Gov’t considering a trade-in subsidy programme for old motorcycles, will explore funding options for it – Loke

The transport ministry says that it is considering expanding the vehicle trade-in subsidy scheme to motorcycles, where bike owners could get a RM1,000 subsidy for trading in their old motorcycle for the purchase of a new one, Sin Chew Daily reports.

Transport minister Anthony Loke said the ministry was considering the proposal that has been put forward by the Malaysia motorcycle and scooter dealers association (MMSDA), and that he would discuss this with the ministry’s secretary-general next week to see if existing ministry funds can be used to implement the plan. Should it come through, the plan could be introduced by the end of this year or early next year

He said that funding could come from a scheme similar to the matching grant programme for the replacement of old vehicles that was launched in January, where RM10 million was allocated by the government to encourage approximately 5,000 vehicle owners to replace vehicles aged 20 years or older with newer, safer and more energy-efficient vehicles from Malaysia’s national carmakers.

In the programme, RM2,000 was offered for each eligible vehicle, which was then matched by participating local vehicle manufacturers. The programme was successful, with funding exhausted for it within three months.

Gov’t considering a trade-in subsidy programme for old motorcycles, will explore funding options for it – Loke

“While the funding has not yet been increased, we hope to receive more funding. In any case, in response to the proposal made, we can consider expanding the plan to motorcycles,” he said. Loke said that because there was a larger number of motorcycles in the country, the subsidy per motorcycle could possibly be set lower, at about RM1,000.

Because funding for such assistance programmes was not from additional funds from the finance ministry, he added that the programme could get its money from revenue generated by the transport ministry through the sale of its special vehicle registration numbers, with the earnings from these channelled back to the ministry for programmes, including road safety initiatives. “This plan could be one of the options,” he said.

In March, Loke said that the ministry was willing to offer incentives for the disposal of old motorcycles, but such an initiative could only proceed with active participation by local motorcycle manufacturers. Conditions for such a programme would also require that the motorcycles be locally assembled (CKD) models, as any assistance would only be given to local manufacturing companies, he added.