At the launch of Range Rover L460: (From left) Kelvin Chuah, head of sales and marketing of Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia; Syed Khalil Syed Ibrahim, director of Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia; Jeffrey Gan, managing director of retail and distribution Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau, Sime Darby Motors; and Ahmad Muzri.
PETALING JAYA: The government is urged to extend tax incentives for imported battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for a longer period, as this would allow automotive companies more time to meet the strong demand for the latest green vehicle models with zero-emission technologies.
“There is not enough time to launch some new BEV models this year, due to post-pandemic production issues.
“We hope that the imported BEV tax incentives can be extended for a longer time period, in order for us to meet the strong demand for such green or more environmentally friendly vehicles,” said Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia managing director Syed Ahmad Muzri Syed Faiz.
He said this when asked about the company’s wishlist for the revised Budget 2023, which is due to be tabled on Feb 24.
Syed Ahmad was speaking at the launch of the new fifth-generation Range Rover L460 luxury sport-utility vehicle (SUV) at Sime Darby Motors City, Ara Damansara, yesterday.
The new Range Rover L460 has a starting price of RM1.268mil (duty-free) and RM2.488mil (duty paid).
“Customer response to the Range Rover L460 has exceeded our expectations,” said Syed Ahmad.
Presently, duty exemptions for BEVs will last until Dec 31, 2025 for locally assembled models, but only until the end of 2023 for imported or completely-built-up vehicles.
In Budget 2023, there was a proposal to extend import and excise duty exemptions for imported BEVs by a year to Dec 31, 2024.
In November 2022, there were news reports that Jaguar Land Rover was reducing vehicle output in the UK until spring 2023, due to global chip shortages.
Meanwhile, powered by a 4.4-litre V8 engine, the five-seater L460 is billed as robust, sophisticated and delivers benchmark quality.
