Lower middle class Malaysians waiting to buy a value for money NEW car

KUALA LUMPUR: We live in a country where there are two national cars and they both command a lion's share of the NEW car market due to a preferential tax system. In an open and fair tax system (like the one used in Thailand or even Indonesia), they would probably only have 5 to 10 percent of the new car market.

Well, let's not debate this long-standing political issue. Here we are looking at the lack of quality compact cars in our market and how it could be changing fast in the coming years or even months.

Let us explain, but before that, some information is shared in the paragraphs below.

The recently spotted 2013 model of the Nissan DAYZ would have been subjected to full import duties when it arrived in Malaysia and so its ‘final cost’ would have been close to RM75,000 to RM80,000 which makes it unrealistic to be launched and sold here against ‘national cars’.

Even with local assembly allowed (ETCM would not have been given permission to local assemble this high value mini-car here in Malaysia to protect the two national car brands) the selling price would have hovered around RM60,000 to RM65,000 which would make volume sales difficult to justify.

This is why Malaysian car buyers have not been able to enjoy great quality compact cars for decades as Japanese and Korean car manufacturers have never been able to compete against the national car brands who enjoy preferential tax incentives.

Remember the Kia Picanto 1.2 which was launched in 2018? It was a great little hatchback with good features and build quality. But with a price tag of more than RM55,000 and somewhat smaller than a Myvi and Iriz, it could not survive.

Then there was the first generation Hyundai Getz which was launched in 2003 and priced at a lofty RM80,000. It was loved by many and sales were good, but not good enough for the second generation model to sell well.

Today a used Getz can be bought for between RM5,000 for the 1.3-liter version and a little more from RM8,000 for the 1.6-liter version.

So, now with the Malaysian government announcing zero import duties and road tax for full electric cars, there could be a light at the end of the tunnel for middle class Malaysians who want a quality compact car with very low running costs. Before this announcement, electric cars in Malaysia were only for the wealthy as they were all luxury brands.

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