KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists still have a last chance of buying imported electric vehicles and hybrid cars with the engine capacity of below 2,000cc at low prices.
The full import tax and excise duty exemption for such cars are still applicable for last year’s stock.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said there were about 3,000 units of 2013 batch left.
“Once the old stock has been depleted, those wanting to buy imported electric and hybrid cars will have to pay the import tax and excise duty accordingly,” Mustapa said.
The incentives for electric and hybrid cars ended on Dec 31 last year. Without the incentives, prices of such cars are expected to go up by about RM30,000, depending on the models.
Among imported hybrid models are the Toyota Prius and Prius c, Honda Insight, CR-Z, Civic Hybrid and Nissan Serena Hybrid. The electric cars are the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV.
Under the National Automotive Policy 2014, which was announced by Mustapa yesterday, excise duty exemption would only be given to locally assembled hybrid and electric cars.
The exemption for hybrids would end on Dec 31, 2015 and for electric cars, it would be Dec 31, 2017.
The move is to encourage foreign electric and hybrid car makers to assemble these vehicles locally and turn Malaysia into a hub for energy efficient vehicles.
Mustapa said the import tax and excise duty exemption which had been given to hybrid and electric cars for the last four years had not brought much spill-over benefits to Malaysia, besides lower fuel consumption and emissions.
“The imported electric and hybrid cars did not create new jobs for locals in the manufacturing sector,” he said.
Currently, the RM89,900 Honda Jazz Hybrid CKD is the country’s only locally assembled hybrid car.
Related stories:NAP 2014 aims to turn Malaysia into EEV hub
Green group: Make EEVs affordable for more Malaysians
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