Budget 2011 extends duty exemption for hybrid and electric vehicles by one year
In the recently tabled national budget for 2011, it was announced that exemption of import and excise duties for electric and hybrid vehicles will continue until 31 December 2011. Additionally, excise duty exemption for these products in this period will be raised from 50% to 100%.
After the budget, Perodua immediately issued a statement by its Managing Director, En Aminar Rashid Salleh in support of the government’s policy, stating that, “The introduction of hybrid vehicles in Malaysia is still relatively new and needs all the encouragement that it can get to make it more accessible for everyone.”
However, Aminar also said that Perodua has no plans to venture into the development of hybrid engines, preferring to focus the company’s efforts on fuel efficient internal combustion engines instead. This stand is consistent with past statements made by Aminar and his fellow Perodua officials in press conferences whenever asked about hybrid technology.
“We will also continue to work with our technical partner to build engines that produce less carbon emissions as well as increasing their fuel efficiency in line with the government’s direction to embrace green technology,” Aminar added.
BMW Group Malaysia also stated their support for the government’s focus on green technology and the overall reduction of carbon emissions, but nevertheless called for more details of the government plans, most notably regarding the impending introduction of B5 bio-diesel by June 2011.
Since last year, BMW has made a concerted push for the growth of diesel technology in our market. Currently, the 3 Series, 7 Series, X1, X3 and X5 are offered with the option of diesel variants in Malaysia.
Geoffrey Briscoe, Managing Director of BMW Malaysia suggested that, “It is vital that the government also introduce incentives to encourage the ownership of Advanced Diesel vehicles in Malaysia, such as was done with the extension of import and excise duty exemption on hybrid vehicles. The fact of the matter is that while Hybrids are designed to be environmentally friendly, they are not the one all and be all solution to promoting sustainability or reducing carbon emissions.”
Of course, while diesel engines can actually burn cleaner than petrol, it is also necessary that the engine be supplied with the right grade of fuel in order for this promise to be delivered. Malaysia’s fuel quality today stands at Euro 2M, which is very far from the Euro 5 standards which BMW’s latest engines operate best in.
Briscoe also noted in his statement released by BMW Malaysia that, “The most pressing issue that needs to be addressed locally is to ensure that fuel standards in Malaysia are collectively improved to Euro 4 standards as a minimum, as this would be the most effective and wide spread method of reducing carbon emission intensity throughout the Malaysian passenger and commercial vehicle segments.”
