Facelifted PROTON Iriz Unveiled - Will Be Available for Pre-launch Booking - We Also Tried the Iriz 1.6 Out For Some First Impressions Review

PROTON has unvieled the Facelifted 2019 Proton Iriz to the Malaysian media earlier today. If you have been following our Facebook Page as well as our Instagram Account, you would have already seen photos of it. The facelifted Iriz gets an exterior restyle that adds some of the new styling cues found on their recently launched X70 SUV and it also gets a voice command capable intelligent infotainment system which is similar the one used in the X70. These are the major visible changes with some 367 other changes underneath.  It will be available for booking online and at all Proton showrooms by tomorrow with its official launch sometime in March 2019.

Roadshows: Volkswagen Tour 2019 at 1 Utama Shopping Centre - 27th February to 3rd March 2019

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia will be having the first Volkswagen Tour 2019 at the Lower Ground Oval (New Wing) of 1Utama Shopping Centre, beginning today till 3rd March 2019 from 10am till 10pm. This is a Volkswagen roadshow for everyone and you can be sure that there will be some special offers and promotions for everyone.

Video: LKC's Volvo FH16 Heavy Duty Hauler / Prime Mover Truck - Filmed at Volvo Truck Malaysia's Headquarters in Shah Alam

Here's our latest video! This time we do a walkaround / walkthrough of the Volvo FH16 Heavy Duty Prime Mover / Hauler belonging to Low Kim Chuan & Sons (LKC), a very established transporter here in Malaysia. They own at least two of these push-pull haulers (you need two - one to pull the heavy trailer and one to push) and both have seen a lot of use by the company. We were given the opportunity to film one of these trucks by Volvo Trucks Malaysia at their Headquarters in Shah Alam, with the blessing from LKC via Volvo Truck's PR people.

Groupe PSA & Naza Automotive Manufacturing Holds First Supplier Day in Gurun - All-New Peugeot 208 Slated to be Produced Here From the Likes of It

Recently, Groupe PSA and Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (NAM) held its first Supplier Day event in Gurun Plant located at Kedah Darul Aman, northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Held on the 20th of February 2019, the response to the inaugural Supplier Day was positive with 140 representatives from automotive industry suppliers, global industry experts and government authorities nationwide attending the get together. This was the first time NAM and its largest stakeholders, Groupe PSA has had a gathering between them and the local vendors since the official handover was done last year. Some news on upcoming models were revealed as news of the local assembly was shared. New 2019/2020 Peugeot 208 seems to be in the pipeline for CKD.

The Malaysian Finals of the 2018/2019 Volkswagen Retail Qualification World Championship (RQWC) Was Held for Volkswagen Dealership Sales & Aftersales Staff

Recently, the Volkswagen Training Academy here in Glenmarie, Shah Alam hosted the National Finals of the 2018/2019 Volkswagen Retail Qualification World Championship (RQWC). To those who aren't aware of what this competition is all about the Volkswagen RQWC is a global assessment competition that consists of online tests, theoretical and practical assessments, and exams that is open to all employees of Volkswagen dealerships, especially services advisors, master technicians and parts service advisors. 

PROTON sponsors Nine Proton X70 Owners on their Malaysia–China Amazing Trip

PROTON has been continuing their marketing push on their already proven to be popular first ever SUV, the Proton X70. To date, the Malaysian car maker has delivered over 5,500 units of the X70 since its launch late last year. Now, nine Proton X70 owners have decided to drive to China and back in their vehicles, a journey of about 13,000km to showcase the capabilities of the X70. Trip is organised by the Borneo Automobile Leisure Touring Team and the Kunming Scenery-Customer International Travel Co. China. As it is such an epic trip, Proton has decided to be the main sponsor for this private initiative. Quite obvious but indeed welcome as the spirit of adventure is strong with this new Proton.

About 10,000 People Have Visited the Hino Total Support Customer Center (HTSCC) Since Its Opening in 2015

The Hino Total Support Customer Center (HTSCC) in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan seems to be a successful venture for Hino Malaysia. According to Hino Motor Sales Malaysia, over 10,000 commercial vehicle operators and their drivers have either visited or have trained at the center to date and the number has actually exceeded the company's expectation. The HTSCC is actually one of the many ways the truck and bus manufacturer develops its vehicles as well as providing customer support and solutions towards the needs of their customers. 

Volvo Car Malaysia together with Newly Appointed Dealers, Motion Beyond Opens Volvo Setia Alam 3S Centre

Volvo Car Malaysia, together with their latest appointed dealer, Motion Beyond, has officially opened Volvo Setia Alam. This is the latest Volvo 3S centre (Sales, Service, and Spare Parts) for the Volvo car brand and it adds more customer coverage in the Klang Valley (or Greater Kuala Lumpur) area.

2019 Proton Persona Facelift Officially Revealed - Sports Styling Cues First Seen On The Proton X70

Sometime earlier today Proton revealed to the automotive media three images of the upcoming 2019 Proton Persona Facelift. This, is like the recent reveal of the Iriz Facelift, which is scheduled to be launched shortly. This is the first major facelift for the Persona and also the second car to receive a scheduled facelift since the Geely-Proton collaboration first started in 2017.

Lets go through what we can see from the images provided as well as what Proton has stated about them. 

Test Drive: 2019 Ford Ranger XLT+ 2.0 Automatic - All the Ranger You Actually Need

The 2019 range of Ford Ranger here in Malaysia is super extensive. There is a variant for everyone and that is absolutely necessary for a brand that is now essentially one that only sells pickup trucks and SUVs here in Malaysia, and for most of South East Asia too. We recently tried the 2019 Ford Ranger Wildtrak 2.0 4X2 during its Malaysia launch at the ned of last year, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Now, we managed to test out the similar engined Ford Ranger XLT+ 4X4 2.0. 

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia together with Evatrend, Opens the latest Mitsubishi 3S Centre in Taman Midah, Kuala Lumpur

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) together with their authorised dealer, Evatrend, has officially opened the latest Mitsubishi 3S centre which is located in Taman Midah, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. This is also Evatrend's second Mitsubishi 3S centre and MMM's 53rd showroom / service centre in Malaysia. Evatrend's other 3S centre is located in Setapak, also in Kuala Lumpur.

Hino Malaysia Special: HINO Buses, Environmentally Friendly, Efficient & Safe

Emissions friendly and energy efficient vehicles have been widely talked about for years but the focus has usually been on passenger vehicles. However, more interest has been generated recently for energy efficient commercial vehicles especially buses, which promote the efficient movement of large numbers of people. While buses are efficient at moving people in a much bigger capacity than passenger cars, they consume more energy and fuel; thus producing higher greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). As such, the reduction in harmful emissions for these vehicles will have a more significant contribution than individual passenger vehicles. Seeing this need, Hino Motors has been taking steps to play a part in contributing to the solution of reducing these harmful emissions by introducing emissions friendly buses with two types of technology.

Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Racing Festival and Round 3 of the Toyota Vios Challenge will be held this weekend - 23 & 24 February 2019 in Batu Kawan

The Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Racing Festival and Round 3 of the Toyota Vios Challenge will be held this weekend - the 23rd and the 24th February 2019 at the Stadium Batu Kawan in Penang. Like the TGR Racing festival and the Vios Challenge prior to this means a motorsport themed Toyota roadshow which showcases a one make Toyota racing series that Toyota fans and motorsports enthusiasts can attend.

Perodua Has Sold Over 100,000 Units of the 3rd Generation Myvi

I have been slowly going through news items that have been sent to me over the past few weeks. The recent Chinese New Year holiday season has been quite hectic with many launch events, open houses and a whole lot of food. This piece of news regarding the Perodua Myvi has been sitting in my email for a bit and it is only now I had the time to digest it. Basically,  the Perodua Myvi has achieved another milestone, where over 100,000 units of the third-generation model already on the road as of 12th February 2019. This was a car that has been launched at the end of 2017, mind you.

Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2019 - Six Malaysian Student Teams Will Compete in this Asia Wide Event Which Will Be Held in Malaysia from 29th April to 2nd May 2019

Malaysia will be hosting the Shell Eco-marathon Asia in 2019. This annual contest is part of Shell's global 'Make the Future Live' programme. It will be held at Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur and this competition returns to Malaysia again. It was held here back in 2010 and it celebrates its 10th year of challenging young student minds to design and build ultra-energy-efficient cars, where they will compete on a circuit to find out the most efficient of them all.

Trucks: Scania Malaysia Hands Over New Prime Movers to AONE Logistics Sdn Bhd

Scania Malaysia held a small handing over ceremony to mark the handing over of new Scania prime movers to first time customer AONE Logistics Sdn. Bhd. (AONE) at the Scania Malaysia headquarters in Shah Alam. The transport company recently acquired additional units to facilitate the expansion of its trucking and haulage requirements. The  keys were presented by Scania Southeast Asia Managing Director Marie Sjödin Enström to AONE Managing Director, S. Palani.

Vespa Notte Edition Scooters Now Available in Malaysia - Notte GTS Super 300 ABS & Notte Sprint 150 i-Get ABS

Last week, Naza Premira Sdn Bhd, official distributor of the Vespa brand for Malaysia had launched the Vespa Notte Edition scooters in conjunction with Valentines’ Day. The Notte Edition Vespas are available in two variants, the Vespa Notte GTS Super 300 ABS and Vespa Notte Sprint 150 i-Get ABS. The special Vespa Notte limited run series was crafted based on the technical and mechanical foundation of the most recent large and small frame Vespa scooters with special matte black monotone details.

BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia has Launched Easy Drive - A Flexible Financing Solution to Make BMW or MINI Vehicle Ownership Easier

The Easy Drive financing solution has been introduced by BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia. What BMW Group Malaysia says it does is that it will make Sheer Driving Pleasure more accessible or in more common talk, make BMW or MINI vehicles have another financing option for you folks to choose from. This time the Easy Drive is directly from the people that actually sell the car officially.

Limited Edition Exclusively for Malaysia Porsche 718 Cayman SportDesign Unveiled - 15 Units Only

The Porsche 718 Cayman sports car has now been given a new, limited run variant. The new 718 Cayman SportDesign Series by Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP) gets an interesting option package and is limited to 15 units only here in Malaysia. It also also a fully sanctioned Porsche product and this tells us that Porsche does take Malaysia as an important market as we are getting special variants of our own. 

Vokswagen Kota Bumi 3S Centre in Inanam, Sabah Has Been Officially Opened

More customer touchpoints for Volkswagen over in Sabah! Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) and Kota Bumi Sdn Bhd recently launched theVolkswagen Kota Bumi 3S centre which is located in Inanam, Sabah which is one of the automotive hubs in and around the Kota Kinabalu area. It is the only authorized Volkswagen dealership in Sabah and it is the 18th Volkswagen 3S centre in Malaysia to date.

Test Drive: The Facelifted W205 Mercedes-Benz C 200 Avantgarde is Definitely Improved, Not Sporty, But Refinement Comes in Buckets

Today is the day where I finally write about the facelifted W205 Mercedes-Benz C 200 Avantgarde variant which I managed to try out last November during the media drive in conjunction with its Malaysian launch. This is the current entry level model in the Malaysian C-Class range, which goes up to the C300 AMG-Line, the AMG C43 and the AMG C63 S. No C180 variant in the current line-up for now but usually the C180 has been sold here in small numbers annually on a batch by batch basis. 

Roadshows: Ford Ranger Explore & Experience Roadshow’ - Ongoing from February until March 2019 - Time to Explore the Ranger Even More

Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC), the official distributor of Ford in Malaysia, has announced the ‘Ford Ranger Explore & Experience Roadshow’. This roadshow, which will be held at participating Ford showrooms (and an appointed location) located in Peninsula Malaysia will happen in February until March of 2019.

8th Generation All-New Toyota Camry Gets a 5 Star ASEAN NCAP Crash Test Rating

The official distributor of Toyota vehicles in Malaysia, UMW Toyota Motor SdnBhd (UMWT), recently announced that the All New Toyota Camry was awarded the 5-star ratings at the recent New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) crash test results. The impressive 5 star ASEAN NCAP rating is due to the large D Segment sedan fitted with a lot of Active Safety Equipment. Active safety features an important segment in determining a car's safety rating in the Assessment Program.

MercedesTrophy 2019 Malaysia is Now Open for Registration - For Mercedes-Benz Golfing Enthusiasts

It's 2019 and another round of customer experience events are about to start. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has just announced the return of the highly-anticipated MercedesTrophy 2019. This is the Malaysian leg of the world renowned international golf tournament that is open to all Mercedes-Benz customers. About 1,000 Mercedes-Benz Malaysia customers are expected to participate in this year's MercedesTrophy. This year's Hole-in-One is a Mercedes-Benz GLC 200 SUV!

Proton Announces 7,007 Units Registered for January 2019 - Sales Led by the New X70 SUV - More Offers for the Month of February

Proton Cars recorded Malaysian sales of 7,007units for January 2019 ensuring the manufacturer have an estimated market share of 14.5%, before official confirmation by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). This upsurge in sales numbers was led by the newly launched Proton X70 SUV, which is Proton's first SUV and the first car that has come out from the Geely-Proton tie-up.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia's Chinese New Year Open House - This Saturday, 16th February 2019 at all Authorised Showrooms Nationwide

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia will be having their Chinese New Year nationwide open house  this weekend. It will take place this Saturday, 16th February, 2019 from 11am till 5pm at all authorized Volkswagen dealerships throughout Malaysia. Visitors will enjoy ongoing CNY savings up to RM20,000 if they are interested in buying a new Volkswagen and current Volkswagen owners can take advantage of ongoing aftersales offers too.

2018 Was a Fabulous Year for Volvo Car Malaysia in Terms of Sales in Malaysia as well as Exports

Volvo Car Malaysia the good people that sell Volvo cars here have reported promising numbers for the marque in 2018. The premium brand ended 2018 with a total of 1,384 units delivered to customers in Malaysia. They've also exported a record number of premium cars (the only premium brand manufacturer to use Malaysia as an export base for now) to Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines and Vietnam - 1,889 units! 

Volvo Car Malaysia Appoints Nalin Jain as the New Managing Director, Replacing Lennart Stegland

Volvo Car Malaysia will have a new Managing Director starting 1st March 2018. Mr Nalin Jain (pictured above), will continue the responsibilities of the current Managing Director, Mr Lennart Stegland, beginning March 1, 2018. 

Video: Vlog on the Facelifted W205 Mercedes-Benz C-Class at the Media Drive - C200 Avantgarde & C300 AMG-Line

Below is our first impressions vlog on the Facelifted W205 Mercedes-Benz C-Class - C200 Avantgarde & C300 AMG-Line. It isn't a review per se as we had covered the launch earlier here with this article. This was something I've decided to put together with some of the footage that I had shot during the media drive in November of last year. Kind of unique actually as this was mainly for my personal record of the drive. So it's just bits and pieces here for your viewing pleasure.

Isuzu Malaysia Announces Combined Sales of 6,036 Units of Trucks for 2018

Isuzu Malaysia has reported that it has maintained their No. 1 position as Malaysia's preferred commercial vehicle (CV) brand for 2018.  According to overall sales figures recently released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) Isuzu Malaysia had ended 2018 with total combined sales of 6,036 units of trucks from the various segments. 

Kia Malaysia Launches the Kia Picanto GT-Line - Sportier Looks for Kia's Good Looking A Segment Hatchback

Naza Kia Malaysia, has officially unveiled the new range topping Kia Picanto GT-Line. This top specced variant comes in looking sportier than ever with an aggressive looking bodykit, 16inch alloy wheels, sports pedals on the inside and a  RM57,888 (on-the-road without insurance) pricetag. Not too shabby for a fully kitted out A-segment hatchback.

Hino Malaysia Special: Going the Extra Mile for Customers - More than Just Sales & After Sales at Hino

In the truck sales industry, the real business is what comes after the sale of the truck itself. After sales support is where it all begins; where the needs of the customer in having an efficient and reliable truck with minimum downtime is all that matters. With Hino, customer support is based on identifying and satisfying the needs of their customers and wherever possible, goes beyond their expectations.

Video Test Drive - First Impressions / Review of the 2019 Proton X70 1.8 TGDi 2WD Premium - It Impressed Me...Go Watch the Video + 2 More!

The first drive video on the Proton X70 is out. I must say that the X70 is quite an impressive piece of machinery. It is the first car that has come out of the Geely-Proton partnership and if you take a look at the video you'd know that I came home from Langkawi pretty impressed with the car, which is also Proton's first ever SUV. I tried out the Proton X70 1.8 TGDi 2WD Premium variant. The one on top is the X70 2WD Executive - which comes with smaller 18inch wheels as seen above - the pic just looks so good that I wanted to share it here.

PROTON Releases Photos of the Soon to be Launched 2019 Proton Iriz Facelift - with Details and Our Opinion on it

Proton has released the first official photos of the upcoming Proton Iriz facelift. The B segment hatchback is set to be launched sometime in the first half of 2019. The Iriz will receive some exterior redesign as well as the addition of a more connected infotainment system inside. This compact hatchback is the first existing model from the Proton line-up to receive a facelift since its partnership with Geely was announced.

Sendok Group Launches / Delivers New Sinotruk Heavy Duty Truck, Announces New Sinotruk Warranty Package & with TTS Engineering Group Opens New Sinotruk / CAM Kuantan 4S Centre

The Sendok Group, together with TTS Engineering Group have Opened the New Sinotruk / CAM Kuantan 4S Centre. To mark the auspicious occasion, Sendok Group also launched a New Sinotruk Heavy-Duty Model and also held a 100 Units fleet delivery ceremony to their customers - 50 units of T7H model to logistic company, Heng Da Logistic (M) Sdn Bhd and 50 units of SWZ tipper model to Menta Construction Sdn Bhd. The New Sinotruk T7H has a 540hp engine and comes with a five year limited warranty package.