I attended a briefing on the upcoming Malaysia Autoshow 2017 this morning. The event, which is organised by the Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), the government agency that now charts the Malaysian automotive policies have announced that more than 80% of the exhibition space has been sold and the majority of the mass market brands will be participating . Some of the exhibitors that have already confirmed their attendance are Proton, Perodua, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Hyundai, KIA, BMW, Volvo, Peugeot, Renault, and Land Rover.
Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) Chief Executive Officer Dato' Madani Sahari and MAEPS Chief Operating Officer Puan Norafizah Rahman during MoU Exchange
It's going to be pretty big and it will be held for the first time at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS), a venue which has the largest exhibition area in the Klang Valley (or Malaysia for that matter). MAI also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the mangement of MAEPS to utilise the area for next year's Malaysia Autoshow because of this.
Previously, the Malaysia Autoshow was held at the Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) but since this show has gotten bigger in terms of exhibitors as well as visitors, the organisers have decided to scale things up a bit and use a venue where the sky's the limit in terms of infrastructure.
There are over 20,000 square meters of indoor space to utilise as well as over 30,000 more square meters outdoors. What MAI and the organisers have promised are more than just new cars on display but a lot of activities indoors and outdoors. We know that big name manufacturers have confirmed participation so the indoor part is pretty much covered. As for outdoor activities, the usual, and mandatory auto show test drives will be available but there will be an off-road track for those interested in something a little more challenging.
One interesting activity is the first Kart Slalom in the country. Malaysia is set to witness its first ever Kart Slalom series. This is a new category introduced by the International Karting Commission of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), and is designed for people who have never competed in motorsports before so any one can try. The young are actually encourage to try it out as this is one way the FIA is promoting grassroots racing There will be a small fee of course (of which the organiser stated that it could be as low as RM10 per try). Other events are still being finalised.
Lucky Draw will be a Peugeot 208 PureTech this time around
Now in order to make the Malaysia Autoshow 2017 more inticing to its visitors, one lucky visitor will stand a chance to drive away with a brand new car. This continues from last year where a Kia Rio was given out as the grand prize. This time, it is a Peugeot 208 PureTech worth RM89,888 which will be up for grabs.
The Malaysian Autoshow mobile app will be available for download closer to show dates, on both iOS App Store and Google Play for Android. Besides allowing visitors to be in the running to win the Peugeot 208 PureTech, users will be able to request for test drives of their favourite cars at the event and vote for the People’s Choice Car of the Year Award. The app will also provide push notifications to visitors, information on exhibitors, as well as directions on getting to the venue.
MAI Car of the Year awards will be presented prior to the auto show
Now speaking about the People's Choice Car of the Year Awards for 2017, this year's MAI Car of the Year awards will be presented just before the show on the eve of the Autoshow. Winners from over 30 categories will be announced on 8 November 2017, the night before the Autoshow is officially open to the public unlike previously where it was made a week after the autoshow. This announcement is anticipated to assist car buyers in choosing their next drive. It looks like more fine tuning by the organisers here.
Also for the first time, the nominees for Car of the Year is open to all new cars that are sold by brand owners or their franchise owners. This dramatically expands the eligibility compared to previous years where only new cars launched during the year were considered for nomination.
Kuala Lumpur International Automotive Symposium (KLIAS)
Aside from the above, Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) also announced today that the theme “Smart, Safe and Sustainable Mobility” has been identified for the Kuala Lumpur International Automotive Symposium (KLIAS), which will be held in conjunction with the upcoming Malaysia Autoshow 2017 in November.
This symposium, which is being held for the first time, is organised by MAI, and centres around promoting Malaysia as the regional hub for Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEV). It starts a couple of days prior to the opening of the autoshow to the public and members of the public who are interested in finding out the latest in the National Automotive Policy, autonomous vehicles, the future of connectivity in vehicles and other topics surrounding Smart, Safe and Sustainable Mobility can attend the symposium. According to the organisers there will be a fee of RM150 per day where you can attend any of the talks on the day you have paid for.
This year's Malaysia Autoshow is actually a prelude of even bigger things to come. One must note that last year, the organisers of the Malaysia Autoshow had entered into a MoU with the organisers of the Bangkok Motor Show, the people who are in charge of handling the largest motor show in the South East Asian region. They should be setting up a booth this time at the Malaysia Autoshow (no idea what they will be bringing down yet) and all of this would set the ball rolling for 2018. This is when the Malaysia Autoshow will be called the Malaysia Motor Show 2018 and it would be held some time in April instead of November. The reason being that it will actually be just a few weeks after the Bangkok show which means a lot of the cars on display there will have a higher chance of being brought and displayed here in Malaysia. Another fact is that the November date is too close to other major motor shows in the Asian region. So this new date will actually avoid any clashes with larger motor shows.
This shows promise. I mean if all of this efforts make a Malaysian motor show up to the level of the big ones in South East Asia (Bangkok & Jakarta), I am all for it.
MALAYSIA AUTOMOTIVE INSTITUTE (MAI) REVS UP
PREPARATIONS FOR THE MALAYSIA AUTOSHOW 2017 -
Kuala Lumpur International Automotive Symposium (KLIAS) will be held concurrently with
Malaysia Autoshow 2017; international speakers expected in line-up
- More than 80% of exhibition space taken up by major automotive brands with strong
presence in Malaysia
- A Peugeot 208 PureTech among other prizes await lucky visitors
SERDANG, 17 July 2017 – Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) announced today that the
theme “Smart, Safe and Sustainable Mobility” has been identified for the Kuala Lumpur
International Automotive Symposium (KLIAS), which will be held in conjunction with the
upcoming Malaysia Autoshow 2017 in November.
This symposium, which is being held for the first time, is organised by MAI, and centres
around promoting Malaysia as the regional hub for Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEV).
In addition to the symposium, the Malaysia Autoshow 2017 will see several other firsts. It’s
the maiden occasion for the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) as the
hosting venue for the autoshow.
MAEPS is the largest show venue in Malaysia and was chosen as a result of the Autoshow’s
increasing popularity among the public, drawing more visitors each year, thus outgrowing
the capacity of the former venue.
Furthermore, the MAI Car of the Year awards will be presented before the show. Winners
from over 30 categories will be announced on 8 November 2017, the night before the
Autoshow is officially open to the public. This announcement is anticipated to assist car
buyers in choosing their next drive.
Also for the first time, the nominees for Car of the Year is open to all new cars that are sold
by brand owners or their franchise owners. This dramatically expands the eligibility
compared to previous years where only new cars launched during the year were considered
for nomination.
“We are fine tuning our preparations for the Malaysia Autoshow 2017,” said Dato’ Madani
Sahari, Chief Executive Officer of MAI. “More than 80% of the exhibition space has been
sold and the majority of the mass market brands will be participating. Outdoor activities such
as off-roading will be held, including the first Kart Slalom in the country. Other events are
being finalised and will be announced closer to the show,” he added.
Malaysia is set to witness its first ever Kart Slalom series. This is a new category introduced
by the International Karting Commission of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile
(FIA), and is designed for people who have never competed in motorsports before.
To make the autoshow even more enticing for visitors, one lucky visitor will stand a chance
to drive away with a brand new car! A Peugeot 208 PureTech worth RM89,888 will be up for
grabs.
The Malaysian Autoshow mobile app will be available for download closer to show dates, on
both iOS App Store and Google Play for Android. Besides allowing visitors to be in the
running to win the Peugeot 208 PureTech, users will be able to request for test drives of
their favourite cars at the event and vote for the People’s Choice Car of the Year Award. The
app will also provide push notifications to visitors, information on exhibitors, as well as
directions on getting to the venue.
A number of exhibitors have already confirmed their attendance. Among them being Proton,
Perodua, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Hyundai, KIA, BMW, Volvo, Peugeot,
Renault, and Land Rover.
For more details on the Karl Slalom or the Malaysia Autoshow 2017, contact: Joe Raj 012
300 4343 or SN Rajah 012 333 3352
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