KUALA LUMPUR: The government is set to launch the national car project 3.0 by 2020 as envisioned by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad.



Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Yusof (pic) said the current government believed that the move could revitalise the national automotive industry.



“We will attempt to revive and grow the industry due to its tremendous potential. Besides, auto component manufacturing is also one of the sectors that drives small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” he told reporters on the sidelines of the TOC Automotive College Convocation Ceremony here, today (Aug 4).

Earlier in his speech, Mohd Redzuan said the government needed the support of the industry, as well as the knowledge, skills and talents of graduates to succeed in the dream.

“In the past, we tried to grow the automotive industry by creating our own car, but obviously, we need to work on the timeline.

“This had put a lot of challenges that we see today where Proton has been compromised,” he said.

Hence, Mohd Redzuan said the government will refine and improve from “what and where" had gone "wrong” (in Proton).

Dr Mahathir reaffirmed his aspiration of building the third national car project during his visit to Japan in June after Pakatan Harapan won the 14th general election on May 9.

The Prime Minister was reported as saying that the government was looking at building national car 3.0 after Proton and Perodua.

This was because his brainchild, Proton, had forged a strategic partnership with China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co (Geely) in May last year.

Mohd Redzuan said the government could also be the facilitator for automotive graduates to undergo job training in Japan.

“We are more than happy to facilitate and we have automotive counterparts in Japan who are willing to accept our graduates for job training there,” he said, adding that the move could help the local automotive industry thrive and become more resilient, especially in the car component manufacturing sector.

The automotive sector contributed four per cent to the country’s gross domestic product in 2017. - Bernama