'Car of the future': Third national car prototype is ready
The prototype for Malaysia’s third national car is ready, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad confirmed today.
According to Mahathir (above), however, the prototype would not be exhibited to the public until the country acquires an investor keen to develop the car.
As the "car of the future", Mahathir said the third national car will be fitted with modern technology suitable for upcoming needs.
“(We will) collaborate with any company across the country, not just from Japan, China, Korea and Europe... we will collaborate with any country that possesses the technology....
The prototype for Malaysia’s third national car is ready, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad confirmed today.
According to Mahathir (above), however, the prototype would not be exhibited to the public until the country acquires an investor keen to develop the car.
As the "car of the future", Mahathir said the third national car will be fitted with modern technology suitable for upcoming needs.
“(We will) collaborate with any company across the country, not just from Japan, China, Korea and Europe... we will collaborate with any country that possesses the technology.
“We have completed the prototype (of the national car),” he said today after launching the National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2020 in Kuala Lumpur.
Also present were International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking and his deputy Ong Kian Ming.
To date, the country has produced two car brands, Proton and Perodua.
The country’s aspiration to build a new national car was first expressed by the premier during his visit to Japan in June 2018, not long after taking office following Pakatan Harapan’s victory in GE14.
At the time, he said this was as a large stake in the country’s first national car Proton, which started in 1984 and was Mahathir’s brainchild, was sold to Chinese company Geely in 2017.
He later said a new national car would help boost Malaysia’s engineering capabilities.
The Finance Ministry later said any such endeavour must be backed by the private sector as the country lacked public funds to see it through.
Last August, the government announced that bumiputera-owned company DreamEdge Sdn Bhd would serve as the anchor company for the project.
Japanese manufacturer Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd was to provide support for manufacturing the car, but will not acquire any stake in the project.
It was also stated that the first model of the car would take 18 months to manufacture and is slated to be launched in March 2021.
Meanwhile today, Mahathir further reflected on the development of the automotive industry and how Malaysia was once lagging behind in the industry.
However, he said with the first national car project, the country was able to develop its own car which was fitted with modern technology.
This time, Mahathir said the government will not be producing its own car model, but the development of the third national car will depend entirely on investments.
He added the new car would also be developed taking into account the effect on the environment.
“It (the new car) is not just for the Malaysian market, but the world market,” he said.
