Hybrids cost less than normal cars in Malaysia
Publication:
Wednesday, 3 November, 2010 - 00:00
chiefofficersnet
Malaysia imposes extraordinary levels of tax on cars manufactured outside ASEAN. But due to special temporary arrangements for hybrid cars it's cheaper to buy a dual-fuel Honda than the standard version
As domestic car maker Proton gets ready to launch its own first hybrid - to meet the public in a race in the UK on 6th November, Honda is boosting its efforts to sell its hybrid Civic and Toyota has cut the price of its Prius model.
Honda Malaysia said yesterday Civic Hybrid is to cost an on-the-road price of MYR108,980 on the mainland and MYR109,980 in Borneo: that's RM21,000 less than the petrol-driven Civic.
Last week, Toyota said that, during the tax-incentive period - the Prius would be cut to MYR139,900 - a massive cut from its normal MYR175,000. In Borneo the car will cost about MYR2,000 more due to the cost of delivery from the mainland to the island.
The tax incentives have been extended until the end of the year.
Proton, whose products are not subject to the higher, non-ASEAN taxes, hopes to get its first hybrid on the road for under MYR100,000. The car has been developed with technical expertise from Lotus and Frazer-Nash in the UK and LG in Korea and expects to launch it next year.