Hyundai names new chief for mobility division

                SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Group said today it has formed a new mobility division to launch more service models and named an outsider as its chief following his tenure with global tech giants such as Apple Inc and Microsoft.

Song Chang-hyeon will lead the newly established Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) division, which will oversee mobility business for Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp, the parent company said in a statement.

Besides working as an engineer with Apple and Microsoft, Song was the chief technology officer at South Korea's dominant web portal Naver, and also founded an autonomous transportation service startup, 42dot, which had Hyundai Motor and Kia as its early investors, according to the website.

With the new division, Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to increase alliances and cooperation with mobility companies around the globe, as the South Korean automaker group pledged to "break the paradigm of the traditional automotive industry" and turn itself from a manufacturer into a broader mobility service provider.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to streamline existing mobility services, introduce new services based on user data and explore business opportunities, the statement said.


Citroen's C4 and C5 X models gain new tech and assistance systems

The e-C4.
LONDON: Citroen has introduced a raft of improvements for its C4, electric e-C4 and C5 X models.

The C4 and e-C4 now benefit from Citroen’s latest Drive Plus infotainment system.

First debuted on the latest e-C4 X, the system incorporates a 10-inch high-definition touchscreen which uses a "more responsive" interface with customisable "widgets".

There’s also the ability to connect two Bluetooth devices, so the driver can access mapping and the passenger can use their media functions, for example, while the C4 is also now available with quicker wireless smartphone charging.

Citroen has also updated its flagship C5 X, adding in upgraded driver assistance systems. It means that Shine Plus-specification cars now get a new Highway Integrated Assist Plus system that includes semi-automatic lane change technology and anticipated intelligent speed assist.

Designed "primarily for dual carriageways and motorway driving" Highway Assist Plus takes control of the car’s steering, speed and braking once the driver has set a speed.

The lane change system, meanwhile, uses two sensors at the front of the car to make lane changes as smooth as possible. The driver needs to keep their hands on the wheel at all times, however.

Anticipated intelligent speed assist uses the car’s on-board GPS to deliver early recognition of speed limit signs and, when used in conjunction with the Highway Integrated Assist Plus system, will then ask the driver if they want to adjust the car’s speed to the new limit. —PA Media


New Porsche 911 and Macan GTS launched - Walkaround Video

KUALA LUMPUR: Porsche importer Sime Darby Auto Performance has unveiled its latest products - the venerable next-generation Porsche 911 (Porsche internal code - 991) and the performance compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) Macan GTS.The new 911 comes in three variants, namely the Carrera, Carrera S and all-wheel-drive Carrera 4S with prices starting from RM870,000, RM970,000.00 and RM1.04mil respectively, which includes a four-year warranty programme and free maintenance package as well as all applicable duties (excluding registration fee, road tax and insurance).The new chassis brings the wheelbase to 2,450mm (+100mm), while measuring 4,499mm-long (+70mm), 1,808mm-wide and 1,294mm-tall (Carrera S at 1,296mm and 4S at 1,291mm), the 3.0-litre (2,981cc) twin-turbo flat-six engine mounted at the rear has been revamped to provide 370hp at 6,500rpm and 450Nm of torque from 1,700 to 5,000rpm, before reaching the engine limiter at 7,500rpm.The Carrera S and 4S have their performance ratings bumped up to 420hp (+50hp), but it's the 4S that receives more torque at 500Nm (+50Nm) and depending on variant, the new engine is almost 12% more efficient with savings of up to one litre per 100km.With the seven-speed double-clutch Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) transmission, the Carrera's consumption now stands at 7.4 litres per 100km (-0.8-litre per 100km), while the Carrera S is rated at 7.7 litres (-1.0 litre) and the 4S at 7.9 litres (-1.2 litres) per 100km.When combining the PDK with the optional Sport Chrono Package, the Carrera's 0-100kph sprint time is dispatched in 4.2 seconds (-0.2 seconds), which slightly trails the Carrera S (3.9 seconds) and 4S (3.8 seconds), before reaching a higher top speed versus its predecessor at 293kph (+6kph), 306kph (+4kph) and 303kph (+6kph) respectively.
The reborn 911 receives redesigned headlights incorporating the four-point daytime running lights, door handles without recess covers, redesigned rear lid with vertical louvres, new rear lights with four-point brake lights and a tail light strip exclusively for the 44mm-wider rear of the 4S.
Technology-wise, there is a mode-switch button that has been relocated to the steering wheel (as in the hybrid 918 Spyder), providing four driving modes of Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual - the latter allowing for the configuration of the Porsche active suspension management (PASM) system, active engine mounts, PDK shifting strategy and sports exhaust system to their liking.The PASM system is also able to lower the new 911's ride-height by 10mm for better stability and handling characteristics, while endowing it with higher comfort levels than before.
In combination with the PDK transmission, the mode switch also includes a Sport Response Button that will allow for maximum acceleration to take place for up to 20 seconds, while rolling on standard 19-inch wheels with 235/40 (front) and 295/35 (rear) series tyres. The S models get 20-inch wheels with 245/35 (front) and 305/30 (rear) tyres instead.
Stopping power comes from its front and rear four-piston aluminium monobloc callipers biting down on its cross-drilled discs, with the S models using bigger six-piston (front) and four-piston (rear) aluminium monobloc callipers instead.To further enhance safety, Porsche has included a post-collision braking system as standard.Inside, owners will be greeted by a new Porsche communication management (PCM) infotainment system with a 7.0-inch multi-touch display that includes an online navigation module and voice control as well as a 375mm-diameter steering-wheel.The PCM can be operated by performing multi-touch gestures on the display that's similar to operating a smartphone with handwriting user input being possible.For optional extras, there's a host of upgrades that include an active rear-axle steering system for the S models, (adopted from the 911 Turbo and 911 GT3) to help further enhance its turn-in stability when at speed or reduce its 11.1m turning-circle by 0.4m when in tight spots.There's also a smaller 360mm GT sports steering available as well as a hydraulic lift system to increase the ground clearance by 40mm within five seconds for better practicality.The 4S adopts the 911 turbo's Porsche traction management (PTM) system, where nearly all of its all-wheel drive components have been reinforced to handle the engine's heightened performance.
On the options list are new and extended assistance systems that includes the automatic speed control system and the adaptive cruise control (ACC) system with coasting function to name a few.
“The 911 has been the world's best-selling sports car for decades and this new generation of 911 has arrived to further extend this lead," said SDAP chief executive officer Arnt Bayer.The Macan GTS was also unveiled and gets similarly priced as the 911, with prices starting from RM710,000 for its re-engineered chassis, an additional 20hp over the Macan S and stronger brakes to name a few.Under the hood lies a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 engine with 360hp and 500Nm - slotting itself between the Macan S and the range-topping Macan Turbo in terms of power, while having a combined fuel efficiency of 8.8 to 9.2 litres per 100km and CO2 emissions of 207 to 215g/km.It is equipped with the Porsche traction management (PTM) system to help distribute power between the front and rear axles and certainly helps in its 0-100kph sprint time of 5.2 seconds (-0.2 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono package), before reaching a top speed of 256kph.Also included are the LED headlights with the optional Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus to enhance illumination, as well as the PASM system that lowers the GTS by 15mm while rolling on 20-inch matt-black finish RS Spyder design wheels and a host of tyre sizes to opt for.Before getting filled with the sounds of the sports exhaust system, the GTS' cabin features sport seats, Alcantara cabin trim and a new Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system, which has an optional Connect Plus module that adds online navigation with real-time traffic information and smartphone integration via Apple CarPlay to the multi-touch monitor.The GTS is readily identifiable with its combination of high gloss black above the waistline and a matt finishing below, while being fitted as standard with a special version of the Sport Design package - also in GTS-specific colouring."The extremely sporty Macan GTS combines high level of Porsche driving dynamics with outstanding everyday utility. Like all Porsche models that bear these three letters, the new GTS version of the Macan is inspired by motor racing,” said Bayer.Porsche 911 Carrera 4S (type 991)

Porsche 911 Carrera S (type 991)
 Porsche Macan GTS


New EU rules on car speed limiters coming into force

                LONDON: New European Union rules mandating speed-limiting systems to be fitted to new cars, vans and lorries have come into force as of July 6.

The requirement for newly launched models to have Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology is part of a package of measures aimed at boosting road safety in the bloc.

ISA detects speed limits on roads through devices such as cameras and satnavs. Drivers are alerted when their vehicle exceeds the maximum permitted speed such as through audible or vibrating warnings, or by the accelerator pedal gently pushing their foot back.

In some versions, the vehicle's speed is automatically reduced. But users can ignore the warnings and override speed reductions.

Other measures in the EU's General Safety Regulation (GSR) include driver drowsiness warnings, emergency stop signals, accurate tyre pressure monitoring and event data recorders.

"While some people will be understandably nervous about the mandatory introduction of ISA, it's important to note that it can be manually overridden," Dan Powell, senior editor at used car website CarSite, said.

"Some cars feature this tech already and feedback from owners is generally positive."

According to EU regulation, the speed assistance system will gently push the driver's foot back to make the driver aware and help them slow down.

"The driver can ignore this feedback and override the system by pushing slightly harder on the acceleration pedal," EU road safety officials write.

The laws are being implemented across the EU but are not being implemented in the UK, where the Department for Transport (DfT) said it is assessing the technologies within the regulation but no decision has been made on whether any of them will be mandated in Britain.

There has been no significant fall in the annual number of UK road deaths since 2010, apart from in 2020 when coronavirus lockdowns led to a huge reduction in traffic.

DfT figures show a driver or rider breaking the speed limit contributes to around one in six fatalities on Britain's roads. — PA Media


Mercedes-Benz M'sia announces record-breaking Q1

 Folger (second from left) with his management team.

KUALA LUMPUR: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia announced its strongest ever results for the first quarter of 2015 in the passenger car segment, recording a total of 1,886 units, a 13%  increase from the same period in 2014.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s passenger car sales peaked in Mar 2015, with a total of 967 units sold, marking a 53% increase compared to the same period last year - a milestone in its 11-year history in Malaysia.

The uptrend in sales is attributed to the success of the newly-introduced E300 BlueTEC Hybrid which made its Malaysian debut in Jan 2015. A total of 638 units of the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid were sold during the first quarter of 2015.

Also contributing to Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s positive sales was the S400L Hybrid, which continued to show phenomenal success in the local market. The S400L Hybrid, which represents Mercedes-Benz’s Vision Accomplished, sold 270 units, a 980%  increase from the corresponding quarter in 2014.

“It has been an incredibly successful start to 2015 for Mercedes-Benz Malaysia. The robust sales of both Hybrid models (the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid and S400L Hybrid) is a clear testament that we are significantly invested in helping Malaysia achieve its Energy-Efficient Vehicle (EEV) aspirations. The growth we have had and the investments we have made thus far have certainly paved the way for future success,” said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia President and CEO, Roland Folger.

Another key contributor to the success in sales was the New Generation Compact Cars (NGCC). With the introduction of the New CLA and GLA-Class in 2014, the New Generation Compact Cars (NGCC) family, registered sales of 418 units within the first quarter, up 33% from the same period in 2014.

Touching on the impact of recently-implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST), Folger said, “We have embraced the GST positively. It is one step towards transparency and we have remained fully compliant with the recent changes as per the Government’s recommendation. Ultimately, we always have the customers’ best interest at heart, and especially with the GST, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will continue to be a committed investor in the local market and maintain the value of our vehicles, sales and service.”

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has also enjoyed several other successes during the first quarter of the year. In February, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia proudly became the vehicle sponsor for the LIMA’15 event, a maiden initiative for the luxury marque. Other highlights of the first quarter included the Mercedes-Benz STYLO Fashion Grand Prix and two podium finishes in the 2015 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix.

Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars, Mark Raine added, “With the CLS400 recently launched in March and a series of other models lined up for the rest of 2015, we believe that we have firmly cemented our position as the leading premium luxury brand for passenger cars in Malaysia. We are incredibly proud to be contributing to the tremendous global sales, which is a record for Mercedes-Benz as a whole. We are confident that as the Mercedes-Benz brand and our presence in Malaysia continues to strengthen, so too will our relationship with our customers.”


BMW 507 driven by Elvis restored to former glory

                MUNICH: The BMW 507 sports car bought by US singer Elvis Presley when he was stationed in Germany has been completely refurbished by the Bavarian car company's heritage department.

The finished car went on display at the traditional Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance show in California on Aug 21.

The open two-seater was found in a barn near San Francisco. It was in poor state of repair when brought back to Germany by BMW to be restored to former glory. The company bought the car for an undisclosed sum.

The 507's bodywork was battered, the paint was flaking off and the original BMW engine had been replaced by a small Chevrolet V8 motor. Added to that there was a lot of rust damage to be dealt with.

BMW spent two years fixing up the car, including the removal of eight layers of paint. Elvis had the car painted red, allegedly to hide the lipstick kisses of female admirers.

However BMW opted for the original feather-white finish of the car, which was displayed at the 1955 German IAA car show and later raced in competition.

The 507 drophead model was also driven by other stars such as French actor Alain Delon and James Bond girl Ursula Andress but it was never a money-spinner for BMW. Only 254 were built between 1955 and 1959.

"The King of Rock 'n' Roll would have no doubt been pleased," reads a BMW publicity shot to mark the 507's rebirth. "Red, white or whatever colour - it's his baby. Besides, most kisses these days are sent by SMS."


Motorhome dream come true

Motorhome owners gathering on Dendong Beach for the “Camper Rally Terengganu 2022” programme. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: To make his lifelong dream of owning a motorhome come true, retiree Dr Ridzuan Ramli spent part of his pension money to buy an imported recreational vehicle (RV) from Japan worth RM150,000.

The 59-year-old former research officer at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board opted for early retirement last year because he could not wait any longer to go travelling in his own motorhome with his wife.

“I bought a Toyota Camroad 2.8 Diesel Turbo motorhome.

“So far, Besut is the farthest location I have visited with my wife,” he said when met at the “Camper Rally Terengganu 2022” event at Dendong Beach which gathered 76 motorhomes and caravans from throughout the country.

Sharing his passion is 51-year-old businessman from Setiu, Wan Sharudin Wan Latif, who spent about RM500,000 on an imported motorhome from the United Kingdom last year.

Wan Sharudin said he and his family had travelled to all the states in peninsular Malaysia in their motorhome.

“We plan to travel around Europe in our motorhome after the Covid-19 pandemic subsides,” he added.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Campervan and Motorhome Association president Farman Othman said the owners of the vehicles chose Dendong Beach as the venue for their fourth gathering because of the beautiful scenery.

“Our first camper gathering in Langkawi in 2021 drew 46 RVs.

“This was followed by gatherings in Seremban, Negri Sembilan (56 vehicles) and Kedah (22 vehicles),” said Farman.

He said the programme was a collaboration between PCMM and the Terengganu government through the Terengganu Entrepreneur Development Foundation.

He said the RVs at the event were of various brands, with the vehicles worth RM50,000 and above. They are equipped with beds, kitchen and toilet.


Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival returns bigger and better from June 25-26

                SHAH ALAM: The People’s Race returns when the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival reopens its doors to the public on June 25-26 for the first time in two years with a celebration of fun-filled on-ground activities and programs for the family against the backdrop of live racing drama on the track at the Sepang International Circuit.

To make up for the two-year break because of the Covid-19 pandemic, festival organiser UMW Toyota Motor said it would be "bigger and more exciting".

Currently into its fifth season/year, the Vios Challenge features local celebrities, young drivers, amateurs and professionals.

The festival is a platform for Toyota to give back and to celebrate the people, thanking them for
their continued support of the brand, said UMW Toyota Motor President Ravindran K.

Fans can once again get up close and personal with their favourite celebrities who will be battling
it out in the Promotional Class.

Season 5’s line-up includes Season 4 champion and actor Shukri Yahaya; last year’s runner-up and actor Zizan Razak; television host Nabil Ahmad; actress Janna Nick; singers Wany Hasrita, Nabila Razali and Khai Bahar; TV personality Ahirine Ahiruddin; and actress and presenter Ain Edruce.

These celebrities will also be performing live over the weekend, and in addition, UMW Toyota Motor will also be organising a special concert featuring Malaysian rock band Bunkface on Saturday, and for the first time ever, staging an international act by Indonesian singer Judika on Sunday.

The festival ground will be abuzz with merchandise and promotional booths, carnival games and activities.

Entrance and parking to the festival, including the concert and the many programs available, is free.

Visitors however, must register their attendance at the Toyota GAZOO Racing Malaysia website to gain access to the festival.

For those who have yet to experience the Sepang International Circuit, a special All-Wheel
Fest invites those with non-motorised vehicles (bicycles, roller blades, skateboards, long boards,
push bikes, push scooters, etc) to take a spin around the 2.7km track.

There will also be a zumba session for fitness aficionados.


SPONSORED: Kia Sorento best premium SUV for the money

                Naza Kia Malaysia, the official distributor of Kia vehicles in Malaysia, offers the new Kia Sorento, which ticks all the right boxes in making this remarkable SUV a top contender in its class.

Whether you intend to pick the kids from school or head to the golf course with friends and multiple bags of golf clubs in tow, the Sorento offers maximum versatility in the form of foldable seats to suit your needs.

It is designed to seat seven people comfortably, with a spacious and well-laid out interior that accentuates the premium-level materials used all round.

Underlining the Sorento’s premium credentials as an outstanding daily commuter that offers quality engineering and advanced technology, is a nice kit list that includes large alloy wheels, rear LED lamps, a power-assisted driver and passenger seat, electronic parking brake, auto Hold Function and tyre pressure monitoring system.

Besides the higher ride height of an SUV, owners will also fall in love with other smart features such as the smart power tailgate that is sure to come in handy when carrying bags of grocery or suitcases.

Furthermore, you can have full confidence in knowing that you and your occupants will reach the destination safely due to the long list of safety features both inside and outside the vehicle.

For starters, the Sorento has five-star safety ratings and comes with six airbags as standard to significantly reduce the risk of serious injury.

In addition, electronic stability control and motor-driven power steering combine to create a smart Vehicle Stability Management system that works to ensure the vehicle stays stable when simultaneously braking and cornering especially on wet, slippery and rough roads, activating as soon as the vehicle detects a slide at its wheels.

Other features that help ensure the safety of all occupants are the emergency stop signal that automatically activates the hazard lights during sudden braking situations and hill-start assist control that automatically apply brake pressure to prevent roll-back on inclines, as well as an all-wheel drive (AWD) system that helps the Sorento maintain the utmost traction on rough, loose or slippery surfaces.

The Sorento is also a frugal yet powerful machine, with a diesel-powered version driven by a 2.2-litre CRDi (common rail direct injection) engine that produces 200PS at 3,800rpm and torque of 441.3Nm between 1,750rpm and 2,750rpm.

Coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission, this advanced powerplant features a nitrogen oxide reducing catalytic converter, lightweight cast iron cylinder block and a highly efficient turbocharger, which together make the Sorento both a practical vehicle for quick trips to the shops through tight urban and suburban streets or a powerful tourer for long-distance drives.


Airbag maker Takata files for bankruptcy protection in Japan

                TOKYO: Embattled airbag maker Takata Corp today filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and said it would seek US$1.588 billion in financial aid from US-based auto parts supplier Key Safety Systems (KSS).

The KSS deal would help it deal with the fallout from its defective airbag inflators at the centre of the global auto industry's biggest ever recall, the two companies said in a joint statement.

The filing at the Tokyo District Court followed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing in the United States.

As part of the bankruptcy protection plans, the Chinese-owned KSS would acquire all of Takata's assets barring certain assets and operations related to the airbag inflators involved in the global recall in the planned deal worth US$1.59 billion.

Takata would keep operations of its affected inflators for now to continue supplying recall replacement parts, and would eventually wind down those operations, the two companies said in a statement.

"KSS is the ideal sponsor as we address the costs related to airbag inflator recalls, and an optimal partner to the company's customers, suppliers and employees," Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said in a statement.

Jason Luo, president and CEO of KSS, said in a statement the "underlying strength" of Takata's business had not diminished despite the airbag recall.


Ex-Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn charged in US over diesel scandal

Winterkorn is unlikely to travel to the US to face indictment.
WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT: The United States has filed criminal charges against former Volkswagen AG boss Martin Winterkorn, accusing him of conspiring to cover up the German automaker’s diesel emissions cheating, in a rare attempt to prosecute a CEO for company actions.

The indictment reopens the question of whether other senior Volkswagen (VW) executives knew about the scandal, which has dogged Europe’s biggest automaker for more than 2-1/2 years and led to a regulatory crackdown that is threatening thousands of jobs as customers increasingly shun diesel-powered cars.

The indictment, filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in secret in March, was unsealed in a US district court on Thursday as VW held its annual meeting in Berlin.

Winterkorn, 70, is charged with four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud and violating the Clean Air Act from at least May 2006 through November 2015, after VW admitted using illicit software that allowed diesel cars to emit excess pollution without detection.

Winterkorn resigned within days of the scandal becoming public in September 2015, but other senior executives who were on the company’s management board at the time continue to hold senior positions within the group.

Hans-Dieter Poetsch, who was finance chief, is now chairman of the supervisory board. Herbert Diess, now group CEO, joined the company on July 1 2015 as head of the VW brand, only weeks before authorities divulged its cheating on Sept 18, 2015.

Rupert Stadler, who was head of the Audi brand in 2015, has been given additional responsibilities for group sales in a revamp announced by Diess last month. Bernd Osterloh, the company’s powerful labour chief who also sits on the VW supervisory board, is still in place.

VW has said the decision to install illegal “defeat device” software was taken in 2006 below the management board level.

“None of the members of the board of management had, at that time and for many years to follow, knowledge of the development and implementation of this software function,” VW said in its 2017 annual report.

A lawyer for Winterkorn in Germany did not immediately comment. Winterkorn in January 2017 told German lawmakers he had not been informed of the cheating early, and would have halted it had he been aware.

A VW spokesman in Germany said the company “continues to cooperate with investigations” but does not comment about probes of individuals.”

Winterkorn is unlikely to face US authorities. Germany’s Federal Justice Ministry said on Friday it does not extradite German nationals to countries outside the European Union.

Winterkorn is currently in Germany is unlikely to travel to a jurisdiction that might extradite him to the United States, a source familiar with his thinking said.


Perodua contributes RM151,000 in kind to two more public hospitals

                KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua contributed RM151,000 (in the form of goods and equipment) to two public hospitals as part of its ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility initiative in further enhance the public healthcare system.

Perodua president and chief executive officer  Datuk Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad said the company's intention is to assist institutions that give the greatest benefit to all Malaysians, such as government hospitals which are available to all.

 Perodua chief operating officer JH Rozman Jaafar (second from right) presenting RM101,142.80 worth of medical equipment to Hospital Kuala Kubu Baru director Dr Mohd Basil Sulaiman (second from left) witnessed by Perodua Corporate Relations & Communications general manager Sulasi Mahadi (right) and Hospital Kuala Kubu medical officer Dr Azran Kamarudin (left).

Perodua contributed items including diagnostic equipment, rehabilitation equipment, patient care equipment, dialysis machine and even hampers for the patients as well as front liners at Hospital Kuala Kubu Bharu and Hospital Selayang recently.

The contribution was presented by Mr JH Rozman Jaafar, Chief Operating Officer of Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd to the hospital management witnessed by the medical officers and its staff.

To date, Perodua has contributed medical and health equipment to public hospitals all over the country.

 Perodua Human Resource & Administration senior general manager Zarina Mansor (fifth from left) presenting RM39,000 worth of medical equipment to Hospital Selayang director Dr Affidah Ali (fifth from right) and witnessed by Hospital Selayang medical officers and staff.

These include the Sarawak General Hospital, Selayang hospital, Sungai Buloh Hospital, Sabah Women's and Children's Hospital in Likas, Shah Alam Hospital, Chancellor Tuanku Muhriz Hospital, Ampang Hospital, Putrajaya Hospital and several community clinics in the Hulu Selangor district.

“We believe that in order to make a difference, we need to be consistent in our efforts, we are proud to assist those who work tirelessly in serving the nation.

“We will continue to work with such bodies in the future as we believe that this is the best way for us to give back to the support that has been shown to us,” Zainal said.


Harley-Davidson Street 750 unleashed

PETALING JAYA: The all-new Harley-Davidson Street 750 is built for young, urban riders who want to ride at every opportunity and was recently launched at the Harley-Davidson of Kuala Lumpur showroom in Petaling Jaya.

Naza Prestige Bikes Sdn Bhd is the sole and official importer of Harley-Davidson in Malaysia and the Street 750 is priced at RM62,888.

The 750cc motorcycle features the liquid-cooled Revolution X engine, an all-new platform from Harley-Davidson - its first in 14 years. The bike comes with a single overhead cam with four valves per-head mated to a six speed transmission.

The bike features a narrow, agile chassis for easy handling with a low seat height; new suspension; a wide handlebar sweep which inspires confidence and manoeuvrability when managing tight turns.

“The look of the Harley-Davidson Street 750 motorcycle comes from the street. Born out of the custom tradition of tearing down a motorcycle to its raw, minimal essence and letting the pure rebellion inherent in the lines of the machine come screaming through. This is the essential attitude of the Street 750,” said group executive chairman and group CEO of NAZA World Group of Companies, Datuk Wira SM Faisal Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin.

Also present at the launch was head of company, Naza Prestige Bikes Sdn Bhd, Azmi Daud Sharman; associate vice president of Two Wheel Division, Naza World Group of Companies, Juan Chow Wee; vice president of 4 Wheels Division at NAZA World Group of Companies, David Hector Ratnaike; committee member of Harley Owner Group (HOG) Malaysia Chapter, Suhardi Perwira Negara including special guests Afiq Iskandar (founder of Tarik Jeans) and local singer and Youtube sensation, Elizabeth Tan.

You can have your Street 750 customised to your every need with Naza World Customs which have Harley-Davidson’s professionally trained in-house custom builders capable of creating individual masterpieces. The Harley-Davidson Street 750 comes in three colours: Vivid Black, Black Denim and Fire Red with two-years factory warranty and three years extended warranty of 80,000km (whichever comes first).


No news on free MRT rides yet

Media members looking at the route board during the preview of the Putrajaya MRT line today. — Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: Public transport users hoping for free train rides in conjunction with the opening of Phase 2 of the Putrajaya MRT line on Thursday will have to wait until that morning to know whether their wish will be fulfilled as the gesture may cost more than RM160mil.

“This matter is under the purview of the Prime Minister, you’ll have to wait,” said Datuk Mohd Zarif Mohd Hashim, CEO of Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp), the MRT asset owner, in a media preview of the line at the Putrajaya Sentral MRT station here.

System-wide free rides have been the norm with the MRT, beginning with week-long free rides when the Kajang Line opened in full in July 2017.

In June 2022, the government gave free rides on trains and buses operated by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, along with KTM Komuter trains in the Klang Valley, for a month to mark the Phase 1 opening of the Putrajaya line from Kwasa Damansara to Kampung Batu.

The then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the free rides would cost the government some RM155mil, with RM140mil for Prasarana’s RapidKL services and RM15mil for KTMB.

During the preview of the Phase 2 segment of the line yesterday, the media was shown the features of the Hospital Kuala Lumpur underground station, which is characterised by wide walkways, generous provision of walkalators, and properly built ramps for wheelchair users.

The new trains are also well designed, and they feature emergency ventilation through hopper windows that can be easily opened by users in the event of a power failure in the train.

Another welcome feature is the removal of the underseat ambient lights seen on the Kajang MRT trainsets that cast a glare at passengers seated on the opposite side of the train car.

However, much work remains to be done at the Putrajaya Sentral transport terminal, which is not under the jurisdiction of MRT Corp.

A quick check by The Star found no signage at the terminal directing commuters towards the MRT station, even though Putrajaya Sentral will soon be a very important touch point for commuters and tourists who are on the way to KLIA or KLIA2, or those trying to reach the city from the airports.

The Putrajaya MRT provides a highly affordable way for the budget-conscious to reach the airport, with cash fare from the city to the MRT station that is almost adjacent to the ERL station costing only a few ringgit, depending on where one enters the MRT/LRT network.


US Justice Department studying if self-driving cars pose ‘terrorist threat’

                WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department has formed a threat analysis team to study potential national security challenges posed by self-driving cars, medical devices and other Internet-connected tools, a senior official said.

The new group’s goal is to secure the so-called “Internet of things” from exploitation by “terrorist threats” and by others who might try to hack devices to cause loss of life or achieve political or economic gain, according to Assistant Attorney General John Carlin, head of the Justice Department’s national security division.

The impetus for the team, which has been informally active for about six months, was an understanding that the Internet is vulnerable to cyber attacks partly because it was not designed with security in mind, Carlin said, after announcing the group on Thursday at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance conference here.

Carlin said the group, a small team of about five to 10 people, did “not want to be alarmist” about new technologies such as self-driving cars, but that it wanted to identify and address security challenges presented by the internet of things before they are exploited.

He cited the July truck attack in Nice, France, in which 86 people were killed, as an example of how automated driving systems could present a national security threat if they were remotely hijacked.

READ MORE: HARMAN shows way to check car hacking

“The Internet on wheels … clearly is going to present national security risks as this transformation takes place,” Carlin said.

Transportation and public health experts say that self-driving cars could dramatically reduce auto fatalities and injuries, most of which are due to human error.

Car hacking has grown as a cyber security concern in recent years.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a bulletin in March warning that motor vehicles were “increasingly vulnerable” to hacking.

In July 2015, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV recalled 1.4 million US vehicles to install software after a magazine report raised concerns about hacking, the first action of its kind for the auto industry.

Carlin said he has been to Detroit twice in the past six months on trips that included visits with auto industry executives to discuss national security issues surrounding smart cars.

The group is being led by Adam Hickey, acting deputy assistant attorney general of the national security division, and will include industry experts and partnerships with other federal agencies, a Justice Department spokesman said.


Fuel subsidy mechanism not ready, Govt to announce when it is

                KUALA LUMPUR: Time is needed to study a proper mechanism to implement the newly announced fuel subsidy system for it to benefit a wider audience, says the Finance Minister.

“But if you drive a luxury car, please don’t hold your breath!” Lim Guan Eng, in his first post-Budget 2019 press conference here yesterday, said.

Lim was responding to netizens posting luxury car brands with engine capacities of below 1,500cc on social media, and assuming that these owners could gain from the fuel subsidy announced in Budget 2019.

Moving in to nip such assumptions, Lim said there was “no hope” for those who drive luxury cars to benefit from the subsidy.

He said initially, the fuel subsidy system was formulated to benefit the B40 group, earning below RM3,000 a month.

“However, the target looked too small, so we wanted to expand it beyond the B40 group,” he said.

Lim said the subsidy would not kick in immediately.

“Give us some time to study the mechanism,” he added.

The fuel subsidy system is expected to be implemented in the second quarter of 2019.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said as many still owned old vehicles, accurate data would be needed from the Road Transport Department.

“We need to know ... as every formula we work out has to take into account its implications on the government’s coffers,” Saifuddin said after launching the 2018 Deepavali Season Price Control Scheme at the Kulim Public Market yesterday.

Prof Tan Sri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali, a UKM economics expert, said he was concerned over how the subsidy would be executed.

“Previously, the government subsided diesel to fishermen and later we found out that this group abused the subsidy and sold it to others.

“How will the government counter the issue? I believe that the petrol subsidy should be given to the B40 group (only),” he added.

Dr Noor Azlan said there was a need to classify those receiving aid into various segments.

“Currently, regardless of where they are from, all will receive the same amount – for example, a single mother who doesn’t work but receives a monthly allowance from her successful children.

“Will you still consider her in the lower income group? Should she still receive aid from the government?” he asked.

Fuel subsidies have often been a political hot potato.

It was much talked about during the May general election, as fuel prices had a major impact on the rising cost of living.

And ideas for fuel subsidies are not new.

When Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister, oil prices started to skyrocket and caused problems to his administration.

It is not far-fetched to say that the steep rise in fuel prices cost Abdullah the 2008 general election.

Fuel subsidy programmes are not new in Malaysia.

There was a pilot project launched in November 2008 in which motorists would pay for petrol with their MyKad.

An ePetrol kiosk was set up in selected petrol stations.

The MyKad was linked to the motorist’s bank account.

This meant that the MyKad was used to pay for the fuel.

The idea was to ensure that fuel subsidies were given to deserving Malaysians only. But the project did not take off.

MyKasih started a pilot project using the identity card in 2008.

In 2014, it got it going again.

That was when MyKasih Foundation started a pilot project, offering a monthly fuel subsidy of RM20 for a year to 40 low-income families in Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara, Petaling Jaya.

These residents need to use their MyKad to get the subsidy at certain petrol stations in their neighbourhood.


Tesla's China-made Model 3 may be priced up to US$51K, says Bloomberg

                SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla Inc is considering pricing its China-manufactured Model 3 vehicles between 300,000 yuan and 350,000 yuan (RM183,000-RM213,000) before subsidies, Bloomberg reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.

The final price is still being worked out, Bloomberg said citing a source.

The electric carmaker currently ships Model 3 vehicles from the United States to sell in China.

Tesla is counting on its Shanghai factory, which is scheduled to begin production this year, to manufacture Model 3 cars as it seeks to expand its lineup and boost sales in the world’s biggest EV market.

Tesla was not immediately available for a comment on the pricing, but an announcement is expected on May 31, according to a social media post by the company.


Apple loses multiple top managers from self-driving car division

                SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc. has lost multiple top managers of its self-driving car team in recent months, a sign of attrition at the division involved in what could become an important future product.

The iPhone maker has hundreds of engineers working on underlying self-driving car technology as well as groups of employees working on an actual vehicle, Bloomberg News has reported.

Running the division is Doug Field, a former top vehicle engineer for Tesla Inc., along with a management team of fewer than a dozen executives. At least three members of that Apple car management team have departed this year.

In recent days, Dave Scott, who led teams working on robotics related to the car, left to become the chief executive officer at Hyperfine, a healthcare company developing next-generation MRI systems.

Before Scott’s departure, Jaime Waydo, who led autonomous car safety and regulation teams, departed to become the chief technology officer at Cavnue, a startup focused on the safety of autonomous cars on public roads.

In February, Benjamin Lyon, who helped create Apple’s original car team several years ago and was key in the future project’s development, left to become the chief engineer at Astra, a company developing technology for sending satellites to space.

Despite the recent departures, Apple has added notable names to the car team over the past few years, including former top Tesla executives in charge of drive systems and manufacturing engineering, car interiors and exteriors and self-driving software.

The team also includes other car industry veterans and executives who have developed key Apple products.

Apple has become the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalisation of more than US$2 trillion, by selling smartphones, tablets, personal computers and services.

But investors and customers have been clamouring for new device categories, with speculation increasing about an Apple car in the technology and automotive industries.

In addition to autonomous-vehicle technology, Apple is working on augmented and virtual reality headsets, and the first product from that category is planned for release as early as next year.

John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence, has overseen the car project since late last year, Bloomberg News reported.

Since the project’s beginning around 2014, Apple’s work on a car has been rebooted several times and has seen multiple management changes.

The Cupertino, California-based company initially set out to build a full car to rival Tesla, but pared back its ambitions around 2016 to focus on the underlying self-driving car system.

Several months ago, it set out again to build a car, placing a portion of the division’s engineers on that effort.

If Apple ends up releasing a car, it’s unlikely to launch until later this decade at the earliest.

The flurry of departures this year could add additional complexity to the company’s ability to make the project a reality. Still, the iPhone maker has been actively recruiting car industry experts to fill out the division’s leadership team.


Avtovaz looks for chip supply alternatives as sanctions against Russia loom

                IZHEVSK (Russia): Russian carmaker Avtovaz, controlled by France's Renault, is looking to secure alternative supplies of electronic chips in case US sanctions curb deliveries to Moscow, the company's chief executive said today.

Western governments are set to announce fresh sanctions against Russia after President Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, with the White House telling its chip industry to be ready for new curbs on exports to Russia.

Should Washington expand the scope of the restrictions, mirroring a previous move against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, it could stop shipments of chips, computers, consumer electronics, telecommunications equipment, and other items made anywhere in the world if they used US technology.

Similar measures were deployed during the Cold War, when the United States and other Western nations maintained severe technology sanctions on the Soviet Union, crimping its growth.

"Of course, we are also investigating possibilities to find alternatives in the case of sanctions," Nicolas Maure, Avtovaz's chief executive, told reporters in the Russian city of Izhevsk.

Maure did not say how Avtovaz, behind the Lada brand, secures chips for its car plants in Russia. Russia lacks its own chip production and relies on foreign supplies, including from China, industry watchers say.

A senior Russian auto industry source voiced a concern over how chip delivery times and new pre-orders could be affected.

"We don't understand how sanctions (if implemented) could impact the industry but hope that there will be no war - it will complicate the existing situation," said the person.

Russian carmakers, like other producers globally, are struggling to secure chips amid pandemic-related bottlenecks and increased demand elsewhere.

Sales of new cars in Russia are forecast to slow to 3.3% this year from 4.3% in 2021, because of the shortage of electronic components, logistics challenges and higher costs.

Renault, which owns Avtovaz via a 69%-32% joint-venture with Rostec, is carefully following the Ukraine security crisis, the French carmaker's spokesman Rie Yamanesaid, adding it was "premature" to estimate the possible sanctions.

Avtovaz sells over 90% of its production locally, Yamane said, with the rest mainly shipped to Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countriesm which include Moldova, Georgia and Kazakhstan. It sources about 80% of its components in Russia.

Last week, Avtovaz reported its 2021 sales rose 10.4% to 2.85 billion euros (RM13.5bil).


Japanese tuner gives BMW 8 Series a carbon fibre treat

                TOKYO: Japanese tuning house 3D Design is showing off a slew of lightweight carbon fibre parts designed for the BMW 8 Series.

Made entirely in Japan, the parts include a front lip, side skirts, rear diffuser and a rear spoiler.

The rear spoiler is available now for the coupe while the cabriolet's version is in development.

3D Design said the rear diffuser for both models offers enough clearance for both the original and its own exhaust system.

The tuner has also thrown on some of its own newly designed wheels with blue accents to match the body colour.

In addition, the body gets  a coil-over suspension system and sports new body stripes (available for both coupe and cabriolet).

The cabin features a new steering wheel and upgraded paddle shifters in a choice of  aluminium or carbon fibre.

At present, 3D Design is working on aero parts for the 8 Series Gran Coupe that will also get a lavish dose of carbon fibre parts.


Helped by autos rebound, Nissan trims whopping loss forecast

                TOKYO: Japan’s Nissan Motor cut its annual operating loss forecast by 28% on Thursday, albeit to a still record US$3.2 billion (RM13.2bil), helped by a rebound in demand from the coronavirus crisis, particularly in China.

The new forecast, which brings it into line with analysts’ estimates, comes as Nissan pursues a turnaround drive that is reversing the rapid expansion led by ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn. The company is cutting production and its vehicle line-up by a fifth, and slashing costs by US$2.9 billion over three years.

“We are confident we are on track” with restructuring plans, chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta told a briefing. He said global car sales volume in September was on par with last year.

In July-September, Nissan’s second quarter, it sold 390,000 cars in China, 4% more than the same period last year. The world’s biggest auto market grew by 12.8% in September.

Nissan’s sales fell elsewhere in annual terms, but showed a recovery from the pandemic-ravaged previous quarter, with North America up 35.1% quarter-on-quarter to 300,000 vehicles.

That rebound is benefiting other carmakers too, including local competitors Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co. , which have pushed ahead of Nissan in China and are, for now, also better positioned to tap a North America recovery.

Ageing line up

Nissan, Japan’s third-largest automaker, is striving to recover from the scandal surrounding the ousting of Ghosn on financial misconduct allegations, which he denies.

But it has been hobbled by an ageing model line-up as drivers’ tastes in North America shift to sport-utility vehicles and large pickups.

Toyota and Honda last week both more than doubled their full-year operating profit forecasts to 2.47 trillion yen and 420 billion yen respectively.

Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida said on Thursday the company had to restore the faith of suppliers and dealers.

“I am committed to building models that embody Nissan-ness,” he said, without elaborating.

Nissan, Gupta said, was on track to launch six new models in North America within 20 months, including electric cars and models that feature its latest autonomous driving technology.

The company, which has slashed its poorly-performing US fleet business, cut overall inventories by a quarter during the most recent quarter compared with a year earlier, he added.

The maker of the Leaf, the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle, will try to lure consumers in China with nine new models planned over the next five years as demand there increases for mid-sized and large luxury vehicles.

Amid the pandemic, Nissan said it was also changing the way it sells cars with a shift to online sales, which now account for around a third of sales in China.

Rosier numbers

Nissan’s new prediction for a full-year operating loss of 340 billion yen (RM13.4bil)  compares with the 470 billion yen (RM18.5bil) loss it forecast three months ago.

For the second quarter, it posted a 4.83 billion yen (RM190mil) loss compared with a 30 billion yen (RM1.18bil) profit last year. But that was much less than the 80.6 billion yen loss forecast on average in a Refinitiv poll of five analysts.

Nissan is 43% owned by Renault and its second-quarter loss will have a negative impact of €30 million  (RM146.3mil) on the French carmaker’s third-quarter net income.

Nissan, once viewed as a symbol of Japanese manufacturing prowess, raised its forecast for full-year global vehicles sales to 4.165 million units from 4.13 million units, although that still represents a decline from the previous year.

To weather the coronavirus downturn, Nissan said it had issued US$8 billion (RM33bil) and €2 billion (RM9.8bil) in debt, and had a 2 trillion yen (RM78.7bil) credit line with lenders.


Time to play golf, Lexus owners

                SHAH ALAM: Lexus owners are invited to take part in the Lexus Golf Invitational 2016, which will be held in July and August.

This friendly golf tournament is a run-up to participation in the Lexus Cup 2016 which will be held at Montgomerie Links Danang, Vietnam.

The Lexus Golf Invitational 2016 will take place at three venues: Bukit Jawi Golf Resort, Penang, on July 20; Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club, Nusajaya,  Johor, on Aug 2; and Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, on Aug 25.

This year, four winners will be invited to compete in the Lexus Cup 2016 at Montgomerie Links Danang, Vietnam. They are the champions from each region and the best runner-up (by score) of the Lexus Golf Invitational 2016.

This will be the sixth year that the Lexus Cup will be run since being inaugurated in 2012. It is hosted by the Lexus Asia Pacific Division in partnership with its regional distributors. In 2015, participants from Malaysia were the champions at the event held in Bali.

Commenting on the Lexus Golf Invitational 2016, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd president Datuk Ismet Suki said: “Golf is popular among Lexus owners, hence the running of the Lexus Golf Invitational annually in Malaysia since 2007 when Lexus Malaysia began operations.”

For details, call Lexus Malaysia toll-free number 1800-88-53987.


Like Kobe Bryant, LA elite prefer flying in private helicopters to driving

                LOS ÁNGELES: Police, firefighters, news channels and tourists: helicopters are a constant buzz in the Los Angeles skies, but only a few wealthy people like Kobe Bryant could afford to use them on a daily basis.

The expensive, rapid option is restricted to a handful of businessmen and celebrities- including the late basketball legend - seeking to avoid the Californian city's notoriously clogged roads.

"Renting a machine like (Bryant's Sikorsky S-76) is about US$4,000 an hour, the pilot is earning at least US$100,000 a year," Philippe Lesourd, a helicopter pilot and instructor who has been flying in the state for 29 years, said.

"It's not within anyone's reach."

Beside Bryant, other celebrities who regularly use helicopters include the Kardashian family, said Lesourd, as well as businessmen who prefer an option "about five or six times faster than the road with traffic."

Bryant started using private choppers around 2006.

After dropping his daughters at school by car in the morning, he would fly 64km north to the Lakers stadium in downtown LA for basketball training, and return to Newport Beach in time to collect them.

The journey took just 15 minutes by helicopter, compared to at least two hours by car during rush hour.

"I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft but not compromise family time," Bryant once said.

After retiring in 2016, the basketball titan - worth an estimated US$600 million - continued to rent helicopters and pilots for his travels.

He was in his regular helicopter Sunday morning when it crashed into a hillside near Los Angeles.

Eight others were killed, including his 13-year-old daughter, whom Kobe was accompanying to a basketball game she was due to play in.

California is the US state with the highest number of helicopter accidents, with 177 recorded between 2007-2016, according to official statistics.

Helicopters were on average safer than airplanes in the US, with a fatality rate of 0.82 per 100,000 flying hours, including 55 deaths in 24 accidents last year.

But according to figures from a US helicopter safety group, private flights have the worst performance of any sector.

Over the past decade, they accounted for only three percent of flying hours, but 26 percent of fatal accidents.


Range Rover Velar coming to Malaysia in Q2, 2018

                PETALING JAYA: The Range Rover Velar that CarSifu announced on March 3 will be coming to Malaysia in the second quarter of 2018.

The Velar is now open for booking at all Land Rover showrooms nationwide. Customers can also register their interest and receive updates at the local Land Rover site.

Price and specifications of the Malaysian-bound Velar will be announced closer to launch.

In its home market, it is offered in seven variants and come with 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre petrol and diesel engines with outputs ranging from 178hp to 375hp (top petrol variant). All use an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The SUV comes with slender full-LED headlights and flush deployable door handles that contribute to the low drag coefficient of 0.32, making it the most aerodynamically-efficient Land Rover ever produced.

READ MORE:
Range Rover Velar tail lights herald new design language
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Land Rover officially lifts the veil on Velar
Ellie Goulding drives Range Rover Velar

The Touch Pro Duo infotainment system features two high-definition 10-inch touchscreens that form the centrepiece of the minimalist cabin, and blends a futuristic, elegant feel with an intuitive, engaging interface and unrivalled performance and functionality.

The Velar’s body is built with aluminium-intensive monocoque using Jaguar Land Rover’s Lightweight Aluminium Architecture. Aluminium alloys account for more than 81% of the body.

The vehicle is equipped with double-wishbone front and Integral Link rear suspension that promises agile handling, high ride comfort and refinements. Land Rover said the model has also high levels of crash protection.

It is designed and engineered at Jaguar Land Rover’s development centres in Britain and will be manufactured at the company’s Solihull factory.


Power pioneer Invents polymer battery that’s 90% cheaper than lithium-ion

                TOKYO: Lithium-ion batteries play a central role in the world of technology, powering everything from smartphones to smart cars, and one of the people who helped commercialise them says he has a way to cut mass production costs by 90% and significantly improve their safety.

Hideaki Horie, formerly of Nissan Motor Co., founded Tokyo-based APB Corp. in 2018 to make "all-polymer batteries” — hence the company name. Earlier this year the company received backing from a group of Japanese firms that includes general contractor Obayashi Corp., industrial equipment manufacturer Yokogawa Electric Corp. and carbon fiber maker Teijin Ltd.

"The problem with making lithium batteries now is that it’s device manufacturing like semiconductors,” Horie said in an interview. "Our goal is to make it more like steel production.”

The making of a cell, every battery’s basic unit, is a complicated process requiring cleanroom conditions — with airlocks to control moisture, constant air filtering and exacting precision to prevent contamination of highly reactive materials. The setup can be so expensive that a handful of top players like South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd., China’s CATL and Japan’s Panasonic Corp. spend billions of dollars to build a suitable factory.

Horie’s innovation is to replace the battery’s basic components — metal-lined electrodes and liquid electrolytes — with a resin construction. He says this approach dramatically simplifies and speeds up manufacturing, making it as easy as "buttering toast.” It allows for 10-meter-long battery sheets that can be stacked on top of each other "like seat cushions” to increase capacity, he said. Importantly, the resin-based batteries are also resistant to catching fire when punctured.

 Horie.

In March, APB raised 8 billion yen ($74 million), which is tiny by the wider industry’s standards but will be enough to fully equip one factory for mass production slated to start next year. Horie estimates the funds will get his plant in central Japan to 1 gigawatt-hour capacity by 2023.

Lithium-ion batteries have come a long way since they were first commercialised almost three decades ago.

They last longer, pack more power and cost 85% less than they did 10 years ago, serving as the quiet workhorse driving the growth of smartphones and tablets with ever more powerful internals. But safety remains an issue and batteries have been the cause of fires in everything from Tesla Inc.’s cars to Boeing Co.’s Dreamliner jets and Samsung Electronics Co.’s smartphones.

"Just from the standpoint of physics, the lithium-ion battery is the best heater humanity has ever created,” Horie said.

In a traditional battery, a puncture can create a surge measuring hundreds of amperes, several times the current of electricity delivered to an average home. Temperatures can then shoot up to 700 degrees Celsius. APB’s battery avoids such cataclysmic conditions by using a so-called bipolar design, doing away with present-day power bottlenecks and allowing the entire surface of the battery to absorb surges.

"Because of the many incidents, safety has been at the top of mind in the industry,” said Mitalee Gupta, senior analyst for energy storage at Wood Mackenzie. "This could be a breakthrough for both storage and electric vehicle applications, provided that the company is able to scale up pretty quickly.”

But the technology is not without its shortcomings.

Polymers are not as conductive as metal and this could significantly sffect the battery’s carrying capacity, according to Menahem Anderman, president of California-based Total Battery Consulting Inc. One drawback of the bipolar design is that cells are connected back-to-back in a series, making control of individual ones difficult, Anderman said. He also questioned whether the cost savings will be sufficient to compete with the incumbents.

"Capital is not killing the cost of a lithium-ion battery,” Anderman said. "Lithium-ion with liquid electrolyte will remain the main application for another 15 years or more. It’s not perfect and it isn’t cheap, but beyond lithium-ion is a better lithium ion.”

Horie acknowledges that APB can’t compete with battery giants who are already benefiting from economies of scale after investing billions. Instead of targeting the "red ocean” of the automotive sector, APB will first focus on stationary batteries used in buildings, offices and power plants.

That market will be worth US$100 billion by 2025 worldwide, more than five times its size last year, according to estimates by Wood Mackenzie. The US alone — which together with China will be the main source of increased energy storage demand — is likely to see a 10-fold increase to US$7 billion in the period.

Horie, 63, got his start with lithium-ion batteries at their very beginning. In February 1990, early on in his Nissan career, he started the automaker’s nascent research into electric and hybrid vehicles.

A few weeks later, Sony Corp. shocked the industry, which was betting on nickel-hydride technology, by announcing plans to commercialise a lithium-ion alternative. Horie says he immediately saw the promise and pushed for the two companies to combine research efforts that same year.

By 2000, however, Nissan was giving up on its battery business, having just been rescued by Renault SA. Horie had one shot at convincing his new boss Carlos Ghosn that electric vehicles were worth it. After a 28-minute presentation, a visibly excited Ghosn proclaimed Horie’s work an important investment and green-lit the project. Nissan’s LEAF would go on to become the best-selling EV for a decade.

Horie came up with the idea for the all-polymer battery while still at Nissan but wasn’t able to get institutional backing to make it real.

In 2012, while doing a teaching stint at the University of Tokyo, he was approached by Sanyo Chemical Industries Ltd., known for its superabsorbent materials used in diapers.

Together, the two developed the world’s first battery using a conductive gel polymer. In 2018, Horie founded APB and Sanyo Chemical became one of his early investors.

APB has already lined up its first customer, a large Japanese company whose niche and high-value-added products sell mostly overseas, Horie said. He declined to give further details and said APB plans to make the announcement as early as August.

"This will be the proof that our batteries can be mass-produced,” Horie said. "Battery makers have become assemblers. We are putting chemistry back into the lead role.”


Tesla stands by safety claims despite US probes, subpoenas over crashes

                SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla Inc stood by its Model 3 safety claims on Wednesday in the face of regulatory scrutiny, while documents showed the top US automotive safety watchdog issued at least five subpoenas since last year seeking information about crashes involving the company’s vehicles.

Tesla, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has said the Model 3 “was engineered to be the safest car ever built” with the lowest probability of injury of all vehicles ever tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Regulators challenged that view last year, according to documents seen by Reuters. The NHTSA sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tesla on Oct 17, for making “misleading statements” over safety ratings of the Model 3.

Saying it was “not the first time” Tesla had disregarded its guidelines in a manner that could confuse consumers and “give Tesla an unfair market advantage,” the agency also referred the issue to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which investigates unfair or deceptive acts within commerce.

Asked for comment on Wednesday, Tesla pointed to its response to the October letter, in which it said its claims were based on NHTSA’s own data.

In its October letter, NHTSA said Tesla disregarded the difference in relative weights between its vehicles and others, making accurate comparisons impossible and misleading consumers.

“It is therefore inaccurate to claim that the Model 3 has ‘the lowest probability of injury of all cars’ or that Model 3 occupants are ‘less likely to get seriously hurt’ or ‘have the best chance of avoiding a serious injury,’ wrote NHTSA chief counsel Jonathan Morrison, adding that such statement violate NHTSA’s guidelines.

In its response, Tesla denied it had made the claim that the 5-star rating makes it the “safest vehicle,” rather that Tesla said publicly the car was engineered “to be the safest car ever built.”

Asked to comment on the documents on Wednesday NHTSA did not mention Tesla, instead saying the agency was “committed to rigorous and appropriate safety oversight of the industry.”

An FTC spokesman declined to comment, saying “investigations are non-public.”

The Model 3 had received the top rating on the agency’s 5-Star Safety Ratings Program that uses three crash tests and a rollover resistance assessment.

The US Department of Transportation released the documents after legal transparency group PlainSite obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Questions asked

Safety groups have criticized Tesla and Musk for being unclear in statements about the capabilities of its partially autonomous driving feature called Autopilot, which falls short of a full self-driving system that would have no need of driver intervention.

Following a death involving Autopilot in 2016, the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates accidents, faulted Autopilot for lacking system safeguards.

The documents revealed that NHTSA sent Tesla at least five subpoenas from April 2018 through March 2019 related to vehicle crashes, with a request for information about another crash sent in June.

At least three of those crashes, which occurred during the last years, caused fatalities: in Delray Beach and Key Largo, Florida and in Mountain View.

It was unclear from the documents whether Autopilot was engaged.


Key EU lawmaking committee votes against EU wifi-based car standard

                BRUSSELS: A key committee of EU lawmakers on Monday rejected a European Commission push for a wifi-based technology for cars, backing critics who support the alternative 5G standard.

The EU executive is seeking to set benchmarks for internet connected cars, a market for carmakers, telecoms operators and equipment makers expected to be worth billions of euros a year.

The Commission’s preference for the wifi-based ITS-G5 would give Volkswagen and Renault an edge over Daimler, Ford and PSA Group which endorse the rival 5G standard C-V2X.

A clause requiring new technologies to be modified in order to be compatible with older technology has triggered alarm in the telecoms industry which is rooting for the 5G standard, and other involved parties.

The European Parliament’s transport committee said the clause would put a brake on innovation.

Commission digital chief Andrus Ansip, Finland and Spain have also voiced criticism of this requirement. The EU executive declined to comment on the parliamentary committee vote.

Parliament will vote on the Commission’s proposal on April 17, which can only be blocked by a majority. The European Council also has a say in the issue and would also need a majority of EU countries to derail the proposal.

Lobbying group and C-V2X supporter 5GAA has said the wifi push goes against the Commission’s campaign to promote 5G-based activities and boost economic growth.


Traffic builds as Malaysians 'balik kampung' to cast their ballots

                PETALING JAYA: Significant traffic congestion has been reported along the roads leading out of the city as folk begin journeying back to their hometowns to vote in conjunction with the 15th General Election (GE15).

The Malaysian Highway Authority said that eastbound traffic leading to and after the Gombak Toll Plaza along the Karak Expressway had slowed to a crawl since 3.37pm, in a Facebook post today.

It also reported that northbound traffic along the North-South Expressway (NSE) had also begun to slow down since 4.32pm.

Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway (KLK) and East Coast Expressway Phase 1 (LPT1) operator Anih Berhad has also issued travel time recommendations for east coast highway users from Nov 18 to Nov 20, in a Facebook post on Malaysian Highway Authority’s Facebook page today.

Caretaker prime minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had on Monday announced Nov 18 and 19 as public holidays to make it easier for Malaysians to return home to vote for the upcoming GE15.


Major investor demands change at Hyundai Motor

                SEOUL:  A major investor in Hyundai Motor Co today urged the automaker to improve its governance, as shareholders met for the first time since the Hyundai group paid US$10 billion for a piece of real estate in a widely criticised deal.

The decision in September last year to buy the land in Seoul's affluent Gangnam district at three times its appraised value hit Hyundai Motor's share price and rekindled investor frustration over opaque decision-making process at South Korea's family-owned conglomerates.

In an unusual expression of dissent at a shareholder meeting in South Korea, a director at Netherlands-based pension fund APG Asset Management called on Hyundai Motor to revamp its governance structure and assign one of its external directors to "defend shareholder interests".

"I hope this incident will give an opportunity for Hyundai Motor to improve its governance structure in a rational manner," the director, Park Yoo-kyung, told the crowded auditorium at Hyundai Motor's headquarters here.

Shareholder activism is rare in South Korea despite the predominance of family-run conglomerates known as chaebol that typically trade at discounts to global peers, due in part to governance concerns. Annual shareholder meetings are usually quiet, predictable events.

After its land deal, Hyundai Motor took measures that appeared aimed at soothing investors, including announcing a share buyback and dividend increase.

Claiming to speak on behalf of other institutional investors, Park urged the company - the world's fifth-biggest automaker alongside affiliate Kia Motors Corp in terms of sales - to set up a board committee tasked with bringing governance up to international standards.

"Those proposals are not something unusual in light of global standards. But given the Korean situation, they are very innovative proposals," she said, reading a statement.

Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo and his son, Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, did not attend the meeting, as per their practice in recent years.

Chief Executive Kim Choong-ho, who presided over the meeting, said the company was "vigorously considering" proposals to protect minority shareholders and enhance shareholder value.

Shareholders approved all matters that were put to a vote at today's meeting.

The carmaker's shares are still down about 20 percent since the land bid, which directors approved without knowing the bid price.


Pure electric BMW 5 Series to show up in 2023

                MUNICH: An electric BMW 5 Series is coming when the eighth generation of the 5 Series makes its global debut in October.

The first-ever i5 Sedan will be followed by the i5 Touring (wagon) in 2024 as BMW ramps up its all-electric offering. The Touring variant would cater to mainly European customers.

According to BMW, the 5 Series line-up is more dynamic and more comfortable than ever and boasts a fresh interpretation of its signature elegantly sporting design, not to mention BMW Operating System 8.5 with BMW Curved Display and innovative digital services.

The flexible powertrain architecture means the new 5 Series Sedan can be offered in all-electric and plug-in hybrid variants as well as powered by highly efficient petrol and diesel engines with 48V mild hybrid technology.

The 5 Series Sedan would also be made available as an all-electric M Performance model.

“The all-electric BMW i4 M50 shows how BMW blends dynamic performance and electric mobility to perfection,” said BMW CEO Oliver Zipse at the BMW Group Annual Conference 2023.

“It was the best-selling BMW M model worldwide in 2022. A fully electric Performance model from BMW M GmbH will also be included in the new BMW 5 Series Sedan line-up.”

The BMW Group already has all-electric cars and two-wheelers in the vast majority of the market segments it serves with the BMW, BMW Motorrad, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands.

More than 10 million 5 Series have been produced from 1972 to early 2023.

Over the past 50 years and seven model generations, the 5 Series has established itself as the most successful business sedan in the world.

The new 5 Series Sedan will be built exclusively at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing. The facility in Lower Bavaria is the company’s largest manufacturing site in Europe. Production of the new BMW 5 Series will start in the same year the plant marks 50 years of manufacturing BMW models.

The brand’s cars have been rolling off the production lines in Dingolfing since 1973, with its current portfolio including the 7 Series and 8 Series luxury models and the all-electric iX.

BMW Group Plant Dingolfing is also home to the company’s competence centre for electric drive system production, whose tasks include manufacturing both the electric motors and the high-voltage batteries for the i5 directly on site.


Dutch students devise carbon-eating electric vehicle

                NEW YORK: The sporty all-electric car from the Netherlands resembles a BMW coupe, but is unique: It captures more carbon than it emits.

"Our end goal is to create a more sustainable future," said Jens Lahaije, finance manager for TU/ecomotive, the Eindhoven University of Technology student team that created the car.

Called ZEM, for zero emission mobility, the two-seater houses a Cleantron lithium-ion battery pack, and most of its parts are 3D-printed from recycled plastics, Lahaije said.

The target is to minimise carbon dioxide emitted during the car's full lifespan, from manufacturing to recycling, he added.

Battery electric vehicles emit virtually no CO2 during operation compared with combustion-engine vehicles, but battery cell production can create so much pollution that it can take EVs tens of thousands of miles to achieve "carbon parity" with comparable fossil-fuelled models.

ZEM uses two filters that can capture up to 2kg of CO2 over 32,000km of driving, the Eindhoven team estimated. They imagine a future when filters can be emptied at charging stations.

The students are showing their vehicle on a US promotional tour to universities and companies from the East Coast to Silicon Valley.


If you are studying in the US, Volvo wants to lease you a car

                NEW YORK: Volvo is targeting foreign students studying in the United States with an offer of a new car under its international student programme.

Under the programme, students or rather their parents or sponsors need only come up with an all-inclusive one-time payment that allows the students to drive a new Volvo vehicle during their time studying in the United States.

According to a Volvo statement on Thursday, parents and students alike will have the peace of mind of not having to make monthly payments, purchase separate insurance, establish US credit, or worry about routine maintenance and service. After graduation, the student simply turn the car in to a local dealer.

Volvo Car USA sales operations vice president Rick Bryant said the programme was an example of the company making life less complicated for customers as it is "one simple payment with nothing else to worry about during their time studying in the country.”

Students enrolled at a US college or university, with a student visa and valid driver’s licence are eligible. So this programme is applicable to Malaysians as well - at least those with spare change after paying for an expensive education in the States.

Full programme details can be found at VolvoCarsForStudents.com.


World’s road fuel demand to peak earlier than expected

                NEW YORK: Demand for gasoline and diesel to fuel cars and trucks will peak in 2027 — four years earlier than expected — as more fuel-efficient autos and increasing adoption of electric vehicles curb global consumption, according to BloombergNEF.

Decline in demand for road fuel will be steepest in Europe and the US and an anticipated rise in fuel use in countries such as India and China will fail to materialise, Bloomberg’s energy data and analysis firm said in a report published July 20.

BloombergNEF, which forecast just a year ago that road fuel would peak in 2031, sees the change as bringing a significant drop in sales to those regions for fuel producers during the next decade.

The accelerated time frame comes as global automakers shift towards less-polluting vehicles while some of the world’s largest economies look to impose new rules in a bid to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in a move away from fossil fuels.

The European Union last week unveiled an ambitious climate plan that would ban new combustion-engine cars by 2035, while countries including China and the US have been pushing for greater adoption of electric vehicles.

“Policymakers are driving the automotive market toward low-carbon options and improved fuel efficiency,” BNEF said in its report. “Automakers and large fleet operators are also, in turn, aiming for long-term decarbonisation.”

World fleet

“Fuel producers with exposure to markets like the US or Europe are poised to see sales of diesel and gasoline decline significantly from current levels over the next decade,” the report said.

Improved fuel economy, a switch to electric and other power sources and ride sharing will cut into any gains in fuel consumption from an increase in driving through 2050, the report said.

Growth of ride-sharing companies including Uber and Didi will account for 36% of miles traveled by 2050, up from 4% currently, and the trend will advance the shift to EVs.

The number of passenger cars on the road worldwide will peak at 1.548 billion by 2039, a 26% increase from this year.

Freight will boom into the next decade, though cargoes will be carried by trucks that don’t depend on oil. Automakers Daimler AG, Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG will be making more electric- and fuel-cell powered trucks, BNEF said.


France plans Renault CEO hunt as board frays over Ghosn, say sources

                PARIS: The French government is seeking candidates to replace Renault’s embattled boss Carlos Ghosn (pic), sources said, as board members began to voice doubts about keeping him in office following his indictment in Japan for suspected misconduct.

At a meeting on Thursday, Renault directors were briefed on an investigation by alliance partner Nissan that led to Ghosn’s arrest last month. He was charged this week over the company’s failure to declare $43 million in deferred income he had arranged to receive.

Nissan fired Ghosn as chairman three days after his detention, but Renault has resisted pressure to dismiss him, as the scandal strains their carmaking alliance.

The Renault board on Thursday stuck by its earlier decision to keep him on, with its lead director standing in as interim chairman and deputy CEO Thierry Bollore leading operations.

In a statement issued by Renault after the meeting, the board “noted that, at this stage, it does not have information concerning Carlos Ghosn’s defence.”

During the five-hour session, however, several directors led by Cherie Blair, wife of the British former prime minister Tony Blair, began to express impatience with that position, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

“What she said, in effect, was that we can’t remain in this situation forever,” one source said of Blair. “At some point you need to move forward and move on.”

A Renault spokesman said he could not comment on board proceedings. Cherie Blair could not immediately be reached for comment.

Shortlist

French officials have already begun listing possible candidates to replace Ghosn as CEO, three sources close to the company said. Senior Toyota executive Didier Leroy will be considered, one said.

“There’s nothing official yet but the government is working on a lineup,” he said. “They’re ready to turn the page.”

A finance ministry official declined to comment. The government, Renault’s biggest shareholder with a 15 percent stake and two board seats, typically plays a major role in succession planning.

“I have no comment on speculation, and I am 100 percent concentrated on my job at Toyota,” Leroy told Reuters.

The boardroom crisis has shaken the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, with Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa calling for changes to weaken the French parent’s control.

Renault owns 43.4 percent of Nissan, whose reciprocal 15 percent stake in its French parent carries no voting rights. Nissan in turn controls Mitsubishi via a 34 percent holding.

Blair’s board intervention was echoed during the meeting by two other independent directors as well as Renault staff representatives, two sources said - with some also voicing misgivings over management’s handling of the crisis.

Board counsel

At the risk of worsening tensions, Bollore instructed Nissan to refrain from contacting Renault directors ahead of the meeting, Reuters reported on Tuesday, as the Japanese carmaker sought to share its findings.

Directors had also clashed with Renault managers over their right to hire independent board counsel with access to Nissan’s findings, two other people said.

Company attorneys answering to Mouna Sepehri - who doubles as board secretary and head of Ghosn’s CEO office - have so far declined to share the report with directors or their lawyers, citing the secrecy of the investigation.

Under French government pressure, Ghosn had been exploring a deeper tie-up or even a full merger between the alliance partners, despite strong reservations at Nissan.

Whether or not they broke the law, Ghosn’s undisclosed compensation plans - doubling his total Nissan package for the five years to March 2015 - are politically sensitive in France, where President Emmanuel Macron has been battling protests.

Defence arguments advanced by Ghosn’s lawyers and supporters have not contested the plans’ existence. His Japanese lawyer Motonari Otsuru said in a media statement that the pay agreements had not been properly ratified.

Nissan has said its whistleblower investigation also uncovered personal use of company funds and other misconduct, detailed in the report shared with Renault lawyers this week.

Renault, which launched an audit into its own payments to Ghosn after his arrest, said on Thursday its “preliminary conclusion” was that his compensation had been “in compliance with applicable law” and governance guidelines.

Ghosn and an alleged accomplice, Nissan director Greg Kelly, remain in custody and have had limited opportunity to respond to the allegations or defend themselves, particularly in public.


Huracan gets cylinder deactivation among other updates

                BOLOGNA: The Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 has been updated, with the new features focusing on efficiency, drivability and luxury.

As standard, both the Huracán coupé and newly-launched Spyder version include cylinder deactivation to improve engine efficiency; the first time this function is included in a naturally aspirated V10 engine. When full engine capacity is not required, five of the ten cylinders are temporarily deactivated by switching off one cylinder bank. When the driver accelerates, the system switches back instantaneously to ten-cylinder mode, while being virtually impossible to detect by the driver. This feature reduces fuel consumption and CO2 to 283 g/km

A fine-tuning of the electronically controlled 4WD system provides a neutral and even more improved driving behaviour, particularly in STRADA mode.

The offer in the colour an trim of the Huracán has been significantly enlarged. Interior refinements as standard include leather to door handles and the upper parts of the center console. Air vents are now painted in exclusive matt black.

Lamborghini Ad Personam, the brand’s customisation program, has also added the availability of interior personalisation, as well as exterior options including heritage colours and matt paints. The full Ad Personam program provides for owners wishing to further customise their cars to their unique personal tastes.

The options program has been further extended. New options available include Lamborghini’s Sensonum audio system. The system delivers 390 Watts RMS, with a ten-channel amplifier and a range of ten loudspeakers in hexagonal-shaped grilles and the exclusive Sensonum badge.

Lamborghini’s optional sports exhaust system, which can be specified with a style package for high gloss black tailpipes, is now available in all markets worldwide.

New LED lighting in the engine compartment can be combined with the optional transparent engine bonnet and carbon fiber engine compartment. Cruise Control can be specified, and a travel pack provides additional storage nets front and rear, an additional 12V lighter and cupholders.


Quantino EV prototype to debut in Geneva

                MUNICH: German company nanoFlowcell AG will debut a “near standard” Quantino car with nano-flowcell powertrain, which is a street-legal low-voltage electric vehicle (EV) at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

Starting its career as a mere concept vehicle in 2015, the Quantino has been completely revised.

Rated at just 48 volts and with an output of 80kW split between four electric motors, the all-wheel drive Quantino is a significant improvement on the one-fill, one-charge range achievable with EVs.

Meanwhile, another car is the Quant FE which is a thoroughbred sports car with a coupe-ish 2+2 design, whose nano-flowcell powertrain aligns with its sporty DNA.

About 801kW accelerates this electric street racer from 0 to 100 km/h in a fleeting 2.8 seconds.

The E in the name Quant FE stands for Evolution.


2017 Peugeot 308 for UK market is the boldest yet

                LONDON: The latest Peugeot 308 is the boldest and most high-tech model yet.

Available for delivery in the UK from September onwards, the new-generation 308 features sleek exterior cues with an assertive new vertical grille and LED daytime running lights (DRLs) for all models.

Inside, the integration of PEUGEOT’s i-Cockpit interior layout means owners can enjoy a capacitive touchscreen, offering connected 3D satnav and new graphics.

Meanwhile, under the skin, there is a new 1.5 BlueHDi 130 Stop&Start engine and a new eight-speed automatic transmission coupled with the BlueHDi 180 Stop&Start engine.

Design-led changes include a new front bumper with three generous lower grille openings, to ensure effective engine cooling, while the rear lamps show a proud three-claw light signature night and day.

The new 308 is the first PSA Group model to get the new BlueHDi 130 S&S Diesel engine.

The BlueHDi 180 Stop&Start Diesel engine, exclusive to the new 308 GT, is available with a new-generation EAT8 automatic transmission, which has been developed with Japanese specialists Aisin.

A new eight-speed unit featuring slick, smooth, linear response, plus Stop&Start capability from 12mph.

David Peel, managing director at Peugeot UK, commented: “Across the board, we’ve enhanced the 308’s unique personality with a strong and high-tech look, and that feeling has been applied inside too with features such as the i-Cockpit bringing seamless connectivity, as well as driver assistance systems that help to take the stress out of driving."


Dec 1-7: RON97 petrol down 10 sen

                KUALA LUMPUR: The retail price of RON97 petrol will drop by 10 sen from RM3.95 to RM3.85 per litre, while those of RON95 and diesel will remain unchanged for the week from Dec 1 to 7.

The Finance Ministry, in a statement today, said the ceiling price of RON95 and diesel would remain at RM2.05 and RM2.15 per litre respectively even though the market price of the two products has increased beyond the current ceiling price.

However, according to the ministry, the retail price of RON97 has been reduced in line with the movement in the market price.

It said the prices were set based on the weekly retail prices of petroleum products using the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM) formula.

"The government will continue to monitor the trends of global crude oil prices and take appropriate measures to ensure the continued welfare and well-being of the people,” it said.


Piaggio, KTM, Honda and Yamaha set up swappable batteries consortium

Taiwan's Kymco is already using swappable batteries for electric scooters and motorcycles.
MILAN: Italian scooter maker Piaggio said today it had set up a consortium with Honda Motor Co., KTM AG and Yamaha Motor Co. to encourage the use of swappable batteries for electric motorcycles and light electric vehicles.

The Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) aims to broaden the use of light electric vehicles, such as scooters, mopeds and motorcycles, and support a more sustainable management of their batteries, a joint statement said.

It will focus on issues such as battery life, recharging times, infrastructure and costs and will work on defining international standard technical specifications for swappable batteries.

READ MORE:  Kymco offers world's first personalised battery swapping service for two-wheelers

The companies in the consortium said they welcomed others joining them to extend standards to as many companies as possible.

"Urban mobility is going through a delicate transition moment towards electrification. Thanks to this consortium motorbikes will keep their key role," Piaggio chief of strategy and product Michele Colaninno said.

Honda's Motorcycle operations chief officer Yoshishige Nomura said the consortium's objectives aimed to make electric motorbikes more convenient for clients, as their "use on large scale can substantially contribute to the creation of a more sustainable society".


Register for Road Charges or be barred, motorists told

                GELANG PATAH: Singapore-registered vehicles that aren’t registered under the Road Charges (RC) with the Road Transport Department (JPJ) before Sept 1 will be turned away from entering Malaysia.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the mandatory online registration applied to all private vehicles, public buses, taxis, goods vehicles as well as diplomatic cars.

He said the registration would start on Aug 15 and vehicle owners had to pay RM10 for the RC, which is valid for five years.

“By having the system, we will have a clearer picture on the number of foreign vehicles entering Johor Baru through the Causeway and the Second Link Crossing here,” Abdul Aziz said after a visit to the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex in Tanjung Kupang here yesterday.

Abdul Aziz said reading of the RC would be done via the Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) and the JPJ and the police could detect Singapore motorists who had outstanding road summonses in the country or whether the vehicles were stolen from the republic into Malaysia.

He said the RM20 fee of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) for foreign vehicles would start on Oct 1, instead of Sept 1, as announced earlier.


Litrak and MOF Inc extend cut-off date over highway takeover talks to Oct 31

                KUALA LUMPUR: Tolled-highway operator Litrak Holdings Bhd and the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) have mutually agreed to extend the cut-off date to negotiate and finalise the terms of the acquisition from Aug 30 to Oct 31.

Litrak Holdings said on Thursday MOF Inc and Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Holdings Sdn Bhd (Sprint Holdings), a 50% associate of Litrak Holdings, have also mutually agreed to extend the cut-off date to Oct 31.

“Save for the aforementioned extensions, all other terms contained in the offers shall continue to be in full force and effect, ” it said.

To recap, the company announced on June 21 that it had received a letter of offer from MOF Inc to acquire all the shares of its unit, Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Litrak).

On June 22, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the federal government had made a conditional offer, subject to Cabinet approval, to acquire Gamuda Bhd's four urban highways highways at a total cost of RM6.2bil.

They are Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), SPRINT, Lebuhraya Shah Alam (Kesas) and Smart Tunnel (SMART).

Gamuda Bhd owns a 44% stake in Litrak, a 52% stake in Sprint, a 70% stake in Kesas and a 50% stake in SMART.

The proposed takeover, Lim then said, would be funded by a bond issuance that was fully-financed and paid for from the collection of congestion charges. The takeover could save taxpayers RM5.3bil in compensation to the concessionaires, Lim had said.

However, in early August, there was uncertainty about the proposed takeover of Gamuda's four urban highways.

It was reported that although the Finance Ministry has been consistent in its view that the government could afford the RM6.2bil deal, there have been comments by the Prime Minister that the government did not have the money to pay for it.

Ever since the deal was announced in June, there have been conflicting opinions on the status of the takeover.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said in early August that: "The Finance Ministry seems to be convinced that it can be done. Our problem is that we don't have the money.”


Honda researching ways to upcycle used EV batteries

                COLUMBUS (Ohio): As battery electric vehicles are growing in popularity among automotive manufacturers as a result of increasingly stringent emissions standards, companies are faced with the challenge of disposing used but still chemical-rich batteries once they reach the end of their lives powering EVs.

Honda announced on Wednesday that it is researching ways to give worn batteries a second life by possibly integrating them into the electric grid system.

Every day, lithium batteries move one step closer to becoming the automotive powertrain norm as manufacturers across the world work to reduce the amount of vehicle-produced CO2 emissions. As the demand for BEVs increase among consumers, so will the amount of exhausted batteries that have lost their capability to power cars.

In most cases, car batteries are simply destroyed within recycling plants, but Honda is researching ways to upcycle vehicle batteries to provide them with a second life.

READ MORE: VW to turn used Li-ion batteries into power banks

Primarily, the company is working on a way to integrate the worn batteries into the American Electric Power's electricity system as a storage solution for the power grid.

In fact, "The increasing volume of EVs has the potential to strain the power grid, including spikes in demand during early evening hours when drivers plug in their EVs after work," so adding more places to store power will help the energy provider meet consumer demand.

This project complements Honda's goal to reduce CO2 emissions from both its vehicles and operations by 2050 compared to 2000.

Nissan, too, has been experimenting with methods of reusing vehicle batteries once they're no longer viable power sources for EVs. In January, the company announced the NV300 concept van which doubles as a portable wood workshop whose tools can be powered by a recycled BEV battery.

In February, Nissan also revealed a second camper concept that uses old car batteries to power "‘off-grid' adventures."

If such projects come to fruition not only will they assist in reducing CO2 emissions, but also improve the overall value of electric vehicles.


WATCH: Takeaways on CKD Proton X70

                PETALING JAYA: The newly launched X70 is now locally assembled at Proton's Tanjung Malim plant.

The latest X70 arrives a little over a year after the fully imported model was shipped in from China.

Not only is the Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) model priced lower, its features and amenities have been upgraded to make it even more attractive to buyers.

The price-feature combo was also designed to keep Proton competitors at bay notably Honda, Mazda and Subaru.

The X70 is now retailed at RM94,800 (Standard); RM106,800 (Executive); RM119,800 (Premium) and RM122,800 (Premium X). This makes the CKD X70 cheaper by RM1,000 to RM5,000, depending on the variant. The lower price tags are due to tax breaks the 1.8-litre turbocharged five-seater SUV gets as a result of being locally assembled.

CarSifu writers Jay Wong and Rizal Johan meet up to tell you more about the winning Proton proposition.