Carmakers in Malaysia remain shuttered until MCO is lifted

PETALING JAYA: Automakers in the country will continue to shutter their operations until the MCO is lifted.

Except for TC Subaru Sdn Bhd, vehicle producers and distributors contacted by The Star said they did not apply to the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) to resume some parts of their operations.

On Monday, the ministry had announced that subject to approval, vehicle workshops, spare part centres and authorised dealer’s service centres are allowed to open for business.

Operations to assemble vehicles for export can be resumed, and deliveries of cars to customers registered before the MCO can also be done, subject to approval by MITI.

TC Subaru said the company's application to MITI is still in progress.

"We had issues with the ministry's system during the online application. It took us a whole day just to register for an account. We have already sent our feedback regarding the issues we faced to MITI and we are waiting for their response."

On Monday, the MITI website had crashed temporarily due to overwhelming traffic on the first day of applications for certain businesses to operate during the MCO.

The TC Subaru spokesman said should the company obtain MITI approval to resume operations for service centres and car deliveries during the MCO, it would ensure that all safety and health measures are met and complied with.

"The safety and health of our employees, customers and business partners remain our utmost priority," she said.

A spokesman from Mazda car distributor Bermaz Auto Bhd said the company's operations will remain closed as "we are very concerned about the safety of our employees and customers."

"Social distancing still has to be observed. However, in urgent cases, our mobile service team are available to assist customers," said the Bermaz Auto official.

As for Honda Malaysia, the company's business operations including the Pegoh plant in Malacca, sales offices and dealerships nationwide will remain closed.

"We will resume all business operations on April 29 after the MCO is lifted. As part of our on-going commitments and to support governments effort and front-liners to overcome the Covid-19 outbreak, we are focused in protecting our valued customers as well as associates’ safety and well-being," it said.

Proton said its operations will remain closed to comply with the directives and guidelines for all non-essential services.

A Proton spokesman referred to the company's statement on its corporate website, which advised customers who face emergency situations such as breakdowns or accidents to contact a Customer Care hotline 1-800-888-398 for urgent assistance (available 24-hours).  — JAY WONG, RIZAL JOHAN and THOMAS HUONG