The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) wants the government to consider a longer period for the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for hybrid cars, reports Bernama. The FiT period currently stands at two years, and lapses by the end of this year.
MAA president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said the association would write in to the government soon seeking for an extension. ”We always ask for a longer term of around five years to enable us to draw up future plans for the automotive industry,” the news agency quoted her as saying.
Hailing MAA’s efforts is BMW Group Malaysia, who believes an extension would not only further strengthen growth in the hybrid segment, but ultimately lower carbon emissions in the country.
“We would like to reemphasise that green technology incentives should not be technology biased but be inclusive of all advanced sustainable and green technology alternatives which include diesel technology, hybrid technology and electric technology,” Bernama quotes CEO Dr Gerhard Pils.
Since the introduction of the BMW EfficientDynamics strategy in 2009, Pils said Malaysian customers have been highly supportive of this initiative and today more than 20% of BMW vehicles delivered are green, efficient variants like Advanced Diesels and ActiveHybrids.
Officially launched last October, the BMW ActiveHybrid 3 and ActiveHybrid 5 (pictured) recently enjoyed significant price drops when they were classified as Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEV). According to MITI, the EEV forms an important thrust of the yet-to-be-announced revised NAP.
Under Budget 2012, the government gave full exemption for import duty and excise tax for hybrid cars with engines displacing under 2,000 cc until December 31, 2013. Last year, hybrid car sales enjoyed an 84% jump to 15,355 units from 8,334 units in 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment