M'sia auto sector to contribute 6.8pc of GDP

Malaysia's automotive industry is expected to contribute 6.8 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2020 from 2.4 per cent presently by increasing Foreign Direct Investments that would lead to increased exports and competiton in the sector.

The National Automotive Policy (NAP) that is slated to be annnounced soon aims to turn Malaysia to be regional hub for energy efficient vehicles.

Malaysia Automative Institute (MAI) said the NAP will spur high technology uptake with the intention of luring original equipment manufacturers (OEM) into the country.

Its Chief Executive Officer M. Madani Sahari said new licences would be given to OEM that use Malaysia for EEV production base.

This he said will pour new FDI into the country as well encourage strategic domestic direct investment. It was learnt that the Nap is now at its final stage following a review to resolve structural issues such as lack of scale and technology.