NAP 2018 to support automotive industry's transformation towards future mobility: Najib

SERDANG: The National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2018 will continue to support the transformation of the automotive industry towards future mobility, and subsequently, become a driver of Malaysia's economy to a higher level, said caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
He said to realise this vision, policies and regulations must be reviewed and streamlined.
"The holistic involvement encompassing 'stakeholders', including ministries, automotive industry agencies and youths, is important for planning and implementing the same strategic direction, while enhancing the competitiveness of the country's automotive industry," he said in his speech at the Connected Mobility Roadshow and launch of the Malaysia Autoshow 2018 here today.
Najib said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Automotive Institute of Malaysia had already began the review of the country's automotive policy.
The review, known as the NAP 2018, encompasses four key pillars, namely new generation vehicles, mobility, the Industry 4.0 revolution and artificial intelligence.
The Prime Minister said by looking far into the future and striding towards 2050, the automotive industry will expand to become more smarter and sophisticated and be known as connected mobility with the ability to explore and analyse big data.
"All this can be achieved with the emergence of high speed Internet connectivity. The Industry 4.0 Revolution is an enabling factor for connected mobility.
"Connected mobility is projected to undergo a shift from being a product to a service and over the long term has the capacity on a large scale to open up business opportunities and employment for groups that take up the opportunity," he added.
Najib said based on early research undertaken on the connected mobility ecosystem by the Malaysian Automotive Industry, the industry had the potential to create more than one million new jobs.
It will also complement the science, technology, engineering and mathematics initiatives.
Najib also said the planning for the next three decades is on the basis on strengthening the digital economy to continue progressing and becoming among the key competitors in the digital economy industry.
"Malaysia needs to develop products and services with high demand and commercial value for the continued march forward.
"In developed countries such as the United States, Japan, Germany and South Korea, the automotive industry has long been a key contributor in driving their economic transformation.
"As such, Malaysia must study the trends and future global expectations to formulate policies, institutional frameworks and facilitations in line with this,' he added. — Bernama