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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian car manufacturers must look for powerful foreign partners to open doors to bigger markets, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the domestic car market was insufficient to ensure the future survival of the national automotive industry.
Calling on the industry to embark on yet another transformation, he said it must now engage in joint economies of scale with the outside automotive world through a process of specialisation and interchange.
He named China and India as large potential markets, and added that few carmakers could expect to make it on their own.
“We leave it to the national car companies to choose the appropriate partners. The partner must bring value to the national car, be a successful automotive manufacturer and have the right kind of technologies, and be able to open doors for Proton in markets abroad,” Najib said after opening the KL International Automotive Conference 2006.
“If there is a need for us to give up some equity, we will do that; but not to the point where we lose control of the national car. The partnership should not lead to undermining the national car. Whatever it is, we have to be in control of the car and of the manufacturing.”
Najib said that while the Government was not going to “simply tear down the protective barriers and immediately throw the national car industry to the wolves of unbridled competition,” to continue to “shield it indefinitely is not a viable long-term strategy.”
“Support will continue to be given but it will be targeted, finite and transitional, not open-ended and unconditional. We will reward those who make serious and concrete efforts to achieve the kind of scale, through domestic sales and export, that will allow them to do more in Malaysia,” he added.
He said the national car would still maintain at least 60% local content.
“But realistically, no car is really a national car anymore in the world because each manufacturer sources from other countries as well. As long as we can achieve a minimum of 60%, we can still call it a national car,” he added.
Najib was confident the national car makers would be able to find markets in Asean and beyond.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/24/nation/14330953&sec=nation
The Deputy Prime Minister said the domestic car market was insufficient to ensure the future survival of the national automotive industry.
Calling on the industry to embark on yet another transformation, he said it must now engage in joint economies of scale with the outside automotive world through a process of specialisation and interchange.
He named China and India as large potential markets, and added that few carmakers could expect to make it on their own.
“We leave it to the national car companies to choose the appropriate partners. The partner must bring value to the national car, be a successful automotive manufacturer and have the right kind of technologies, and be able to open doors for Proton in markets abroad,” Najib said after opening the KL International Automotive Conference 2006.
“If there is a need for us to give up some equity, we will do that; but not to the point where we lose control of the national car. The partnership should not lead to undermining the national car. Whatever it is, we have to be in control of the car and of the manufacturing.”
Najib said that while the Government was not going to “simply tear down the protective barriers and immediately throw the national car industry to the wolves of unbridled competition,” to continue to “shield it indefinitely is not a viable long-term strategy.”
“Support will continue to be given but it will be targeted, finite and transitional, not open-ended and unconditional. We will reward those who make serious and concrete efforts to achieve the kind of scale, through domestic sales and export, that will allow them to do more in Malaysia,” he added.
He said the national car would still maintain at least 60% local content.
“But realistically, no car is really a national car anymore in the world because each manufacturer sources from other countries as well. As long as we can achieve a minimum of 60%, we can still call it a national car,” he added.
Najib was confident the national car makers would be able to find markets in Asean and beyond.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/24/nation/14330953&sec=nation
