KUALA LUMPUR : BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd (BMW Group Malaysia), which sold 18% more vehicles in the first nine months of this year, has come out to say that while it is ideal that the Malaysian government is looking at reducing the prices of passenger cars in the long term, the local automotive industry should be realistic and careful when communicating this to the public so as to not disrupt the current growth in the industry.

“Saying that car prices will come down in the coming months is an injustice to the industry as it is merely speculative and will make Malaysians adopt a wait-and-see strategy in their purchasing decision which is currently happening in the market,” said BMW Group Malaysia’s newly-appointed managing director Alan Harris in a statement yesterday.

“The Malaysian duty and pricing framework in which all automakers work in is complicated, but the main goal at the end of the day is to provide all Malaysians a great value for their car and this is what we at BMW believe,” he added.

BMW Group Malaysia, a joint venture between Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Sime Darby Bhd, sold a total of 6,629 vehicles between January and September this year from 5,616 units a year ago. They comprised 5,782 BMW, 473 MINI and 374 BMW Motorrad vehicles.

Harris said since January, the company had introduced 11 new premium car models to spur the Malaysian premium segment.

They included the all-new BMW X5, BMW 2 Series Coupe, BMW 4 Series Convertible, BMW 420i Coupe, BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, BMW M3 Sedan, BMW M4 Coupe and BMW X4.

“2014 is also a tremendous year for BMW Motorrad which saw the introduction of seven new premium motorcycles,” he said.

He said aside from the launch of these 11 new premium cars and seven new premium motorcycles, BMW Group Malaysia is also committed to the local assembly of the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo, BMW X3, BMW X5 and the 55 Edition MINI Cooper Countryman at its facility in Kulim, Kedah, growing the number of locally assembled models to 17 variants.

On the local automotive industry, Harris said 2014 has been a fairly progressive year so far with the Malaysian government outlining policies regarding the assembly of energy-efficient vehicles in the country, the continued improvement of New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asia standards by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research and the planned limited introduction of Euro IV quality diesel fuel in certain parts of Johor.

“While we do applaud the government’s recognition of the auto industry as a key industry for the country, greater progress must be done to steer Malaysia towards becoming a regional hub for the manufacture and assembly of advanced and environmentally-friendly auto technology as the country faces closer economic integration and liberation with its Southeast Asian neighbours as well as competitors via the Asean Free Trade Area,” said Harris.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 16, 2014.