The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) says it does not expect the sales of diesel vehicles to be severely impacted by the government’s targeted diesel subsidy programme, which began earlier this week and has seen the retail price of Euro 5 B10 and B20 diesel in the peninsula being increased from RM2.15 to RM3.35 per litre.
In a statement, the association said it anticipates that the total industry sales (TIV) volume for the year will continue at planned levels, with any change in volume not reflecting much in the TIV, given that diesel vehicles only account for less than 12% of the vehicle registrations in the country.
How the move will have an impact on sales won’t be seen immediately, but a clearer indication will come about within the next month or so. However, any dip in numbers may be temporary.
This is because the association says that demand for commercial diesel vehicles, pick-up trucks and vans is expected to remain high. It said that apart from private use, users of diesel vehicles are mostly from the construction, plantation, logistics, tourism and transport sectors, and such vehicles were crucial to many business operations in these sectors.
It added that while consumers will be cautious in making a purchase decision at the beginning, they would not hold off on a purchase of a diesel vehicle for long, given their necessary use in many applications.
The association however said that having an accurate and efficient rebate mechanism is very important, and called on the government to make the subsidy quota for the transport sector clear in order to prevent operators from raising transport rates, which would affect the public and the country’s competitiveness.
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