Budget 2023: Proton hopes for a conducive environment for EV development
KUCHING: Budget 2023 should focus on creating a conducive environment for the development of the electric vehicle (EV) industry in Malaysia.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Proton Holdings Bhd (Proton) Roslan Abdullah said it included efforts to attract consumers to switch to EVs in addition to introducing investor-friendly policies.
He said that a good investment policy is important to be able to bring new technology into the country.
“With the introduction of attractive incentives that the government can provide, it will attract the interest of investors to come and perhaps make the country a hub for EVs,” he told reporters after attending the Proton program with the media here last night.
The 2023 budget will be presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is also the Finance Minister in the Dewan Rakyat on 24 February.
Meanwhile, Roslan said Proton as one of the national vehicle companies needs to lead the use of EVs and as a start they will work with Smart Automobile Co Ltd to distribute Smart vehicles in Malaysia from the fourth quarter of this year.
“In addition, we have also sent a total of 16 engineers to Geely for a period of six months for them to learn EV technology themselves.
“We also have plans to produce our own Proton EV, but we will announce that model when it is close to the launch time,” he said.
