NAP 2019 to be presented to Cabinet for approval

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2019 is supposed to be presented to the Cabinet for the approval in the coming week. According to Bernama, consent is required so that it can be launched by the end of 2019. Datuk Darell Leiking, international trade and industry minister, said that the public would be provided with the opportunity to inspect the new plan only after it has been given the green signal by Cabinet. Moreover, the draft has also been finalised for the new NAP.

“What’s more important is (that) works are in progress because we want to add a lot of things. As you can see in the coming days, if not weeks and months, something new will come of it and we have to be adaptive to it as well. Don't look at the time; look at the content that matter,” added Leiking. In the month of January, Datuk Aishah Ahmad, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president, stated at the annual press conference that it expects the plan will proceed in its current structure because it has profited automobile businesses as a whole by guaranteeing that the cost of the car will remain competitive.

The NAP was earlier thought to be launched in the second quarter of this year and was announced to be in a review last July. The latest NAP will witness MARii change its focus to the ‘next-generation vehicle’. According to Madani, the first phase is supposed to focus on management systems, the installation of EV charging stations and battery production. However, the following stages will be focused on various technological improvements like 5G connectivity.

Six criteria will be listed for the requirements of a national car and be described in the expected NAP 2019, and the criteria will be applicable to carmakers such as Perodua and Proton.