Malaysia on Friday launched a brand new mass-market automotive project geared toward boosting the event and adoption of advanced technologies as a part of a renewed industrial push by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Reuters reported.
Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy is encouraging industries to make use of technology to spice up productivity and counter growing external threats arising from the escalating trade war between the United States and China.
The latest project, spearheaded by Malaysian company DreamEDGE, will probably be developed with technical support from Japan’s Daihatsu Motor Corp, said Darell Leiking, Malaysia’s trade and industry minister.
“It is privately funded and there is no government funding,” Leiking said at a news conference. “We will support anything made in Malaysia… as long as no government money is spent or used.”
Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp, owns a stake in Perodua, Malaysia’s second indigenous carmaker and its best-selling brand.
Darell said the brand new brand, which doesn’t yet have a reputation, will offer reasonably priced vehicles with advanced technology.
The first model, which is prone to be a C-segment sedan powered by a sophisticated combustion engine or hybrid system, is anticipated to hit the roads in March 2021, said Khairil Adri Adnan, CEO of DreamEDGE.
“The Prime Minister recently informed me that I should look into the DreamEDGE facilities as they will be an important factor in the industry,” Leiking told a press conference, adding that the automotive will probably be a “fully developed indigenous vehicle developed in Malaysia.”
Leiking described it as an all-new and “exclusive” model with “advanced technology”, adding that it will be priced reasonably priced to most people.
“The national automobile project is a catalyst for the country’s industrialization, geared toward galvanizing Malaysians to meaningfully take part in the implementation of advanced technologies,” the ministry said, as quoted by Times of the Strait.
