Car sector to see healthy competition with lower prices

The plan to lower car prices in stages by 20-30 per cent within five years as promised in the Barisan Nasional manifesto before the 13th General Election, is expected to lead to healthy competition between the domestic carmakers and importers. Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Dr Noreffendy Tamaldin, said the local carmakers needed healthy competition from importers in a market which was open and competitive. "The local carmakers have an advantage over makers of imported cars in that they understood the needs of local buyers. The competition is expected to lead to better quality cars and after-sales services," he told Bernama. Noreffendy said local car producers needed to identify the strategies of the producers in advanced countries like US and Germany where they were more responsive to the needs of the market rather than worried about the question of competition from the importers. "The local carmakers need to work hard to gain the confidence of the new and existing buyers as it is their right to own a good quality and 'value for money' cars. "They must come out with quality cars," he said. He said the carmakers also needed to emphasise after-sales service. "Only when the buyers are satisfied with the quality of the cars they buy would they help promote the brand," he said. Noreffendy said the move to lower the car prices would give a positive impact on the car industry and the national economy. He said it would also affect the used-car dealers a bit.