The influx of new car brands that have come about in recent times may be a good thing for Malaysian buyers in terms of providing expanded choices and more competitively priced products, but there is now a need to ensure that not just anything and everything comes our way as a CBU import simply because it can, and is cheap. According to ministry of investment, trade and industry (MITI) minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, it is imperative to determine if any additions to the automotive chain bring any value to consumers beyond just being cheap. “Our population is only about 34 million people. So, I’ve decided that we need to revise it. We are not bringing all cheap cars into this country. This is not a country that we can dump everything that is excess from any other country in the world,” he said in his speech during the launch of the Proton eMas 7 PHEV yesterday. “We have to choose cars that are of the right quality. Cars that can benefit our local economy. We must also make sure that it has to be driven by good technology, and not only on price. I hope you will all agree with what I’ve said,” he added. His statement comes in the wake of the new regulation that all new CBU imported EVs from new brands yet to enter the Malaysian market must now be priced from RM250k up, and their combined power must be at least 200 kW (272 PS) as of January 1 this year, a significant jump from the RM100k minimum imposed on CBUs when the tax exemptions were in place. The new ruling supposedly also applies to all new CBU EV models, regardless of whether the brand is already in Malaysia or not. As such, only CBU EVs that have been approved before December 31, 2025 can fall back on the previous RM100k floor price, with taxes applied. However, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) says it is engaging with the ministry to clarify the issue, and until then the issue hangs in the air. The way around all this is to CKD, which is of course what MITI is trying to push with these CBU hurdles. The idea that allowing anything to come just because it can without a cap in place is of course unthinkable, because the last thing anyone needs is for a flood of sub-standard offerings to head our way as a result of that. But while locks are necessary, they may not need to be set to the point of constriction. The answers to this, in due course. Compare prices between different insurer providers to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services. Many payment method supported and you can pay with instalment using Atome, Grab PayLater or Shopee SPayLater.