When it comes to regular internal combustion engine powered vehicles, do not expect further incentives by the government for the auto industry and car buyers, as policymakers are focused on electric vehicles now. This was conveyed by Malaysian Automotive Association president Datuk Aishah Ahmad at the auto club’s“As far as I know, we’re not expecting anything on ICE cars because the focus of the government right now is on EVs.
“The focus is to make sure that it’s a green environment by 2050. The focus is more on EVs,” she added, referring toHybrids are seen as a stepping stone to full battery electric vehicles, the first step of the electrification ladder. They’re proven in the market, a known quantity, and less expensive than EVs. Japanese giants Toyota and Honda were the first to champion hybrids more than a decade ago, and both are still in the game today thanks to government incentives.
“Hybrids, we also will be appealing to the government to continue and improve on hybrid incentives, because people will first buy hybrids before they convert to EVs. The government has not really scaled down on hybrids ,” she said. However, hybrid incentives will not last forever. “Even for EVs, they intend to reduce incentives once there are more on the road,” she added.
It was always unlikely for car buyers to get more sweets from the government, which in case you forgot, isn’t exactly flush with money. The pandemic brought about a sales tax exemption programme that was extended a couple of times, and