Sunday Lite: I Miss Suzuki Cars - Someone Should Start Bringing Them In Again.

I miss Suzuki cars. Sometime in 2016 Suzuki decided to pull out of Malaysia after deciding to enter into some sort of joint venture arrangement with Proton. They were to pull out of the Malaysian market and let Proton rebadge their vehicles starting with the Suzuki Ertiga. Of course, by some horrific twist of fate, they got snookered as Proton was forced by some unseen hand to quickly find a foreign partner which they did in the form of Geely.

Buses: The Go Auto - Higer Electric Bus Spotted at Go Auto HQ in Glenmarie

Sometime at the end of 2017 Go Auto, a company better known as the distributor for Haval vehicles in Malaysia, announced that it was planning to launch fully electric buses here in Malaysia. The electric bus venture is part of their Joint Venture arrangement with Higer Bus Company Ltd and other electric vehicle component manufacturers. Through this project, they parties developed an electric bus which they tested out at UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) campus in Johor and we had also heard that the state government of Melaka was also interested in procuring the buses for use in and around Melaka city.

Offers & Promos: Go Auto / Haval Malaysia "Freedom From GST" Promotion is Ongoing Till 31st August 2018

Go Auto, the distributors of Haval in Malaysia are having their latest "Freedom From GST" promotion in conjunction with the upcoming Merdeka festivities and the final month for the Zero Rated Goods & Service Tax (GST) period for sales. The promotion is ongoing until 31 August 2018 and offers new and existing HAVAL customers savings worth up to RM6,600  for the Haval H1 and up to RM7,300 for the Haval H2. 

Proton Records Sales Of 8,102 Units For July 2018 - Benefiting From The Tax Holiday

Zero rated GST have benefited Proton cars in a big way. July 2018 sales grew by 31% over the previous month with 8,102 Proton cars finding buyers. This was up from about 6,000 units in the month of June and up from an average of 3,900 to 4,000 units monthly for the months of January to May 2018. With this, Proton expects its market share to be 11.7% of the Total Industry Volume.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Launches the Refreshed S-Class Range in Malaysia - Four Variants Offering Luxury in Two and Four Doors

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia have introduced the facelifted and improved flagship S-Class range of limousines and coupes here in Malaysia. The cars that were launched for the Malaysian market are the S450L Limousine, the S560  Cabriolet, the Mercedes-AMG S63 Coupe and the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. 

Upcoming Events: Ducati Malaysia 'Red Weekend 3.0' - Happening This 4th & 5th August 2018 -

Ducati Malaysia will be having their ‘Red Weekend 3.0’ event this 4th and 5th of August 2018 at Ducati Petaling Jaya. This is the third time Ducati Malaysia will hold such a weekend. The Ducati Red Weekend An annual event organised by Next Bike Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor for Ducati motorcycles in Malaysia as a get-together for customers, their family, motorcycle enthusiasts and members of Ducati Malaysia. You can also view the recently launched Scrambler 1100 too (pictured below).

Engine Oil / Commercial Vehicles: Shell Rimula R6 & R5 Heavy Duty Engine Oil With New API CK-4 Specification Are Now Available

Shell Malaysia has introduced the newly reformulated Shell Rimula heavy duty engine oils for the Malaysian market. The Shell Rimula R6 LM fully synthetic and R5 LE synthetic technology heavy duty diesel engine oils (HDDEOs) now have the latest American Petroleum Institute (API) CK-4 engine oil specification. These high grade heavy duty engine oils are suitable for use in the highly competitive fleet and transportation sectors where companies are under pressure to achieve high standards of reliability and safety while minimising total operating costs (which include longer duration between oil change).

Truck News: Scania Malaysia Holds Another Truck & Bus Handing Over Ceremony - This Time To Customers Up North

Sin Hock Soon Transport Sdn Bhd, Nurkasih Holiday & Tours Sdn Bhd and LLZ Haulage Sdn Bhd recently took delivery of vehicles from Scania Maalaysia. Sin Hock Soon Transport received 17 trucks, Nurkasih Holiday & Tours received six buses and LLZ Haulage received two trucks respectively. 

Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) Acquires 15 units of the Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4-litre from PLUS and another 8 Mitsubishi Vehicles From ANIH

The Royal Malaysia Police, or better known here as Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) recently acquired 15 units of Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4-litre SUV. The SUVs were actually contributed by PLUS Highway for the traffic enforcement on Malaysian highways. 

Hyundai Sime Darby Guarantees Zero-Rated GST Price for IONIQ and Tucson for Booking Placed by 31 August 2018

If you still want to take the opportunity to buy a car under this zero GST period you can still do so, if you intend to purchse a Hyundai. Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HDSM) have stated that customers who have made bookings for the Hyundai IONIQ Hybrid and the *Tucson (*applicable only for the Turbo and Elegance variant) need not worry about paying the sales and service tax (SST), even if their vehicle is delivered after 1st September 2018.

Motorcycles: Ducati Scrambler Launched - Two Variants with Prices Starting at RM83,000 Onwards

The authorised distributor for Ducati motorcycles in Malaysia, Next Bike Sdn Bhd (a company under the Naza Group), launched the Ducati Scrambler 1100 at the 7th Annual Art Of Speed held at MAEPS, Serdang on Saturday, 28th July 2018. The  Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special and Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport are the two variants available for Malaysia and are priced from RM83,000 and RM85,000 onwards (without GST, OTR without insurance) respectively.

Upcoming Events: Kedah International Pickup Carnival 2018 - 31st August - 1st September 2018 - Alor Setar, Kedah

There will be an event called the Kedah International Pickup Carnival 2018 happening from the 31st August to 1st September 2018 (2 days) over at Taman Jubli Emas, Alor Setar, Kedah. 

Scania Malaysia Holds Scania Family Days at Branches Throughout July & August - The Scania Ipoh Branch Being The Latest

The Staff at Scania Malaysia are usually used to welcoming their customers - fleet owners and drivers, while at work in their respective service centres but they were also welcoming their families at the Scania Family Day which will be held at all the branches throughout Malaysia over July and August.

Truck News: Volvo Trucks Appoints Mitch Peden As New Managing Director for Volvo Trucks Malaysia

Volvo Trucks Malaysia has a new Managing Director with effect from 1st August 2018. Mitch Peden will replace outgoing MD, Mats Nilsson, who has helmed Volvo Trucks Malaysia for the past 5 years. Mitch comes from Australia and has been with Volvo Trucks since 2005. 

Michelin Launches The MICHELIN Primacy 4 For South East Asia

Michelin recently launched its  latest  generation tyre - the MICHELIN  Primacy  4. This premium high performance but comfort oriented  tyre is engineered by Michelin to  provide lasting  safety  and  excellent wet and dry performance in both  new  and  worn  states, throughout  its  entire  life cycle as well as being a quiet riding tyre.  

Castrol Malaysia Launches The New and Improved Castrol MAGNATEC with DUALOCK Technology

Castrol MAGNATEC engine oil has been around for over 20 years here in Malaysia and it is a familiar name to those that actually shop around for their own engine oil. The Castrol brand however is an old brand that has been around for a long time here. So now, Castrol Malaysia (a brand under BP Castrol Lubricants (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd) has launched the newly improved Magnatec engine oil in Malaysia. We are the fourth country that this new formulation has been introduced to - following China, India and Thailand.

Offers & Promotions: Mitsubishi Malaysia's Offers and Upcoming Showroom Events for August 2018

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) is offering special Merdeka promotions in conjunction with the upcoming Merdeka celebrations. There will be rebates for all their vehicles - the Mitsubishi Triton, Outlander and ASX from now until 31st August 2018. Aside from that, there will be service offers as well as showroom events at selected showrooms too.

Site Update: Been Taking Things Slow Over The Past Few Days...

The title says it all. Been taking things easy for the past few days. If you folks checked out the Motoring Malaysia Facebook page during the #proton1tankadventure you'd know Zachary Ho (of Autoworld.com.my) participated in a Proton Persona and won the media category for that model. So I decided to reward myself some R&R from writing. 

BMW Malaysia Presents the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance - On Display at Bangsar Shopping Centre till 22nd July 2018

BMW Group Malaysia recently unveiled the BMW Concept X7 iPerformance for the first time in South East Asia. Again, Malaysia is the lucky country for this unveiling. Previously, they displayed the BMW Concept 8 coupe. This time, the X7 iPerformance is a huge SUV which will most likely evolve into the production model called the X7. Obvious isn't it?

Road Test: The Volkswagen Golf Mk7.5 Experience - Trying Out the Facelifted and Upgraded Golf 1.4 TSI R-Line, Golf GTI & Golf R

The Volkswagen Golf is the only type of golf that I like at this moment in time. I actually did not really like both prior to the introduction of the seventh generation Golf. I did not like the game because it actually took too much of my time trying to play it. In fact, if you played it the slightest bit properly it would still require about half a day to complete an 9-hole game with a group of friends. Or strangers if you are so hard up and are willing to play regardless whoever comes along. When it came to the more recent Mk5 and Mk6 Golf, they just looked too much like a delivery van to actually make me want one.