KUALA LUMPUR: Puspakom Sdn Bhd today refuted a claim by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) that car dealers had been facing delays in getting the mandatory inspection for registration of new private vehicles in April.

The national vehicle inspection firm, which is wholly-owned by DRB-Hicom Bhd, clarified that not all new private vehicles being registered are required to undergo a Puspakom inspection.

This follows MAA's statement published on theedgemarkets.com last Friday, which cited "long queues" and "delays in vehicle inspection" at Puspakom branches as one of the reasons that led to the slump in total car sales last month.

"This inspection is only mandatory for completely built-up units, i.e. vehicles that are fully imported from outside Malaysia. Completely knocked-down passenger cars, which make up the majority of new vehicles sold in the country, are exempted from this inspection.

"As such, the statement by MAA regarding delays in getting inspections done at Puspakom centres due to long queues contributing to low vehicle sales in April is inaccurate," Puspakom said in a statement.

Due to the Movement Control Order (MCO), Puspakom said it resumed its operations for commercial vehicles on April 29, in line with the reopening of the Road Transport Department’s counter services.

Since then, the firm said it had inspected more than 132,000 commercial vehicles as of last Thursday.

There have been more than 40,000 private vehicles turning up for inspection — new and used vehicles — since Puspakom resumed full operations for private vehicle inspections on May 11, it added.

"Additionally, in line with the protocol set by the government for companies resuming operations during the Conditional MCO, all private vehicle inspections are required to make appointments to undergo inspections at Puspakom.

"This is a very important safety and health requirement that is meant to protect the public as well as Puspakom employees," it said.

According to Puspakom, a scheduled inspection can normally be completed within an hour, provided that the vehicle arrives on time for the inspection.

There are also Puspakom centres that are dedicated solely for private vehicle inspections, which helps cut down the waiting time at these centres, the firm said.

Considering the possibility of a potential surge in vehicle numbers requiring inspections due to the restricted reopening of the economy, coupled with the number of holidays in May, Puspakom has undertaken the following measures to cope with the anticipated high volume of vehicles:
1. Inspections for commercial vehicles were made available as early as April 29, 2020.
2. Vehicle inspections can only be made through online appointments.
3. Vehicles with inspection certificates that expired between March 18 and April 28 were given the flexibility to walk in to get their inspections completed. Puspakom issued a schedule to facilitate this, and this arrangement minimises congestion and long waiting times.
4. Selected Puspakom inspection centres are operating during weekends.
5. Mobile Puspakom inspection services have resumed full operations.

Puspakom said it does not accept walk-in inspections, except for vehicles with expired certifications. This is to abide by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) put in place by the government amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"However, it was observed that the vehicles that queued up at Puspakom inspection centres in the wee hours of the morning were those without appointments despite Puspakom's advice and the government’s SOPs that all vehicle inspections must be by appointment," said Puspakom.

In light of this, Puspakom is calling on its customers to follow all instructions when present at the branches for inspections of their vehicles.

These, it said, include the limit of only one person per vehicle at the inspection centres during the inspections, and the compulsory wearing of face masks.

"Customers are also reminded to practise social distancing of at least 1m from others while in the waiting area," it added.