets of 98 AP cronies far outweighs all our interests put together. We have to sacrifice so that these 98 AP cronies can buy their Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and such. APs are here to stay. We have to pay.
And why is an EEV defined by kerb weight? If the car weighs two tonnes but is powered by an 1.8 Litre engine why shouldnt it be called an EEV? (I am referring to the Mercedes Bluewave technology.)
Here is the part about giving more money to Proton :
3. RM2bil boost for NAP, Govt allocates soft loans, grants
Government allocating RM2bil worth of soft loans & grants under NAP
automotive infrastructure-related and human capital development purposes
up to RM1.89bil in soft loans & RM175mil in grants
loans for development of tool, dies & moulds, component technology pre-commercialisation, competitiveness-related activities, distribution infrastructure establishment as well as the development of energy-efficient vehicle (EEV) infrastructure
Grants allocated for human capital and bumiputra development.
main objectives of NAP : Malaysia regional automotive hub for EEV
competitive & sustainable domestic automotive industry
RM1.89 billion : "..loans for development of tool, dies & moulds, component technology pre-commercialisation..". This is obviously for Proton. Our taxpayers money will be channeled to Proton as cheap loans. Fine. Please make sure Proton cuts the prices of its cars accordingly.
Folks read again. The main objective of the NAP is to make Malaysia an EEV hub. Apa benda tu EEV?
I have a very simple question. What about just reducing the prices of cars? All cars. Not just EEVs. And how can the prices of EEVs be reduced when they are going up by RM30,000 anyway? Here let me repeat what The Star has reported :
incentives for electric & hybrid ends Dec 31 last year
prices of such cars to go up by RM30,000
Harga EEV pun akan naik RM30,000 juga. What is going on? Is the EEV hub thing going to happen? I dont think so. Here are the expert views :
4. Auto industry lauds move to ease restrictions
The BMW chief in Malaysia said :
further transparency and discussions must be conducted
clarify what the actual exemptions to EEV vehicles assembled in Malaysia were
“Only then, will firm business decisions regarding the market be made."
“These discussions should be conducted swiftly and carefully to ensure that both the automakers as well as the public can benefit mutually from the new policies moving forward”
This is a polite way of saying 'Gua tak faham apa you cakap pasal EEV'.
The Proton guy who is also eyeing that RM175 Million subsidy for "human capital development" said (predictably like clockwork) :
“we would need the human capital to be developed further"
The Perodua guy said : "the company did present a wishlist to the Government to consider"
I dont want to repeat what the Naza guy said.
So you see folks the car guys are talking about their wishlists, their requirements for that RM175 million of taxpayers money (that is our money ok) for their 'human capital development' and other stuff. They are talking about how much of our money they want to sapu.
What about our wishlist? Folks was anyone of you consulted for this NAP? Our wishlist is simple - we want cheaper, safer and higher quality vehicles. That is our wish. EEV itu apa benda pula?
We want all types of vehicles. Cars, SUVs, MPVs, vans, Porsches, VW, Toyota, Protons, Peroduas, Nissans, Mercedes, Ford, whatever. Ok EEVs too - why not?
Personally I like the German cars. That is my choice. Please dont be telling me what car I should buy and I wont tell you what underwear you should wear. Is that a fair deal?
To their credit the NAP folks met me THREE TIMES where I unloaded what I thought would be best for the auto-industry as well as the consumer. My ideas were and still are simple and workable. I suggested a sustainable auto industry. An industry that will be tuned into the market and let the market lead it to where it should go. Offer the consumer the widest choices and the best prices. And here is a big secret folks - this will preserve our automotive industry. Just look at Thailand. And we will likely need thousands more automotive engineers. Only the Proton brand may have to make amends. That is not what you see in the NAP.
We cannot simply decide via a Power point presentation that we want to be a hub for EEVs. It does not work that way. Kita ini technology pun tak ada. Honda Accord tukar warna terus jadi Proton Perdana pula ! That is the level of our technology. (Paying sky high for the blueprints and re-manufacturing the Honda here is not technology. It is called "pinjam").
I have been barking about this for years and years now. And sad to say (for the BN) this has become a real election issue. High car prices make people poor. Commercial sense is not prevailing in the NAP.
People first. Always think about the people first.
Statements like this :
APs in-depth study will be done to assess impact of its proposed termination
have to take views of stakeholders including bumiputra participants
does not really care about the people. The NAP seeks to protect the 98 AP holders. The 28 million can eat kangkung. The NAP will not succeed.
Posted by Syed Akbar Ali