Fun served cold: Ice track driving with Volvo

                Extreme cold is not a feeling that hits home until you experience it in all its naked brutality.

One place that delivers it in spades is Kiruna. It’s a small Swedish town with less than 25,000 inhabitants.

The place — famous for having the world’s largest underground iron ore mine and a vantage point to see the Northern Lights — lies in the Arctic Circle and winter in February can drop average daily temperatures to as low as -16 degree Celsius at night.

It’s a totally alien environment for Malaysians used to the muggy climes of home.

We arrived there two weeks ago on a chartered flight from Gothenburg.

The mission? To get a few hours of drive time on ice — courtesy of Volvo Cars.

The Swedish carmaker had laid out a fleet of nine fully electric XC40 and C40 for us and a media group from India to sample. Both models are already on sale in Malaysia by the way.

Togged up in thick winter clothing, the bunch of us were directed to drive the compact SUVs around a slalom course on a track carved out of Sautusjarvi, a vast inland lake that freezes up in winter.

The track marked out a path where the ice was thick enough to support the weight of vehicles, and we were instructed not to stray from the beaten path lest we hit thin ice — and trouble.

Both the XC40 and C40 were Recharge Twin models, with an electric motor at each end for an AWD configuration. Coupled with studded winter tyres, it made for vehicles with better traction on snow and ice-covered roads.

A 78kWh lithium-ion battery on the floor powers up the motors that provide a combined 408hp and 660Nm of torque. Power is equally split between the front and rear axles.

For all intents and purposes, the C40 and XC40 are the same vehicle below the beltline, being based on the same platform and powertrain.

While the XC40 has a more upright stance, the C40 has a lower coupe roofline that looks sleek but unfortunately limits rearward vision.

Plus the C40 has less boot space and its panoramic sunroof doesn’t have a sliding cover to keep the sun out. Both models use premium materials in the cabin and the C40 stands out for being the first leather-free Volvo.

The SUVs available to the press were the ones before Volvo announced in January it had upgraded the electric motors and battery for better efficiency and more range.

The C40 marks the company’s next chapter in its electrification journey and comes after the all-electric XC40 that was introduced earlier. Volvo aims to sell only pure electric cars by 2030.

Unlike many vehicles, the XC40 and C40’s Electronic Stability Control (ESC) cannot be turned off — part of Volvo’s safety mantra. It can only be switched to ESC Sport mode.

In this mode, intervention from the system is held back and the car is allowed to skid more and greater control than normal is transferred to the driver.

ESC Sport mode also provides more traction even if the car has become bogged down or is driving on a loose surface, such as in deep snow or sand.

Ice driving is all about car control and recovering (quickly) from the twin challenges of understeer and oversteer.

And in the Volvo ice experience, we got re-acquainted with the concept, which also served as a crash course for those grappling with a sliding car for the first time.

Understeer is a situation when the car loses traction at the front end. To recover, the driver needs to transfer weight to the front tyres to help them turn. This is achieved by lifting off the accelerator or braking to transfer weight to help the wheels turn in the right direction.

Oversteer is when the car loses traction at the rear end and could even be desirable such as in a drift or power slide.

To stop it, the driver needs to look far ahead at where he wants the rotating car to go and the hands will follow automatically. At the same time, he also needs to turn the steering wheel so the wheels are pointing where he wants to go.

Easing up on the throttle and brakes and a rapid yet precise steering of the wheel would catch the skid and neutralise it.

As our group comprised drivers with widely differing driving skills, Volvo played it safe by putting on two levels of a slalom course — one with a tighter turn and the other, wider. So no rally flicks or high-speed driving on the slippery surface.

The interesting bit about a slalom is it calls upon a driver to master the pendulum turn in order to weave in and out without hitting the poles.

It’s an acquired skill that comes in useful in going fast around tight turns as well.

The process begins as the driver lifts off the power and turns into the corner, tapping on the brake to transfer weight to the front.

When the rear loses traction, inducing a pendulum effect, he steps on the power and repeats the process in the next corner.

If done right — with dogged practice — it’s all good fun and makes for better driving skills.

It was certainly entertaining as we weaved around the poles at speeds below 50kph, churning up a cloud of snow and ice.

The front safety belts in both Volvos tightened almost painfully against the body when they sensed excessive sideway motion and eased up on the pre-tensioning when the danger was over.

The C40 and XC40’s active safety system, comprising an array of radars, cameras, and ultrasonic sensors, work in tandem with driver input to keep the playing field safe.

At the start of the ice track drive, Volvo reminded everyone that a slippery road required a longer braking distance, underscoring it with a C40 going at 50kph taking 50m to come to a stop.

Three days earlier, the Gothenburg leg saw an idyllic convoy drive in the dual motor C40 through a mix of highways and byways with a stopover for fika (coffee break), a Swedish national pastime.

With a 450km range and a drive averaging 80kph, there was never any doubt we would ever run out of juice in the suburban run from the Volvo base and back.

With elevated seats that were spacious and comfortable, the C40 afforded a firm ride and confident handling. Acceleration was brisk when catching up with the lead car.

Noise from the studded winter tyres was audible at low speed but faded away on picking up pace.

All in all, the Swedish experience was memorable for the chance to try out Volvo’s all-electric cars in its icy backyard, and gained some perspective from its top executives.

The latter part, as they say, will be a story for another day.

READ MORE: Volvo EX90 takes safety to next level

KirunaGothenburg


Jan 12-18: Fuel prices unchanged

                KUALA LUMPUR: The retail prices of RON97 and RON95 petrol, and diesel will remain unchanged for the Jan 12-18 period.

The Finance Ministry said today that RON97 petrol remains at RM3.35 per litre, RON95 (RM2.05) and diesel (RM2.15).

"To protect consumers from the effects of a rise in global oil prices, the government has maintained RON95 petrol at the ceiling price of RM2.05 per litre and diesel at RM2.15 per litre although the retail prices of the two products have exceeded the set ceiling prices," it said.

The weekly retail prices are set based on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism formula.


Renault CEO pushes on with electric split as Russia bill looms, say sources

                PARIS: Renault chief Luca de Meo wants to press ahead with plans to create separate divisions for electric (EV) and combustion engine vehicles despite potentially costly uncertainty over its interests in Russia, say three sources.

Playing catch-up with rivals like Tesla and Volkswagen the French automaker first outlined its strategy shift in February, days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying its turnaround plan was ahead of schedule.

An internal assessment on progress will be made in three months, two of the sources said. The Renault group's top selling EVs are the Dacia Spring and the Renault Zoe - long a market leader but becoming an ageing model.

"Despite the Russian x-factor, Luca de Meo wants to move quickly on the creation of the two entities," said one of the sources.

Several working groups are working on the creation of two separate legal structures, codenamed "Ampere" for the electric and "Horse" for the thermal and hybrid assets, two of the three sources said.

Renault declined to comment.

The war in Ukraine has resulted in Western powers imposing extensive sanctions against Russia, leaving Renault, majority owner of Russia's biggest carmaker Avtovaz, faced with what de Meo has called a "very complex situation."

Potential costs

Renault in late March said it would cut its forecast for operating profit and cash flow and is considering a €2.3 billion (RM10.6bil) non-cash writedown to reflect the potential costs of suspending operations in Russia.

According to the three sources, Renault plans to make progress on the split between electric and conventional engines within the next three months.

An internal assessment of the progress made is due in July, two of the sources said.

Talks with unions should start by the summer, the third source said.

The growing preference among investment managers for companies focused on low-carbon technology has helped Tesla become the world's highest-valued automaker, and led some investors and analysts to urge other carmakers to consider separating their combustion and electric businesses.

One of the sources said Renault is still pursuing a previously announced plan under which a "pure electric entity" could be based in France, while a separate one for combustion engine and hybrids could be based abroad and open to partnerships.

Several media outlets reported this week that management had told analysts that all options were open regarding the envisaged split, including a stock market listing of the electric part.


Over one-third of car sales influenced by children

                LONDON: According to a new study by car sales and comparison publication and web service Auto Trader, 78% of parents surveyed claim that their offspring pressured them into buying a new car and that for 37%, the kids then went on to have a say in what type of car mommy and daddy ended up coming home with.

The study of 1,000 British parents and children found that dads (39%) are more susceptible to pressure than moms (33%) and that when turning on the charm or throwing a car-focused tantrum, kids are most likely to get their own way (26%) when it comes to deciding on the car's colour.

Kids also managed 13% of cases to influence comfort levels and almost one in ten parents said that their children played a part in selecting the in-car entertainment kit.

"A substantial amount of research has been done looking at how the decision of the car buyer can be influenced and at what stage in the buying journey," said Nathan Coe of Auto Trader, "but few have really considered the role that children play, or the influence of pester power. If one of the kids doesn't like the shape or colour of your next car, or it doesn't come with plug-in for an iPad, then you'd better be prepared for some serious pestering!"


Toyota Fortuner updated

                SHAH ALAM: UMW Toyota has provided its full-sized Toyota Fortuner sport utility vehicle (SUV) with a number of styling updates along with the addition of new optional accessories and two new colours.

The Fortuner 2.5G (diesel) and 2.7V (petrol) are both priced on-the-road with insurance at RM172,122.20, while the TRD Sportivo variants costs RM175,580.20 and RM179,841.30 respectively.

For this year, the changes include a dark bezel for the redesigned headlamps and rear combination lamps, integrated LED daytime running lights, two new colours of Attitude Black and Grey Metallic and black woodgrain for the 2.7V.

UMW Toyota has also included a new seven-inch touchscreen DVD audio-video navigation (DVD-AVN) system with a reverse camera as an added option.

The system comes included with other capabilities such as air gestures, voice recognition and navigation maps for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Android or iOS-based smartphones are able to interface with the head unit via WiFi and ‘surf’ the internet with an in-built browser application.

Bluetooth connectivity has also been included, which provides wireless music streaming and hands-free calls.

A HDMI port (for selected smartphones) has also been included as well as Miracast, which allows screen mirroring of supported applications such as Waze or Google Maps.

Entertainment can also be extended to the back with the optional Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE) System - either as a ceiling-mounted monitor with an integrated DVD player or a lone monitor that interfaces with the DVD-AVN system.

Last but not least, a portable tyre pump has also been included in the list of optional accessories to help re-inflate a tyre - regardless of it being at home or at a remote location.

The Toyota Fortuner comes with a three-year or 100,000km warranty (whichever comes first).


McLaren dresses 570S Spider in Vermillion Red for V-Day

                LONDON: For the incurably romantic, McLaren has commissioned a special one-of-a-kind 570S Spider Vermillion Red paint job just for Valentine's Day that's going on sale in the United States on Feb 14 and it's already been spoken for.

The hand-built two-seater supercar from Wokin, England, features a combination of Apex Red and Jet Black Nappa Leathers as well as Carbon Black Alcantara trim material before being complemented by carbon fibre components on the doors and centre tunnel for its cabin.

There are more individualised parts by McLaren Special Operations (MSO), which includes carbon fibre extended sill finishers, Indian Red seatbelts and a steering wheel with Apex Red leather trim completing the St Valentine’s Day look inside the car.

The sophisticated cabin blends exceptional levels of craftsmanship, quality and technology, hand-stitched leathers sitting side-by-side with a 10-inch TFT main instrument cluster and centrally-mounted, 7.0-inch IRIS touchscreen through which climate control and infotainment are managed.

Outside, its red for the brake calipers and personalised ‘Color Edition’ P ZERO tyres from Pirelli.

The aluminium bodywork shrink-wrapped over the mechanical package gives the 570S Spider an athletic appearance, with instantly recognisable McLaren styling cues such as a teardrop-shaped cabin; unique-in-class dihedral doors; and distinctive front and rear LED lighting and daytime running lights in distinct Speedmark badge.

The two-piece retractable hardtop is constructed of lightweight composite panels that are significantly more weather- and fade-resistant than fabric.

The roof is in optional Dark Palladium grey rather than body colour that can be stowed beneath the carbon fibre tonneau cover thanks to the ingenuity of the MSO Defined that allows  the convertible roof top be electrically operated and can be opened or closed in 15 seconds while at vehicle speeds of up to 40kph.

Furthermore, the one-off 570S Spider features numerous exterior carbon fibre body enhancements from the MSO Defined range of options, including door inserts, front splitter, rear deck, rear bumper and rear spoiler.

While the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine allows the 570S Spider to accelerate from 0 to 100kph in 3.2 seconds, it has has a top speed of 330kph or 1317kph with the roof down.

With the roof down, a glazed wind deflector can be electrically closed or lowered at the push of a button, providing further versatility by reducing wind-buffeting or by allowing additional sound and fresh air into the cabin with just the glass lowered.


Ford takes Fiesta upmarket to lift profitability

                DETROIT: Ford wants to raise profitability in Europe by adding higher-margin versions of the Fiesta subcompact, its best-selling regional model, the carmaker's top European executive said.

High-volume carmakers such as Ford have for several years been squeezed in a downmarket expansion by luxury rivals including Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen's Audi.

But Ford, which already targets premium buyers with higher-end versions of some of its larger cars under the Vignale label, now wants to take further advantage of that opportunity too.

The next-generation Fiesta, unveiled late on Tuesday in front of 2,500 staff, dealers and reporters at its Cologne plant, will come with advanced safety features and cater to more customers with new crossover and upscale variants.

"Having that kind of special feeling in a mainstream product is where the market is going and where Ford as a brand needs to go to make money in Europe," Ford Europe CEO Jim Farley told Reuters. "We don't want to build commodities anymore."

But Farley declined to say what contribution to profitability the new Fiesta may make. Ford has sold more than 17 million Fiestas globally since the first version came to market in 1976.

Benefiting from costs cuts and growing sales of higher-margin SUVs, Ford may increase profit in Europe to around US$1 billion this year, on a par with its nine-month gain in the region and up from US$259 million last year, a spokesman said.

Farley noted a full-year profit target of US$600 million had already been exceeded in June.

Ford has also positioned the 10,000-euro (US$10,644.00) Ka+ city car below the Fiesta's base model to target budget customers, Farley said.

Still, it remains to be seen whether new offerings for the redesigned Fiesta and other models will give Ford an edge in the crowded European market.

Ford sales in Europe may decline 5.2 percent to 1.4 million vehicles by 2025 from an estimated 1.47 million this year, compared with a 2 percent drop at General Motors' Opel division to 1.14 million and a 4.6 percent gain to 2.16 million for the VW brand, according to IHS Markit.

Separately, Ford chief executive Mark Fields said the carmaker will start testing its autonomous vehicles in Europe next year. Ford has said it plans to offer a mass-market fully autonomous car by 2021.


Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport tests at Hockenheimring

                HOCKENHEIM (Germany): The Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport hypercar takes a trip to one of Germany's oldest race tracks - Hockenheimring.

Featuring six left-hand corners, 11 right-handers and six straight aways throughout the 4.57km route, this is where the Chiron Pur Sport showed off its prowess to journalists and customers.

Engineers from the French high-performance luxury automobile manufacturer and a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG were able to tweak the Chiron Pur Sport with added agility, handling and driving performance.

The 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine with 1,500PS and 1,600Nm of torque is now able to rev 200rpm higher compared to the stock engine.

Power is managed by a revised gearbox that has been equipped with 15%-shorter gear ratios.

This allows the Italian hypercar to sprint from 0 to 100kph in 2.3 seconds - 0.1 seconds faster than the stock Chiron.

Racing from 0 to 200kph will only take a mere 5.5 seconds instead of the usual 6.1 seconds and the 300kph mark will only take 12 seconds from standstill over the usual 13.1 seconds.

Bugatti says that it took them more than 18 months with over 50,000km of testing to get it where it is.

The result is "more" in terms of grip due to mechanical and aerodynamic improvements for added agility in lateral acceleration.

Limited to just 60 units worldwide, the Chiron Pur Sport is being built in Molsheim, France and has been priced at 3.0mil euros (RM14.8mil).

“The technical specifications are far more than just numbers. Bugatti customers need to experience them to fully understand the incredible acceleration force," said Bugatti president Stephan Winkelmann.

“Customers absolutely must experience this unbelievable power and lateral dynamics on a race track. However, it is not designed just as a pure race car, it offers a great deal of comfort, luxury and everyday usability alongside its tremendous power," added Winkelmann.


Hyundai KONA Electric enters Guinness World Records

                PETALING JAYA: The Hyundai Kona has set a Guinness World Record as it was driven to an altitude of 5,731 metres to Sawula Pass in Tibet and comfortably breaking the previous record of 5,715.28 metres altitude by any electric car.

With this feat, Hyundai said the Kona Electric has proven itself as a reliable electric vehicle in extreme conditions. It had endured harsh weather conditions like low temperatures, continuous snowfall and icy tarmacs.

“The Kona Electric is a tech icon and the new normal as it is the first long range green SUV with 452km per charge enhancing Indian customer confidence towards electric mobility," said Hyundai Motor India managing director/CEO S.S. Kim.

To avoid range anxiety, customers are provided with two chargers along with the car – a portable charger and an AC wall box charger.


Hap Seng company appointed first Smart dealer in Malaysia

                SUBANG JAYA: Smart distributor Proton New Energy Technology Sdn. Bhd. (PRO-NET) has appointed its first dealer ahead of the launch of the smart #1 by the end of 2023.

Hap Seng Smart Sdn Bhd, part of the Hap Seng Group, also deals in Mercedes-Benz. It will open its first Smart showroom in the fourth quarter at Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur followed by another in Balakong, Selangor.

PRO-NET said more dealers would be announced soon.

Apart from getting new dealers, PRO-NET would also set up smart Brand Centres or smart Spaces to enagage with customers and the public.

 Behrend (third from right) and Zhang Qiang (far right) at the smart authorised dealership appointment ceremony recently. With them are PRO-NET and Hap Seng officials.

Hap Seng Smart is expected to leverage on the technical expertise of the parent company, Hap Seng Group which has established a foothold as one of the leading automotive dealers in Malaysia with over
50 years of history in automotive retailing.

"The new dealership marks PRO-NET’s entry into the premium retail automotive market, as well as the latest EV market in Malaysia,” said PRO-NET CEO Zhang Qiang.

“This partnership between Hap Seng Group through Hap Seng Smart and PRO-NET reflects not only our confidence in smart’s universal appeal but also shows our commitment to promote a low-carbon mobility future in Malaysia,” said Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd Group chief operating officer and Hap Seng Automotive Division chief executive Harald Behrend.

PRO-NET is the official importer and distributor of smart vehicles in Malaysia and Thailand.


Jakarta's ill-famed traffic grief to residents but boon for some

                JAKARTA:  Jakarta's traffic jams are a constant vexation for the city's 10 million residents. With the chaos not looking to abate anytime soon, entrepreneurial types have made it their business to help fellow commuters circumvent the world's worst gridlock.

Commuters spend three to four hours a day in their cars on Jakarta's roads, a situation which Indonesian businessman Nadiem Makarim described as a huge waste of productivity. The average speed of traffic is 8.3kph, slower than a runner of average fitness covering the same distance in a race.

Yet the Indonesian capital's glaring inefficiencies have also created opportunities for the likes of Makarim, who has launched a smartphone app that lets users summon a motorbike rider to weave them quickly through gridlocked traffic, deliver a meal or even get the shopping.

 GO-JEK providing a riding service.

Since the launch of the app in January, the number of distinctive, green-jacketed drivers on its books has jumped tenfold to 10,000. The app itself has been downloaded nearly 400,000 times in six months - a national record.

"I created GO-JEK because I really needed it," Makarim told Reuters this week in Jakarta on the sidelines of the annual New Cities Summit, where over 800 CEOs, mayors, thinkers, artists and innovators met to discuss urban change.

Jakarta's congestions are one of the biggest brakes on economic growth. Officials say the traffic - adjudged recently by motor-oil firm Castrol to be the world's worst based on an analysis of stopping and starting by drivers - costs the economy about 65 trillion rupiah, or nearly US$5 billion, a year.

A slump in infrastructure investment after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, problems freeing up land for development, turf wars between city departments, and poor planning all means Jakarta's public transport cannot cope with the numbers of people moving about the city.

The city's population is growing by 120,000 a year partly due to rural-urban migration, putting enormous pressure on already-stretched infrastructure such as transport.

With an average annual income of around US$3,800 per head, five times the national average, migrants are pouring into Jakarta seeking a better life than would be possible as farmers or fishermen.

"This accelerating urbanisation is largely an Asian story," said John Rossant, chairman of the New Cities Foundation.

"There's been nothing like this in human history."

Traffic-navigation app Waze is another big hit with Jakarta residents, who use it to identify the speediest routes through the congestion and to alert other users to accidents, floods and even greasy-palmed police officers standing on street corners.

"Jakarta is indeed a huge market for us," said Waze spokesman Julie Mossler. The city ranks regularly within the top 10 of Waze's 200 world markets, with 800,000 users.

Inefficiency also creates opportunities of a more low-tech order.

At the edge of the city centre, roadside "jockeys" rent themselves out as passengers for 20,000 rupiah ($1.50) to drivers seeking to dodge a 3-in-1 rule prohibiting cars with fewer than three people from main roads during peak hours.

Amid the palls of exhaust fumes at clogged junctions, freelance traffic conductors battle to keep cars flowing for loose change handed through windows by frazzled drivers.

Minimarts offering commuters a spot to eat, drink and browse the Internet while waiting for the rush-hour traffic to clear are also thriving.

The city is now investing in better public transport.

Construction of a mass rapid transit system began in 2013, after decades of delay, and is slated to open in 2018.
But, with at least 1,000 new cars and motorbikes added to the city's roads every day, entrepreneurs don't see an immediate threat to their business models.

"I would happily shut down GO-JEK if Jakarta could solve its traffic problems," said Makarim. "Unfortunately it's virtually impossible to solve in the next 10 years."


US judge may tap Feinberg to run US$1bil Takata compensation fund

Feinberg. — Bloomberg
WASHINGTON: A federal judge may tap attorney and longtime compensation adviser Kenneth Feinberg to oversee claims for nearly USUS$1 billion that Takata Corp will pay out to victims of defective air bag inflators linked to numerous deaths and injuries, court officials said on Monday.

In April, US district judge George Caram Steeh said he planned to name former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller to oversee the Takata settlement funds. But Mueller resigned from his law firm last month to head the Justice Department's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and told Steeh he could no longer accept the Takata assignment.

Takata, which is based in Tokyo, is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers. It pleaded guilty in February in federal court in Detroit to fraud charges as part of a settlement agreement with the US government over massive recalls stemming from the faulty air bag inflators.

The devices can explode with excessive force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. They have been blamed for at least 16 deaths and more than 180 injuries worldwide.

The Takata settlement includes a US$25 million criminal fine, US$125 million in victim compensation and US$850 million to compensate automakers who have suffered losses from massive recalls.

The Justice Department in January recommended Feinberg to oversee the Takata settlement payout. A specialist in mediation and dispute resolution, he previously oversaw the Sept 11 attacks compensation fund, the BP oil spill fund and compensation paid by General Motors Co to victims of its faulty ignition switches.

Feinberg said Monday he had not spoken recently to Judge Steeh and was unaware of any decision on who will serve as the monitor. Steeh has made no final decision on who will serve as monitor following Mueller's withdrawal, his office said Monday.

"Bob Mueller took an extraordinary monetary loss to drop this assignment and willingly gave up fees that would have amounted to millions of dollars to accept the Justice Department's Special Counsel appointment," Steeh said in a statement.

Inflator recalls began around 2008 and involve around 100 million inflators around the world used in vehicles made by 19 automakers, including Honda Motor Co, Volkswagen AG and GM.

Takata is seeking financial backers as it faces potentially billions of dollars in recall-associated costs.


Public Bank and Perodua ink deal on financing facilities

Chang (second from left) and Rozman (second from right) showing their MoC documents. Looking on are (third from left) Dr Tay and Zainal Abidin (third from right).
KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd and Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd (Perodua) have signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) to provide financing facilities to Perodua authorised dealers to extend wholesome financial products and services.

Present at the ceremony last week were Public Bank managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Tay Ah Lek, its deputy chief executive officer Datuk Chang Kat Kiam, Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad, its chief operating officer JH Rozman Jaafar and other senior management staff of both companies.

The collaboration with Perodua will enable Public Bank to interface and facilitate digitalisation via online submission of hire purchase end-financing applications to the bank including uploading of basic application documents and tracking of application status.

Dr Tay said Perodua is also Malaysia’s first and biggest Energy-Efficient Vehicle (EEV) manufacturer and that supporting the growth of the EEV industry is a key pillar of the bank's climate agenda.

He said Public Bank had mobilised over RM30bil in domestic EEV financing by the end of 2022.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the growth of the EEV industry, Public Bank has increased its EEV lending target from RM25bil to RM33bil by 2025,” he said.

He also said the strong synergistic potential where Public Bank and Perodua could continue to work together, in not only growing their respective businesses, but also contributing positively toward ESG initiatives for the betterment of society and the world.

Zainal Abidin Ahmad said the three-pronged deal addresses the need for the current and future Perodua activities.

“I hope this collaboration will further elevate our respective organisations to greater heights,” he said.


AIRBAG RECALL: Toyota and Lexus in Malaysia unaffected - except one

                SHAH ALAM: Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) today announced a global recall campaign for certain Toyota and Lexus models for rectification of an airbag system issue.

The recall is for models which are equipped with side Curtain Shield Airbags (CSA).

Due to improper programing of the airbag system in the Airbag Sensor Assembly (airbag control module), the CSAs situated on either side of the cabin may deploy and the seatbelt pre-tensioners activated under certain conditions while the vehicle is stationary.

Unexpected activation of the CSAs could increase the risk of minor injury to the occupant/occupants.

TMC is currently preparing the necessary remedial parts, which will be shipped to authorised distributors worldwide.

A Special Service Campaign will be announced when the parts are available.

In Malaysia, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd has been informed by TMC that no Toyota vehicles are affected by the recall campaign as all units officially imported and sold in Malaysia are not fitted with CSAs.

TMC has confirmed that only one unit – a Lexus LX470 – is to be recalled and the owner of the vehicle will be contacted on the matter by Lexus Malaysia.

Other Lexus models sold by the company are not affected.

Toyota and Lexus owners in Malaysia who require more information on this matter may call the Toyota free-phone at 1800-8-TOYOTA (869682).


Perodua starts designing and developing own car

                KUALA LUMPUR: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is working on expanding its research and development team to design and develop its own vehicles.

For a start, Perodua would have more involvement in designing the upper body of its upcoming sedan car.

“Based on our more than 20 years of partnership, Daihatsu has allowed Perodua to be more involved in the design and development of our vehicles.

“In this process there has been transfer of technical and engineering knowledge as well as transfer of technologies,” Perodua executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh told StarBiz.

Daihatsu is one of Perodua’s major shareholders with a 20% stake and is also the latter’s technology and technical partner.

“We would like to leverage on Daihatsu’s more than 100 years of experience in the automotive industry to remain relevant and competitive,” he said.

Despite the big step in designing its own upper body part for its upcoming sedan car, Aminar said that Perodua would continue to share platform with Daihatsu and use Daihatsu’s engines and transmission based on existing and new technologies in future.

According to Aminar, who was at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, the sedan will have an upper body designed by Perodua’s team and the remainder of the car such as the engine and platform will still be from Daihatsu.

The automotive sector for this year is expected to record lower sales than last year, despite aggressive promotional campaigns.

Perodua admits that the company is facing margin compression from its promotional campaign although the Perodua Axia variants are selling like hot cakes.

It has been reported that the total industry volume for automotives this year will probably hit a lower figure than last year’s 666,465 units.

Despite the bullish sales figure, Perodua is poised to hit its own target of 208,000 units.

Up to September, the company had sold 157,527 units, which is 12% higher than 140,317 units recorded in the same period last year backed by strong Perodua Axia sales.

To further strengthen its market share in Malaysia, Perodua has hinted to introduce new models from Daihatsu’s existing models.

“New product launches as well as launches of enhancement to existing product line-ups are planned mid-term to long-term.

“Actual launch dates will depend on many factors such as launch strategy, market condition, competitors’ movement and resources planning,” Aminar said.

Meanwhile, Daihatsu Motor Company Ltd senior managing executive officer, Shigeharu Toda said that Daihatsu would be involved in the engineering part of the car.

“Having the car’s upper body part designed by Perodua will create a better product that suits the Malaysian market,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Tokyo Motor Show.

The 2015 Tokyo Motor Show was full of cars and sensational concept vehicles that would shape the future of driving.

While many Japanese car brands have displayed some really impressive high performance concepts cars, Daihatsu, one of the oldest Japanese carmakers, has taken its expertise in small-sized automobiles to another level.

One of four concept cars revealed by Daihatsu is stretching its concept of accessibility with its “Nori Ori” concept, directly translated as “getting in and out.”

The car has a low-floor, two-way access doors that can open widely and an electric ramp enables easy access for wheelchair and even strollers.

Its cabin has ample space to fit two unfolded wheelchairs.

Another eye-catching concept car is the D-base, which according to Daihatsu embodies its next generation compact cars.

Notably, the Mira has been long a base for Perodua models such as Kancil and Viva.

Daihatsu also introduced commercial compact vehicles, the Tempo concept car, which looks like a mini food truck equipped with a sales counter.

It is about 1,995 mm in height and could pass as a passenger car.

Daihatsu has also brought the 2015 Daihatsu Copen Cero, Daihatsu Move Custom and Daihatsu Tanto Welcome Seat to the Tokyo Motor Show.

The Copen model is a two-door roadster with an aluminium retractable hardtop.

Already in its third generation, the Copen model is powered by a 660cc turbocharged three-cylinder engine.

So would this cool looking roadster hit the Malaysia market soon?

At the current exchange rate, the Daihatsu Copen Cero costs between RM60,000 and RM67,000 before tax.

One of the most interesting features about the new-gen Daihatsu Copen is its removable resin body panels, which allow owners to change the look of the car any time and can be done on a DIY (do it yourself) basis at home.

Meanwhile, the Daihatsu Move Custom is the sporty variant of the Daihatsu Move model.

It is also powered by 660cc turbocharged three-cylinder engines.

This model could be become another variant of compact cars by Perodua for customers who like the Perodua Kenari.


Hydrogen-powered Hopium Machina Vision interior revealed

                PARIS: A year after the presentation of the first Hopium Machina rolling prototype, the French manufacturer of high-end hydrogen-powered sedans, has revealed its concept car, Hopium Machina Vision, and offers for the first time a look inside the cabin.

Conceived by automotive designer Félix Godard, - previously at Porsche, Tesla and Lucid - Hopium Machina Vision imagines the future of the Human/Machine relationship.

At the front, the pillar-to-pillar display provides a digital landscape of information, accessible to both driver and passenger.

It can transform into a full or minimised layout as desired, in a wave-like motion. The haptic console offers a new sensory connection with the interface.

At the back, passengers can enjoy the comfort of an enlarged space and a massive sky view.

Hopium said the cabin is fitted with sustainable materials made of the highest quality. These materials have been sourced in Europe to reduce their environmental impact.

On the outside, the Hopium Machina Vision displays a notchback silhouette that is athletic and elegant.

The distinctive elements of Hopium Machina are also present, including the imposing grille that activates to optimise the cooling of the fuel cell system, and the signature lighting inspired by waves on the surface of water.

The model will premiere at the 2022 Paris Motor Show, from Oct 17-23.


VW puts apprentices in the driver seat for the Wörthersee show

Volkswagen media design apprentice Yasmine Weinhold (20), is pictured working on the exterior design for the Wörthersee GTi.
VIENNA: Wörthersee treffen 2017 is almost here and with it one of the world's biggest independent car shows dedicated to celebrating all things VW and Audi.
For this year's event, Volkswagen has handed 13 apprentices aged between 18 and 23 the huge responsibility of creating one of the most important show cars — the Wörthersee GTI 2017. Tradition dictates that it must be based on a current VW Golf GTi, be a real working car, and has to be ready a day before the show begins on May 24.

Thankfully, digital development and printing technologies are helping the team stay on track as the deadline fast approaches.

"This way, we were able to take fast and efficient decisions concerning the design of wheel rims, paintwork and foils," said 21-year-old apprentice motor vehicle mechatronics technician Eric Miguel Lehrach.

Although the Wörthersee show has been rudely awakening the sleepy lakeside town of Reifnitz in Austria since 1981, it's only been in the past decade that the concept cars that arrive from VW's mainstream brands, especially created for the event, have been real, working vehicles.

And this is thanks to the rapid development of next-generation production and development tools.

In the case of the Wörthersee GTi, it means that the team can literally design, test and build every element it needs itself without having to farm out projects to other areas of the company or other technicians. "[It's] in our own hands," said Lehrach.

While the team isn't prepared to disclose ahead of time what exactly to expect from their 2017 GTi, they have revealed that one of its stand-out features will be a specially built 1960-watt sound system with 11 speakers and subwoofers that will look like standard equipment within the car's interior.

The 36th annual Wörthersee show runs May 24-27 in Reifnitz, 340km south-west of here.


Hyundai first car maker to test a fully-autonomous hydrogen car on US roads

                LOS ANGELES: Hyundai has begun the first tests of a fully-autonomous Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) on public roads in the United States having been granted a licence by Nevada state.

Hyundai plans to evaluate partially and fully autonomous driving technologies in Nevada, monitoring the car’s performance in real-world conditions, an important part of its roadmap for autonomous driving.

Two Tucson (ix35) Fuel Cell will conduct a detailed test programon public roads.

The two vehicles are fitted with four key autonomous driving features:  Interval Autonomous Driving for fully-autonomous driving within fully controlled,designated roads; Traffic Jam Assist, which tracks the vehicle in front under moderate/high traffic conditions (0~60kph); Emergency Stop System, which autonomously directs the car to the side of the road in case of emergency; and Narrow Path Assist, which provides guidance or fully-autonomous drive through narrow roads.

These technologies work by combining a host of advanced cameras, radars and sensors, including: Around View Monitor Camera; GPS;Blind Spot Detection Radar; Smart Cruise Control Radar; Ultrasonic Sensor;LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).

Since November 2014, Hyundai  has carried out more than 16,000km of testing using two Tucson hydrogen-powered vehicles in South Korea consisting of city driving, highways and testing on private proving grounds.

The testing program to date has evaluated the car’s interaction with traffic signals and signs, pedestrians, cyclists, street furniture and hazards. In addition, the extensive testing has been carried out in all weather conditions to ensure the public road tests are safe at all times.

“A great deal of research and rigorous product testing will need to be undertaken in order to make the ‘self-driving car’ a reality," said Tae-Won Lim, Hyundai vice-president for Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute.

"Thanks to this licence, we will be able to accelerate the testing of our latest autonomous technologies. We are confident that our latest innovations, both for partially- and fully-autonomous driving, will ultimately make driving safer for all road users.”

Kia Motors has also been granted a licence by Nevada to carry out testing of its autonomous driving technologies on public roads for the first time.

Alongside sister company Hyundai, Kia plans to introduce a range of partially-autonomous driving technologies to its model line-up including eco-friendly vehicles by 2020, and is aiming to bring its first fully-autonomous car to market by 2030. The initial stage of investment by Kia and Hyundai – totalling US$2 billion by 2018 – will enable the companies to develop new Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) technologies and employ a greater number of engineers.


Over 35,000 Mitsubishi Tritons recalled to replace airbags

                KUALA LUMPUR: Selected variants of the Mitsubishi Triton are being recalled to replace the driver airbag.

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) said 35,115 units of the Triton manufactured from 2006 to 2014 are to be recalled. The variants affected are the Triton 3.2-litre, Triton automatic and manual transmission 2.5-litre and Triton VGT 2.5-litre. Some of the driver airbags may release metal fragments when deployed causing injuries to the driver.

MMM CEO Yang Won-Chul said the company would replace defective airbag inflators at no charge to customers.

Vehicle owners can check their vehicle status by typing the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on MMM’s website.

On the Lancer, MMM urged owners of the sedan manufactured from September 2004 to April 2006 to check its website to find out if their vehicles are involved in the passenger airbag inflator field fix campaign announced earlier this year.

MMM will also conduct a separate field fix campaign for defective turn light switches for some vehicles. This exercise is necessary to fix the related terminals to prevent further rusting and prevent the lights from failing. It did not identify the models.

However, MMM said it would send notification letters to affected Mitsubishi owners and like all recalls, the car company will bear the full cost of repairing the cars.


Test drive a Mitsubishi car; win a dinner with Izzue Islam and Amyra Rosli

                KUALA LUMPUR: Test drive any Mitsubishi car and stand a chance to win a dinner with Malaysian celebrities Izzue Islam and Amyra Rosli.

That's the prize for 10 lucky winners in the 4Sure Best Raya contest, organised by Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM).

The 4Sure Best Raya contest will run from today until 2 June.

To participate, simply fill up an online test drive form in MMM website http://mitsubishi-motors.com.my/events.

Mitsubishi Motors authorised dealers will then schedule a test-drive appointment with the participant.

Winners will be revealed on 10 June on MMM’s official Facebook page, and winners will also be notified via phone call.

The dinner will be held on 22 June at a selected venue.

“We have chosen to work with Izzue Islam and Amyra Rosli for the 4Sure Best Raya campaign because Izzue, a famous Malaysian actor and a Triton owner, leads an adventurous lifestyle, embodies confidence in his career and drives the Triton with pleasure. We want our owners to feel that desire when they commute in a Mitsubishi Motors car daily,” said Tomoyuki Shinnishi, CEO of MMM.

He added, “Amyra on the other hand is a Malaysian actress and a family-oriented person, who evidently makes the safety of her family a priority. That is something in common with the Outlander as safety is the Outlander's strongest suit, befitting its role as a 7-Seater family vehicle.”


Ineos Grenadier goes to Goodwood with some two-wheeled company

                GOODWOOD (Britain): The Ineos Grenadier made its first ever run up the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s iconic hillclimb, with the support of the wider Ineos family.

The new 4x4 was accompanied by a peloton of cyclists from the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team.

Among those representing the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team in the peloton were British Olympic gold medallist, Owain Doull, emerging Belgian star Laurens De Plus, and British road race champion, Ben Swift. Taking the Grenadier up the hill - Esteban Gutiérrez, driving on behalf of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.

As well as its first dynamic show outing, this was also the first public viewing of the Grenadier’s newly unveiled production interior.

“It's great to be at the Festival of Speed and to see the Grenadier on the hill - another milestone in our development programme,” said Mark Tennant, Ineos Automotive’s Commercial Director. “Clearly we weren’t looking to break any speed records, but we have been delighted with the opportunity to show the vehicle off, following hard on the heels of our reveal of the interior last week – and equally delighted at the reception we have had from Goodwood visitors.”

The interior of the Ineos Grenadier is designed to deliver the space, practicality and versatility owners need from a hard-working 4X4. Starting from a clean sheet, the design also incorporates the modern technology and comfort expected of a vehicle for the 2020s and beyond.

Visitors to the Festival of Speed can see the Grenadier in the event’s First Glance Paddock, where the off-roader is enjoying a conspicuously high-riding presence alongside low-slung supercars and luxury coupes.

Reservations will open in October 2021 and deliveries will start from July 2022.


Titans of carmaking are plotting the overthrow of Elon Musk

                TOKYO/LONDON: The epic fight over who controls the future of the car industry is about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Tesla Inc, the pioneer and pacesetter, has dominated the early rounds of the new-energy age, capturing investors’ imaginations with a vision for what the next generation of vehicles looks like and seizing the nascent market for fully electric cars.

In the other corner are giants of scale: Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. The world’s two biggest automakers – each sold roughly 10 or 11 cars for every one Elon Musk did last year – realise the age of the battery-powered vehicle is here and are gaming out how to stay on top.

Within five days of one another last month, these masters of mass production laid out plans to splurge US$170bil (RM712.52bil) over the coming years to preserve their claim on an industry they’ve dominated for decades.

Executives at the very top of these incumbents are acutely aware the transition from the internal combustion engine won’t be orderly. It could get ugly – something akin to when Apple Inc entered the mobile phone market and outclassed once-dominant Nokia Oyj.

After a year of standout growth during which Tesla became far and away the most valuable automaker ever, the trillion-dollar question is whether Musk’s advantages heading into the next generation of carmaking are as insurmountable as his company’s market capitalisation suggests.

“When the two biggest car companies in the world decide to go all-in on electric, then there’s no longer a question of speculation – the mainstream is going electric,” said Andy Palmer, the former chief of Aston Martin and ex-Nissan Motor Co executive often referred to as “the godfather of EVs” after being instrumental in developing the Japanese carmaker’s battery-powered LEAF.

“I expect the shift to electric to be faster than everyone expects.”

The ways VW and Toyota have moved to defend their ground are as different as one would expect from proud German and Japanese titans of industry. One is coming out swinging, putting Tesla squarely in its sights, and the other is investing heavily in EVs while continuing to spread its bets, biding time as the early stages of the revolution shake out.

The behemoth doing the furious slugging to take on Musk is VW, which has grown over 84 years into a stable of a dozen brands, manufacturing in some 120 locations around the world and employing more people than the population of Detroit. VW Group generates roughly US$280bil (RM1.17 trillion) a year churning out models ranging from the Tiguan and Passat bearing its namesake badge, to Lamborghini supercars and Scania heavy trucks.

Every year that chief executive officer Herbert Diess has been at the helm, VW has announced unrivalled budgets for electrification. On Dec 9, he delivered his largest plan yet, allocating €89bil (RM421.52bil) to EV and software development over the next half decade.

Diess constantly uses Musk as a measuring stick, so much so that he’s acknowledged annoying some within VW’s ranks. In October, he welcomed Musk as a surprise guest at an executive conference with 200 of the automaker’s top managers.

VW’s initial foray into EVs was with luxury models such as the Audi e-tron and Porsche Taycan. Last year, it sought to make a splash with more mainstream offerings – the ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 sport utility vehicle.

“Our transformation will be fast,” Diess said during a Tesla-style battery event in March, “bigger than anything the industry has seen in the past century.”

Ten months into 2021, VW had delivered around 322,000 fully electric vehicles, just over half of its 600,000 sales goal. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co analysts have assumed VW would sell around 450,000 EVs for the year, which “isn’t the end of the world, but it’s also not quite a reason to celebrate”.

Diess is undeterred. The architecture that the ID.3 and ID.4 share will underpin a total of 27 EVs by the end of this year. VW will go from making these models at five factories – in Germany, China and the Czech Republic – to eight, starting up production from two more facilities in its home country and at its one US assembly plant, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

VW has also seen solid results with its high-value EV models within the group. The Taycan, for instance, is poised to outsell the iconic 911 sports car. More electric Porsches are on the way, with the brand expected to introduce a fully electric version of its popular Macan SUV next year.

Toyota’s long-standing positioning for the future was on display a couple months ago at a racetrack in the hills of western Japan. While the company brought along its battery-powered bZ4X electric SUV, the car Akio Toyoda took for spins around the circuit was a Corolla Sport H2 Concept vehicle equipped with a hydrogen-fueled engine.

“Heading into uncertainty, what we need are diverse solutions,” the grandson of Toyota’s founder said during a Nov 13 news conference. “We don’t want to tie ourselves to just one option.”

Diversity is one thing; absence is another. The hybrid-powertrain trailblazer known for the Prius has acknowledged being “a little bit late” to fully electric models – and that was four years ago. Toyota’s first mass-market global EV isn’t set to debut until the middle of this year.

But weeks after taking hot laps in a hydrogen car, Toyoda traded his racing overalls for a suit and tie and gave outsiders an unprecedented look at a bevy of future products. When the first curtain was unveiled at a media briefing on a man-made island in Tokyo Bay, there were five EVs flanking him.

Toyoda delivered a brief sales pitch for each vehicle, then raised his palms to the skies before another curtain revealed 11 more battery-electric models. “Welcome to our showroom of the future,” he said, announcing plans to roll out 30 EVs by the end of the decade.

Of the 8 trillion yen (RM289.19bil) Toyota dedicates to electrification in that span, half will go to fully electric models. The automaker is aiming to sell 3.5 million EVs annually by the end of the decade, almost double a target set just seven months earlier.

It took some prodding for Toyota to get to this point. With cautious comments from executives running against the industry’s general enthusiasm for EVs, some investors and environmental groups criticised the automaker for dragging its feet. Last summer, Anders Schelde, the chief investment officer of Danish pension firm AkademikerPension, which holds Toyota shares, said he didn’t see management’s attitudes toward EVs as a winning strategy for the long term.

Schelde said his fund was beginning to look more broadly at its investments to make sure they align with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which established a framework to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. “Toyota has two or three years to clean up their act,” he said in an interview.

This sort of critique was a pain point for Toyota, with time during top management meetings consumed by debate over why its messaging around carbon neutrality wasn’t being well received. Last month’s EV event in Tokyo was the latest in a flurry of festivities the company has held around the globe to deliver its nuanced message of allegiance to hybrids and hope that the hydrogen-powered cars the carmaker has plowed years of research and investment into will gain traction alongside vehicles that run on just a battery.

In Brussels at the beginning of December, the company vowed to be ready to sell only zero-emission cars in Europe by 2035. In North Carolina a few days later, it hosted the governor and hundreds of other guests at a press conference to announce the state would be home to its first US battery plant – a US$1.29bil (RM5.40bil) investment.

While Toyota’s onslaught is to be taken seriously, the start VW has gotten off to with its EV push shows transitioning to electric won’t be a matter of flipping a switch.

And Tesla is doing some scaling of its own. As the company closed a year in which it delivered over 936,000 vehicles – up almost 90% – it plotted out an investment of as much as 1.2bil yuan (RM791.48mil) in its two-year-old Shanghai plant to upgrade equipment and take production beyond its stated capacity of 450,000 units a year. It’ll add another 4,000 workers at the facility, bringing the total to about 19,000.

Two new assembly plants – one outside Berlin and the other in Austin, Texas – are also gearing up to start making Model Ys. And there’s plenty of demand to meet all this additional output. Wait times on the Model 3 and Y have stretched to more than six months, Martin Viecha, Tesla’s investor relations chief, recently told a Deutsche Bank conference.

“With market demand for EVs clearly outstripping industry’s ability to produce, success in EVs is no longer about the order book, but rather about production capacity, ability to secure supply, and best cost, where Tesla feels it has considerable lead,” Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner said in a note.

Others see Tesla being toppled from the electric-car throne as new entrants muscle into the growing market. IHS Markit projects Tesla’s EV market share in the US will fall to 20% by 2025, from slightly more than 50% today.

Heavy investment “will put Toyota and Volkswagen in a better position to compete with EV specialists”, said Anna-Marie Baisden, head of autos research at Fitch Solutions. “We have long held the view that the more traditional carmakers will have certain advantages over startups such as scale, manufacturing experience and brand loyalty.”

In addition to changing up their assembly lines and model offerings, VW and Toyota will have to chase Tesla on another front: software.

Early sales of the ID.3 were plagued by challenges VW had in getting certain tech functions to work. Initial cars were delivered to customers with missing features including the ability to connect smartphone apps with the vehicle’s display screen. Rather than beam a fix to its owners over the air – the way Apple does with iPhones, and Tesla does with its models – ID.3 drivers had to pay their dealer a visit to have their car serviced.

Joey Mandel’s experience is a case in point. The music festival industry worker in Los Angeles’ Woodland Hills neighbourhood was the first person at his local dealership to get an ID.4 electric SUV. He’s encountered his fair share of bugs – the audio cuts out periodically, and other times the vehicle won’t release from its charging plug.

Overall though, Mandel says he’s still happy with his purchase. He hasn’t had trouble travelling to events along the West Coast thanks to VW’s “solidly built-out” charging network.

“It’s not a Tesla in terms of technologies,” Mandel said, “but for people thinking they’re scared to make the shift to EVs, Volkswagen keeps things relatively like a normal car.”


Sime Darby Motors City officially open for business

                PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Motors reached a new high with the official launch of its integrated automotive facility - Sime Darby Motors City.

Located in the township of Ara Damansara within the Klang Valley, the largest automotive complex in Southeast Asia aims to be an exemplary centre for everything automotive.

The RM570mil complex boasts a number of the largest flagship showrooms in Malaysia and Southeast Asia and spans 8.6 acres with an overall built-up area of 1.3 million sq ft over eight levels.

The complex houses six flagship centres featuring flagship brands represented by Sime Darby Motors in Malaysia namely BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, MINI, BMW Motorrad, Porsche and Volvo.

It also has an indoor facility capable of housing close to 100 vehicles under Sime Darby Motors’ pre-owned car business Sime Darby Auto Selection.

Integrated with the latest technologies to enrich the overall customer experience at every touchpoint, the facility boasts almost 200 service bays, approximately 700 customer parking and electric vehicle (EV) charging bays and the capacity to display more than 180 vehicles.

Supporting the facility are 60 Auto Bavaria technicians for BMW, MINI and Motorrad and over 110 certified technicians.

 Sime Darby group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson launching the automobile complex while Gan looks on.

This includes technicians who hold the highest level of certification by the principal brands, including the Zertifizierter Porsche Techniker Gold Certification which is streamlined for Porsche technicians worldwide.

Brands like Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar and Land Rover also have certifications with the highest being trained as master technicians.

“As one of the key players in the automotive industry, Sime Darby Motors has always been committed to pursuing excellence as we strive to provide world-class services to our customers."The launch of Sime Darby Motors City is a testament to this steadfast commitment,” said Sime Darby Motors managing director Andrew Basham.

Digitalisation for Unparalleled Customer Experience Sime Darby Motors City is Malaysia’s first automotive facility that deploys Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, enabling improved service capacity, and supporting Sime Darby Motors’ growth by accelerating efficiencies to deliver world-class services to its customers.

At the heart of the facility’s digital infrastructure is its Vehicle Tracking Management system which utilises a camera-based parking guide and customisable signages to ensure a higher level of guidance, security and convenience for the customer.

It also allows for quicker collection of vehicles upon completion of service.

Internally, the facility’s digitalised infrastructure communicates the status of each vehicle in real-time, ensuring greater efficiencies are achieved.

 Auto Bavaria represents BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad.

IoT-powered Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras have also been installed, as part of a contactless self-check-in system, which enables customers’ appointment data to be accessed, upon their arrival.

Concurrently, a service advisor will be alerted and automatically assigned to the customer, allowing for a seamless experience. The deployment of these technologies will be rolled out progressively throughout Sime Darby Motors City.

Once in the showroom, customers can opt for a contactless self-check-in which utilises a QR code system. This will allow customers to be placed immediately in the queue without having to wait to be attended to, allowing for a fuss-free service experience.

 Ford.

The introduction of this check-in system will be introduced across all brands at Sime Darby Motors City.

To support these enhancements to the after-sales experience, Sime Darby Motors has also digitalised the business for its sales representatives. This includes the introduction of a mobile application, which has enabled sales representatives to be connected anytime and anywhere with real-time data to better serve customers.

With the mobile application, they can now populate and print application forms wirelessly, minimising steps in the administrative process and reducing
customers’ waiting time.

As a showcase of luxury and mass market automotive brands, Sime Darby Motors City is a reflection of Sime Darby Motors’ commitment to be a partner of choice for automotive brands in Asia-Pacific.

The facility includes Sime Darby Swedish Auto, Sime Darby Motors’ latest partner for Volvo Cars to its stable of marques in Malaysia.

 Jaguar Land Rover.

The Volvo flagship store at Sime Darby Motors City features Southeast Asia’s first 3S showroom to be equipped with a Virtual Reality Studio.

Sime Darby Motors is proud of its long-standing partnerships with its many principal brands, such as its 49-year partnership with BMW and its 40-year alliance with Ford and Jaguar Land Rover.

“We are excited to continue exploring new automotive business solutions and potential opportunities with our partners. Through Sime Darby Motors City, we are committed to playing an integral role in accelerating the growth of the regional automotive sector while contributing to the Malaysian economy,” Basham added.

 Hyundai.

Sime Darby Motors City is also enhancing its mobility collaborations with Socar, Malaysia’s leading car-sharing network and myTukar, Malaysia’s fastest growing online used car trading platform.

The complex will have designated parking bays for Socar vehicles – ideal for customers dropping off their vehicles for service, and will be a showcase centre for myTukar trade-in vehicles, in collaboration with Sime Darby Auto Selection.

Sime Darby Motors City is designed to be future-ready as the automotive industry continues to evolve towards EV.

It is equipped with specialised EV-certified technicians and designated areas for EV charging, storage and repairs, which are currently available at Auto Bavaria, Auto Hyundai, Auto Performance and Swedish Auto.

Sime Darby Auto Performance led the way in providing superior facilities for EV charging with Malaysia’s first fast Direct Current (DC) high performance charger, operational since September 2020, within the Porsche Centre.

 Porsche.

Capable of delivering a maximum of 175kW, it is able to provide a near-full charge within 36 minutes, which is at least eight times faster than the fastest Alternating Current (AC) charger available at 22kW.

The complex is a Green Building Index (GBI) certified facility built with sustainability in mind and incorporates technologies to cultivate a paperless organisational culture.

To commemorate the launch, Sime Darby Motors City will be organising a “Grand Launch Weekend” with attractive deals across the six flagship stores from April 16 to 18.

Interested customers are advised to make an appointment, in adherence with the government’s Covid-19 standard operating procedures on crowd control and physical distancing.

Sime Darby Motors Retail and Distribution for Malaysia managing director Jeffrey Gan said the company is aiming for an 8% vehicle sales growth this year, driven by at least 10 new models launches across its brands, in line with the Malaysian Automotive Association estimates of vehicle sales growth.

“We are positive on sales this year because of the interesting products and new car models to be launched, which would create excitement in the market, ” said Gan.

On the motor city, Gan said it is a one-stop hub for customers shopping for their next vehicle.

"An enhanced customer experience awaits them with our digitalised, highly certified technicians, luxurious lounges and ample covered parking spaces.

 Volvo.

"Customers who visit us this weekend can also take advantage of the many attractive deals available and capitalise on the government’s vehicle sales tax exemption which will last until June 2021,” he said.

Sime Darby Motors City is located at No.6, Jalan PJU 1A/7, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor approximately seven minutes from Subang Airport.

For details, visit www.simedarbymotors.com.


Mazda BT-50 on the move

Whoever said that bigger is better, is in this case, correct.Here we have the range-topping Mazda BT-50 3.2 High that comes with a MZ-CD 3.2-litre turbocharged in-line five-cylinder diesel powerplant, producing 197bhp at 3,000rpm and a massive 470Nm of torque from 1,750-2,500rpm.The BT-50 has not been SkyActiv-ated just yet, but by gosh, the Thai-assembled pick-up has been more than a pleasurable drive.Surprisingly enough, most pick-up trucks will have you bobbing up and down but this is not the case with the BT-50.Visually, the pick-up stands out significantly thanks to its dimensions being 5,365mm-long, 1,850mm-wide and 1,821mm tall - it shares the same dimensions as the current Ford Ranger and quite rightly so, since they both share the same platform as well.Although the Ranger seems a tad beefier with all its edges, the BT-50 has a little less impact with its curvaceous bonnet.Most would find it a tall order entering the cabin due to the pick-up’s 237mm ground clearance.Peculiarly enough, the front passenger gets an A-pillar mounted grab handle to help hoist themselves in, but the driver does not.Inside, it is a grey affair with a touch of silver accents on the door handles.The rough grey plastic seems dull and un-stylish, but rest assured it will be a durable one that is ready for plenty of abuse while still keeping its ‘good looks’ - so to speak.It is a no-nonsense environment inside, everything both readily in reach and highly visible.Put simply, there is nothing ‘flimsy’ about the cabin.The MZ-CD 3.2 engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission has plenty of grunt on tap.With all of the engine’s 470Nm of torque forming at a lowly 1,750rpm, there is no qualms about getting the BT-50’s slightly over two tonnes of kerb heft moving.Most would notice the pick-up’s ride and how it handles uneven tarmac with its double wishbone paired with coil-springs at the front and rigid leaf springs for the rear.As with most pick-ups, they often have a higher centre of gravity and that usually means taking corners translates to plenty of roll.In this case, Mazda has tuned this big boy to reduce cornering body roll and be a lot more confidence inspiring.The BT-50 soaks up bumps and potholes without much fuss and its large cargo hold can be used for carry large and bulky items.Believe it or not, this pick-up is more than a pleasure to drive even on a set of 17-inch alloy wheels with large 265/65 series tyres.Without payload in the cargo area, the rear end still feel a touch light around the bends, but it still manages to trail the BT-50’s front end fairly well in 2WD (two-wheel drive) mode.Switching over to 4WD (four-wheel-drive) mode made the drive feel even more planted.We are quite certain that most drivers behind the wheel of the BT-50 would be loving it in most traffic conditions thanks to its smooth power delivery and almost neutral handling to deliver a sporty and confidence inspiring drive. With more than adequate power delivery to get it up to speed, the BT-50 is also capable to coming to a quick stop even though its got the usual ventilated front discs up front with drum brakes at the rear.Brake-feel was found to be accurate and bites according to the driver’s inputs.Enough of driving and time for a ‘cuppa’ and many would find the BT-50 a bane when it comes to parking and tight spaces.Sure, it is a smooth ride when on the move, even in heavy traffic, but we would much prefer a reverse camera to be paired with the parking sensors to make it safer - you never know what is going to hop into the way.The BT-50’s power-assisted steering system feels heavier compared to most passenger cars when the vehicle is stationary but when on the move its light enough for easy steering.With all that’s been said so far, the BT-50 3.2 High costs RM106,468.20 (on-the-road with insurance) and would be a suitable choice as a workhorse or lifestyle vehicle.Aside from its fluid looks, rugged interior and smooth power delivery, the BT-50 has a daunting size to make you feel like driving the king of the road.SPECIFICATIONS: Mazda BT-50 3.2 HighEngine: 3,198cc, in-line, five-cylinder, common-rail, direct-injection with variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) engine.Maximum power: 197bhp at 3,000rpmMaximum torque: 470Nm from 1,750 to 2,500rpmTransmission: Six-speed automatic with Active Adaptive ShiftFeatures:
Two airbags, antilock braking system with electronic bake-force distribution, dynamic stability control, traction control system, hill hold assist, brake override system, roll stability control, hill decent control, hill launch assist, load adaptive control, trailer sway assist, emergency stop signal system, emergency brake assist, automatic headlights and wipers, side-steps, parking sensors, leather-wrapped steering wheel, automatic dual-zone climate controls, six-speaker audio system with radio/CD/MP3 playback, voice command, Bluetooth connectivity and 17-inch wheels with 265/65 tyres.Price: RM106,468.20 (on-the-road with insurance)


Euro NCAP names Mercedes A-Class among the 'Best in Class' winners

                BRUSSELS: The revered Euro NCAP organisation has announced its annual "Best in Class" winners today and three of the vehicles tested in 2018 have achieved the coveted award.

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class was the stand-out performer amongst Small Family Cars and this year’s overall best result.

Euro NCAP said the Lexus ES was the best all-round performer in the Large Family Car category; and the Hyundai NEXO was the best of the Large Off-Roaders.

The Lexus ES also claimed Euro NCAP’s new award for best performing hybrid or electric car in the 2018 season of safety testing.

READ MORE: CarSifu drives the Mercedes A-Class in Croatia

“In 2018, we introduced tough new tests, with a particular focus on Vulnerable Road User protection," said Euro NCAP secretary-general Michiel van Ratingen.

"The three Best in Class award winners this year all clearly demonstrate that car-makers are striving for the highest levels of protection and that Euro NCAP’s assessments are a catalyst for these crucial safety improvements.

“Euro NCAP put automated driving technology to the test in 2018 for the first time and our findings helped clarify some of the confusion motoring consumers are currently experiencing. Assisted driving systems can bring safety and convenience benefits but full automation is a long way off. We will follow and assess these developments closely and ensure that consumers have all the information they need when considering these new driver technologies.

“In the meantime our assessment Road Map presents some important challenges for vehicle manufacturers in the years ahead and we hope that all car-makers will rise to this opportunity as Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Hyundai have done this year.”


Facelifted Honda BR-V debuts in Thailand

                BANGKOK: The facelifted Honda BR-V, first available in Indonesia, is now making its way to Thailand. However, you can be sure Honda Malaysia will introduce the refreshed model in Malaysia  soon enough.

The latest BR-V comes with what Honda describes as "a new tough-looking and sporty design".

The latest BR-V features a new chromium grille, projector headlights with LED position lights, LED daytime running lights, newly-designed fog lights, and sporty 16-inch alloy wheels with a brand new design. There's also a new seat design to complement the exterior.

The new model also comes in a new Passion Red Pearl colour, and is available with a three-row, seven-seat or a two-row, five-seat cabin configuration with adjustable functionality.

The Thais get two variants.: the SV and V.

The SV variant, priced at 835,000 baht (RM112,000), comes with new projector headlights with LED position lights, LED daytime running lights, and newly-designed fog lights. The premium sporty exterior look is enhanced by a shark-fin style radio antenna.

A 7-seater with a sporty two-tone interior in black and red, the SV variant has three rows of seats.

The lower-end V variant, priced at 765,000 baht (RM103,000), is equipped with projector headlights. It’s a 5-seater with two rows of seats. The second-row seat, a 60:40 split folding, is a one-motion tumble type. The cabin offers generous storage space to meet all usage requirements, with a cargo floorboard and a utility box under the second-row seat.

Typical of facelifts, the engine remains unchanged. The 1.5-litre SOHC i-VTEC engine produces 120PS at 6,600rpm and 145Nm of torque at 4,600rpm, delivered to the front axle. It is mated to a CVT (continuous variable transmission).


Porsche IPO only off the table if severe geopolitical problems arise, says CFO

                BERLIN: Porsche will only backtrack on its stock market debut in the event of severe geopolitical problems that would make the importance of a listing fade in comparison, the sportscar brand's chief financial officer said today.

"You never know what will happen regarding geopolitical issues, but if a potential IPO would be stopped now, we are talking about severe problems," Lutz Meschke said on a media call.

"By then, a potential IPO would not be a real issue," he added.

Speaking in the wake of Volkswagen's decision on Monday to trigger the IPO after months of deliberation, dual chief executive Oliver Blume said the listing could break the ice for capital markets starved of potential investments.

"There is a lot of capital in the market," Blume said. "We think the Porsche IPO could be an icebreaker.

Volkswagen CFO and COO Arno Antlitz echoed Blume's confidence in an earlier media call, adding that the carmaker hoped the listing would give it more flexibility in deciding when to list its battery division, which it said in December it was readying for a partial sale.

The separation of the two companies via a listing would also simplify Blume's double role as chief executive of Volkswagen and Porsche, Blume said, though they would still cooperate on projects where scale effects apply.


Setel teams up with Siti Khadijah to support women communities

Mazlin (second from left) and Siti Khadijah group chief executive officer Mohammad Munzir Aminuddin at the announcement of the partnership.

KUALA LUMPUR: Setel and Siti Khadijah stores will be donating RM100,000 worth of telekung (prayer garment) through the "Setulus Kasih" initiative to support women in need in conjunction with Ramadan.

This collaboration marks Setel and Siti Khadijah’s latest partnership to launch Setel Pay at 31 Siti Khadijah outlets nationwide, as well as the expansion of Setel Express as a key delivery partner for the local modest wear brand.

Setel users can use Setel Pay for purchases at any participating Siti Khadijah outlets and from April 3 to May 31, a portion of the sales will go towards the overall donation drive.

“This unique partnership allows Setel to support communities at large, whilst also providing integrated solutions for businesses to elevate their digitalisation plans through our Setel ecosystem," said Setel chief executive officer Mazlin Erawati Ab Manan.

"Enabling contactless payment coupled with delivery service for Siti Khadijah signifies our continuous commitment to provide customers with a seamless experience and in the spirit of Ramadan, to give back to those in need.”

The Setel e-payment platform is owned by Petronas through Petronas Dagangan Bhd.

The free Setel app is available for download at the Apple Store, Google Play Store and Huawei AppGallery.


Porsche unwraps refreshed Cayenne to bolster best-selling model

                SHANGHAI: Porsche AG unveiled a revamped Cayenne sport utility vehicle at the Shanghai auto show to keep its best-selling model fresh before a more comprehensive shift to electric cars.

The new Cayenne, which starts at €89,097 (RM434,000), got more powerful engines, an updated chassis and a new interior with displays for both the driver and front passenger.

The vehicle, also available as a plug-in hybrid, will compete with increasingly luxurious battery models from Chinese automakers as parent Volkswagen AG tries to regain momentum for its EV push.

“It’s one of the most extensive product upgrades in the history of Porsche,” Michael Schätzle, a product executive at the German company, said in a statement today.

Porsche, Europe’s most valuable carmaker after last year’s blockbuster initial public offering, is in the midst of a complicated transition to EVs. Software issues have delayed the launch of the battery-powered Macan to next year, and the manufacturer won’t unveil an all-electric Cayenne until the second half of the decade.

Debuting the overhauled SUV in Shanghai probably isn’t a coincidence. Like Mercedes-Benz AG, BMW AG and Volkswagen, Porsche is under pressure to defend sales in China, its biggest single market.

The carmaker’s deliveries there declined 2% last year amid stringent Covid lockdowns and fiercer competition from homegrown EV brands BYD Co. and Nio Inc.

Porsche offers the Cayenne in several iterations, including a 659-horsepower Turbo GT that accelerates from zero to 100kph in 3.3 seconds. The hybrid, which starts at €103,344 (RM503,000), features a bigger battery that extends the SUV’s purely electric range to 90 km.

The company introduced the Cayenne in 2002 to broaden its product range beyond sports cars.

Despite protests from brand purists, the move into the lucrative SUV segment proved wildly successful.

While Porsche remains best-known for the 911, larger four-door vehicles like the Panamera, Macan and Cayenne have become key to its lineup. The latter outsold all other Porsche models last year.

The Germans have also had success with the battery-only Taycan and are working on an all-electric high-performance SUV — codenamed K1 — that will be positioned above the Cayenne.

READ MORE:  Refreshed Porsche Cayenne in detail


Japan unveils moves to stop car crashes caused by elderly

One in four people aged 80 or over drives a car every day, the Japanese government said in a survey published Tuesday.
TOKYO: Japan announced a series of measures Tuesday to prevent car accidents caused by elderly drivers, including emergency brakes and vehicle-free zones around schools, following a string of crashes involving children.

One in four people aged 80 or over drives a car every day, the government said in a survey published Tuesday, one of many challenges faced by rapidly ageing Japan.

Japan has been rocked by several tragic incidents involving elderly drivers ploughing into schoolchildren, with suspicions that the ageing motorists had inadvertently pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.

In May, a car smashed into a group of kindergarten children in western Japan, killing two toddlers and injuring others. The previous month, a car driven by an 87-year-old man killed a mother and her three-year-old daughter.

"We should not waste any time in ensuring that children's journeys to school are safe," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told cabinet ministers after the plans were approved.

Tokyo will carry out an "emergency safety inspection" of school commuting routes by the end of September and promote the use of cars with emergency stopping devices to counteract accidental stamping on the accelerator.

The government will also study "various measures, including car-sharing and the introduction of autonomous vehicles on a trial basis in the mountainous countryside", a cabinet secretariat official told AFP.

The National Policy Agency will also consider introducing a new category of driving licence for elderly people, allowing them to operate only cars equipped with emergency stopping devices, she added.

Details of these measures will be fleshed out by the end of March but officials have begun working on policies that can be carried out immediately, she said.


Maybank steps in to help Penang flood victims

                KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank has announced a six-month moratorium on monthly instalment payments for loans and waiver of certain charges based on a case-to-case basis for customers in Penang affected by the floods.

The suspension of payments are extended to business banking, SME banking and consumer banking customers.

The moratorium covers deferment of monthly instalments based on a case-to-case basis for customers with consumer and business banking loans for up to six months.

It also includes waiver of charges for affected customers seeking replacement of ATM cards, cheque books and passbooks which have been destroyed in the floods.

“The moratorium is in line with the bank's mission of humanising financial services wherever it operates. “We are deeply concerned over the difficulties faced by the individuals and families who have been affected by the situation and understand that they will have other more pressing priorities and financial needs at this time,” Maybank Group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said in a statement.

The bank hoped the gesture would help ease any anxieties over financial commitments they have during this difficult period and help them resume their normal routines as soon as possible,” he said.

Abdul Farid said Maybank would also consider requests from affected credit card customers for waivers of late/finance charges and applications to increase their credit limits during this period subject to existing guidelines and policy.

The Group's insurance arm, Etiqa, will expedite claims processes as well as help ease any financial hardship during the floods by providing policyholders with a dedicated Flood Claims Assist Hotline.

Customers can call the bank's hotline at 1 300 88 6688 for further information or visit their home branches to apply for the moratorium. The Etiqa Flood Claims Assist Hotlines can be reached at 03-2692 8188 or 011 630 6646 (Whatsapp).


Tesla to launch high-end Model S ‘Plaid’ to fend off Mercedes, Porsche

                SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla Inc will deliver a high-performance version of its Model S today, aiming to reignite interest in the nearly decade-old sedan and fend off rivals such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Lucid Motors in the luxury electric vehicle market.

Tesla redefined electric cars in 2012 when it launched its high-end Model S with a sleek design and long driving range, but is facing a raft of new challengers.

The automaker plans to livestream the delivery of the first Model S Plaid at its US factory in Fremont, California at 7 pm PT (0200 GMT, 10am on Friday in Malaysia), according to its official Twitter account.

CEO Elon Musk has not said whether he will take the stage, but he has been on Twitter promoting the new model, which is priced at US$129,990 against US$79,990 for a long-range Model S.

The latest price for the Model S Plaid is US$10,000 more than what was displayed a few days ago on Tesla's website.

"The Model S has not been changing a lot in terms of looks over the past almost decade. I think Tesla has to offer consumers something more," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director at car information provider Edmunds said.

The launch of the Model S Plaid, which has already been showcased online, has faced delay and some controversy over an expected airplane-style yoke steering wheel.

Musk cancelled another variant, Model S Plaid+, which would have had a 33% higher driving range than the Model S Plaid and used advanced battery technology, known as 4680 cells.

"The Model S Plaid is definitely intended to help reduce the migration of current Tesla owners out of Tesla," said Ed Kim, vice president at consultancy AutoPacific. "I think what we're seeing now is that Tesla can no longer operate in a vacuum."

He said Model S Plaid is a low-volume, halo model aimed at showcasing the automaker and generating excitement around the sedan, with Tesla needing to successfully roll out new models like Cybertruck and Semi trucks to expand its customer base.

Musk has called the Model S Plaid "the fastest accelerating car ever."

The more powerful sports sedan goes from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kph) in 1.99 seconds and has an estimated driving range of 627km.

While it offers little change in body style, as well as yoke steering the Plaid is expected to feature enhanced gaming with new titles and more powerful processors.

The launch event was pushed back to today, from June 3.


Volkswagen Scirocco won by Subang Jaya man

                KUALA LUMPUR: The winner of a new Volkswagen Scirocco, which was the grand prize in the "Give Me 5" contest, is Loo Kuok Tung from Subang Jaya.

The contest, organised by Volkswagen Malaysia, was held from October 9 till 31, 2014.

The contest also allowed Malaysian customers to enjoy five years free maintenance, five years of free road tax, five years warranty, five years mobility guarantee and RM500 worth of petrol vouchers.

Additionally, every customer who booked a Volkswagen model also stood five chances to win a Scirocco which is priced at RM193,888.

The Scirocco is a sports compact coupe, powered by a 1.4-litre TSI four cylinder engine with 160hp and an output of 240Nm of torque, paired to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

“Words cannot express my joy. I am a die-hard Volkswagen fan and a proud owner of a Volkswagen Golf Mk6, so you can imagine the thrill when I came to know about this," said the 34-year-old Loo.

Volkswagen Malaysia marketing director Martina Berg said, "We strive to create opportunities that bring our customers closer to the brand and to experience our cars; and this contest was a platform for us to do that. We are proud to see Volkswagen cars being held in such high esteem by our Malaysian customers.”


Motorists slapped with RM1,000 compound notice for illegal parking in Klang park

                KLANG: Parents who parked their vehicles at a nearby recreational park here while attending a sports event for their children at a multi-purpose hall in Taman Eng Ann on Jan 8 have been slapped with RM1,000 compound notices.

The compound notices were issued by the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) under Section 8(1) of the Parks By-laws for indiscriminate parking.

Bandar Baru Klang assemblyman Datuk Teng Chang Khim said it would be unfair to impose the compounds if MPK had given the organisers permission to hold the event at the multi-purpose hall.

"MPK approval is required to hold programmes there and the council should have rejected the request if the event was too big to be held there," said Teng, who is a senior state executive councillor.

He added if MPK had received payment from organisers and allowed the event to take place, then the council should allow people to park temporarily around the venue.

"I have organised many big community events there and people park their cars all around the place but they were not fined nor were there any complaints," he added.

Teng said to his knowledge, this was the first time people attending an event at the hall had been fined for parking around the venue.

Taman Eng Ann comes under the Bandar Baru Klang state constituency.

MPK corporate communications department director Norfiza Mahfiz confirmed that event organisers had booked the hall for Jan 7 and Jan 8 from MPK.

She also said that there were no "No Parking" signs in the area.

"If there is a need, we will put up a sign but that is not the issue here.

"The place has a playground and so there isn't a need for a 'No Parking' signboard," added Norfiza.

She added it was dangerous for cars to park at the recreational area as it also had a playground for children.

"It would be a disaster if any children playing there got injured and MPK will be the one blamed for it," she said.

When asked if such a large compound notice had been imposed for similar offences before, Norfiza said this was the first time a RM1,000 compound had been issued for breaching the Parks By-laws.

A parent who received a compound notice said the park had an access road to the area where cars were parked and those at the event were not told to remove their cars before they were issued.

People's Legal Team founder Dinesh Muthal said as the event was held with MPK's consent, the council would have known many cars would have been parked in the vicinity.

He also said the RM1,000 compound notice for a parking offence was on par with that imposed for some criminal offences.


Longer, wider, roomier: Second-gen BMW X4 goes on sale

                MUNICH: BMW is launching a new, sleeker X4 SUV to go alongside the X3. With prices starting at US$58,000 (RM236,000), the X4 will be about US$6,000 (around RM25,000) more expensive than its smaller cousin.

The second-generation X4, which will seat five, has grown significantly since its first generation. Length has been extended by 8cm to 4.75m in total and width by 4cm to 1.92m. Its wheelbase has also expanded to 2.86m, an increase of 6cm. Only the X4’s height will decrease by a few millimetres.

According to BMW, rear passengers in particular will benefit from the new dimensions, with 4cm extra legroom, as well as between 525 and 1,430 litres of cargo space in the boot, which features an electric tailgate.

While plenty of new digital instruments will be introduced for the car’s interior and more assistance systems will be available than ever before, there is also a choice of seven engines.

The X4 will be available in four diesel engines, ranging from the 2.0-litre four-cylinder 20d with 190hp to the M40d model, which will have a 3.0-litre V6 with 326hp.

The three petrol engines range from the 2.0-litre X4 20i with 184hp to the M40i, which will have a 3.0-litre V6 with 354hp. Depending on engine choice, the X4 can reach top speeds of between 213 and 250kph.

Average fuel consumption will be 5.4 litres per 100km for the diesel engines and 7.1 litres for the petrol variants.


Govt expects boost in public tranport usage with My50 unlimited travel pass from Jan 1

                PETALING JAYA: The unlimited travel pass priced at RM50 monthly for the use of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad's rail and bus services in the Klang Valley will kick off on Jan 1.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the My50 unlimited rail and bus pass replaces the previous My30 unlimited travel pass, which was introduced by the Government under the PENJANA scheme in June 2020.

"The promotion period for My30 ends on 31 December 2021 and it will be replaced with a RM50 per month travel pass, which was announced by the Finance Minister in the proposed Budget 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat on October 29, with RM115mil set aside for the initiative," Dr Wee said in a press conference to announce the introduction of the My50 travel pass at the Gombak LRT Station today.

He added that the introduction of the My50 travel pass was proof of the government's concern over the welfare and well-being of the people, especially in the current challenging situation in line with the aspirations of the "Malaysian Family".

Open exclusively to Malaysians, the My50 travel pass offered unlimited travel to Malaysians to use all public transport services operated by Prasarana such as the LRT, MRT, BRT, Monorail and Rapid KL stop-and-go buses as well as Jom Naik MRT shuttle buses by simply paying RM50 for a period of use of 30 consecutive days.

The My50 travel pass facility was also available in Penang for unlimited use of the Rapid Penang bus service under the Pas Mutiara label.

"For Penang, the travel pass will be called the My50 Mutiara Pass and can be used for the Rapid Penang service bus stop," said Dr Wee, adding that for now, the travel pass facility has not been extended to Rapid Kuantan, which is another Prasarana-operated bus service network.

To make this travel pass initiative a success, the Government has allocated RM115mil as a subsidy payment to cover the costs incurred by Prasarana in providing world-class public transport services, he said.

"With the introduction of this My50 travel pass and with the continuous good development of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), we are confident that 2022 will see an increase in the number of passengers using Prasarana-operated services," he added.

Overall for 2021, based on data up to December 24, the average number of daily passengers handled by Prasarana is 462,246 passengers with the average number of rail passengers at 324,517 per day and 137,729 passengers for buses, which cover Rapid KL, Rapid Penang and Rapid Kuantan services.

Before the outbreak of Covid-19, Prasarana used to handle up to 1.1 million passengers a day in 2019, said Dr Wee.

"With its capacity and capacity, Prasarana is able to increase the frequency of trains and buses it operates if demand increases; while ensuring that passengers continue to enjoy a comfortable, smooth and safe journey," added Dr Wee.

Although it was a huge investment for the government to provide the unlimited travel pass, Dr Wee said it was crucial to do so as the public transport sector plays a role in the wellbeing of the people and the economic development of the country.

"As emphasised by the Prime Minister when launching the Malaysian Family Pass on Nov 22, public transport has a big role in achieving the aspirations of the Malaysian Family.

"Apart from being a tool to unite the nation in achieving the aspirations of the Malaysian Family, efficient public transport services will also encourage the development of commercial activities and generate economic growth for the country.

"Therefore, it is my sincere hope that the people continue to support public transport services and use the facilities provided by this My50 unlimited travel pass to revitalise the country's economy and the spirit of Malaysian Family unity," Dr Wee added.

Although the My30 travel pass expired on December 31, Dr Wee said those who bought the travel pass and the Mutiara Pass on that day could continue to enjoy the facility until January 30, 2022 before having to switch to the My50 pass.

In the Klang Valley, the public could purchase the My50 travel pass at Rapid KL customer service offices at all LRT, MRT, Monorail and BRT (Sunway Line) stations.

The pass was also available at selected KL Rapid Bus hubs such as Pasar Seni, Chow Kit, KLCC, Sri Nilam, Puchong Utama, Pearl Point, Sunway Pyramid, Greenwood and Section 2 Shah Alam.

Purchasing locations in Penang are at selected Rapid Penang kiosks such as KOMTAR, Weld Quay (Terminal B), Penang Sentral, Bukit Jambul Rapid Penang Headquarters (Lorong Kulit), Dato Kailan Complex (Kepala Batas), Balik Pulau and Bukit Mertajam.


Shop for your next car at CarSifu Auto Show from today

                PETALING JAYA: If you are shopping for a car, then head over to the CarSifu Auto Show at Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur.

With 13 brands all in one location displaying their key models, it's the smart way to shop for your next ride.
The 5-day car show extravaganza starts today and ends on Sunday. The auto show, organised by Star Media Group and carsifu.my, will be opened from 10am to 10pm daily.

A total of 28 cars from the different brands are taking part in the show. Drop by to check out the latest models from Peugeot, Mazda, Toyota, Isuzu, Volvo, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Infiniti, Kia, Renault, Citroen and Proton. Some of the cars to be displayed are winners of the CarSifu Editors' Choice Awards, which took place on Oct 5 at a hotel here.

Visitors to the show who book a car will also stand a chance to win attractive prizes in the form of Sharp TV sets and ionisers. GSC pop-corn will also be given out free at selected times on the last three days of the show.

The Oct 25-29 auto show follows on from the CarSifu Editors' Choice Awards, in which the Honda CR-V 1.5 TC-P (2WD) won the "Car of the Year" award.

Boustead Petroleum Marketing and Silverstone Marketing are Star Media Group partners in the awards and the auto show.

> A 36-page print supplement on the auto show is out today in The Star newspaper. Take a look.

READ MORE:
2017 CarSifu Editors’ Choice Awards: Honda CR-V is ‘Car of the Year’
Why they won
2017 CarSifu Editors’ Choice Awards in pictures