Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia Organises A Session with RinggitPlus & Allianz General Insurance to Talk About Car Ownership Costs, Especially For First Time Buyers

Bosch Automotive Aftermarket Malaysia (Bosch) organized a comprehensive experts roundtable session yesterday morning (9th August) with the folks from RinggitPlus (a mostly financial comparison website) and Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad to discuss and provide insights on financial planning, vehicle protection and car maintenance factors and their cost-benefit perspectives when purchasing a first car. I attended the short session so that I can share some of the findings with you readers out there.

Industry News: Mr. Atsunori Murata is the New Chief Operating Officer of Isuzu Malaysia

Isuzu Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (IMSB) recently appointed Mr. Atsunori Murata as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) - 3rd from Left. As the COO, he will be overseeing all operational aspects under the Commercial Vehicle Division. Mr. Murata has been with Isuzu Motors Limited since 1998.

Haval Malaysia Officially Opens New 3S Centre in Bangi & Also Roadshow at The Curve Till 12th August 2018

Go Auto Sales Sdn Bhd, or HAVAL Malaysia, the exclusive distributor for Haval SUV in Malaysia has officially opened their latest 3S - Sales, Service & Spare Parts dealership together with their dealer partners, Wan Auto Car Wheels Sdn Bhd. The new 3S dealership is located at Seksyen 7, Bandar Baru Bangi and is situated in an upcoming industrial and commercial area which will cater for customers in the area surrounding Bangi, Selangor.

New PROTON 3S & 4S Centres Opened - Rahman Brothers in Shah Alam, Proton Edar Jalan Chan Sow Lin in KL & Vantage Speed in Klang

PROTON's upgrading of its dealerships is going strong with the official opening of three new outlets since the mid of July 2018 and up to last week.  Firstly, we had the PROTON Rahman Brothers 3S outlet in Shah Alam officially opened mid-July 2018, secondly, Proton Edar's 4S Chan Sow Lin, Kuala Lumpur in the first few days of August 2018 followed by the Vantage Speed 4S Outlet located at Jalan Kebun, Klang over the weekend.

Roadshows: Born Electric: The BMW i Roadshow - Experience BMW's Mobility of the Future nationwide Tour

BMW Malaysia will be showcasing its leadership in electro mobility at the Born Electric: The BMW i Roadshow which will be touring Peninsular Malaysia throughout October to December this year. Stops will include the Klang Valley, Johor, Kelantan, Kedah and Penang.

Trucks: The Foton Auman EST Heavy Duty Prime Mover Has Been Launched in Malaysia by Angka-Tan Motor Sdn Bhd

Angka-Tan Motor Sdn Bhd (ATM), a member of the Tan Chong Group (via Warisan TC Holdings) has launched the all-new Foton Auman EST (Energy Super Truck) heavy-duty commercial prime mover series recently here in Malaysia. The Auman EST is a truck manufactured by Beijing-based Foton Daimler Automotive Co. Ltd, a joint venture company between Foton Group and Daimler Automotive.

Scania Malaysia Establishes Fund To Assist Primary Schools in Malaysia For Curricular, Extra-curricular or Projects on Sustainability - Schools Are Invited to Apply

Managing Director for Scania Southeast Asia, Marie Sjödin Enström seen with Scania Group President and CEO, Henrik Henriksson in Shah Alam recently

Good News for our Primary School students! Scania Malaysia has established a fund to motivate and assist primary schools in Malaysia start up curricular activities, extra-curricular activities or projects that focus on sustainability. The “Master Sustainability By Scania” fund will be carried out by Scania Malaysia and will be continuously funded  by a portion of sales revenue of Scania vehicles sold here in Malaysia. 

Happenings: The Lexus Golf Invitational 2018 Was Held Recently...

Lexus Malaysia recently held the 12th edition of its Golf Invitational tournament where those that attended and participated in the 3-part tournament had fun on the green as well as receiving  first-class Lexus hospitality. It was held at the Palm Garden Golf Club, Tropicana Golf & Country Resort and the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club. Throughout the tournament, guests were pampered with Lexus’ style of hospitality. This included food & drink as well as relaxing neck and shoulder massages for the competitors. 

Roadshows: The Experimental Ford Pop-Up Store Seems to be Successful - More Ford Roadshows With the Store to Come!

Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC), which is the distributor of Ford in Malaysia recently had over 3,000 visitors to its first experiential Ford Pop-Up store for the Ford Ranger. The store was first introduced in July 2018 in the Klang Valley and has made its way to Penang (pic below) and then to Kota Bharu more recently.

Scania Malaysia Delivers Vehicles in Kuantan - Trucks to Hin Tatt Recycling and a Bus to the PIBG Sekolah Sains Haji Ahmad Shah, Pekan

Hin Tatt Recycling Sdn Bhd and PIBG Sekolah Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (SHAH Pekan) recently received keys to Scania trucks and a bus respectively. The handover ceremony was held at the Scania Kuantan branch where it was attended by the customers and Scania Southeast Asia Sales Director, Daniel Tan.

And Meanwhile, Perodua Sells 117,100 Cars in the 1st Half 2018 - Expects to Maintain its 209,000 Unit Target by End-2018 & Prepares For 2.14 Million Service Intakes This Year

Perodua is still playing cautiously even though they've had an amazing first half of 2018 in terms of sales results. The compact car maker is preparing to face many challenges in the second half (2H18) especially from increased demand currently due to the GST removal and with the end of the zero GST rebates together with the reintroduction of the SST in September 2018. However the company states that it is still maintaining its sales target of 209,000 units by end-2018.

Stand a chance to win original autographed Football Jerseys or Football Boots by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar JR and more from Caltex

Caltex, the brand which Chevron sells and markets its products here in Malaysia, had recently launched a nationwide #caltexcubatry campaign in conjunction with the 2018 World Cup which was recently held in Russia. Caltex customers will have the chance to win exclusive autographed jerseys and football boots by Neymar JR (Brazil), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Dele Alli (England), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Luis Suarez (Uruguay).

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.