THE Malaysian Automotive Institute revealed that energy-efficient vehicle (EEV) penetration had increased year-on-year since the National Automotive Policy 2014 was launched, and had actually exceeded the targeted numbers.
This was discussed earlier this week, at a presentation on the status of the Malaysian automotive industry last year.
Currently, there are 19 original equipment manufacturers offering EEVs to the Malaysian market.
In 2016, EEV penetration was at 42.8 per cent, beyond the targeted 40 per cent. Last year, it was 52 per cent.
Out of the total energy-efficient cars sold, 83.2 per cent were petrol-powered, 13 per cent were diesel-powered while the remainder 3.8 per cent were hybrids.
These figures augur well for the local automotive industry. Of course, the growth also happened on the back of total industry growth.
Preliminary figures for Total Industry Volume (TIV) grew to about 575,000 to 580,000, while total production volume stood at 510,000 to 515,000.
The percentage of gross domestic product for the automotive industry now stands at 4 per cent, and it is expected to contribute 4.5 per cent this year.
The progress so far is on track for EEV progression in Malaysia.
At the presentation, Malaysia Automotive Institute chief executive officer Datuk Madani Sahari said the current EEV penetration was encouraging as nearly all new model launches featured EEVs.
In December, it was reported that the penetration of EEVs in the country was expected to reach 80 per cent of TIV by 2022.
Second International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan was quoted as saying that this was in line with the National Automotive Policy 2014 to make Malaysia a regional EEV hub by 2022.
“Based on our internal data, of the expected 70 new car launches this year, about 95 per cent are EEV models.
“EEVs accounted for about 90 per cent of the total 58 cars launches last year. Hence, the EEV penetration will increase this year,” he said.
Madani added that the 80 per cent local EEV penetration by 2020 is a realistic goal, citing that the automotive industry is gradually growing holistically.
Malaysia’s definition of EEV currently is vehicles that meet a set of defined specifications in terms of carbon emission levels (g/km) and fuel consumption (l/100km).
EEV includes fuel efficient vehicles, hybrids, electric vehicles and alternatively-fuelled vehicles, such as CNG, LPG, biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles.