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.
Yesterday, the 28th March of 2023 PROTON previewed the long awaited X90 SUV to the media over in its Shah Alam styling studio. This is a 7 seat mild-hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) model. This is PROTON's entry into the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market and starts them on their path to reducing carbon emissions by adopting green engine technology towards setting a new standard in sustainable mobility.
Perodua is officially taking orders for the All-New Perodua Alza compact MPV. According to them, the all-new Alza will come with" significant improvements in terms of driving comfort and versatility.: It will be based on the current Daihatsu Xenia/Toyota Veloz, which is already on sale over in Indonesia, rather than based on the Daihatsu Boon Luminas. Tentative pricing for the all-new Alza is between RM62,000 and RM75,000 (in West Malaysia, without insurance and pre-sales tax),
Kuala Lumpur. Porsche Malaysia, represented by Sime Darby Auto Performance, has officially introduced the new Taycan GTS for this market. The Taycan GTS is positioned above the Taycan 4S and below the Taycan Turbo variants and it said to be the sporty all-rounder of the model range. It terms of its price, it will start at RM708,000 compared to the entry Taycan which comes in at RM508,000. Of course, this is the Taycan. So entry level and mid-range is still many, many Ringgit.
The new W223 S-class has made its Malaysian debut. This is an evolution of the already innovative W222 model and adds even more connectivity, interior space and safety. Malaysia gets a locally assembled long wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S 580 e new generation of plug-in hybrid that offers customers the best of both worlds where it can be driven on battery power alone and on the combustion engine when on a long journey. The launch event was held at St Regis Kuala Lumpur with the only detail lacking is the price, which has not been finalised.
Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HDSM) has launched the facelifted Hyundai Kona compact SUV yesterday (Friday the 16th of April 2021). It features some slightly different exterior styling tweaks as well as some little changes inside together with more advanced features and equipment. But didn't Hyundai just launch the Kona here very recently?
The Perodua Ativa has been unveiled.... officially. Well, the official reveal via the internet (due to the pandemic lockdowns) was done but there have been many photo leaks, many of which were of the actual car, so this could be the first time Perodua's internal security measures to protect its launch product was severely compromised. On a large scale that is. Of course, the compact crossover/SUV is indeed a good looking car for the price, and the price is a large part of what will make this the most popular small SUV in the market. Their local competitor(s) would need to watch out as the final prices range from RM61,500 to RM72,000 on the road before insurance in Peninsular Malaysia.
MINI, the premium compact car brand under BMW Group, had introduced the New MINI Cooper S Countryman and the New MINI Cooper SE Countryman yesterday. This two new for 2021 variants are locally assembled and feature a slight refresh to the trim outside and a little on the inside too. The performance remains the same but as usual, the Countryman range of MINI is more for the small family and more lifestyle oriented.
Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors will be launching the all-new 7th generation Hyundai Elantra (CN7) sometime mid-December 2020. This 2021 model is essentially all new and looks very nice. It will be fully imported in 1.6lirer form and since it is fully imported, prices will be at a premium but it will be specced up in terms of active safety and convenience features too. Oh, there will be a video of the Malaysian preview on our Youtube channel on the new car so stay tuned over there - https://www.youtube.com/motoringmalaysia
Aside from launching the new 2020 Hyundai Kona compact SUV (that article is HERE) via their Facebook page (due to the current pandemic restrictions put in place here in good ol' Malaysia), Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) had also launched the all-new 8th generation 2020 Hyundai Sonata sedan.This D-segment sedan will be Hyundai's most premium offering, is fully imported from South Korea and will come in only one variant - the SmartStream G2.5 version and priced at RM206,888 onwards.
Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) launched two new models today, the 30th of October 2020, – the all-new 2020 Hyundai Sonata and the actually long awaited B-segment Compact SUV called the Kona. We shall be talking about the new Kona here and the Sonata in another article (which you can read Here). The Kona was launched globally in mid-2017 and it finally makes its way here as part of Hyundai Malaysia's remodeling exercise in terms of its products and customer experience.
The 2020 Proton X50 Compact SUV has just dropped into town. Officially that is! The prices are actually close to as predicted by Yours Truly. I had thought that it would come in at around RM80,000 to RM105,000 and PROTON actually beat me on both entry level and the high specced 1.5 Flagship variant. The new X50 costs RM103,300 for the 1.5TGDi Flagship, RM93,200 for the Premium, RM184,800 for the Executive and RM79,200 for the Standard. All prices are till 31st December 2020 and is with the Sales Tax Exemption. Good prices actually and it should stir up the below RM100k market segment here. Other brands are going to jump.
The new 2020 Mitsubishi XPANDER is finally getting its Malaysian launch soon. The compact MPV, with Crossover looks was initially launched over in Indonesia mid-2017 and it finally sees its debut here. The official distributors of Mitsubishi here, MITSUBISHI MOTORS MALAYSIA (MMM), have stated that bookings are now open at all authorised dealerships and they have also revealed full product specifications of the Xpander. Its official launch is targeted for November2020. It will also be locally assembled over at Pekan, Pahang for Malaysia.
Volkswagen Passengers Cars Malaysia (VPCM) has finally launched the new 2020 Volkswagen Passat R-Line in Malaysia. The launch was done a live telecast on its social media channels as we are still in a pandemic lockdown sort of situation here in the Klang Valley right now. It is essentially a kitted out variant of the Volkswagen Passat Elegance, and is attractively priced at RM203,411.18 (without sales tax). This price is possible because the sportier looking Passat is also locally assembled at the Volkswagen plant in Pekan, Pahang. It does go to show that the way forward to ensure attractive pricing is to locally assemble any car.
BMW Malaysia recently unveiled the First-Ever BMW 218i Gran Coupé M Sport over at the Pavillion in Kuala Lumpur. This is the brand's first locally assembled four-door coupé in the compact premium segment here and it is actually quite a good buy. Priced at RM218,800 or now RM211,467 until the end of the year due to government rebates it could be the best premium sports sedan (yes, 4 doors you know and being quite a trad kinda guy, it is a sports sedan) out there at the priced offered. I would be tempted in procuring one if I was in the market for a new car right now.
Firstly, Proton has confirmed that their new B segment Sports Utility Vehicle will be called the X50. Secondly, we were invited to the media preview of the new car. No prices has been announced as yet but we were shown the Premium variant - one of four variants offered in 6 different colours. Thirdly, the official roll out of the X50 was also done earlier today and it will be launched within the next month or so with bookings for the SUV taken from tomorrow onwards.
