Surging SUV demand is spooking German workers building sedans

                MUNICH: Germany’s car industry built its world-class reputation on sedans like the Audi A4, the BMW 5 Series and the Volkswagen Passat, reliable models that look good in the family driveway or company lot.

But a shift in consumer taste to more hulking vehicles is coming at the worst possible time.

Demand for sport utility vehicles that initially took hold in America has spread across the globe, dramatically changing the product mix of carmakers along with their production footprint.

Higher sales of the lucrative vehicles, while good for German manufacturers overall, threatens to hurt the workforce in factories at home that are heavily geared toward traditional sedans and hatchbacks.

At BMW AG, sales of SUVs made mostly in the US account for 44% of all global deliveries, up from 24% a decade ago - with a corresponding drop for models like the bread-and-butter 5-Series made at the Dingolfing plant near here.

The trend is similar at Audi, which churns out SUVs mainly in Mexico, Hungary and Slovakia, and Mercedes, whose workers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, can’t make the massive GLE fast enough to satisfy demand.

Recession, trade wars

Germany’s automotive industry, the largest employer with about 830,000 workers, is already straining under the biggest production drop in nearly a decade.

That has helped push Europe’s largest economy closer to recession.

The decline, led by trade tensions and a slowing global economy, comes at a delicate time for an industry already facing a future when fewer hands will be needed to assemble battery-powered vehicles.

A car’s combustion engine alone counts more than 1,000 parts, compared with just a couple of dozen components in an electric motor that doesn’t require an exhaust, transmission or fuel tank.

The repercussions from the simpler setup cascade through the making of an electric car, with fewer people involved in development, testing, parts purchasing and service.

"The SUV trend will certainly have implications for production structures,” said Rolf Janssen, a partner at Roland Berger consultancy.

"For workers, this adds additional pressure to the overall transformation trend.”

Like the pick-up truck, a model that’s popular in the US but largely absent from European roads, SUVs were a fringe phenomenon on the continent two decades ago.

Instead, motorists aspired to own an Audi A3 or the Mercedes C-Class, while their larger luxury siblings chauffeured around captains of industry and politicians.

Mercedes set up shop in Alabama in 1995, making SUVs near consumers in a key market, while BMW’s sprawling Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, its biggest globally, churns out X3 through X7 models.

VW manufactures its T-Roc crossover, credited with lifting results in its most recent quarter, in Portugal, while the Audi Q7 and Q8 takes form in Slovakia and the Q3 in Hungary.

Forecaster LMC Automotive expects domestic German car production to sag to a 10-year low this year, with the export market in particular facing trouble. Justin Cox, director for global production at LMC, singled out Audi’s Neckarsulm plant in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the Passat factory in Emden in northern Germany and VW’s massive Wolfsburg site as vulnerable.

"The sedan localisation issue isn’t helping Germany,” Cox said.

Factory output

Factory staff are starting to push back. In June, Neckarsulm worker representatives estimated the site’s utilisation rate at a woeful 60%, despite model revamps for A6, A7 and A8 sedans.

The factory, which employs almost 17,000, is missing out on the SUV sales boom and lacks firm commitments to assemble upcoming electric models, the powerful works council said, vowing to not budge on concessions as Audi seeks talks to cut costs.

Since 2009, sales of A6 sedans and hatchbacks have sagged to make up 12% of the total, down from 20%, while the A4 made at the Ingolstadt headquarters has declined to 18% from 31%.

"We urgently need plan to improve capacity utilisation now and a medium-term solution for the future,” Neckarsulm labour head Juergen Mews said in a statement.
Audi said its German sites remained the backbone of its global production network.

In Ingolstadt, which already makes the Q2 compact SUV alongside sedans, the brand is in the midst of construction work to make the plant more flexible, a spokesman said.

Talks with the labour council on future allocation plans are ongoing, she said.

Volkswagen’s factory in Emden has likewise faced problems as SUVs like the T-Roc cannibalise the trusty but staid Passat. Falling demand for the former drawing card has forced VW to put some 10,000 staff at Emden on reduced working hours and cut temporary employees.

The world’s biggest carmaker is shifting the Passat to Czech Republic and will retool Emden to make only electric vehicles by 2023 - a move VW has said will require still fewer workers.

Plant rebalancing

Even VW’s headquarters plant in Wolfsburg, the world’s largest single car-manufacturing complex, faces risky times.

The ubiquitous Golf, the car that brought VW back from the brink in the 1970s and set the tone for compact city hoppers, has struggled to maintain its allure amid mushrooming offerings of popular compact crossovers.

As an offset, the 20,000-worker plant also makes the popular Tiguan SUV, and should get a boost from Golf production being moved from Puebla in Mexico, Cox said.

SUVs make up 42% of production at Wolfsburg with the Tiguan and Seat Tarraco, and VW plans to build compact electric SUVs in Germany, a spokesman said.

SUV sales should account for half of VW brand deliveries by 2025 and the group will step up bundling similar products across its 12 automotive brands to boost efficencies, according to the company.

BMW has also sought to balance its SUV footprint, adding the X1 entry-size model to its Regensburg site in Bavaria. BMW said its global production network was able to react to changes in demand and customer behavior, while utilisation at its eight German plants was "good.”

German SUVs

Mercedes began German production of the GLA compact crossover at Rastatt in 2013 and Sindelfingen last year, in addition to the mid-size GLC SUV in Bremen.

But its lucrative GLE and GLS vehicles are still made in Tuscaloosa, and the top-priced G-Wagon is largely hand-built in Austria at contract manufacturer Magna International Inc.

Mercedes upgraded its facilities early to quickly react to changes in demand, a spokesman said, as demand for Mercedes SUV models has increased every year since 2009.

Switching production to new models is difficult, expensive and time-consuming.

Roland Berger estimates that it can take as long as a year to retool a plant to start making SUVs alongside sedans - provided the legwork to accommodate the bigger and heavier vehicles has already been done.

BMW’s Dingolfing factory, its biggest in Europe, last year made 330,000 sedans, from the entry-level 3 Series all the way up to the top-range 8 Series coupe.

The facility’s hopes now lie partly on the iNext crossover, a technology flagship in the mould of the i3 electric car and the i8 sports car, which use a carbon fibre chassis, that will go on production in 2021.

"Some of the juggernaut or brownfield plants with deeply ingrained structures will face a tougher task,” said Roland Berger’s Janssen.


Toyota Corolla GR to debut in September 2021?

                TOKYO: Japanese media reports are abuzz over the speculated arrival of the Toyota Corolla GR performance hatchback that should be able to go toe-to-toe with the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

It seems that September 2021 will be the magic month that will see the Corolla GR arrive in showrooms, thereby expanding the GR stable to three alongside the Supra and Yaris.

As to what's going under the hood, it could be the same 257hp 1.6-litre three-cylinder powerplant that's also found in the Yaris GR, but this shouldn't be the case.

Instead, it would be more prudent for the Japanese automaker to throw in a properly tuned 2.0-litre "blown" engine that's managed by a six-speed manual or automatic with paddle-shifters for the Yaris GR's all-wheel-drive system.

Doing so would be providing another good alternative to the Renault's Megane RS range of hot hatches too here in Malaysia.

And just like the smaller Yaris GR, expect nothing less than an up-rated suspension system and sports seats to help keep its driver in place while flinging around corners.

There should also be a beefed-up braking system and lightweight wheels with performance tyres to handle the extra speed generated by having more ponies than usual.

All this is starting to feel like the 1990s again with the advent of more sports cars coming from Japanese automakers. Now, we will just have to wait and see if Mazda and Mitsubishi — which have a strong sporty heritage — will join in the fun.


Mercedes-Benz continues to tease EQ C

                STUTTGART: Mercedes-Benz is once again teasing us with a new image of its all-electric EQ C SUV ahead of a full reveal of the first model from its new electric sub-brand that's scheduled for Sept 4.

After an alluring shot of the rear of the vehicle earlier in the week, now we get a glimpse of what the interior is going to look like.

The EQ C will be an all-electric SUV from the German luxury automaker designed to take on the likes of the Tesla Model X, Jaguar I-Pace, BMW i3 and the upcoming Audi e-tron. It will be unveiled at a special event in Stockholm next week before making its public debut a few weeks later at the Paris Motor Show.

To ramp up anticipation of the full reveal, Mercedes has been releasing a number of teaser images. And this latest one of the interior of the EQ C looks a lot like the inside of the new A-Class, which certainly isn't a bad thing by any means.

The new image clearly shows the new MBUX infotainment system and large screens spread out in front of the driver.

We already have a good idea of what to expect when the EQ C finally has the wraps taken off it. As well as the recent teaser images that are likely to continue to come out until next week's full reveal, Mercedes also released its own "official spy shots" of the EQ C prototype covered in camouflage undergoing testing on the track earlier this year.

This mid-sized electric SUV will be an electric sister model to the current GLC, and we expect it to cost around €61,000 (RM292,000) when it goes on sale in the first half of next year.

For that money, buyers will be getting a luxury electric SUV with a range of 480km or more on a single charge, which will be capable of getting from 0 to 100kph in around five seconds, courtesy of its two electric motors delivering a total output of 402bhp.


Euro5 diesel goes on sale in Klang Valley

 BHPetrol's Seri Kembangan station.

PETALING JAYA: If you have picked up a copy of The Star paper this morning, you would have realised that Euro5 fuel is now on sale in the Klang Valley.

But only from Boustead Petroleum Marketing Sdn Bhd (BHPetrol), which started selling Euro5 diesel at its Seri Kembangan station along the Sungai Besi highway from today. It expects eight more of its stations in the valley to begin sale of the cleaner fuel by Aug 13.

The  Infiniti Euro5 diesel is retailed at RM2.05 per litre, 10 sen more than the Euro2M diesel. Both diesel grades would be sold alongside each other.

The main difference between Euro5 diesel and Euro 2M is that the Euro5 contains only 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur compared to 500ppm for Euro2M. It is therefore a much cleaner fuel which produces lower emissions for a cleaner environment.

With an ultra-low amount of sulphur, the Euro5 diesel is expected to allow a vehicle’s advanced engine and emission control systems to perform optimally. The result is reduced emissions, extended engine life and improved vehicle performance.

BHPetrol began selling Euro5 diesel in Johor Baru at RM2.30 last November, making it the first petroleum company to offer the product in Malaysia. It now has 11 stations offering the higher grade diesel in the Johor state capital. It also leads the pack as the first to roll it out in the Klang Valley.

BHPetrol said the introduction of Euro5 diesel in Johor "was an initiative we took to ensure that diesel-powered vehicles entering Singapore could comply with the country’s tighter emission regulations that came into effect mid-2014."

"We are aware of the growing number of Malaysian motorists who favour cleaner, higher-grade fuel for their advanced diesel engines. As such, we continue to use our expertise and resources to make Infiniti Euro5 diesel available at more and more of our service stations."

On the petrol side, BHPetrol has announced last month that its Infiniti RON97 Euro4M petrol would be officially launched on Sept 1 and would be available at all BHPetrol stations.

It is fully imported with double dosage of German additives at 800ppm, catering to current high performance engine vehicles, and has only 50ppm of sulphur content, translating to cleaner engines, better performance and longer engine life. It also means a less polluted environment.


Pandemic fuels NY used-car sale surge, risking 'Carmageddon'

A used car dealership. Many New Yorkers are buying used cars despite misgivings. — AFP
NEW YORK: Increasing numbers of New Yorkers are buying cars as they avoid public transport because of the coronavirus pandemic, igniting the second-hand market but undermining hopes of less congestion in the Big Apple.

Julien Genestoux, 35, never owned a car when he lived in Lyon, Rome and San Francisco. And he got through five years in New York without needing one.

"Using a car in the city is a nightmare," he said. "There's the traffic jams, going round for hours looking for somewhere to park."

"For me, it was not practical at all. But here it has become necessary unfortunately."

A few weeks' ago, Genestoux, who has three children, finally took the plunge and bought a family car from a used-car website.

It has allowed his family to escape New York at a time when virtually all its cultural activities are shut down.

"Living in New York when you can't do anything, you have to go out," said the tech entrepreneur.
Genestoux has swapped weekends in Central Park for trips to Rockaway beach. And he's not the only one to buy four wheels of their own.

He was the last of his group of friends to buy a car — none of them had ever owned one before the pandemic.

The Manheim used vehicle value index, which tracks price trends in the United States, reached an all-time high of 163.7 in August, against 141.3 a year ago.

In early June, second-hand car dealer Chris Stylianou was close to completely emptying his stock, something he'd never come close to achieving in his 30-year career.

"A car I was buying for US$5,000 two years ago, I end up (paying) US$5,500 today. Same car, same model, same condition," said Stylianou, owner of Major auto Show in Brooklyn.

"People were buying just to avoid public transportation. Anything that was good to go would go," he added.

Rudy Blocker, a used-car salesman at A Class auto Sales, also in Brooklyn, believes the surge in purchases was helped by weekly US$600 cheques the government sent to unemployed Americans until the end of July to help stimulate the economy.

"People had a little money and it was burning their pocket," he said.

Sales of new cars have not soared, however.

While they have picked up since June, they are still significantly down from 2019 for all major makers.

"With a lease, you'd have to commit for three years," said epidemiologist Magdalena Cerda, who bought a BMW station wagon for US$35,000.

"When you buy a new car you're losing so much money just as soon as you drive it out of the parking lot. It seemed like a better investment just to buy a used car," she added.

'Gridlocked'

Cerda, the mother of a seven-year-old girl, wanted a temporary fix because she hopes New York City will one day return to normal and she'll be able to safely take the subway again.

"Everyone hopes it is just temporary," agreed Genestoux.

"If the situation returns to normal, I think we would get rid of the car," he added.

Neither Genestoux or Cerda use their new vehicles on weekdays, unlike the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who now hit the road every day.

"It's different people (from before). It's people who work around here," said Fernando Bajana, manager of the GGMC Seven Eleven parking lot in Midtown, Manhattan.

"Before they came to work using public transportation but now they are afraid to do so."

Transportation Alternatives, a non-profit that works to take cars off New York's streets, noted in September that despite most New Yorkers working from home "traffic is down only nine percent compared to last year."

The group warned that without action the city faces becoming a "gridlocked, exhaust-choked, and crash-laden 'Carmageddon.'"

Self-proclaimed champion of the fight against pollution Mayor Bill de Blasio has not yet laid out any plan to prevent congestion borne of the pandemic.

A pre-pandemic congestion charge scheme for midtown Manhattan scheduled for January 2021 has been postponed until at least the end of 2021.

"If today people buy cars, I think that shows there is also a failure of public transport policies in the city," said Genestoux.


Renault planning all-electric Twingo with 270-km range

                BERLIN: Renault's Twingo has long been a favourite for city dwellers looking for a compact and cheap runabout, and Renault is now also seeking the same success on electric avenue.

Renault wants to launch one of the cheapest battery-powered cars in the European market with an electric Twingo that ditches the three-cylinder petrol engine for an 82-horsepower electric motor powered by a 21-kWh battery.

With a maximum torque of 160Nm, Renault's smallest electric can sprint from 0 to 50kph in 4.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 135kph and a standard range of 190km.

In urban traffic, where this car can typically be found, the Twingo Electric can even manage a radius of 270 km, says Renault.

The Twingo charges at up to 22kW, meaning it can draw enough power for 80km in 30 minutes. According to the manufacturer, it can reach 84-per-cent charge level in 60 minutes.

The car is currently being tested by media after a sales launch in France and other markets. Renault has put the new Twingo's base launch price at €25,666 (RM125,000) for its home market in Europe.


Mercedes-Benz issues 'do not drive' recall for 292,000 US vehicles

                WASHINGTON: Mercedes-Benz's US unit said on Thursday it is recalling 292,000 ML, GL and R-Class vehicles from the 2006 through 2012 model years over braking issues and urged owners to stop driving immediately.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the German automaker was issuing a voluntary "do not drive" recall because of potentially corroded brake boosters that could severely affect braking capability, increasing the risk of a crash.

Mercedes-Benz USA said there have been no crashes, injuries or deaths related to the issue.

The company said it will offer complimentary towing to owners of affected vehicles. If a repair is needed, a Mercedes dealer will help coordinate alternate transportation.

The NHTSA said vehicles that do not exhibit advanced corrosion may continue to be driven with no further action, while vehicles with advanced corrosion will have an additional test.

Vehicles that pass the test may be driven for up to two years but must return for an additional repair, while those that do not pass will require a brake booster replacement.

The NHTSA said in rare cases of very severe corrosion, "a particularly strong or hard braking maneuver could cause mechanical damage in the brake booster, whereby the connection between the brake pedal and brake system would fail."

In that instance "it would not be possible to slow or stop the vehicle via the service brake."


BMW drives to cut battery costs, share costs on autonomous vehicles, says exec

                NEW YORK: BMW AG plans more deals with mining companies to secure electric vehicle battery materials, and is open to forming alliances to share the costs of developing autonomous-vehicle systems, said the automaker’s research and development chief.

BMW management board member Klaus Froehlich said automakers and large suppliers are beginning to discuss how to agree on one standard for autonomous-vehicle systems. Froehlich has said in the past automakers and suppliers should agree on a single standard.

“Everybody has an interest or should have an interest” in common autonomous-vehicle standards, Froehlich said earlier last week during an event to show off a futuristic, electric and autonomous sport utility vehicle.

Froehlich made his comments before a report in Automotive News on Friday that Volkswagen AG is interested in an industry alliance to standardise autonomous vehicle systems.

On batteries, Froehlich said, BMW is pursuing a strategy aimed at securing lower-cost batteries than rivals, in part by controlling the supply of raw materials for its battery-making partners.

“We will have agreements with mining companies,” Froehlich said. “We have one agreement. There will be more.” A key issue, he said, is securing cobalt from mines that do not exploit workers or employ children.

BMW rode a wave of electric vehicle marketing this month by European luxury brands. The German automakers and rivals, including Tata Motors Ltd’s Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo Cars, a unit of China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Inc, are gearing up new electric models.

The legacy automakers are under pressure from regulators in China, Europe and the state of California to field more clean vehicles. The European brands also want to keep more affluent consumers from flocking to vehicles made by Silicon Valley automaker Tesla Inc.

BMW has previously disclosed agreements with Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. However, Froehlich said those companies will supply batteries using a proprietary BMW design.

“In electromobility, you have to be a cost leader,” he said. “If you are not a cost leader you will not survive.”

BMW on Saturday showed off the electric, autonomous “Vision iNext” SUV in Beijing as part of a publicity tour in which the prototype car and a stage have travelled around the world in the hold of a Lufthansa cargo jet.

The vehicle, with gas and brake pedals that sink into the floor during autonomous driving and touch-screen controls embedded in the rear seat cushion, hints at an electric vehicle BMW could launch among 12 fully electric models it has promised by 2025.

On Monday, Volkswagen’s Audi brand plans a splashy launch for its e-Tron sport utility, the same day Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk has said he plans to make news about the first passenger for his space launch company SpaceX’s slyly named BFR rocket.


Dubai puts green cars in the spotlight

                DUBAI: Despite being at the heart of a region built on the riches of oil production, at the 2017 Dubai International Motor Show, the United Arab Emirates showcased the steps it is taking to become a leader in zero-emissions transportation and in cutting overall oil dependency.

When the 14th biennial automotive event opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles took center stage alongside bespoke hypercars and oversized SUVs.

Thanks to a range of initiatives including the free use of public charging stations, free parking for zero-emissions cars and generous tax incentives, interest in and demand for alternative fuel vehicles is growing steadily in Dubai.

"It is testament to the diversity of the Middle East's motoring culture and the visionary Dubai leadership that the leading manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars see great potential in a region that has been dominated for so long by the petrol engine," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions and Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre of this year's show.

Dubai has already laid impressive foundations for a public electric car charging infrastructure, but many in the UAE are backing hydrogen, rather than plug-in electric as its fuel of tomorrow. It already generates sufficient hydrogen in its oil refineries for potential domestic use but has ambitious plans to ramp up production for the international markets. For the same reason, it is looking to its other core industries, such as caustic soda production, to see if hydrogen can be developed or generated as a by-product, as well as to solar farms for providing carbon-free energy for creating the gas.

The region's first hydrogen station, in Abu Dhabi, was recently completed, and since January the UAE has been working in partnership with Toyota with the aim of testing Mirai Fuel Cell cars on its roads.

Dubai wants to be able to boast the world's lowest carbon footprint by 2050 and while moving to renewable energy such as solar power will go a long way to achieving this commendable target, the Emirate also needs to address current forms of personal mobility.

Hence incentivising electric car ownership in the short term and looking to hydrogen in the longer term. On the eve of this year's Dubai show, The Hydrogen Council coalition, a group of 18 leaders across 18 key industries, addressed COP 23 in Bonn and presented its roadmap for a future with hydrogen power at its core.

According to its research, conducted and compiled with McKinsey, widespread adoption of hydrogen power could cut CO2 emissions by around 6 gigatons compared with current levels and represent 20% of the measures needed to limit global warming to a 2° Celsius increase.

"The world in the 21st century must transition to widespread low carbon energy use," said Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, who is also co-chair of the Hydrogen Council. "Hydrogen is an indispensable resource to achieve this transition because it can be used to store and transport wind, solar and other renewable electricity to power transportation and many other things."


Perodua is latest to go into used car business

                OSAKA: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is expanding into the retail sales segment for pre-owned vehicles (POV) and improving its after-sales service to cushion itself from the weaker ringgit and challenging outlook in the automotive sector.

Speaking to reporters at the sideline of 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said the company was currently facing margin compression from new car sales due to the weaker ringgit and higher campaign and promotion expenses.

He explained that Perodua was in the midst of improving its after-sales service as well as expanding into retail sales for used cars from its current wholesale-only model.

“The original plan was to launch the company’s POV branch in the fourth quarter of this year, but we hope to have the first POV in the Klang Valley by next year,” he said.

He explained that the POV initiates would help Perodua in a way to control the resale value of its cars and to provide an alternative for customers who can’t afford new cars.

POV model is basically taking in used cars as trade-ins and later refurbished for resale with warranty of between six to 12 months given by Perodua.

Aminar said that up to September this year, the company has received about 3,500 trade-ins units and it targeted to collect 4,800 units by year-end.

He noted that Perodua would only use cars that are up to seven years old for its POV programme as older cars may not be economically viable.

On Perodua’s after sales, Aminar said that regardless of the economic situation, its existing customers would still need to service their cars.

“Our services are within an affordable range of only over RM100 and we are developing several packages to bring back our lost customers,” he said.

About 40% of Perodua’s profit is derived from its after-sales services.

Although Perodua posted its worst sales performance in September of some 14,500 units, Aminar said Perodua was confident of achieving new car sales of 208,000 units this year.

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

For this year alone up to September, Perodua sold 76,107 Axia units in Malaysia. The model was introduced in September last year. Sales for Perodua’s face lifted Myvi and Alza MPV declined to 52,560 units and 28,841 units from 65,245 and 43,014 units in the same period last year respectively.

Aminar said Perodua was targeting to sell 105,000 Axia units this year.

“We expect sales for new vehicles in October to be about 17,000 units, which was our average monthly sales previously,” Aminar said.

When asked if Perodua was going to increase its car prices amid the weaker ringgit environment, Aminar said the company is monitoring the possibility for such move.

“We are studying the situation very closely, because I have to admit our costs have been increasing. If possible we want to avoid such a move until a point when we are no longer able to absorb the costs,” he said.

“The stronger US dollar and yen have impacted 2% to 3% of our bottom line three months ago, and now it has gone up to 5%,” Aminar added.

He said the hike in Axia G’s prices by about RM1,000 in October was not because of foreign exchange but because the previous price was an introductory price for the variant.

Aminar said Perodua was also expanding its research and development division that would include designing its own car.


Celestiq EV is GM’s most audacious Cadillac since Great Depression

                DETROIT: General Motors Co's Cadillac brand on Monday pulled the wraps off the Celestiq, a US$300,000-plus flagship electric vehicle that is the brand's most audacious new model since the 1930 Cadillac Sixteen.

Unlike the 16-cylinder roadster that was launched just months after the 1929 crash, the 2024 Celestiq has no monster gasoline engine under its long hood. Instead, it boasts twin electric motors producing 600hp and a 111-kilowatt-hour battery pack shared with GM's Hummer EV.

It is also one of the strangest-looking vehicles ever created by GM.

The company's design boss Mike Simcoe refers to the Celestiq — a long, four-door fastback that is not quite a sedan — as a “spaceship,” adding, “there will be nothing like it on the road.”

The hand-built Celestiq, which goes into production late next year, has two things in common with the Sixteen: Customers can spec out the car in intricate detail, and it will be assembled in extremely low numbers.

GM built just over 4,000 Sixteens here during the Great Depression. The company says a new dedicated facility at its Warren, Michigan technical centre can build two Celestiqs a day — about 500-600 vehicles a year.

The Sixteen could be ordered in 1930 in several body styles, including roadster, coupe, sedan and limousine. The largest of these measured 6.1 metres long. The Celestiq is a tad smaller, but not much: 5.5 metres.

The late historian Beverly Kimes noted that the 1930 Cadillac Sixteen Town Brougham was priced at just over US$9,000, or roughly US$163,500 (RM771,000) in today's money.

That is about half the price of a basic Celestiq, which will start “in the low 300s,” according to Cadillac vice president Rory Harvey, who declined to say how high that sticker might go with all the bells and whistles added.


Authorities to come down hard on Mat Rempit

                GEORGE TOWN: The days of illegal street racers and their supporters getting away with a slap on the wrist look to be over.

The racers could face a minimum fine of RM5,000 and jail time too from next year. The current minimum fine is a paltry RM300.

Spectators watching by the roadside and the parents of underage racers will also not be spared under proposed amendments to Section 42 of the Road Transport Act 1987.

Transport Ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak said the proposed amendments would also punish workshop operators who provide motorcycle modification for illegal racing purposes.

“These illegal racers not only put their own lives at risk but also that of other road users.

“We are looking at increasing the minimum fine amount to between RM5,000 and RM10,000 from RM300.

“Spectators who are part of the illegal races will also face action.

“Parents too play an important role in curbing their children’s behaviour, especially those aged under 18,” he said during a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday.

The amendments to the Act will be the third after previous ones which saw heavier penalties for drink driving and the regulation of ehailing riders.

Isham said the amendments were likely to be tabled in the first Dewan Rakyat meeting next year.

READ MORE: Experts have ideas on how to curb Mat Rempit menace

He said a task force had been set up to get input from the ministry, Road Transport Department (JPJ), police, non-governmental organisations and the public.

“We need a holistic study and approach to solve this issue fairly.

“Workshop operators who modify bikes for street racing purposes may see their licences revoked.

“Increasing the insurance premiums for those who have been involved in illegal racing is also being considered,” he said.

In the short-term, Isham said police and the JPJ would continue with operations to stop the Mat Rempit racing.

“We will place cameras in illegal racing hotspots to identify the racers and spectators, starting in Penang,” he said.

“If it works, we will use the same approach in other states.”

Penang police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said it was high time the authorities drafted an integrated strategy to curb the menace.

“The police will work hand-in- hand with the JPJ and the public to share data and information to solve this problem, once and for all,” he said.

On July 17, an accident involving illegal street racers claimed five lives – Mohd Haziq Harris, 34, Muhammad Shazwan Hakim Mohd Abdul Sani, 22, Muhammad Eizreel Muhamad Roszaidi, 25, Ahmad Haikal Naif Ahmad Nazrul, 19, and Muhammad Harith Zikri Yusnizar, 17.

Another rider who was injured, Muhammad Rahimi Shukor, 19, has since been discharged from hospital.

Muhammad Shazwan Hafiz Mohd Abdul Sani, 22, was transferred to a private hospital for treatment.

According to traffic police data, there have been 329,296 accidents involving motorcycles from 2019 to 2021.

In the three years, 10,188 motorcyclists died: 3,959 people in 2019, 3,118 in 2020, and 3,111 in 2021.

Also present at the press conference yesterday were Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Comm Datuk Mat Kasim Karim and Penang JPJ director Adenan Md Isa.


Electric MINI Countryman gears up for series production at BMW's Leipzig plant

                LEIPZIG: The new MINI Countryman is set to start production at BMW's plant here by the end of this year, and will be offered with both pure electric drive and combustion engines.

This will be the first time that a MINI model is produced entirely in Germany.

Thanks to space-saving components such as the particularly flat high-voltage battery, the new Countryman will offer additional space and even greater comfort in the future.

Petra Peterhaensel as plant director and Sonja Hengstler as project manager for the new Countryman are responsible in Leipzig for the transformation towards more electromobility and sustainable production of the E-components as well as the entire vehicles.

A core workforce of 5,600 employees produces around 1,000 vehicles every day.

The new Countryman comes off the production line in Leipzig together with the BMW 1 Series, 2 Series Gran Coupé and 2 Series Active Tourer. This makes the location the first plant at which vehicles of the BMW and MINI brands are made together.

Today, one in five MINI models is already electrified. The high-voltage batteries for the all-electric Countryman would come from the plant's own production facilities.

To this end, the BMW Group is expanding its capacities for e-component production at the Leipzig site by eight production lines by 2024 and investing more than 800 million euros.

"We are delighted to be able to hand over the first MINI 'Made in Germany' to our customers in a CO2-neutral manner thanks to the plant's sustainable energy supply," said MINI chief says Stefanie Wurst.

"In this way, the new all-electric Countryman demonstrates what the brand stands for: electrified go-kart feeling and a strong focus on a minimal environmental footprint."


Celebrity Car Wars Season 3 sponsored by Caltex: starts in September

                KUALA LUMPUR: Automotive reality series Celebrity Car Wars returns for a third season, with a new line up of six celebrities from around the region who are ready to test their skills, endurance, and smarts against each other.

The challengers getting behind the wheel include Singaporean actor and comedian Munah Bagharib; Malaysian actor, producer and director Hans Isaac; Filipino actor, VJ, and son of legendary actress Teresa Loyzaga, Diego Loyzaga; American-Filipino actor, model, and singer Xian Lim; Thai-Australian actor, singer, and model, Matthew Deane; his wife and competitor Thai R&B idol, actress, and social media influencer Lydia Sarunrat.

Helmed by Emmy-winning active TV and sponsored by Caltex, the production of the show has recently completed filming in the Philippines, slated to air in September 2018.

“As Celebrity Car Wars shifts into full gear, Caltex is once again pleased to be part of a journey that showcases how Techron’s high-performance fuel can help vehicles deliver under more challenging scenarios. Viewers can expect celebrity antics as well as professional tips and tricks to help drivers improve their drive to gain better fuel economy, including how the right fuel can maximize power and increase engine reliability,” says main sponsor and General Manager of Sales & Marketing Support for Caltex, Carlos Rey C. Castaños.

Host Bobby Tonelli and guest mentors, professional race drivers Gaby dela Merced and Michele Bumgarner, are back to steer the stars along their individual clashes and eight-week journey. Viewers can expect more madcap motoring mayhem and extreme challenges including an all-new perilous construction site obstacle course, an epic drag race down WCC’s Binalonan Airfield, and an amusing battle to pimp out a wreck.

Other challenges from previous seasons have been brought back by popular demand, including a Jeepney race, reverse racing, and an insanely tough off-road 4X4 ride along Pampanga’s Sacobia River. Celebrities will also face the dreaded brick wall, which returns to test their gumption yet again.

To amp things up, the third season of Celebrity Car Wars also sees past contenders Marc Nelson and Phomela Baranda return to the tracks for the series’ famous drag race, and Dominic Lau makes a special appearance to guest-referee the car-football challenge. This season also introduce a live leaderboard to allow contenders to track each other’s scores.

Who will join previous champions KC Montero and Dominic Lau and be enshrined in the Celebrity Car Wars Hall of Fame, and who will crash out of the competition?

Celebrity Car Wars is produced by Emmy-winning activeTV and took home the Gold Award “Best Idea – Content Marketing” at the 2017 MARKies Awards organised by Marketing Magazine.

Catch Celebrity Car Wars Season 3 this September on HISTORY Asia (ASTRO CH555 and CH575 HD).


2016 Geneva Motor Show: Koenigsegg presents production Regera and final Agera

                GENEVA: Koenigsegg is presenting the production version of the Regera megacar at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

The Regera, which has a megacar moniker, has a massive 1,500+ hp output and 2,000+ Nm of torque and the Koenigsegg Direct Drive system is used to put this power to the ground.

The Regera will reach 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds, 0-200 in just 6.6 seconds and 0-300 in a blistering 10.9 seconds.

 The Regara

Koenigsegg estimates a 0-400 km/h time of 20 seconds and acceleration from 150 to 250km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

The Regera was introduced in concept form at the 2015 Geneva Auto Show, and since then, over 3,000 changes have been made to the concept vehicle.

It has a kerb weight of just 1,590kg.

With the Direct Drive system, Koenigsegg has developed a clutch-slip mechanism that uses the hydraulic coupling to convert torque at medium/high speeds during fast acceleration.

Shift paddles remain on either side of the steering wheel.

The left paddle is used to enhance the regenerative braking effect in recharging the battery pack.

The right paddle is used to activate the hydraulic coupling’s ‘downshift’ operation.

The Regera has a 800 volt, 4.5kWh battery pack, making the Regera the world’s first 800V production car.

This extreme battery technology will now provide an amazing 525kW of discharge and up to 200kW of recharge.

The Koenigsegg Regera battery pack also boasts the highest cooling capacity of any battery in automotive use today.

The Regera's battery pack uses Formula 1 grade, hand built cells that not only provide improved performance and regenerative capability, but weighs a mere 90kg whilst providing enough power to help the Regera to accelerate to 300km/h in just 10.9 seconds.

Meanwhile, Koenigsegg also presented a new, bespoke limited edition called “Agera Final” which are limited to just three vehicles, all of which have been sold, and are the last of the Agera model line.

 Koenigsegg Agera ‘Final’


Honda wants to make exciting cars again, plans more power to engineers, say sources

 Hachigo. - Reuters

TOKYO: Nearly a year into his job, Honda Motor Co CEO Takahiro Hachigo plans a back-to-the-future shift at the Japanese automaker, driving clearer demarcation lines between those who develop cars and those who sell them, two senior company insiders told Reuters.

The thrust of the changes, to be unveiled by Hachigo here today, will be to reduce the influence of sales and marketing teams on car design, reversing moves by previous chief Takanobu Ito, the people said.

"Over the years, our product development process became overly complex and slow, involving a huge number of engineers and sales and marketing people," said one of the two Honda executives. As a result, "we began producing watered down, uninspiring, what you might call designed-by-committee, cars."

Hachigo, 55, has taken soundings internally and set up a small task force of mainly younger fifty something executives, said the insiders, who did not want to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

As a result, he plans a re-balance of power between engineers and marketing on car design, they said, noting sales people focus more on a car's affordability than its performance.

"Sales people involved in product planning are more focused on customers' immediate needs. We need to stay focused on that, but it's not much help in figuring out what kind of car we should be putting out 5-10 years down the road," the second executive said.

"Tech people should design cars more freely, but take responsibility if the car isn't successful."

Hachigo, who has an engineering background, is likely to limit sales executives' participation at key product planning meetings, including the annual "long-term strategic conference" that usually is held in the spring, they said.

 A man looking at a Honda S660 car at the showroom of the Honda Motor Co headquarters in Tokyo. - Reuters

Honda's chief spokesman Kaoru Tanaka declined to comment.

Hachigo will give more autonomy to Honda R&D Co, the technology unit, and rein in some of the independence at the group's regional blocs in Japan, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and China.

Increased localisation has led to regional differences in engine size and features such as hybrid systems and all-wheel drive trains in global models including the Accord, Civic, Fit and CR-V in order to be cost-competitive, the executives said.

Hachigo is also likely to return to Japan the planning and development work on vehicle platforms and core technologies that had begun to flow to the regions in past years, they added.

In a management reshuffle announced on Tuesday, Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, Hachigo's rival for the top job last year, moved from automotive operations chief to head of Honda's Research and Development center, a key technology post.

Hachigo is expected to restructure Honda's global Automotive Operations headquarters, which looks after product planning among other functions. Senior engineers previously relocated to the Tokyo head office to promote cooperation with sales divisions are now likely to move back to Honda's tech centre near Utsunomiya, north of the capital, the executives said.

The strategy overhaul will also see Honda revert to a concept of "sogo hokan", or mutual interdependence among production facilities around the world, they said.

They noted that Honda failed to make the most of last year's strong US market growth and a weaker yen because it had not set aside enough capacity in Japan to produce cars to sell in the United States, which accounts for around a third of global sales.

The immediate target, the executives said, is to boost sales globally with more innovative and distinctive cars, and eliminate excess capacity of around 750,000 cars a year.

Honda, which is battling the fall-out from a massive global recall over faulty Takata Corp  air bags, sold around 4.75 million vehicles last year and had the capacity to produce 5.5 million.


Zero GST prices for Peugeot and Citroen

KUALA LUMPUR: In line with the recent announcement made by the Ministry of Finance to fix the GST at 0% with effect from 1st June 2018, Nasim Sdn Bhd introduces an interim pricing list valid from 1st June 2018 until commencement of the new Sales & Service Tax for its Peugeot, Citroen and DS models.


Supercars and champagne: Bangkok's rich purr through pandemic

                BANGKOK: As the coronavirus brought the global economy to its knees, Thai businessman Yod decided to buy himself an US$872,000 treat — a lime-green Lamborghini.

Yod picked up the customised Huracan EVO supercar in Bangkok, a city of billionaires with a luxury economy unbroken by the crisis ripping through Thailand's wider economy.

With tourism and exports in freefall, Thailand's growth could shrivel by as much as 10 percent this year, dumping millions into unemployment.

But in a split-screen economy, there are plenty with immunity to the economic scourge caused by COVID-19.

Thailand is home to the ninth most billionaires anywhere, according to the China-based Hurun Report's Global Rich List 2020.

Among those with deep pockets is Yod -- full name Thanakorn Mahanontharit -- who was undeterred by Thailand's "crazy" supercar import taxes of up to 80 percent when he made his March purchase.

"This car makes me feel like David Beckham," the genial Bangkok-based petro-chemicals businessman told AFP.

"When you open your door everyone looks at you like you're a superstar."

Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini have all launched top-end models in Bangkok over the pandemic period, cars with price tags of between US$750,000 and US$1.2 million.

It is a bet on the wealth sloshing around Bangkok.

Millions of dollars of that cash were on proud display in the capital last week as an eye-catching 40-car convoy from the Thailand Lamborghini Club cut through the city's knotted traffic for a day trip to a nearby resort.

Lamborghinis "appeal to a very niche audience of high net-worth individuals", said Matteo Ortenzi, chief executive for Automobili Lamborghini in the Asia-Pacific region.

There has been "continued interest and demand (from Thailand), one of our most important markets in Southeast Asia," he added.

Yod said his supercar purchase was the completion of a lifelong dream.

"It is a reflection of your success, it doesn't mean I am better than you," he told AFP.

"It's just that I work hard and play harder."

Economy in reverse gear

But most Thais are in a different game.

The kingdom is one of Asia's least equal countries.

Thailand is headed by a super-rich monarchy and buttressed by a handful of family dynasties with monopolies covering everything from beer and duty-free to convenience stores.

Their fortunes have surged under six years of military-aligned government which has parcelled out major contracts to them, while the wider economy has backslid.

"One percent of the population owns pretty much two-thirds of the country," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, warning that inequality is kindling a political crisis.

Meanwhile many more are sinking.

Farmers are reeling as demand struggles to return to pre-virus levels and remittances from migrants to the cities are drying up, while the urban middle class are facing a cash crunch playing out in unpaid loans and school fees.

As a result, household debt is forecast to surge to 88-90 percent of GDP by the end of this year, according to a Kasikornbank research note.

Government figures predict the pandemic could leave 8.4 million jobless, over a quarter of them employed in the cash-cow tourism sector.

That would eviscerate the gains of the last two decades, which saw millions lifted from poverty by Thailand's export, manufacturing and tourism boom.

Even before the pandemic hit, the number of people living in poverty had risen by nearly two million to 6.7 million, according to a March report by the World Bank.

Now, as the pandemic strips back the economy, the middle and working classes "are not well-cushioned," said Pavida Pananond, an academic at the Thammasat Business School.

Yet the rich enjoy a level of "financial immunity" from the crisis.


BMW Motorrad debuts first cruiser with R 18

                MUNICH: With the new R 18, BMW Motorrad now enters the cruiser segment and this model stands in the tradition of historical BMW motorcycles – both technically and in  design style.

It borrows from famous models such as the R 5 both technologically and visually, shifting the focus back onto the motorcycle essentials: purist, no-frills technology and the boxer engine as the epicenter of riding pleasure.

The R 18 combines classic design with clear-cut, yet contemporary technology, to create a riding experience that is as cultivated as it is emotional.

The centrepiece of the new R 18 is a newly-developed 2-cylinder boxer engine – the “Big Boxer”.

Both its impressive appearance and its technology reflect a continuation of the traditional air-cooled boxer engines that have offered an inspiring riding experience for more than seven decades, since BMW Motorrad began production in 1923.

The most powerful 2-cylinder boxer engine ever used in motorcycle series production has a displacement of 1802 cc. The peak power output is 91hp at 4,750rpm and 157Nm at 3,000rpm. Torque is abundant with over 150Nm of torque available from 2,000 to 4,000rpm, combined with a full, resonant sound.

In keeping with the BMW Motorrad philosophy, the new R 18 features a laid-back positioning of the footrests – so-called “mid-mounted footpegs”. This classic position behind the cylinders is not only typical of BMW, it also enables a relaxed and active riding position for optimum vehicle control.

The R 18 will be offered worldwide as an exclusive R 18 First Edition from the start of production, with a standard model reserved additionally for certain markets. It combines the R 18 look with exclusive equipment features in a classic black finish with white pinstriped paintwork. Other highlights include numerous chrome surfaces, a seat badge and a “First Edition” chrome clasp on the side covers.

For the R18 accessories and customising programme, BMW Motorrad is working with Roland Sands Design and several suppliers including US manufacturer Mustang Seats to offer different versions of hand-made seats. There will also be custom exhaust systems from Vance & Hines.


Sarong cover-up: JPJ admits it went too far

                PETALING JAYA: Forcing a decently dressed woman to wear a sarong before attending to her was a step too far, admitted the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

The JPJ, in a press statement, apologised to Suzanna G.L. Tan and acknowledged there was no such policy.

"JPJ would like to firmly state there is no regulation that indicates visitors must be provided with a sarong. Clearly, this is an inconvenience to the visitor," it said.

However, it pointed out that visitors to JPJ offices were subject to a dress code, just like other Government departments.

The statement added the JPJ’s priority was to ensure the public was provided with pleasant and efficient service.


BMW to use software from Israel's Tactile Mobility in vehicles

                TEL AVIV: Israel's Tactile Mobility said on Tuesday its software will be embedded into the BMW Group’s next-generation vehicles beginning in 2021.

The collaboration will equip BMW vehicles with the ability to analyse the road surface attributes under their tires, enabling detection of road conditions.

Tactile Mobility develops software that uses a vehicle’s non-visual sensors, including wheel speed, wheel angle, RPM and gear position to help smart and autonomous vehicles “feel” vehicle-road dynamics and road conditions.

In October Tactile Mobility said it secured US$9 million in funding from a group of investors that included Porsche.

The cooperation between BMW and Tactile Mobility began through the BMW Startup Garage, the venture client unit of the BMW Group.


Petronas' customers earn up to three times reward points via Setel app till June 30

                KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PDB) has announced a new tier system that enables customers to earn up to three times reward points for every litre of fuel bought via the Setel application effective April 1 until June 30.

The new system is categorised into three tiers: junior, explorer and hero, depending  on the volume of fuel bought.

"Customers, who transact via the Setel app during this time, will earn bonus Mesra points of 1.5 times, two times and three times per litre, respectively," said PDB in a statement.

PDB  head of retail business  Khalil Muri said by digitalising Mesra loyalty programme, customers could  now earn, redeem rewards and easily track their points via Setel app or app.setel.my without a physical Mesra card.

“In addition, we will be awarding new Setel users with 10 times Mesra points during this promotion period to encourage more customers to adopt our digital solution,” he said.

First time users are required to register for a Setel account and enter the promo code "c-tenx" to be eligible to collect 10 times Mesra points for every RM1 spent on the Setel app for the first 30 days upon registration, capped at a maximum of 800 points, according to PDB.


Too early to assess Putrajaya MRT route on peak-hour congestion

                SEPANG: It is still too early to assess the effectiveness of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) service in the Putrajaya route in reducing traffic congestion, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

This is because the congestion at peak hours is still critical, including on the MEX Highway, the Federal Highway, the Kuala Lumpur-Sungai Besi Highway, especially in the morning and evening, he said.

"The situation of peak hour congestion, especially during the month of Ramadan, is quite critical... but it is still too early to see the effectiveness of this MRT line to reduce road congestion," he said.

The Putrajaya MRT line was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and began full operation on March 16.

Speaking at a press conference after launching the Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) Renewable Energy Programme at the Salak Tinggi ERL Complex here today, Loke said his ministry was aiming for the Putrajaya line to be used by 200,000 passengers every day compared to about 80,000 at present.

According to him, the number of passengers recorded during the first two weeks when operating for free was 100,000 per day.

"It's normal because if it's free, many people will use it, but we see the trend of the number of passengers using public transport now continues to increase.

"We will take some time to increase the number of passengers, indeed in all rail services this is a normal thing which takes time," he said.

Meanwhile, Loke said the renewable energy programme initiative will be extended to public transport stations across the country, especially for the rail transport sector.

"This policy will be extended to operators such as Prasarana, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) and in the future we plan to install it on MRT and LRT stations around the Klang Valley," he said.

The first phase of ERL's renewable energy programme involves the installation of solar panels on the roof of Bandar Tasik Selatan station and Salak Tinggi station which has been fully functional since last year, as well as the latest one at Salak Tinggi ERL Depot.


2024 BMW M2: Manual stick, twin-turbo 3.0-litre engine, 460hp/550Nm

                LONDON: The new BMW M2 two-door coupé encapsulates the pure joy of driving: its compact dimensions, a six-cylinder in-line engine, a six-speed manual gearbox option, rear-wheel drive and an advanced control/operating concept – allowing the driver to adjust the vehicle setup as desired.

With a maximum output of 460hp – 90hp more than the original BMW M2 – and driving dynamics honed during in-depth testing on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife circuit and other race tracks, the new M2 is another highlight in the model offensive celebrating the 50-year anniversary of BMW M GmbH.

The advances over the first-generation BMW M2, which became the largest-selling model in the BMW M line-up with almost 60,000 examples sold worldwide, are evident not just from the car’s sharper performance but also its far more extensive standard specification.

A standout optional extra is the bespoke M Race Track Package that is designed to maximise the performance experience, its benefits including raising the electronically limited top speed of 250kph to 285kph.

The new BMW M2 is built alongside the new BMW 2 Series Coupé at the BMW Group’s San Luis Potosí plant in Mexico.

It is the only model in its premium compact segment to be offered with a six-cylinder in-line engine.

Developing a maximum 460hp from its advanced engine, the new BMW M2 outguns the base unit used by the original BMW M2 by 90hp.

Indeed, its output is even 10hp higher than that of the special-edition BMW M2 CS from the previous model generation.

The 3.0-litre unit differs only in a small number of details from the engine employed in the BMW M3/BMW M4 models.

The straight-six engine combines the latest M TwinPower Turbo technology with the high-revving characteristics of an M car.

Peak torque of 550Nm is produced between 2,650 and 5,870rpm and maximum output arrives at 6,250rpm. The engine revs to a maximum 7,200rpm.

The M-specific exhaust system with electrically controlled flaps generates an emotionally rich soundtrack. It terminates in a large silencer, from which the exhaust gases escape via a quartet of tailpipes in customary BMW M fashion.

The new M2 comes as standard with an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic.

However, a six-speed manual gearbox is optional.

The Gear Shift Assistant uses engagement speed control to ensure slip-free operation when downshifting under braking into corners. It can be deactivated in the M Setup menu.

There are shift paddles on the steering wheel for performing manual shifts with sequential gear selection.

It is also possible to execute multiple downshifts to the lowest available gear in manual mode for a sudden burst of acceleration.

M Steptronic does not force upshifts under acceleration in manual mode – even when the engine’s revs hit the limiter.

The rear-wheel drive M2 come with standard Active M Differential, which can halt rotational speed compensation between the rear wheels whenever required and generate a locking effect of up to 100 per cent.

M Servotronic steering and adaptive M suspension are also standard.

The M Compound brakes – comprising six-piston, fixed-calliper brakes with 380mm discs at the front wheels and their single-piston, floating-calliper counterparts with integrated parking brake and 370mm discs at the rear – deliver outstanding stopping power.

The new M2 has an M-specific version that presents the driver with two pedal feel settings, allowing them to choose between more comfort-oriented or very direct execution of brake pedal inputs.

Also standard are double-spoke M light-alloy wheels measuring 19-inch at the front and 20-inch at the rear, shod with tyres measuring 275/35 ZR19 and 285/30 ZR20 at the front and rear respectively.

Track tyres are also available as an option, in conjunction with the M Race Track Package.

Measuring 4,575mm from nose to tail, 1,887mm wide and 1,403mm in height, it is 114mm longer than its predecessor, 16mm wider and 11mm lower. It is 219mm shorter than the BMW M4 Coupé models.

The 2,747mm wheelbase of the new BMW M2 makes a prominent contribution to its fingertip agility. It is 110mm shorter than that of the BMW M4 Coupé but 54mm longer than its predecessor, delivering more legroom in both rows of seats.

The new M2 comes with a lightweight M Carbon roof as standard.

The standard M Sport seats, heated and upholstered in Vernasca Black or Cognac leather, come with electrical adjustment.

Meanwhile, the optional M Carbon bucket seats, also fully electric and heated, offer a weight saving of nearly 11kg over the M Sport seats.

The rear backrest also has a 40:20:40 split and, when the backrest is upright, there is 390 litres of boot space.

M interior trim strips in Carbon Fibre are standard, with the shift paddles and trim on the M leather steering wheel also having a CFRP finish.

Three-zone automatic climate control, acoustic glazing for the windscreen and a rain sensor with automatic headlight activation are standard on the M2, along with ambient lighting, electrically adjustable and heated exterior mirrors, a Harman Kardon Surround Sound System, a Bluetooth interface and two USB ports.

The new M2 is equipped as standard with Parking Assistant with rear view camera and front and rear sensors, Cruise Control with brake function, Front Collision Warning with brake intervention, Lane Departure Warning including lane return, the Attentiveness Assistant and the Speed Limit Display with no-overtaking indicator and Manual Speed Limit Assist.

The standard BMW Curved Display in the new BMW M2 cockpit is formed by a 12.3-inch information display and a control display with a screen diagonal of 14.9 inches.

Also standard is smartphone integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.


One million Mustangs galloping into Europe

COLOGNE: It has taken just one month for Ford to clock up 1.1 million European orders for its latest-generation Mustang, even though it won't be arriving in dealerships until the summer.

Still, motorists in Europe have already been waiting over 50 years for the Mustang to arrive, so a few more months won't hurt.

When the original Mustang went on sale in the US in 1964, sales were quite literally off the chart. No car before or since has seen such consumer demand and the sales records it set stand to this day.

(READ:Mustang to arrive in Malaysia by December)

Ford received 22,000 orders on launch day, sold 418,812 examples within the first 12 months, and within 18 months the one millionth Mustang had rolled off the production line. Remarkable for a car only available in a single country.

And when those first Pony cars do start hitting the streets of Europe, expect to see a lot of examples finished in Race Red. According to Ford's data, 20percent of all European orders are for a Mustang finished in bright red. Black is the second most popular colour choice and deep blue comes in third.

As such, European and Chinese tastes appear to be aligning. The new Mustang has just gone on sale in China and over one third of orders (35%) are also for Race Red. However, with 20% of orders, black is pushed down into third place by the popularity of Oxford White.

White is currently the most popular car colour in the US but not when it comes to the Mustang. Since going on sale in late 2014, the majority of cars have been specified in black. Magnetic metallic grey is the second most popular choice with red making up the top three.

Whatever the colour choice, there is little doubt that the new Mustang will look good, but the volume of orders in the EU is significant for another reason - motorists believe in the new car.

The last-generation Mustang was available as an import and while it looked great, as most US muscle cars do, it was a disappointment to anyone who is more used to driving a German or even Japanese-built sportscar. It had a live rear axle (something that disappeared in Europe in the 1970s) and some of the interior fittings and finishes weren't up to scratch.

However the new car is the latest in a growing number of US-built vehicles that really can challenge the European motoring establishment. The handling, dynamics, comfort and performance are as good as its exterior design cues and Ford is so confident that the car is going to be a hit that it has actually built the new Mustang in both left- and right-hand drive forms.


Special edition Maserati Levante S GranSport SUV now available from RM839K

PETALING JAYA: Naza Italia-Maserati announced on Monday that it has brought in a special edition Levante S GranSport SUV.

Only five units of Levante S GranSport Zegna Pelletessuta will be available for Malaysia. Each unit has a starting price of RM838,800 (inclusive of local taxes and duties).

The special edition features the Ermenegildo Zegna interior, a woven leather textile named Pelletessuta, made only for selected Maserati vehicles.

Pelletessuta is made of thin Nappa leather strips, replacing conventional fabric yarn, while following the traditional method of weaving to create a luxurious “fabric” that is lightweight, soft and lasting.

For the first time in the Maserati-Zegna partnership, the customisation has been extended to also include the GranSport trims of the Maserati range, expanding the possibilities for personalisation.

The special edition Levante S GranSport features an exclusive bronzo tri-coat exterior colour; black Pelletessuta interior with Radica wood trim and the words "Ermenegildo Zegna PELLETESSUTA"; black brake calipers; and 21” polished Helios rims. The exterior colour is also available in Blue Nobile tri-coat paint, as an alternative.

Each Maserati comes with a 3-year warranty coverage with no mileage restriction plus a free maintenance programme of 3 years/60,000 km whichever comes first.


SUVs more attractive to women than men, says Aston Martin

                PETALING JAYA: British carmaker Aston Martin is gearing up to launch its first SUV (sports utility vehicle), the DBX and its research has shown that it catches the attention of women than it does men.

In an article from Australian motoring website, motoring.com.au, Aston’s global marketing boss Simon Sproule said, "They want to feel safe, they want to be protected, they want to be able to see ahead. The SUV class of cars have attributes that correlate more strongly with what women want."

Sproule also said that the majority of spending power rests with women these days.

 The DBX prototype.

“Eighty-per cent of car sales in the world are decided by women. It logically follows that their vehicle preferences will have a substantial impact on the market.

“The industry knows it and they just have to get over it,” said Sproule.

However, the all-new DBX SUV was not designed for women specifically but instead, to have a desired impact on the luxury SUV market.

“Our primary objective was to create another beautiful looking Aston Martin that had the attributes needed to be successful in the luxury market, regardless of gender.

“We did not set out to create a ‘car for women’ but instead created a new Aston Martin with the characteristics of an SUV," said Sproule.

Luxury carmakers are the last to join the SUV boom as evidenced by the recent launches of the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus and Rolls-Royce Cullinan, offered Sproule. As such, luxury SUVs are not purchased for its practicality for off-road use for example. Instead, it offers the luxury makers a platform to design something bold and attractive to its customers.

“The increase in the number of coupe-styled SUVs and crossovers is a natural response to consumer interest in vehicles with higher performance and a more sporty design language.

“As SUVs are also being purchased by customers where practicality is not the prime purchasing factor, creating specific models that trade practicality for style was always going to be a logical evolution of the SUV."

Watch the DBX in action here.


McLaren introduces tech club via short films

                NEW YORK: A series of short films created to provide insight into the technologies behind the McLaren brand and cars will be shared across McLaren media channels in the coming weeks.

Designed to educate, entertain and inform McLaren fans and customers alike, they can be accessed from the comfort of home via the McLaren Automotive social media and YouTube channels as well as the cars.mclaren.com website.

McLaren Tech Club (#McLarenTechClub) is designed for those who want to delve deeper into the core of every McLaren car while also increasing their automotive knowledge.

The new films explore the innovative technologies developed by McLaren designers and engineers to help deliver the incredible driving experiences for which the pioneering supercar company is renowned.

 McLaren Elva AAMS airflow.

The first film - titled ‘How does the McLaren Elva keep you comfortable at 70mph without a windscreen?’ - looks at the revolutionary ‘Active Air Management System’ (AAMS) of the new Elva, the latest McLaren Ultimate Series roadster and a car that is instantly recognisable because of the absence of a roof, windscreen or windows.

The Elva AAMS film is available here.

The new Elva has been designed to distill elements of driving pleasure into one incredible open-cockpit car.

Fundamental to this is the world-first ‘Active Air Management System’, which creates a ‘bubble of calm’ for both driver and passenger despite the car not having a windscreen.

In the Tech Club film, McLaren Automotive Director of Engineering Design Dan Parry-Williams, takes viewers through the innovative solution to deliver a comfortable drive at 70mph with no physical barrier to airflow in front of a driver or passenger, ensuring an incredibly immersive and enthralling experience.

Presented in an easily accessible style, the McLaren Tech Club content is designed for viewers of all ages.

The second film – released on April 9 – is titled, ‘What makes the McLaren Senna GTR's wing design so unique?’ Featuring Esteban Palazzo, Principal Designer at McLaren Automotive, discussing the incredible carbon-fibre rear wing, it can be viewed here.


AIG Malaysia wins 'Fastest' and 'Most Accurate Motor Claims' awards

AIG Personal Lines Claims head Jasvinder Singh and Lee receiving the awards.
KUALA LUMPUR: AIG Malaysia walked away with two motor insurance awards, “The Fastest Estimate Claim Approval Time for Own Damage Claims 2017” and “The Most Accurate Average Estimate to Approval Amount in 2017” at the recent Motordata Research Consortium (MRC) Industry Awards event.

The awards by MRC were based on the fastest turnaround time and most accurate claims estimates for vehicle claims, for which AIG has been recognised five times since 2011.

Incorporated in 1998, MRC is the only concessionaire appointed by the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) with the endorsement of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to standardise and improve motor vehicle claims in the insurance industry.

The organisation uses an industry database of motor claims performance data to benchmark and reduce subjectivity.

“We are honoured to have set a new benchmark for claims processing, in order to ensure best in class service for our customers," said AIG Malaysia Insurance CEO Antony Lee.

"With the liberalisation of the motor insurance market, insurers will have to raise their standards to meet the needs of increasingly well-informed consumers to remain competitive.”

The awards come at a time when AIG is celebrating its global centennial anniversary this month.


MINI Malaysia launches special 60 months after-sales offer for limited time

                KUALA LUMPUR: MINI Malaysia has introduced a 60 Months MINI Service + Repair Inclusive Programme (MSRI) for all new MINI cars bought from now till 31st August 2019.

This gives new MINI owners 60 months or 80,000km (whichever comes first) of Free Scheduled Service and 60 months of Warranty with Unlimited Mileage.

“This year, we celebrate 60 years of British innovation, iconic design and thrilling go-kart handling. Since 1959, MINI has continued to push the boundaries whilst keeping the creative use of space, driving fun, style and individualisation at its core. As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we are thrilled to extend the 60 Months MINI Service + Repair Inclusive Programme to all new MINI owners to deliver the complete Premium Ownership Experience,” said BMW Group Malaysia managing director Harald Hoelzl.

The services include service vehicle check, engine oil change, along with servicing for air filter, fuel filter, micro filter, spark plug and brake fluid.

The exclusive offer is for all new purchases of MINI vehicles with a JPJ registration from now to 31st August 2019.

Additionally, the 60 Months MINI Service + Repair Inclusive Programme will also be applicable for fleet packages, duty-exempted vehicles and the Returning Expert Programme (REP) customers.


Upgrade your Nissan NP300 Navara with Ironman 4X4 accessories

                KUALA LUMPUR: If you drive a Nissan NP300 Navara, Rustcare Sdn Bhd has just the gear to jazz up your pick-up truck.

Rustcare Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd, has recently been appointed the exclusive distributor for the Ironman 4x4 accessories, allowing owners to enhance the safety, performance and lifestyle of their 4x4 vehicles.

Rustcare introduced the Australian 4x4 accessories to Malaysia at the recent Nissan 4WD Carnival. The products are available from Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd and Tan Chong Ekspres Auto Servis Sdn Bhd.

Ling says three Ironman 4X4 accessories packages are available, priced from RM11,000 to RM22,000.

Ironman 4x4 has been around for over 27 years and is a leading Australian brand in 4x4 accessories, supplying for recreational users, fleet, mining vehicles, and the defence industry in more than 160 countries.

There are three Ironman 4X4 accessories packages on sale – Challenger, ChallengerPlus, and Adventure ranging from RM11,000  to RM22,000.  Suspension kits are available for the Navara to enhance ride comfort and performance.

Edaran Tan Chong Motor is now selling the packages at of 15% off for a limited time. The accessories can also be financed together with the purchase of the NP300 Navara.

Customers who buy the Ironman accessories get a warranty period of three years or 100,000km, whichever comes first.

“These packages cater for various driving styles from day-to-day work to visiting off-road destinations. Getting the ride quality is the design goal for Ironman," said Rustcare director Nicholas Ling.


Proton drives DRB-Hicom growth in June quarter

                KUALA LUMPUR: DRB-HICOM BHD made a net profit of RM46.2mil in the three- month ended June 30, driven by strong sales at subsidiary Proton Holdings Bhd.

"The group’s automotive businesses are expected to remain resilient," the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

"Public response to Proton's improved models, as well as new models by other marques in the portfolio should aid the performance," it added.

As of end of July, Proton has delivered 52,108 units of vehicles compared with 35,561 units sold in the same period last year.

The group, which businesses includes automotive, financial services, postal, property and construction, said revenue during the quarter was RM3.4bil.

The automotive division generated RM2.23bil in sales, while services contributed RM1.09bil.


The new SsangYong Tivoli XLV

                LONDON: SsangYong has announced the new Tivoli XLV, an extended body model of its already popular Tivoli compact SUV.

“Following rapid growth in the compact SUV market, SsangYong responded in 2015 by launching Tivoli, its first small SUV, and already the company’s most successful new car.  Some 64,000 cars were manufactured and sold around the world last year,” said Paul Williams, CEO of SsangYong Motor UK.

“Tivoli has been praised universally for meeting a number of customer requirements, not least its ability to carry five adults in comfort and with one of the largest boot capacities, while many other cars in the sector are regarded as being a ‘down-size’ too far.

“Now SsangYong has gone a step further by launching an extended car to provide even more carrying capacity and practicality.  This was shown as the XLV Air concept at the IAA motor show in Frankfurt last year, and from the extremely favourable feedback received, took the decision to put the car into production.

“Following its international debut at Geneva, the Tivoli XLV is now being launched in Europe, and arrives in the UK this summer.  Annual sales from the Tivoli platform including XLV are forecast to exceed 100,000 cars this year,” he added.

Sharing the same platform and 2,600mm wheelbase as the Tivoli, the XLV features a lengthened body from behind the C pillar, an increase of 238mm over the standard car, expanding the load capacity to a huge 720 cubic litres of space.  Meanwhile, the styling cues that distinguish Tivoli are retained, including its harmoniously fused SUV body design, sports coupé look and floating roofline.

Designed to offer a multi-role, multi-function solution to a wide range of customers, Tivoli XLV provides just the versatility needed to meet individual lifestyles: family car for lugging baby buggies and cots for small children, bikes and golf clubs for the sports-minded, and materials or business equipment during the working week.

Passenger safety has been a top priority for this car, and comes with seven airbags including front, side and curtain airbags plus a driver’s knee airbag, multi-function ESP (Electronic Stability Program), Active Rollover Protection, Brake Assist, Hill Start Assist and ESS (Emergency Stop Signal), a tyre pressure monitoring system and a warning reminder on all five seat belt positions.

Tivoli XLV is offered with a Euro 6 compliant 1.6 litre diesel engine, and matched with the option of a 6-speed manual transmission or 6-speed Aisin automatic, two-wheel drive or 4x4.

The newly developed 1.6 litre e-XDi160 Euro 6 diesel engine produces 115ps/3,400-4,000rpm max power with 300Nm/1,500-2,500rpm, and delivers a smooth, progressive and powerful driving experience.

It also features a fifth generation E-VGT turbocharger which maximises performance especially in the mid-low speed range so it is fun and responsive to drive.  With manual transmission there’s also ISG (stop/start) to meet the demand for low CO2 emission levels.

The 1.6 litre diesel engine achieves a CO2 emission level of just 117g/km (two-wheel drive, manual transmission with Stop/Start), and economy of up to 62.8mpg on the Combined cycle.

The SsangYong DNA is all about 4x4, and the Tivoli XLV draws on this by offering the option of an intelligent 4-wheel drive system.  The electronically controlled on-demand system distributes power to front and rear drive shafts, and automatically adjusts to the road surface and driving conditions to optimise performance.

In normal driving, the drive system distributes all power to the front wheels to enhance fuel efficiency, and automatically adapts to 4-wheel drive in snow or wet slippery conditions, by diverting power to the rear wheels as well to ensure driving stability.

For increased stability and reassurance, particularly when driving on a hill or slope, the 4-wheel drive operates with Hill Start Assist which helps by delivering power to any wheels that are spinning.  And for optimised braking performance, ESP and ABS also control the 4x4 system for greater safety.

With a 167mm ground clearance, approach angle of 20.0 degrees, 20.8 degree departure angle, and 17.0 degree ramp angle, a highly competent off-road capability is assured.

Comprehensively equipped, the Tivoli XLV features digital-dual zone automatic air conditioning, an infotainment system with RDS radio, 7” high-resolution touch screen, USB/AUX port, iPod & Bluetooth connectivity, Tom-Tom navigation and rear view camera.  There is cruise control, parking sensors front and rear, rain sensing wipers, automatic headlight activation and stylish roof rails.

SsangYong cars are manufactured in South Korea by SsangYong Motor, which is 73 per cent owned by the Indian engineering conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, and imported into the UK by SsangYong Motor UK.


Toyota ends Aussie production

                SYDNEY: The last Australian-made Toyota — a petrol Camry — rolled off the production line today, ending over five decades of manufacturing by the Japanese firm as the once-booming local car-making industry grinds to a halt.

Toyota announced in 2014 that it would stop making vehicles at its unprofitable Australian plants, joining the country’s other two large automakers — Ford and US giant General Motors’ Holden offshoot.

 The last Camry to be built at the Toyota plant in Australia.

Ford closed its production line last year and Holden will shutter its only remaining car factory in Adelaide later this month. All three companies blame the Australian dollar’s strength and an increasingly competitive market for the local sector’s decline.

”Toyota became the top automobile manufacturer in Australia,” Toyota Australia president Dave Buttner told close to 3,000 employees at the closure of the Altona plant in Melbourne today.

”The vehicles produced here became a byword for quality and reliability not only in Australia but also in the world as the vehicles were exported to other regions like the Middle East.”

Some 2,600 workers have lost their jobs, although the company has retained 1,300 for distribution and sales, as well as research and design.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was a sad day but pointed to new higher-end manufacturing opportunities as a means to help offset the job losses.

”The investment that we’re making in defence, in naval shipbuilding in particular, is going to deliver thousands of advanced manufacturing jobs,” he told reporters.

Australia has been producing cars for almost a century, with the industry employing tens of thousands of workers until its decline over the past decade.

It has struggled with the effects of the high local dollar, squeezing exports and compounding rising production costs.


After driving ban ends, Saudi women taste thrill of speed

Almimoni adores muscle cars. 'My dream car is more than 500hp.' — AFP
RIYADH: Donning a helmet inside a pearl silver sports sedan, Rana Almimoni skids and drifts around a Riyadh park, engine roaring, tyres screeching and clouds of dust billowing from the back.

For Saudi women, such adrenaline rushes were unimaginable just weeks ago.

Speed-crazed women drivers are bound to turn heads in the deeply conservative desert kingdom, which overturned the world's only ban on female motorists in June as part of a much-hyped liberalisation drive led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Almimoni, 30 and a motor racing enthusiast, is defying the perception — or sexist misconception, depending on who you ask — that only dainty cars in bright colours are popular with women drivers.

"I adore speed. I love speed... My dream car is more than 500hp," said Almimoni, slamming the accelerator of her silvery sleek Kia Stinger inside Riyadh's Dirab motor park. "It's a myth... that Saudi women only choose pink and cute cars."

Almimoni said she was awaiting an expected government decision that would permit women to obtain a "racing licence", which would allow her to hone her passion in motorsport competitions.

That includes drifting — oversteering the car to slip and skid or even spin, and other high-speed daredevilry — which is illegal in public but tolerated in the controlled environment of Dirab park, whose private owners insist on safety.

 Almimoni drifting a Stinger on a track in Dirab motor park, on the southern outskirts of the capital Riyadh, on July 19.  — AFPNeed for speed

Author Pascal Menoret's acclaimed book Joyriding in Riyadh described the high-octane Saudi obsession for drifting, long seen as a symbol of revolt among legions of restless youth, as all "about being a real man".

Now newly mobile Saudi women are embracing what was previously deemed a male entitlement —speed.

"Most of our enquiries (from women) are about drifting — how to learn drifting, which cars can they train on, how long will it take them" to drift, said instructor Falah al-Jarba as he watched Almimoni zip around the park.

Auto showrooms tapping new women clients have rolled out a line-up of cherry red MINI Coopers, but sales professionals say many exhibit an appetite for muscle cars like the Camaro or the Mustang convertible.

Many new drivers seek inspiration from Aseel al-Hamad, the first female member of the kingdom's national motor federation, who got behind the wheel of a Formula One car in France in June to mark the end of the driving ban.

Clad in skinny jeans and Harley-Davidson T-shirts, a handful of women are also training to ride motorcycles at a Riyadh driving school, a scene that is still a stunning anomaly in the conservative petro-state.

Transport authorities have rolled out racing simulators to help first-time women drivers get a feel of being behind the wheel.

As a male traffic official demonstrated the importance of seatbelts by buckling up inside a car tethered to a flat platform and upturning the vehicle, some women zipped around twisted tracks in toy cars.

Another sat down behind the wheel of a simulator and instantly floored the accelerator, sending the speedometer soaring.

"I don't feel I'm in Saudi Arabia anymore," said Nagwa Mousa, a 57-year-old university professor here.

"But I don't expect to see many women in Saudi Arabia overtaking and speeding in the streets anytime soon."

The driving reform is said to be transformative for women, freeing them from dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives, but many are keeping off the streets.

"Congratulate me, finally saw a female driving! Although she is Bahraini but it counts as she is driving in Saudi land," comedian Yaser Bakr said on Twitter after the ban was lifted.

 Almimon, the motor racing enthusiast. — AFPNo 'free speech'

For now, most women drivers appear to be those who have swapped foreign licences for Saudi ones after undergoing a practical test.

Many complain that driving courses cost several times more than those available to men and that women instructors are in short supply.

While no overt incidents of street harassment have been reported publicly, many women are also wary of pervasive sexism and aggression from male drivers despite warnings from authorities.

Also testing nerves is the government's sweeping crackdown on women activists who long opposed the driving ban and a long-vilified system of male "guardians" — fathers, husbands or other male relatives, whose permission is required to travel or get married.

"The Saudi government is expanding entertainment options for Saudi women but eliminating space for political expression," said Kristin Diwan, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

 Almimoni revels in the new-found freedom in Saudi Arabia. — AFP

"Lady drifters can feel the speed but not free speech."

At least 12 leading human rights activists, including eight women, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia since May, according to Amnesty International.

The crackdown triggered a diplomatic brawl with Canada after Ottawa demanded the "immediate release" of those detained.

"It's a dubious advancement in gender parity: women are now coming under arrest for their rights activism just like the men," said Diwan.


Setel expands into auto assistance

Mazlin and Azarol are working together to help motorists in case of a vehicular breakdown.
KUALA LUMPUR: Refuelling and EV charging app Setel has added a new feature.

Its new auto assistance feature will offer on-demand auto services, which provides Setel users quick and easy access to a range of auto service providers, in the event of a vehicle emergency.

Setel users nationwide can now seek battery replacement, jump-start, tyre-change, emergency refuelling assistance, vehicle lockout and towing services directly via the Setel app supported by Bateriku.com as the first partner.

“Setel aims to be the constant companion to motorists by offering an ecosystem of mobility services to settle their needs. The auto assistance feature complements the motorists’ journey with access to safety essentials right at their fingertips," said Setel chief executive officer Mazlin Erawati Ab Manan.

Bateriku.com chief executive officer Azarol Faizi Zakaria Ansari said his company had served nearly one million customers
nationwide through a network of gig technicians, entrepreneurs and partners with over 130 physical outlets on tap.

To woo users to use its auto assistance, Setel said users would be able to automatically earn Mesra points that can then be used to redeem fuel and other rewards.


Hyundai and Cummins team up on hydrogen fuel cell tech

                LOS ANGELES: Hyundai Motor Company and Cummins Inc will jointly evaluate opportunities to develop and commercialize electric and fuel cell powertrains.

These new powertrains are expected to be developed by combining Hyundai’s fuel cell systems with Cummins’ electric powertrain, battery and control technologies; the initial development will be focused on the North American commercial vehicle market.

“We’ve made significant investments over the past year to accelerate our fuel cell capabilities including our acquisition of Hydrogenics and this partnership is another step forward,” said Thad Ewald, Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Cummins Inc.

“With Hyundai’s global leadership in fuel cell systems coupled with Cummins’ unparalleled electrified powertrain technologies, we expect this partnership to leave a mark in the commercial vehicle market,” said Saehoon Kim, Vice President and Head of Fuel Cell Group at Hyundai Motor Group.

 The NEXO.

The new collaboration may extend beyond the commercial vehicle market, as the companies will also evaluate the development of fuel cell power generators.

The availability of reliable back-up power generation to prevent data loss in emergency situations is a business-critical requirement for many organizations.

Fuel cell back-up power generation is attractive for its reduced carbon footprint.

Hyundai Motor is a world leader in the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology, having opened the world’s first commercial production facility for fuel cell vehicles in 2013, and released the world’s first commercialised hydrogen-powered vehicle, the Tucson Fuel Cell, in 2015.

The NEXO, Hyundai’s second-generation fuel cell electric vehicle with a range of over 610 kilometers, is a versatile, three-row SUV that emits clean water vapor and even purifies the air while driving.

Hyundai fuel cell systems are comprised of fuel cell stacks which convert stored hydrogen into electricity, as well as other sub-components — collectively referred to as balance of plant (BoP) —for thermal management and air supply among other integral processes for power generation.


Shop online for Hyundai cars at 'Cl!ck To Buy'

                PETALING JAYA: Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors today launched an online shopping platform called "Cl!ck To Buy".

With the launch of the new online shopping platform, the public would now be able to browse and buy Hyundai cars in the comfort of their homes amid a pandemic

“We want to help break the chain of transmission during this pandemic and encourage our customers to stay at home, and so we are bringing our showroom to our customers, with an offer of a unique online shopping experience," said Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors managing director Low Yuan Lung.

"Our online shopping platform has all the information on all our models one needs, to make an informed choice for purchase.”

The online platform allows visitors to learn about Hyundai models, book a test drive or book a car. It also gives visitors the choice to call up sales personnel, engage in a live chat, or fill up a contact form if they need more information.

To encourage the use of Cl!ck To Buy, Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors has lowered the booking fee. Prospective customers only need to pay RM300 as opposed to RM500 at the physical showroom.


Three of the world's greatest hypercars for sale in one place

                MILAN: There are sports cars, super cars and then there are hyper cars. And although there will always be conjecture surrounding which hyper cars are truly the best, there are three that immediately spring to mind for most enthusiasts these days: the McLaren P1 GTR, Porsche 918 Spyder, and the Ferrari LaFerrari.

Even if you have the eye-watering amount of money required to buy one of these incredible cars, their numbers were so limited occasions to actually buy them are few and far between.

However, a chance is now coming up for those with the requisite funds to buy all three of these sensational cars in the same place at the same time, which is the RM Sotheby's Villa Erba auction to be held on May 27 on the shores of Lake Como near here.

All three of these cars were produced in very limited numbers, and in some cases it wasn't even as simple as first-come, first-served either.

To even be "allowed" to buy a Ferrari LaFerrari when they were originally produced, potential suitors needed to already own a certain number of Ferrari models as well as already having a good relationship with the Italian automaker.

Effectively, it was an invitation-only situation for buyers to be able to part with somewhere in the region of US$1.42 million to purchase one. Although you won't be the first owner if you buy one from the Sotheby's auction, at least the only criteria you'll need to meet this time will be having enough money.

Of course, if you think you're going to be able to get your hands on one of these for anywhere near the original purchase price, you'd better think again. Of the three, the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder is estimated to fetch an amount closest to its original cost with a guide price of between US$1.3 million and US$1.5 million.

Perhaps surprisingly, the 2014 LaFerrari is estimated to be the second most expensive of the three with a guide price of between US$2.8 million and US$3.4 million. The 2015 McLaren is expected to bring the highest price as it's no "ordinary" P1, but is in fact a hard-core, track-focused GTR model instead.

RM Sotheby's expects the McLaren to go for between US$3.4 million and US$3.85 million, but as this is an auction after all, all three could potentially fetch considerably more.


Serena S-Hybrid club visits Nissan assembly plant

                KUALA LUMPUR: Over 70 members of the Nissan Serena S-Hybrid Owners Group recently visited the plant where their MPVs were built.

Nissan distributor Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM) hosted the tour of its assembly operations in Serendah, Rawang.

The visit was part of ETCM's effort to help customers understandNissan technologies, operations and products.

The 73 Serena S-Hybrid club members were able to witness how the MPV and other models were assembled.

Established in 2007, the Serendah facility is Tan Chong's second assembly plant. It comprises four sections – body shop, paint shop, assembly shop and logistics. Vehicles  assembled in this plant include the Almera, Grand Livina, X-Gear, NV200, Teana, Serena S-Hybrid and X-Trail.

The Serena S-Hybrid was introduced in Malaysia as a fully imported model from Japan in 2013, and started local assembly in 2014.

It is available locally in two variants, Premium Highway Star and Highway Star.

As part of the plant visit, ETCM also organised an online photo contest where participants with the best happy family moments captured with their family, drive home with 15,000 Air Asia BIG points.

Khairisyahrin Mukhtar won the top prize.


Hyundai Creta compact SUV debuts at RM150K

                PETALING JAYA: The B-segment Hyundai Creta five-seater sports utility vehicle (SUV) is offered here in a sole Plus variant, priced at a hefty RM149,888 on-the-road before insurance for Peninsular Malaysia.

The Creta comes with a five-year/300,000km (whichever is first) extended warranty.

The first 150 buyers get an extra three-year/50,000km (whichever is first) free service package.

At 4,315mm long, 1,790mm wide and 1,630mm tall, with a 2,610mm wheelbase, the Creta is slightly larger all-round than the Kona, other B-segment SUV in Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors' (HSDM) line-up.

HSDM’s current SUV offerings now comprise, in ascending order of size, the Kona/Kona Electric, Creta, Ioniq 5 and Palisade, and in a statement, the company said the list is set to grow even further over the coming months.

The Creta’s parametric jewel face features LED daytime running lights that are concealed within the grille, and these are combined with the bumper-mounted LED projector headlamps.

Inside, there are a 10.25-inch TFT LCD cluster, an eight-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Voice Recognition, automatic air-conditioning with rear air-conditioning vents, keyless entry and start, plus an electronic parking brake with automatic hold.

The Creta’s Smartstream G 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine sends 115PS at 6,300 rpm and 144Nm of torque at 4,500 rpm to the front wheels through a Smartstream Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT).

There are four selectable drive modes – Eco, Normal, Sport and Smart.

In terms of safety, the Creta comes standard with six airbags and a Hyundai SmartSense suite of active safety features, including Forward and Blind Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Following Assist, Leading Vehicle Departure Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Safe Exit Warning and High Beam Assist – all of which contribute to its full five-star New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries (Asean NCAP) safety rating.

The Creta can be ordered in Dragon Red Pearl, Galaxy Blue Pearl, Titan Grey Metallic, Midnight Black Pearl or Creamy White Pearl.

Customers may place their bookings at any authorised sales outlet nationwide or on www.hyundai.com.my/clicktobuy/