The Naza Group is hopeful that the Government will announce incentives that will promote diesel-powered vehicles in the upcoming Budget 2013, which will be tabled this Friday.
“The latest diesel-powered cars offer better fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (co2) emissions than petrol-powered cars. With the volatility in global crude oil prices, more and more consumers are seeking cars that consume less fuel,” said Naza Group of Companies joint group executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin.
He added that diesel-powered vehicles had increased in popularity in Europe because they consumed between 30 per cent and 40 per cent less fuel than petrol engines.
“There are even diesel cars with the ability to consume just five litres per 100 km which is comparable with some of the hybrids in the market. Unfortunately, diesel-powered vehicles comprise a small percentage of Malaysia’s automotive market.
“We believe that offering a tax incentive to consumers who purchase diesel cars will grow this market and encourage distributors to bring in more diesel-powered cars as almost every major car manufacturer has diesel variants in its line-up.”
In line with this, Nasarudin said it was imperative for Malaysia to set emission standards for vehicles.
“Most developed nations have implemented or are in the process of implementing carbon dioxide emission standards for their vehicles. All of us want cleaner air to breathe and reduce the effects of global warming and one way to achieve this is by setting emission standards within a certain time frame.
“While it is understandable that old cars on the road will not be able to comply with new emission standards, these standards can initially be applied on all new vehicles.”
Naza is the importer, distributor and assembler of Peugeot and Kia marques in Malaysia. The group’s brand portfolio also includes Ferrari, Maserati, Chevrolet, Ducati and Harley Davidson, among other marques.
Nasarudin is also hopeful that the Government will announce incentives for training programmes to boost high-skilled talent in the automotive manufacturing industry.
“Malaysia’s goal of becoming a regional automotive hub is under constant competition from our neighbouring countries who can offer cheaper labour. Nonetheless, we believe that with a larger pool of high-skilled talent in automotive manufacturing, we will be better positioned to compete with our neighbours.
“One way to increase the number of high-skilled workers is by offering training programmes to constantly impart our workers with the latest skills and knowledge. We believe that offering tax incentives to car manufacturers for training programmes will encourage them to offer more training programmes which in turn will create a larger pool of highly-skilled automotive workers in our market.”
Nasarudin also said he hoped the Government would announce tax incentives for corporations to carry out more corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities at the upcoming budget.
“While most corporations carry out CSR activities, we believe that specific tax incentives will encourage more corporations to undertake regular CSR campaigns.
“By introducing these incentives, corporations will carry out more CSR campaigns and play a more integral role with the communities they serve.”
