Ocean Shipping for parts and components for Volvo Cars switch to Renewable Fuels - Fossil CO2 Emissions for this estimated to be reduced by a massive 84 Per Cent

According to Volvo Cars, thousands of containers of production material for Volvo Cars factories are carried across the world’s oceans on container ships. Like most manufacturers do as it is the cheapest way of getting bulk items from one end to another. However, from now, the container ships used by Volvo Cars are made with renewable fuel instead of traditional fossil fuel. Volvo Cars  are the first to announce such a move. The Swedish company will achieve an immediate reduction in fossil CO2 emissions from intercontinental ocean freight by an estimated 55,000 tonnes over a year. Thus, technically saving many manatees, dolphins and polar bears in a single swoop.

HINO Total Support Contest 2023 - Hino sales and service personnel compete to show their best in Total Support and to be the “Best in Town” among peers

 

Over the weekend, Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Hino Malaysia), held their 9th annual Hino Total Support (TS) Contest. The competition event took place over at their Petaling Jaya headquarters and had a participation of 95 skilled contestants coming from 15 Hino authorized dealers’ companies throughout Malaysia. As Hino celebrates the contest's robust participation, it highlights their commitment to achieving excellence and the contestant's competitive spirit.

Quite interesting. I have been attending the contest almost every year over the past few years and it is actually nice watching the camaraderie between the Hino teams and those who attended. It is also good that these contests actually help skill building for Hino personnel and it will pass on benefits to Hino customers. 

PROTON Launches the new Proton S70 1.5T Sedan - Prices and details, Brochure and Photos too. - Link to our video review also.

 PROTON has finally launched the S70 sedan earlier this evening. If you've been following the blog you would have known that I have already driven Proton's newest C segment sedan and you can view all four parts of my initial drive over here in the previous article covering that preview drive. Now, Proton has finally revealed the prices for the four variants that will be offered here and I must say that the packages at launch as well as the prices are actually very tempting. 

Ferrari Roma Spider previewed during the opening of the new Ferrari Showroom in Kuala Lumpur

The new Ferrari Roma Spider has been previewed at the new Ital Auto Malaysia Sdn Bhd Ferrari showroom. The company, the new and current official distributor has decided to show off the latest Ferrari open top beauty in conjunction with that memorable event. The Roma Spider was only recently launched after its coupe namesake, and made it Malaysian debut alongside the Purosangue crossover supercar (seen in the photo below on the left) at newly-launched showroom

Aveta Malaysia has launched the much-awaited Ranger Max Explorer, the first adventure cub in Malaysia

Earlier today (the 23rd of November 2023), Aveta Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the manufacturer, assembler and distributor of Aveta motorcycles, launched the Aveta Ranger Max Explorer, the first adventure cub in Malaysia. The small underbone type, or here, popularly known as a kapchai, or cub has been engineered for both on-road and off-road riding, making this the smallest, dare I say it, dual purpose adventure styled bike sold in Malaysia.

Ital Auto Malaysia - The current authorised Importer and Distributor of Ferrari here has officially opened its new Kuala Lumpur showroom at the Four Seasons Place - Ferrari Purosangue and Roma Spider also Official Unveiled for Malaysian Customers

 Today, Ital Auto Malaysia Sdn Bhd officially opened their brand new Kuala Lumpur showroom at the Four Seasons Place, which is located at that very strategic location right beside the PETRONAS Twin Towers/ KLCC. This new showroom is the first step taken by Ital Auto Malaysia, who are currently the official importer and distributor of Ferrari in the country.This is the new home for new and old Ferraristis here and has all the hallmarks of the latest Ferrari Showroom Experience.

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 ASEAN Tour - Taking the EV on a 2,751 km Journey Across Five Countries

Hyundai Motor Company launched and flagged off the "Far with Zero Worries" IONIQ 5 ASEAN Tour, which covers a 2,751-kilometer route across Southeast Asia. The Flag Off Ceremony took place at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS) yesterday, and is planned to finish at the Royal Palace in  Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam on November 30th. Today, the convoy has flagged off from Hyundai Sime Darby Motor's headquarters in Ara Damansara (above) on their way up north towards Vietnam.

SISMA Auto, has opened their new 30Million Ringgit flagship Volvo 3S centre at Sungai Besi.

Multi-brand premium automotive group, SISMA Auto, has essentially doubled down on investing in the Volvo Car marque by officially opening their new flagship Volvo 3S centre at Sungai Besi, in Kuala Lumpur. The brand new from the ground-up 3S (Sales, Service & Spares) Centre was built at an investment cost of around RM30million shows a whole lot of commitment to the premium car maker.

Finally! smart Malaysia officially launches smart #1 in Malaysia after many many days, weeks, months of previews

Today, the 21st November 2023  marks  the official launch and price announcement of the smart #1 SUV/Crossover here in Malaysia. This comes after many days of teasers, previews and so on. The brand's first offering was launched by Yang Mulia Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry at an event attended by Tan Sri Syed Faisal Albar, Chairman of PROTON, YBhg. Dato' Hairil Yahri Yaacob, Secretary General of MITI, Tong Xiangbei, Global CEO of smart Automobile, Dr. Li Chunrong, Chief Executive Officer of PROTON, En Roslan Abdullah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of PROTON, and Mr. Zhang Qiang, Chief Executive Officer of PRO-NET as well as many other guests.

VIDEO - Preview of the upcoming PROTON S70 1.5T sedan - Our thoughts and Opinions after test driving it at the PROTON Test Track in Shah Alam

Sometime in early November 2023 we were invited by PROTON to try out their new C segment sedan, the 2024 Proton S70 1.5T sedan. This is their first all-new sedan since Geely came into the picture. Based on their BMA platform, this B/C segment car is based on the Geely Emgrand but we now think of this as a full C segment sedan as the car is actually nothing like a B segment sized car. It is as wide, and as long as a C segment sedan (think Toyota Corolla size – Corolla has an overall length of 4,630mm while the S70 is 4,638mm on a slightly shorter wheelbase).

Anyway, this video presentation is divided into four videos - Parts 1 to 4

smart MALAYSIA livestream - Launch of the smart #1 in Malaysia at 4.00pm 21 November 2023

 smart Malaysia invites all you readers  to the launch of the premium SUV / crossover, the #1. Designed by Mercedes-Benz, engineered and produced by Geely, the smart #1 fully electric compact crossover is another unique vehicle to enter the Malaysian automotive market.

What Awaits You at the smart #1 Launch Show?

The all-new 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupé is now available in Malaysia for RM469K onwards

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia earlier today launched the all-new 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupé together with the facelifted Mercedes-AMG  GLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé (which you can find details HERE). This is the sportier looking variant of the very recently launched, all-new GLC SUV. With its fastback rear styling, it sacrifices some bootspace for a more youthful, performance inspired look overall. The Retail Price* with 10% Sales Tax RM 469,888 On the road without Insurance

Stellantis aims to set up a regional manufacturing hub for BEVs in the ASEAN region and push their “Built in ASEAN for ASEAN” roadmap

This could be a very good sign in terms of foreign direct investments into Malaysia and the South East Asian (ASEAN) region. On the 6th of November, Stellantis,,the automotive group that owns, notably Peugeot, Citroën, Ram, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Jeep® has announced its plans for new mobility solutions for the ASEAN region which include their aim to move forward with going fully electric (or any form of clean energy) in the future. They are aiming to bring its STLA Medium platform to the ASEAN region which was unveiled globally in June 2023. STLA Medium is a global BEV-by-design vehicle platform with state-of-the-art features including best-in-class range of 700 kilometers, energy efficiency, embedded power and charging power.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia launches the new Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia earlier today unveiled the new, facelifted and upgraded 2023 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé together with the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC Coupé (of which details are HERE).. Being a facelift, there is exterior and interior upgrades and is said to be sportier than ever. It has a retail price together with sales tax of RM 873,888 before insurance .

The All-Electric BMW 5-Series - i5 eDrive40 M is now available in Malaysia

Last weekend, BMW Malaysia launched the All-Electric BMW 5 Series sports sedan, the i5 eDrive40 M Sport at the Premium Auto Care Expo (PACE) 2023. This First-Ever All-Electric BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport is an addition to the very popular BMW 5 Series range of performance sedans, introducing a new era of driving excellence to the series. It is said to offer unparalleled luxury, but also redefines the cutting-edge innovation and design language within the BMW i fleet as well as being part of the 5 series range of vehicles, BMW Malaysia has announced that the sports sedan will cost RM 419,800.00

The 2023 BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport full electric sports sedan makes 250kW / 340hp and has a published electric range of up to 582 kilometers (WLTP). The electrical prowess can be further amplified by the innovative Max Range function, which enhances efficiency by 25 percent through comfort function deactivation and adjustments to the power and speed limitations (i,e useful programming to ensure drivetrain efficiency). Adding to its thrilling performance, the i5 eDrive40 M Sport harnesses a peak torque of 430Nm in Sport Boost, which allows this EV to do 0 to 100 km/h in a 6.0 seconds and hit a top speed of 193km/h (limited by the usual single speed EV transmission that most of these sort of cars have. 

The upcoming Proton S70 is now open for booking - Production of the new B/C segment sized 1.5 turbocharged sedan is up and running over in Tanjung Malim

On 31st October 2023,  PROTON officially unveiled its upcoming model, the Proton S70, at a line-off ceremony presided over by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry, (MITI), Dato’ Hairil Yahri Yaacob. Rolling off the company’s Tanjong Malim production line, the Proton S70 is the first all-new addition to its sedan line-up since the launch of the Proton Persona in August2016.

A milestone for Malaysian automotive assembly - The 100,000th Mercedes-Benz vehicle rolls off the line at the Pekan Plant

Recently, the Mercedes-Benz Production Plant in Pekan is celebrated another milestone of production with the rolling out its 100,000th Mercedes-Benz passenger car. This historical milestone underlines Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s commitment and dedication to manufacturing excellence and innovation in the luxury automotive industry, or in a much broader scale, the Malaysian automotive industry, as a premium brand has been assembling so many vehicles in the country to date.

Proton officially announces the pricing of the X50 R3 20th Anniversary Edition Accessories Package - Limited to 200 packages at RM12,000 including fitting BUT only for the Jet Grey X50

PROTON has now confirmed the price for the limited to 200 packages only R3 20th Anniversary Edition accessories package for the Proton X50 at the X50 Carnival at the Proton Centre of Excellence today. This announcement basically took awhile. It comes following its unveiling at the MARii Autoshow 2023 in May of this year. I wonder why it took Proton some many months to get this into production. 

Perodua performing extremely well recording 28.3% jump in the 3rd Quarter 2023 sales figures - YTD registers 230,000 Perodua vehicles

Perodua has announced that they have achieved a 28.3% increase in sales for the third quarter of this year. This amounts to 88,537 units compared to 69,011 units in the same quarter of 2022 with production already going on an increase. The increase in registration was due to improvement in the manufacturing production efficiency, which saw 91,528 units made which equates to an increase of 21.7% compared with 75,196 units in the same quarter of 2022.

The new Armor All® Extreme Shield™ +Ceramic series of interior and exterior care products launched in Malaysia - Roadshow with free car wash happening this weekend in Desa Park City

Yesterday, Armor All Malaysia launched their latest line of auto care products, the Extreme Shield™ +Ceramic series. The long established Armor All® car care brand now has a new range of products that is engineered to offer protection, shine, and care that will transform how you care for and maintain your vehicle. Of course, this is for those of you who wash and keep your car clean on your own, i.e wash and detail your car on your own and not end up going to the car wash and get someone else to do it for you!

Anyway, in conjunction with this new Armor All products, they are also conducting a free car wash and product roadshow over at the Plaza Arkadia Car park 3, Desa Park City. You car will be washed by the people of Armor All MY using their products. Get to see their products in action, from car shampoo, their drying cloths and their interior treatment as well as a demonstration of their new Extreme Shield™ +Ceramic series (in the photo below, you see a demonstration of how their cleaner and coating works to repel water and also dust). The event is held in conjunction with their latest Ceramic range of products from today till Sunday 29th October 2023. T& Cs apply.

NETA V electric car launched in Malaysia at an affordable RM100K OTR - NETA is also the latest brand to start making EVs here in Malaysia too

The Neta V compact EV has been officially launched in Malaysia. The NETA brand comes into Malaysia at its official launch earlier today and there is currently a 5-day promotion event taking place at IOI City Mall, Putrajaya this week till 29th October 2023 .

Intro Synergy Sdn. Bhd, the sole distributor of NETA in Malaysia, announced that the NETA V, an A/B segment fully compact sized electric vehicle will be available for booking in Malaysia with an on-the-road price of RM100,000. 

Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Launches #CareForSafety in Malaysia which focuses on Road Safety for Children

More CSR by people in the automotive industry.  Bosch Automotive Aftermarket has launched its #CareForSafety campaing, a road safety campaign for the children at Dignity For Children Foundation. This is part of Bosch Automotive Aftermarket (AA)’s commitment in community impact, advocating personal, road, and online safety among children along with bus transportation sponsorship via crowdfunding by Bosch Distributors for Dignity For Children Foundation.

New M Sport variant for CKD BMW X7 launched for the Malaysian market - 2023 BMW X7 xDrive40i M Sport

Earlier today, BMW Malaysia announced the vaailability of the New 2024 BMW X7 xDrive40i M Sport, which is also locally assembled at adds another variant to the Pure Excellence variant that was unveiled earlier this year. The SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle), which is BMW's way of calling their Sports Utility Vehicles will also be assembled at  the BMW Assembly Plant in Kulim, Kedah. It will retail for RM718,800 on the road before insurance, which is about right for BMW's full sized, flagship series SAV.

UMW Toyota Motor launches the 4th generation Toyota Alphard 2.4T Executive Lounge & Vellfire 2.5 MPVs in Malaysia. All sold out for this year already!

UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT), the authorised distributor for Toyota vehicles here has launched the all-new 4^th generation Toyota Alphard and Vellfire in Malaysia. The range toppingToyota Alphard and Vellfire feature cutting-edge equipment and specification tensure that they are still at the forefront of the competitive MPV segment. From state-of-the-art technology integration to versatile and spacious interiors, these models provide a driving experience like no other. (LINK to our video review is HERE)

VIDEO: We preview the 4th generation 2023/2024 Toyota Alphard 2.4T Executive Lounge & Vellfire 2.5 MPV

 

Here is our video preview on the all-new 4th generation Toyota Alphard 2.4T Executive Lounge and Vellfire 2.5 MPVs. 

BLOG UPDATE: Still making things work after all these years - Motoring-Malaysia Blog numbers

 

It is interesting that after so many years, we still get decent, if not great numbers. Last month, with a little of this month (October 2023), we seem to still get a lot of views from people on the internet. Similarweb says that we got 50,000 views. Usually I see 30,000 views monthly but somehow, we do have articles that people like to read over here.

And then, you also have our ranking on Feedspot.com. We are still in the TOP 200 automotive blogs from their list of automotive related websites. Number 101 actually and for a website that is still a one-man, non profit website, I think I've been doing pretty well. 

We even have over 7,000 subs on our YouTube channel. And, we are now back to doing videos on a semi-regular basis too.

So watch this space folks. Things are still surprisingly interesting for me even though I have slowed down a little. Mostly this was due to the recent lockdowns caused by the pandemic. You tend to enjoy relaxing and doing nothing. 

The all-new Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV is now available in Malaysia - EQS 580 4MATIC SUV from RM699,888 - Full Details Inside & Roadshow this weekend for you to experience EQ vehicles too

Earlier today, at the Mercedes-Benz Autohaus in Mutiara Damansara, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia unveiled the all-new full sized, all-electric luxury SUV variant, the 2023/24 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4MATIC SUV. The EQS SUV essentially is the fully electric GLS, or S-Class SUV that will offer seating for seven people in luxurious comfort and also offers connectivity for front and rear passengers. At the moment, there is one variant officially available, the EQS 580 4MATIC which is priced at RM699,888 with 10% sales tax but without insurance (in Peninsular Malaysia).

UD Trucks and TCIE Unveil New Euro 5 Heavy-Duty Quester and Medium- Duty Croner Trucks in Malaysia

UD Trucks and its sole distributor partner in Malaysia, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd (TCIE) unveiled the new Euro 5 range of their Quester (heavy-duty) and Croner (medium-duty) trucks. While the key feature is the new Euro5 engines in these trucks, the 2023 upgrade for the Malaysian models also includes features that will improve uptime, efficiency, and optimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for truck owners, all while lowering the vehicle’s environmental impact.

Shell Malaysia launches new 18 Litre pail size for their best selling Shell Rimula R4X Heavy Duty Diesel engine oil

 

Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd yesterday introduced a new 18-litre pail for its best-selling Shell Rimula R4X heavy duty engine oil. With this new size, Shell Rimula R4X 15W 40 ,which has a RRP:of RM343.00, now makes this popular engine oil available in five different sizes to meet different needs of customers.  The other sizes currently on the market are the 209-litre drum, 20-litre pail, 5-litre pail, and 1-litre pack.

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Preview and Opinions on the upcoming 2024 smart #1 BRABUS version

 

Here is our preview and first opinion on the soon to be launched in Malaysian 2024 smart #1 BRABUS variant. This is built on the smart #1 Premium variant and adds twin electric motors to give it supercar levels of acceleration 0-100kmh in 3.9seconds. This is our second meeting with this crossover EV. The first was at the Proton Test Track in Shah Alam when it was all stickered up. So we got to drive it then but could not film or take photos of it.