Third national car? Malaysians unsure about it, survey shows

KUALA LUMPUR Nov 15 — Malaysians are divided in their support for the third national car project as envisioned by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, according to a recent survey.

The survey found that many Malaysians are still on the fence over the proposal.

The independent survey by YouGov, an international full-service market research agency, had polled 1,012 Malaysians through its omnibuses which are sampled based on the representation of online penetration in a country.

It found that almost four in 10 Malaysians, or 38 per cent, supported the project, one in four (25 per cent) opposed it and the remaining 37 per cent were unsure.

YouGov’s data also found that lower-earning Malaysians were more likely to support the project as opposed to those with higher incomes.

“While three in 10 (29 per cent) Malaysians earning RM10,000 or more are in favour of the plan, this figure rises to 46 per cent among those with an income of RM1,999 or less. Furthermore, Malaysian Malays and Malaysian Indians (44 per cent) are also more supportive of the project than Malaysian Chinese (24 per cent),” it said in a statement.

The survey also showed that Perodua was the most well-known Malaysia car brand (87 per cent or nine in 10 Malaysians), followed closely by Proton at 86 per cent.

It said eight in 10 (81 per cent) Malaysian car owners have a Malaysian-built vehicle, with Perodua being the most popular (49 per cent), followed by Proton (42 per cent).

YouGov said they also asked Malaysians what would encourage them to buy a locally-made car and the main factors were a better price (75 per cent) followed by lower maintenance costs (65 per cent).

“It is also notable that while six in 10 (59 per cent) Malaysians would consider buying a second-hand car, when it comes to purchasing a second-hand Malaysian car, the number drops to 46 per cent,” the research said.

YouGov Omnibus APAC head Jake Gammon, in the statement, described the national car project as “an ongoing endeavour that has its citizens divided”.

“While there might not be overwhelming support for a third national car project, our data suggests this could be due to the overall satisfaction and success of the two existing ones,” Gammon added.

Dr Mahathir mooted the third national car project during a visit to Japan in June this year to drive the manufacturing sector and transfer of technology.

Although there has been some criticism of the project, Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Yusof announced in August that the government was set to launch the national car project 3.0 by 2020.

Redzuan said on Monday that the blueprint to drive the third national car project will be presented to Dr Mahathir in two weeks and once ready, it will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

He said a deadline for its vendor development programme application submission would also be established, once the blueprint is completed.