Miti: Cars are 13.07pct cheaper since 2014

Car prices are 13.07 percent cheaper since the implementation of the National Automotive Policy was implemented in 2014, the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) said.

This was revealed in Miti's parliamentary written reply to Lenggong MP Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, although the methodology used to derive this calculation was not described.

However, Miti cited six car models that are now cheaper:

• Proton Exora 1.6 (down 4.7 percent);
• Proton Alza 1.5 (down 11.3 percent);
• Perodua Myvi 1.3 (down 19.4 percent);
• Honda Jazz (down 19.3 percent);
• Mazda CX-5 (down 6.6 percent); and
• Toyota Vios E (down 1.8 percent).

Miti was responding to Shamsul Anuar's question on what the government was doing to achieve the goal of reducing car prices by 30 percent - a target set in 2014.

Reducing the prices of cars is also part of BN's manifesto for the 2013 general election.

Miti's reply did not directly respond to the question and instead cautioned that car prices are not set by the government but driven by market forces.

In February, Berita Harian published a report claiming that popular car models were now between are now cheaper by between 2.25 percent and 20.77 percent when compared to 2013.

However, popular automotive blog paultan.org has disputed the veracity of most of the claims made by the report, because of the unfair comparisons used.

Malaysian taxes on cars are among the highest in the world. Completely built-up vehicles imported from non-Asean origins are subjected to a 30 percent import tax.

Excise duties for passenger cars range from 75 percent to 105 percent, even for locally made cars. On top of this, buyers will have to fork out another six percent for GST.

For comparison, the cheapest new Toyota Camry in the US would cost US$23,495 (RM92,018) while the cheapest Camry in Malaysia is sold for RM148,600. -Mkini