Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur Introduces Malaysia to the World’s First Super Tourer - The DB12

Yesterday, Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur previewed the DB12 Super Tourer to members of the media, and before we start with the usual details and specifications of the car, I have to say the DB12 is a stunner. In terms of its styling, it takes the best of the classical Aston Martin styling cues and wraps it around a very modern GT styled body which looks better than the one it replaces by a fair bit. I think that grille up front says it all.

smart Malaysia Unveils the smart #1 at EVx 2023 - Details and Some My Thoughts On it and PHOTOS of the #1 from the Media Preview prior to EVx 2023

smart Malaysia made its official Malaysian debut at the Electric Vehicle Expo (EVx) 2023 in Setia City Convention Centre in Shah Alam, where they had an exclusive sneak peek of its all-electric vehicle, smart #1 that was displayed on the show stand of Mercedes-Benz and smart Malaysia, for the very first time in Malaysia. smart, these days is a joint venture electric car designed and manufactured by Mercedes-Benz and Geely. This has been possible when Geely entered into partnership with Daimler (holding company for Mercedes-Benz) in 2019 and from just a very compact city car, smart is still a compact city car, but is now fully an electric vehicle brand.

The Award winning Hyundai IONIQ 6 is now available in Malaysia - 2 Variants from RM289,888 onwards

Friday, the 21st of July 2023 marked Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) official launch of the  Hyundai IONIQ 6 battery electric car in Malaysia. The IONIQ 6 is a winner of three prestigious global acolades – the 2023 World Car of the Year, 2023 World Electric Vehicle of the Year and 2023 World Car Design of the Year. This streamliner type all-electric sedan is Hyundai’s second IONIQ model and also its second recipient of the three aforementioned World Car Awards after the IONIQ 5 in 2022 and is now available in Malaysia in two variants, priced on-the-road before insurance, at RM289,888 for the Max RWD variant and RM319,888 for the Max AWD variant, inclusive of an eight-year/160,000 km battery warranty. 

The All-New Next-Gen Ford Ranger Raptor 2.0L Bi-Turbo Diesel to have a Show-and-Tell in Kota Kinabalu on 21-23 July 2023

Important news for those of you who are in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah this weekend. Sime Darby Auto ConneXion (SDAC), the sole distributor for Ford in Malaysia, will be bringing the Next-Generation Ranger Raptor 2.0L Bi Turbo Diesel Show-and-Tell event to Sabah from 21 to 23 July 2023. The three-day event is set to take place at the Likas Complex Area in Kota Kinabalu, from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm. There, you can even test drive the Next-Gen Ranger Raptor 2.0L Bi-Turbo Diesel across a specially designed off-road route.

DRB-HICOM and Geely work together to attract investors to the Tanjung Malim Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV)

Today DRB-HICOM via PROTON and Geely held the Global Investors & Vendors Convention 2023 which showcases investment opportunities at the Proton City in Tanjung Malim. The location will be renamed as the Automotive High Tech Valley and will be a place where both Malaysian and Chinese vendors can come, set up shop and develop cars especially for those new energy vehicles (NxGV), whether battery electric or other ways and also as a hub for Geely to test and tropicalise their vehicles for the equatorial (and harsh climate regions). The innaugural event saw over 200 participants including government agency officials, Malaysian vendors and 42 automotive suppliers from China.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and their Authorised Dealers/ Retail Partners enter into new arrangement of a new agency sales model for Malaysia

Folks, Mercedes-Benz has decided to change their retail strategy that aims to offer a comprehensive customer experience when purchasing a Mercedes-Benz passenger car. Mercedes-Benz together with all its retail partners here in Malaysia have entered into a new agreement on key points for the introduction of the agency model in Malaysia. This changes the way how the brand allows its cars to be sold via their dealerships and it will be expected to begin start in September 2023. This is also the first time such a system will be implemented in the South East Asian region also.

The brand with the Three Pointed Star will drive the transformation together with all its retail partners to meet the changed customer needs in the digital era. From what we understand, it now ensures the best customer experience with only one price anywhere you buy throughout Malaysia. i.e, The price is the same throughout Malaysia.

Konsortium E-Mutiara Berhad adds 20 units of the Longest Ever in Malaysia Scania K410EB6X2 Double Deck Coach in Malaysia - Transport Minister also announces Extra 200 PSV Bus Licenses for East Coast Folk to Apply

Konsortium E-Mutiara Berhad (E-Mutiara) earlier today added to its fleet of express busses 20 units of the longest ever Scania K410EB6X2 double-deck coach in Malaysia at 13.5 metre length - the first of such a length in the country. The launch ceremony was witnessed by Guests-of-Honour YB Tuan Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Minister of Transport Malaysia (MOT) and Mr Robert Lejon, Deputy Head of Mission Embassy of Sweden. Ms Heba Eltarifi, Managing Director of Scania Southeast Asia handed over the coaches to Che Ibrahim Che Ismail (Pak Nik), Executive Chairman of E-Mutiara. With this latest addition, E-Mutiara will launch their first luxurious express coaches in Malaysia and start another chapter in their long and successful sustainable partnership with Scania. 

Volvo Trucks Malaysia (Volvo Trucks) previews its fully electric heavy duty prime movers in Malaysia which are the first to be launched in Southeast Asia with Two Units already bought by Swift Haulage Berhad

Today, the 11th of July 2023, marked a historic day in terms of Malaysian automotive history. Volvo Trucks Malaysia (Volvo Trucks) officially launched their fully electric FM Series heavy duty prime movers in Malaysia. These are the first electric heavy duty prime mover series of trucks to be launched in Southeast Asia and also the first to be adopted by an operator in the region where integrated logistics provider, Swift Haulage Berhad had purchased two units of the model. The announcement at the media preview this afternoon was made at the Volvo Trucks headquarters in Shah Alam shows off the Volvo Trucks' role in accelerating the industry’s transition to electromobility, in line with the nation’s net zero carbon ambitions. 

PROTON SAGA 38TH ANNIVERSARY MINI CARNIVAL- 9TH July 2023 at the Proton Centre of Excellence in Subang Jaya

PROTON will be celebrating the 38th birthday of the Malaysian automotive icon, the Proton Saga. The mini carnival to commemorate the compact car will be held at Proton's Centre of Excellence on Sunday, 9th of July 2023. This special event serves as a celebration of the remarkable history of the Proton Saga, a vehicle that has won the hearts of millions of proud owners over the years. The carnival pays homage to this beloved model and plays a vital role in reinforcing the PROTON brand through its timeless charm and market popularity.

The carnival will divided into three exciting segments:

The All-New Toyota Innova .... Now Innova Zenix, has been launched with 2 variants from RM165,000 - Full details and thoughts about it too

UMW Toyota Motors has just launched the all-new Toyota Innova Zenix. This could be the peak in Innova development as the vehicle marks a change for the better in so many ways that even I am happy to be writing about an Innova. But before that, the new Innova Zenix will be sold in two variants - the Innova Zenix 2.0 V with 8 seats and the 2.0 HEV (Hybrid with 7 seats - where the middle row features captain style individual seats with sliding trays). These will cost RM165,000 and RM202,000 respectively in Peninsula Malaysia without any insurance but on the road pricing.

PHS Automotive Malaysia (PHSAM) officially launches seven fully-electric Audi e-tron models to the Malaysian market - Variants of the Q8 e-tron variants, the e-tron GT & the RS e-tron GT

Yesterday, PHS Automotive Malaysia (PHSAM) launched seven fully-electric Audi e-tron models to the Malaysian market.  This is the largest fleet of all-new fully electric vehicles premiering in Malaysia, and is priced from RM383,990 The Audi e-tron range comprises of a family of SUVs, sportbacks and four door coupé. Audi states that the e-tron range is purpose-built in terms of design and performance in mind

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia launches the facelifted 2023 A-Class range - A200 to the uber fast A45 S 4Matic + [PHOTOS & VIDEOS]

The facelifted 2023 Mercedes-Benz A-Class has been launched for the Malaysian market. It features restyled front and rear lights, all models get the power bulges (or power domes) on the bonnet and has thwe latest generation of MBUX (NTG7). According to Mercedes Benz Malaysia, the A-Class model range is  geared to customer wishes, fine tuned to suit  requests from the pre-facelift A-Class buyers.

If you wish to view the launch presentation by Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, here is a video of it below.d

Perodua Axia E returns as the most affordable new car in Malaysia, but it's actually still based on the previous generation car

 Perodua earlier today launched the previous generation Axia E again. Basically the cheapest new car you can buy in Malaysia, the Axia E is targeted at the lower income group and comes with a price of RM22,000 before insurance. This is definitely the 'menu Rahmah' of the car industry folks. If you're familiar with the term 'Rahmah' here folks. Definitely the RM5 meal equivalent.

MALAYSIAN MADE GRACSHAW LAUNCHES THEIR JAPAN EDITION MOTORCYCLE HELMET

Yesterday, Gracshaw, a made-in-Malaysia motorcycle helmet brand under Double Site Marketing Sdn Bhd,  officially launched its Japan Edition motorcycle helmets. The Japanese inspired edition, comprises of six unique designs – Kurita, Tsuru, Japop, Tengu, Oda and Karasu was showcased for the first time at the recent Terengganu Bike Week 2023 and was well received by biking enthusiasts there.

The MICHELIN BRAND EXPERIENCE 2023 - Showcasing the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 and the Michelin Primacy SUV+

 Recently, Michelin, the world’s leading tyre company, hosted the MICHELIN BRAND EXPERIENCE 2023 at Sepang International Circuit. This was a return after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The three-day event featured exclusive opportunities to experience the new MICHELIN Pilot Sport 5 and the MICHELIN SUV+ tyres and had the support from the official vehicle partner, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.

VIDEO: A very, very, very short test drive of the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor 2.0l Bi-turbo Diesel Pickup truck

This is a  video of the very very short test drive we had with the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor 2.0l Bi-Turbo pickup truck. Totally impromptu and unscripted. 

The launch event held at the Technology Park in Bukit Jalil continues throughout this weekend where interested parties can register and try out the Ranger Raptor. We managed a very, very short test drive of the Ranger Raptor 2.0L and we were quite impressed with its SUV or even car like refinement inside, even though we were doing a little bit of off-roading. Noise suppression was seriously good and it does feel more SUV rather than a pickup truck. The video is below:-

The Next-Gen 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor 2.0L Bi-Turbo Diesel is Now Available in Malaysia - We get a short test drive in this Pickup Truck! VIDEO inside

Earlier today I managed to spend some time at the launch event of the Next-Generation 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor. Organised by the good chaps at Sime Darby Auto ConneXion (SDAC), the sole distributor for Ford in Malaysia, the Ranger Raptor 2.0L Bi-Turbo Diesel allows us to have another engine selection for Raptor. The 2.0-litre diesel engine variant joins its 3.0-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 petrol engine counterpart in the Next-Gen Ranger Raptor line-up allowing those who like the frugality of a diesel engine (like the previous generation and its cheaper road tax) with all the goodies of the latest one.

New Video: Scania Previews their Battery Electric Truck as they start marketing and sales of the type

 

Hello folks. As per the last article in the blog, Scania have started selling their Battery Electric Trucks here in the region. This is the video (below) of the preview held last week at Scania's Malaysian headquarters. I managed to attend it and take a look at what their future plans are and also see what their Electric truck is all about.

SCANIA Begins Regional Sales of Battery Electric Trucks for Customers to Comply with ESG Targets

Scania has started sales of battery electric truck in this region. The Battery electric trucks have been introduced for customers’ regional operations to meet their Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. Last Thursday, I attended the first preview for Malaysian customers at Scania Malaysia Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam where we got to see a battery electric Scania truck which will be used in Singapore for garbage collection (which actually suit electric trucks are they offer practical use for stop-start collection for last mile delivery or collection as well as being quieter than any internal combustion engined truck)..[UPDATE - Video of the preview is HERE]

SISMA Auto officially opens their BYD 3S Centre in Glenmarie, Shah Alam

SISMA Auto, the Multi-brand premium automotive group earlier today opened the largest BYD 3S Centre in the automotive hub of Glenmarie, in Shah Alam, Selangor The new 3S centre which RM5 million is a Class-A BYD facility and has a spacious nine-car display showroom and a 16 service bays which was designed to accommodate the growing number of BYD customers. This comes after the news that BYD has already sold over 1,000 units of their Atto3 SUV in Malaysia.