Prominent automotive news portal Paultan.org has disputed an exclusive report in Berita Harian, which claimed that car models are now significantly cheaper since the 2013 general election.
The Umno-linked Malay daily also published a Page 4 lead story with the title "Menepati janji manifesto BN" (fulfilling BN's election pledge), accompanied by an infographic suggesting that popular models are now cheaper by between 2.25 percent and 20.77 percent.
According to the Paultan.org article, some of the examples used in the Berita Harian report were a case of comparing apples and oranges – where the 2013 price tag of a better-equipped variant of a vehicle was compared with the current price tag of a less-equipped variant of the same vehicle.
"Let us begin with the Perodua Alza. The price referred (to in the report) was RM59,017 for the Alza 1.5 SE Manual (in 2013).
"Compare that with the latest price for the Alza 1.5 Standard Manual, and not the SE, the decrease in price was only 2.1 percent," said Paultan.org.
According to the Berita Harian report, the Perodua Alza was now 14.18 percent cheaper than in 2013.
As for Berita Harian's claim that the Perodua Myvi – arguably Malaysia's most popular car – was now 12.15 percent cheaper, Paultan.org pointed that this too was inaccurate.
"In 2013, the cheapest Myvi was sold for RM40,650.45. Now, the cheapest Myvi cost RM44,300 – with a lot more features such as LED lights, additional airbags, VSA and ABS," read the report.
The article also pointed out that the Berita Harian report had inconsistencies when reporting prices before or after including the price of insurance.
"For the Proton Prevé, the old (2013) price mentioned (in the report) was for the 1.6 CFE Premium (automatic model), which is the on-the-road price including insurance.
"It was compared with the (current) price of a Prevé 1.6 NA Manual, without insurance factored in. Surely there will be a difference there," said Paultan.org.
The Berita Harian report claimed that the Proton Prevé 1.6 Executive Manual was now 20.77 percent cheaper than in 2013.
In conclusion, Paultan.org said that in general, the prices of cars mentioned in the Berita Harian report are not a lot cheaper as claimed.
"Proton and Perodua, for instance, have held on to the same price tag, albeit with added safety features and other value-added fittings," it added.
In 2013, BN had promised to reduce car prices in stages by up to 30 percent by revamping the national automotive policy (NAP).
The Najib-administration is looking to update the NAP later this year, following the last update in 2014. -Mkini
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