Govt willing to review NAP 2020, says Liew

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is willing to relook the National Automotive Policy 2020 (NAP 2020) to ensure its relevance with current developments, says Liew Chin Tong.

The International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister said the government is not defending Proton or Perodua but defending the policies under the NAP 2020.

"However, the government is ready to update the policies in light of the rapid changes in the automotive world such as the development of electrical vehicles (EVs)," he said when replying to a supplementary question raised by Lee Chean Chung (PH-Petaling Jaya) in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (March 13).

Lee said the NAP was somewhat outdated with regard to its relevance to the status of the two national car makers, adding that Proton are currently rebadged Geely models while Toyota controls a large portion of Perodua.

Liew said that the two automotive manufacturers are still treated as national car makers under the NAP.

"However, Proton and Perodua must ensure that the criteria underlined under the NAP are followed," he said.

Among the criteria, he said, was that a majority of the company is locally owned, development of a local supply chain, research and development activities and job opportunities for locals.

As an example, Liew said that Proton has created some 8,500 jobs where 99% were held by locals.

He added that more than 180 local companies have been appointed by Proton as Tier One suppliers where between 75% and 80% of procurement are sourced locally for models manufactured here.

He also said that research and development has led to Proton having the ability to manufacture its own engines, platforms and upper body for models such as the Persona, Iriz, Exora and Saga.

He added that Perodua had also contributed to the development of the local automotive industry.

On whether locally manufactured car models would be made more affordable for locals, Liew said this is possible once more EVs are manufactured in the coming one to two years time.

Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) wanted to know the status of the development of EVs here and what could be done to lower car prices for locals.

Liew said that the Cabinet had approved the setting up of a special task force on EVs on Feb 17 this year.

He said that the task force is currently in the midst of drafting policies with regard to the development and use of EVs in the country.