KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia automotive sector will take advantage of the advancement in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, as the country is completing its research and development (R&D) by 2025.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Chua Tee Yong said technological advancement related to connectivity and autonomous technology will increasingly change the way people commute daily.
“In most countries, AV is driven by the government as the enabler or facilitator to introduce this incentive. However, this is a private-driven technology and the government also works with the academic institutions for this AV initiative,” he said at a press conference after officiating the Towards Autonomous Technologies Conference 2018 here today.
The inaugural conference is part of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority's (MIDA) continuous effort in providing platform for industry stakeholders to discuss and exchange ideas in new and emerging markets.
Chua said the increasing speed of innovation and shared mobility mobility solutions will provide new business models.
“We want to harness the new and emerging technologies to enhance our quality of life. Therefore, it will create good jobs and competitive business opportunities for the country,” he added.
He said the local electrical and electronic (E&E) sector has critical cross-industry linkages and applications including new growth areas such as in automative electronics.
“E&E sector is the largest contributor to the country's economy with RM343 billion of export values in 2017, accounting to 36.7 per cent of the total value of exports.
“Currently, there are 690 manufacturers producing a wide range of automotive components in Malaysia,” he said.
Chua said development of AV will reshape the industry landscape and help define the future of transportation.
“It is important to ensure any framework or regulations that the government introduce should take into account this greenfield and developing technology," he said.
Chua said MIDA should continue its engagement with industry players towards developing the framework in the future.
"We have several universities that have initiated several development projects related to AV and its technologies.
"For example, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has been conducting R&D activities on developing a fully AV since last year," he said, adding that the prototype was developed through a collaboration between UTM ans Moovita Pte Ltd.
MIDA chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud said the agency sees the potential benefits of AV in urban transportation system are enormous and wide-reaching.
"To achieve them, it requires the right mix of ambition, planning, regulation testing and careful execution in a setting that involves multiple stakeholders," he said.