Elon Musk's ‘Starman' makes first complete orbit around the sun

                SAN FRANCISCO: On Sunday, 557 days after Elon Musk's SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster into space, the car and its driver — a mannequin named "Starman" dressed in a space suit — have completed their first complete orbit around the sun together, according to the tracking site Where Is Roadster.

According to the website, at the time of orbit completion, Starman and his Roadster had travelled over 762 million miles, moving at about 120,000kph. If the music was still playing, Starman would have listened to Space Odyssey over 150,000 times and Is there Life on Mars? over 200,000 times.

Unfortunately, Earthlings won't be seeing the vehicle and its passenger anytime soon, as its next close approach to Earth isn't expected until Nov 6, 2020, with the following not taking place until March 30, 2021.


Borneo Safari 2016: Monsters in the mud

Isuzu lead driver Masri Sani Kasmoi with the mu-X that won the Vehicle of the Year award at this year's Borneo Safari.
Right from the word “Go!”, the 4WD engines revved, gears engaged and tyres rolled their way from the comfortable asphalt roads of Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah, into deep jungle logging tracks.

This year’s Borneo Safari challenge had participants pushing their modified rides to the limit. For eight long days, extreme adventurers tackled some highly treacherous terrain on the route of KK-Ranau-Kota Marudu-Kota Belud-KK.

In that 500km-long journey, the real “meat” was a 40km hard core section from Kampung Garung, Ranau to Kampung Kipopogong, Kota Marudu.

This writer had her fill of thrill thanks to Isuzu Malaysia, which brought her and several other team members in. Four of their vehicles – three D-Max Monsters and a seven-seater mu-X Monster (that made its inaugural presence in this year’s challenge) – were driven by exceptionally skilled drivers.

Borneo Safari organising committee chairman Faez Nordin remarked that the route would be peppered with river crossings and a fair deal of landslides given that it has been abandoned for 20 years.

The initial three days were lashed with rain from the monsoon season and caused a massive hold-up for the team, as drivers in front struggled to get past a V-gully hurdle that needed slow, careful winching for vehicles to clamber up the slippery, muddy slopes.

With the big delay, the tough call had to be made for two vehicles to carry all media members towards the next pit stop, the Timberwell campsite in Kota Marudu, while the other two Monsters would carry on the challenge.

However, even the Timberwell site was not meant to be, when one of our chuck wagons badly overturned at the bottom of a steep slope. The driver and passengers, who were our team cooks, had to be rushed to the Kota Marudu Hospital for treatment (luckily, only of minor bodily injuries). It jolted us to the unpredictable forces of wild nature.

We changed plans again and headed for the Serinsim Substation Park (in Kota Marudu), which was originally meant to be the expedition’s final accommodation site. It is one of the substations under Kinabalu Parks, and it was well-maintained with spacious camping grounds and decent chalets. With comfy camping beds and snug sleeping bags, I could finally have a restful slumber to forget the strong winds and cold.

In the end, we were thankful to hear our two other team vehicles making it out safe and sound. Bonus news saw the Isuzu mu-X winning the “Vehicle of the Year” Award (during the final dinner ceremony) for its excellent performance through the ultra hard core section that lasted three days.

Faez described this year’s event to be the toughest in 12 years, and we were glad to say that we had survived! — HAYLEY LIM


BMW 220i Gran Tourer driven

At first glance, the BMW 220i Gran Tourer (GT) looks about the size of a mainstream multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) like the Proton Exora. But it is actually a little shorter, narrower and lower, but with a longer wheelbase. Compared to the more compact 2 Series Active Tourer (AT), the GT is longer, and taller while retaining the same width and adding more pounds.

The GT looks like an MPV and drives like one, so what’s the significance here?

Like the 5-seat AT, the GT that followed is BMW’s first MPV and is able to seat 7. Based on the AT, it’s also a front-wheel drive BMW, a marque built upon rear-wheel drive “sheer driving pleasure”.

For the longest time, people knew BMW for making luxury sports sedans followed by SUVs. It takes some getting used to find out that of late it’s also a maker of something as un-sexy as a people lugger.

But hold on. Keep an open mind; the GT is actually not a bad looking MPV though descriptors like “sleek beauty” or “blistering speeds” are inappropriate in this case. It’s because BMW wanted to make an MPV that it had to resort to front-wheel drive so as to open up more interior space.

With the 2 Series premium MPVs, BMW is catering to the family man, the AT being for the guy with a small family and the GT geared for the other guy with a bigger family. It would be a shame to use the vehicle for anything but to transport lots of people at one go. And if the fella wants a sporty low rider, BMW hopes to lock him in to the diverse line-up it has concocted over the years.

The GT is the sort of car that would fit right in when mobilised on a group trip to Cherating or the school run. At a pinch, it could also be deployed to that favourite furniture store across town to load up on delightful Burmese artifacts. Add the allure of the blue and white roundel and it gives a posh sheen to the entire carriage.

The GT strikes a friendly demeanour in a midsize package with a face that’s instantly recognisable, and featuring chrome elements that draw the eye immediately. LED headlights including LED daytime driving lights and cornering lights set the tone up front.

Riding on 17-inch alloy wheels, the GT has enough sculpted lines across the bonnet and sides to keep the sheetmetal interesting. Although some people have said the rear looks bland or dowdy, we say it’s quite all right in keeping with the MPV persona.

It’s the interior that shows off how MPV-ish this Bimmer is. Space is the defining term for such vehicle type, and on that count, the GT scores well. There’s abundant storage space and nook and crannies for water bottles and other gear. Front door pockets can accept 1.5-litre water bottles.

Standard luggage area is 645 litres and can be enlarged to 1,905 litres with mid and third-row seats folded down. A low lip and a wide opening affords easy access to the storage area.

Ensuring maximum variability is the standard-fitted fore-aft sliding rear bench - with a 40:20:40-split backrest that folds down at the press of a button. If ever there’s a need to, BMW says five child seats can be fitted in the back rows.

As expected, the best seats are in the first two rows. Last-row seats, which pop up from the boot floor, are tolerable only for short hops. The seats are thinly padded so they are not the most comfortable place to be, even for small children, made worst by lack of air-conditioning vents, which however are present in second row. It’s also not easy to enter or exit from the back seats even though the mid-row is slidable on rails. The saving grace is there’s good headroom from the front to the rear of the cabin.

Aside from space advantage, the high driving position allows the driver to see further ahead. All switchgear are easily accessible. Showing off the premium ambience is a dashboard featuring contrast stitching and glossy wood panelling that run into the doors, coupled with chrome detailing around air vents. In addition, the centre console’s colour theme matches that of the leather upholstery.

Unlike the sedans, the drive mode selector is located on the dash below the climate controls, not on the centre console near the gearshifter. Standard kit includes iDrive, navigation with 6.5-inch infotainment screen, rear-view camera, dynamic stability control, Bluetooth connectivity, dual-zone climate control and contactless tailgate opening.

On the whole, fit and finish are on par with BMW quality standards.

With the GT, BMW wants to show how far it can take practicality in this form factor.

That’s not to insinuate it’s a sluggard. The MPV is able to charge up to 100kph in a respectable 7.6s and dials in a top speed of 221kph, thanks to a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine making 192hp and 280Nm. That amount of torque is available from a lowly 1,250rpm, and is directed to the front wheels via an 8-speed Steptronic transmission.

It’s a brisk drive, with a cabin affording a relatively quiet and comfortable setting, eroded somewhat by noise from the run-flats and wind around the thick A-pillars and mirrors as the car gathers pace.

It conducts itself well at full load with typical firmness in the ride to ensure a composed drive.

In city settings, it’s easy to navigate around belligerent kapcai riders and drivers while manoeuvring the vehicle into lanes and tight turns.

Flip to Sport mode, and you get to see the GT’s real potential on roads less trafficked. There’s good acceleration and the steering is precise and well-weighted. It tackles corners without hesitation and body wobble is restrained. Brakes work effectively to bring the car quickly to a halt.

Giving the GT some semblance of agility is a torque vectoring system called Performance Control that minimises understeer by passing power between the left and right front wheels to stabilise the vehicle and help increase traction and lateral acceleration. But being a tallish vehicle, the GT is not going to match the corner-carving abilities of a low-slung BMW such as the 2 Series Coupe. That is simply not its forte.

A car is always a work in progress. BMW’s first crack at the MPV market shows it has got most things right but there’s room to improve.

For one, voice input to the navigation system was unwieldy – it either calls up the wrong address or didn’t understand what was said. And we believe we were speaking perfect, unaccented English, not Manglish. In keeping with BMW refinements, it would be good to have the auto start/stop action be less noticeable when waking up the engine. Having air-cond vents and more comfortable seats in the last row are also not too much to ask.

If you want a 7-seat people carrier, there are a number of able and cheaper alternatives in the market. The RM280,000 GT is for the individual who needs all that space — and a posh badge and/or snob appeal to go with it.

The mildly entertaining driving dynamics is a point in its favour.


March 22 to 28: Fuel prices up by 2 sen

KUALA LUMPUR: Fuel prices are up by 2 sen across the board for the next seven days.

RON95 petrol will be priced at RM2.20 per litre (increase of 2 sen) and diesel at RM2.18 (hike of 2 sen).

Meanwhile, RON97 petrol price jumped by 2 sen to RM2.47 per litre.

The new prices were announced on RTM1 today and will take effect from 12.01am.


EU wants battery autonomy, but first it needs graphite

                PARIS: As Europe looks to declare its tech independence by becoming a leader in next-generation batteries, it will have to start by making its own graphite. The problem is, nearly all of it now comes from Asia, mainly China.

So France's Carbone Savoie and Germany's SGL Carbon, the only European firms deemed capable of taking up the challenge, have been corralled into an ambitious battery alliance launched by Brussels last year.

"Thank you for bringing us on board this 'Airbus for batteries,' though to be honest, we weren't even on the passenger list," Carbone Savoie's chairman Bruno Gastinne told France's deputy finance minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher on Thursday.

They were attending the ribbon-cutting for a new, more efficient carbon baking oven, a "brick cathedral" some five metres underground at its site in Venissieux, just south of Lyon in southeast France.

The €11 million investment will allow the company to double its carbon production, the first step for making the ultrapure synthetic graphite prized for batteries.

The carbon is then shipped to its factory at Notre-Dame de Briancon in the Alps, where nearby hydroelectric dams provide the intense electrical currents needed to turn it into graphite.

Carbone Savoie also says it has developed a new production technology that uses just half the energy required currently, and cuts waste levels in half.

"It will be less expensive and more efficient than Chinese graphite, while consuming less energy. The hard part is that we have to move quickly," said Regis Paulus, the firm's head of research and development.

"To catch up with the Chinese, we have to invest massively," he said.

Help needed

EU authorities in November unlocked a whopping €3.2 billion for the European Battery Alliance, hoping to attract an additional five billion euros in private money to build the factories needed to meet homegrown demand.

Automakers in particular are racing to shift to electric fleets, under growing pressure to cut carbon emissions and the reliance on fossil fuels.

Batteries make up around 40 percent of the value of an electric car, but are currently made by companies in South Korea, China and Japan.

A single electric model from Tesla, for example, requires around 70kg of graphite, said Carbone Savoie's CEO Sebastian Gauthier.

While the material can be mined, battery producers usually prefer the more expensive synthetic versions that offer improved technical performance.

It is the only key component of lithium-ion batteries that can be produced in a factory -- nickel, lithium, manganese and cobalt must be mined.

But without government help, few of Europe's industrial giants were willing to embark on the costly crusade to build their own batteries.

The push has been a boon for Carbone Savoie, which just five years ago was on the brink of closure by its parent company Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian mining giant.

The company had long focussed on making anodes for extracting aluminium by electrolysis, but fierce competition had slashed sales.

It was acquired in 2016 by the French turnaround specialists Alandia Industries, which has invested €40 million to diversify operations - specialised graphites now represent 15 percent of its output, up from zero just a few years ago.

The bet has paid off, with profits rising to €17 million last year, on sales that reached €127 million.

Even so, the 120-year-old company still does not produce anywhere near enough graphite required to fulfil Europe's electric car dreams, or its own goal of becoming "the European leader in battery graphite" by 2025.

That would require a good chunk of the funds promised by Brussels, which have been pledged by Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Sweden and Finland.

"We can't do it alone, we're going to need help," said Gastinne, estimating the necessary investments at "several tens of millions of euros."


Renault 4 revived as funky new compact electric SUV

                PARIS: Renault has revealed the 4Ever Trophy at the Oct 17-24 Paris Motor Show – a funky concept car that previews the revival of one of the French brand’s most iconic models.

Unveiled 30 years after the 4L was discontinued, the new show car is a bold makeover of the Renault 4, of which more than eight million were produced between 1961 and 1992.

Renault has now given the model a makeover marking the 25th anniversary of the 4L humanitarian rally. This new model retains many of the Renault 4’s original design features, including the same silhouette and small trapezoidal rear-three-quarter window.

The show car gets an adventure-ready body kit, including huge plastic cladding around the arches and lower bumpers, a roof rack equipped with a spare tyre and a shovel and sand ladders located on the boot.

Modern changes include a horizontal grille incorporating Matrix LED lights, along with the use of carbon-fibre for the roof, to help bring the weight down. Each wheel also features a compressor that can easily adjust the tyre pressures from inside the car, to help in a variety of terrains.

This 4Ever Trophy is far from just a wild concept car, though, as it paves the way for a compact electric SUV production car, albeit one that’s unlikely to retain the rugged styling kit.

Set to be built around Renault’s CMF-BEV platform, the firm says it will ‘guarantee the best performance in terms of range, acoustics, and on-road behaviour, without compromising on the design’.

The revival of the Renault 4 follows on from the Renault 5 Prototype, which is also set to enter production as the French firm looks to play on its heritage as it moves to produce more EVs.

Renault says the new 4 will hold a similar position in the line-up as the current Captur crossover.

Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault, said: “The 4L is a legend. And legends never die! Today, it is this universal dimension of the 4L, a car that everyone can love, that we want to find through a modern and electric reinterpretation of the Renault 4.”


PSA Group installing 500 charging stations worldwide, it's 70% done

                PARIS: The PSA Group has announced it is installing nearly 500 charging stations at 49 of its sites in 12 countries.

The implementation and management of the terminals will be provided by the group's two partners for this project: Izivia and Total EV.

The French automaker makes vehicles under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, with Peugeot being the largest.

The implementation of electric charging points started in 2019 and will continue until the end of 2021. To date, 365 stations have already been installed and operational.

On each European site, the group enables employees to have easy access to EV charging points.

These 7kW wall terminals allow recharging at a price comparable to those on public networks.

This initiative supports the group's electrified offensive launched in 2019. The group has already launched 15 electrified models in Europe. They include plug-in hybrids for the Peugeot 3008 and 508, and battery electric cars such as the Peugeot e-208 and Citroen DS 3 Crossback E-Tense.

The PSA Group is currently in merger talks with Fiat Chrysler. If successful, the two companies would merge to become Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest carmaker.


Entry-level RWD Porsche Taycan coming

STUTTGART: Apparently, a smaller two-wheel-driven Porsche Taycan is headed for the market with a smaller battery pack, less range and performance.

The German sports car maker is looking to provide a more accessible variant of the Taycan for the masses.

This means that this particular variant will sit below the existing trio of Taycan variants.

The lineup currently starts with the 4S and is followed by the mid-range Turbo and range-topping Turbo S.

Although the Taycan is a purely electric model line-up, the Turbo nomenclature is merely an indicator of its performance with the Turbo and Turbo S variants both having 616bhp (over boost with launch control - 671bhp and 751bhp respectively).

This means a sprint from 0 to 100kph will take just 3.2 seconds or 2.8sec before reaching a top speed of 260kph.

At current, the German brand is keeping a tight lip about the price of this Taycan.

Rumours are buzzing on the Internet that China could be the first market to receive it, followed by Britain in 2021 and then the US.


Automakers back US restoring California emissions authority

                WASHINGTON: Five automakers including Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen AG and Honda Motor Co on Tuesday backed efforts by President Joe Biden's administration to restore California's ability to set its own strict tailpipe and zero-emission vehicle standards.

Joined by BMW AG and Volvo Cars, the automakers in a court filing backed the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to restore the authority that was withdrawn under former President Donald Trump.

Last month, a group of 17 states filed a challenge to the EPA decision in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, while California and 19 other states and the District of Columbia have backed the waiver reinstatement.

In July 2019, Ford, Honda, VW and BMW struck a voluntary agreement with California on reducing vehicle emissions that was less stringent than rules previously adopted under former President Barack Obama but higher than Trump's rollback. Volvo joined the deal in 2020.

Seventeen states have agreed to adopt California's tailpipe emissions rules and 15 have backed its zero-emission vehicle requirements.

The EPA in March reinstated a waiver under the Clear Air Act awarded to California in 2013. The agency also rejected a Trump-era decision to bar other states from adopting Sacramento's tailpipe emission standards.

Biden has set a goal of 50% of new-vehicle sales being electric or plug-in electric by 2030, but has not endorsed phasing out gasoline-vehicle sales by any specific date.

The EPA in December finalized new vehicle emissions rules restoring targets undone by Trump and requiring a 28.3% reduction in vehicle emissions through 2026.

In February 2021, Toyota Motor Corp, Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis and other major automakers joined General Motors in abandoning support for Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules.

Governor Gavin Newsom said last month California would "stand with the federal government in defending against these radical efforts to upend ... California’s clean transportation future."


Limited Honda Jazz Mugen and BR-V Special Edition now available

                PETALING JAYA: Honda Malaysia has introduced limited special editions to 300 units each for two of its popular models, the Jazz and BR-V priced from RM88,600 and RM90,700 respectively. All prices are on-the-road without insurance.

The Jazz is now fitted with an enhanced all-round Mugen body kit that heightens its sporty outlook. The exterior of this highly popular hatchback looks even more desirable with the new Front Aero Bumper, LED Front Fog Lights, Sport Front Grille as well as Tailgate Garnish.

The Mugen body kit is an additional feature along with the Side Under Spoiler, Rear Under Spoiler and Tailgate Spoiler to uplift the rugged look of the Jazz. These features makes the Jazz stand out more with a sportier silhouette.

The Jazz is powered by 1.5L i-VTEC engine coupled with Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) and has safety features such as six airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Hill Start Assist (HSA), Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and ISO Fix.

The Jazz Mugen is priced at RM88,600 for Modern Steel Metallic colour and RM88,720 for White Orchid Pearl colour.

Meanwhile, the seven-seater BR-V Special Edition has new additions to its exterior such as the Tailgate Spoiler, Running Board and Side Step Garnish for sportier and sleek outlook.

Interior-wise, the BR-V Special Edition is equipped with a 6.8-inch Infotainment System with Smartphone Connectivity for an added convenience to the drivers while driving.

With a 1.5L i-VTEC engine coupled with Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT), the BR-V is also known for its versatility, courtesy of the multi-configurable seats.

Honda Malaysia is also introducing the new Passion Red Pearl as the latest colour option available in the BR-V, replacing the Dark Ruby Red Pearl colour. The vibrant Passion Red Pearl gives a fresher and younger outlook to this model.

The BR-V Special Edition is available in new Passion Red Pearl (RM90,700) and White Orchid Pearl (RM91,000).


Vietnam-linked hacking group targets Toyota, other companies

                WASHINGTON: A Vietnam-based hacking group is learning from China’s playbook, using increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks to spy on competitors and help Vietnam catch up to global competitors, according to cybersecurity experts.

In the last two years, the group, which is believed to be tied to the Vietnamese government and known as APT32, has ramped up its cyber-espionage, particularly in southeast Asia, according to the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Inc.

The hacking group’s exploits have included intellectual property theft, the firm said, the same activity for which Chinese hackers are infamous.

The automotive industry has been a key target for APT32, according to multiple experts. For example, APT32 created fake domains for Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. in an attempt to infiltrate the automakers’ networks, according to a researcher familiar with the matter who requested anonymity discussing companies.

In March, Toyota discovered that it was targeted in Vietnam and Thailand and through a subsidiary — Toyota Tokyo Sales Holdings Inc — in Japan, according to spokesman Brian Lyons.

A Toyota official, who requested anonymity discussing the hacking group, confirmed that APT32 was responsible.

Vietnam has also targeted American businesses relevant to Vietnam’s economy, including the consumer products industry, for years, according to experts.

"What’s changed more recently, and this is consistent with broader trends in the cyberthreat actor landscape, is that they are getting better and better at it,” said Andrew Grotto, a fellow at Stanford University who served as the senior director for cybersecurity policy on the National Security Council from late 2015 to mid-2017.

"They’re becoming more adept at developing their own tools, while at the same time tapping the global malware market for commercial tools.”

The uptick in Vietnam’s economic espionage activity, which began in 2012 and has spiked since 2018 according to CrowdStrike, comes as the Trump administration seeks to curb what many believe has been rampant intellectual property theft by China — former National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander, who served under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, has called it the "greatest transfer of wealth in history.”

Competitive edge

The Vietnamese hackers have emulated some of China’s cyber methods, albeit on a significantly smaller scale, the experts said.

Vietnamese government hackers have likely "seen how successful the Chinese have been at building cyber-espionage capabilities and cybersurveillance capabilities” according to Eric Rosenbach, co-director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and a former assistant secretary of defense for global security under Obama.

As a result, they may be building out or purchasing their own capabilities "either for economic interests or outright theft of intellectual property,” he said.

The Vietnamese foreign ministry and Vietnamese embassy in Washington didn’t respond to requests for comment. A government spokesman previously said allegations that state-aligned hackers targeted foreign carmakers were "unfounded.”

A representative for the US State Department declined to comment on allegations about economic espionage by Vietnam.

A Hyundai representative didn’t comment on whether it had been targeted by the Vietnamese hacking group, but said that the company "promptly detects and responds to the events of its IT securities.”

Vietnam is part of a growing group of countries — outside of major cyberplayers such as Russia and China — that are developing and buying cyber capabilities, according former government officials.

"One of the trends that we tracked when I was in the White House was both the broadening of the number of countries that had active cyber programs,” said Michael Daniel, who served as the cybersecurity coordinator on the National Security Council under Obama and is now president and chief executive officer of the non-profit group Cyber Threat Alliance.

"The ones that have been investing in cyber like Vietnam are continuing to grow in capability.”
Cybersecurity experts offered different, and sometimes conflicting, reasons to explain the hacking group’s activities, from stealing intellectual property to improve Vietnamese products to gaining a competitive edge in negotiations to ensuring foreign corporations are complying with national regulations.

Ocean Lotus

The cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc. has been tracking APT32 — which is also known as Ocean Lotus and Ocean Buffalo — since 2012, according to Nick Carr, a director at the firm.

In 2017, his team investigated a series of hacks in the U.S., Germany and multiple countries in Asia and found that the group had spent at least three years targeting foreign governments, journalists, dissidents and "foreign corporations with a vested interest in Vietnam’s manufacturing, consumer products and hospitality sectors.”

"APT32 leverages a unique suite of fully-featured malware, in conjunction with commercially-available tools, to conduct targeted operations that are aligned with Vietnamese state interests,” FireEye reported.

Ongoing tactics by APT32 appear to include registering domains that resemble car companies — a move which can precede phishing attacks, in which credentials are stolen by hackers in order to access internal networks, said John Hultquist, FireEye’s director of intelligence analysis.

"Most recently, we’ve seen suspected APT32 domain registration activity designed to resemble automotive firms,” Hultquist said. "This ongoing registration activity affirms APT32’s continuing interest in foreign automakers doing business in Vietnam.”

APT32 recently used Facebook to target individuals who are active in Vietnamese politics, according to the Slovakia-based cybersecurity firm Eset. In this attack, APT32 hackers sent Facebook messages, or Facebook pages, containing what appeared to be a photo album.

When victims scrolled through the album, one of the many photos was in fact a malicious document that installed malware on the computer, said Marc-Etienne M.Léveillé, a researcher at the firm.

Targeting dissidents has been part of a broad surveillance campaign that has included hacking into websites popular with politically active citizens and then using those sites to track them and collect information, said Steven Adair, founder of the cybersecurity firm Volexity, Inc.

APT32 conducted "a very sophisticated and extremely widespread mass digital surveillance and attack campaign” targeting Asian countries, the media, groups associated with human rights and civil society as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Volexity reported.

Mini-China story

While Vietnamese hacking of corporations appears to be on the rise, FireEye has seen a major decline in China’s IP theft against corporations — even as the US trade talks with China have emphasized negotiating an end to it. "From China’s perspective, we’ve definitely seen a massive drop off of that,” said Hultquist of FireEye.

But Vietnam is at a significantly earlier stage in development and, like China did years ago, has turned to cyber-espionage as a means of becoming more competitive, said Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike’s vice president of intelligence. "This is kind of like a mini-China story,” he said.


Ferrari rolls out LaFerrari Power service

                MARANELLO: Ferrari is introducing the new LaFerrari Power extended warranty and programmed maintenance service for owners of the LaFerrari and LaFerrari Aperta, a first for the Maranello-based company’s limited-edition supercars.

The LaFerrari Power service is for customers who want to maintain the performance and excellence of the company’s first-ever hybrid car, which is equipped with the F1-derived HY-KERS hybrid system.

LaFerrari Power is a two-year renewable programme that can be activated at any official Ferrari dealer, regardless of the car’s year of production.

Owners of LaFerrari or LaFerrari Aperta who take advantage of the LaFerrari Power service will benefit from the extension of the car's factory warranty, which includes, among other things, the HY-KERS system and high-voltage battery. This is the first time that Maranello has offered its clients this kind of extended warranty for one of its limited-series models.

LaFerrari Power also includes annual scheduled maintenance during which Maranello-trained technicians will perform a wide range of inspections to ensure that the car is maintained properly.

The LaFerrari Power launch coincided with the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Genuine Maintenance, the class-leading scheduled maintenance programme available on every new Ferrari in the range up until seven years after purchase.


New Fiat 500 and singer Ella Eyre debut new track

                LONDON: The new FIAT 500 and British singer-songwriter Ella Eyre created history on Wednesday night by debuting a re-mastered iconic track on stage together.

A star-studded crowd gathered at an exclusive event in Potters Fields Park here to witness a specially re-mastered version of the number one track “Best Of My Love” by The Emotions. The new FIAT 500 and Ella performed the track on a giant vinyl record, 15 metres in diameter, with the new car laying down the opening beats.

Sebastiano Fedrigo, Head of Brand, FIAT UK, said: “With more than 1.5 million units sold worldwide, the iconic FIAT 500 must now make way for its successor. Like Ella’s track, this iconic car has been re-mastered for a new generation, with advanced technologies, refreshed interior and exterior style, better economy and efficiency and even more customisation options.”

The new FIAT 500 retains the look and charm of its predecessor but with more than 1,800 modifications for 2015.

Commenting on her unique performance, Ella Eyre said: "The remastered gig was so unique and I really enjoyed singing such an iconic track, on an amazing stage, accompanied by a FIAT 500."


New Nissan 3S centre opens in Miri

                MIRI: Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM) has launched a Nissan 3S (sales, service and spare parts) centre in Miri.

It is the company's 21st such centre in the country.

The new RM1mil 3S centre offers customers in Miri the ease of being able to test drive and buy Nissan vehicles, get them serviced, and obtain spare parts – all under one roof.

The ETCM Miri 3S centre has a built-up of 18,648 sq ft, with a showroom can display six cars, while the service centre has five service bays with the capacity to service up to 30 cars per day.

The 3S Centre is manned by 20 certified sales professionals and six technicians.

This facility also has a lounge and refreshment bar complete with WiFi connectivity.

The opening ceremony was officiated by Miri mayor Lawrence Lai Yew Son, who was accompanied by ETCM executive director Datuk Dr Ang Bon Beng.


MINI introduces Convertible Sidewalk Edition in limited numbers at RM296K

                KUALA LUMPUR: MINI Malaysia has a new offering for fans of this British brand with the introduction of the Convertible Sidewalk Edition that's an ode to the original 2007 model.

Thee will only be 20 units available for purchase. They can be viewed at selected authorised MINI dealerships nationwide as well as on the MINI Online Shop.

“Since the introduction of the highly-anticipated MINI Convertible in Malaysia last year, we are pleased to expand the thrilling open-top driving segment with the new MINI Convertible Sidewalk Edition,” said BMW Group Malaysia managing director Harald Hoelzl.

The Sidewalk edition is priced at RM285,899.47 (on-the-road without insurance).

As an option, the Balloon Financing from BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia is available and allows for ownership of the Convertible Sidewalk Edition to begin from RM 3,266 per month (based on estimates of 80% loan on a five-year tenure).

Like all MINIs, this limited edition is covered by a five-year Roadside Assistance programme (1800-88-8808) that includes a 24-Hour, 365-days-a-year Accident and Help on the Phone as well as On the Spot Hotline.

This also includes Free Towing Services (over 200km from residential home) and a Replacement Vehicle can be provided when needed as well as Seamless Mobility, Accommodation, Mobility Services Solutions and Repatriation services.

The limited-edition soft-top convertible MINI comes in a new Deep Laguna metallic colour.

Power is derived from a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, providing 192hp at 6,000rpm and 280Nm of torque from 1,350 to 4,600rpm. The engine is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

This allows the Sidewalk Edition to sprint from 0 to 100kph in 7.1 seconds and onwards to a top speed of 230kph.

The black soft-top roof takes 18 seconds to fully open (when moving at up to 30kph) and features an interwoven "Sidewalk" pattern in Titanium Grey.

There's also a geometric pattern on the bonnet's stripes while rolling on 17-inch light-alloy Scissor Spoke two-tone wheels which happens to be a model-specific design feature.

Inside, the cabin has been fitted with an exclusive MINI Yours Leather Lounge Sidewalk seats in anthracite and is combined with contrasting seams in Petrol and Energetic Yellow.

The same yellow colour can also be found on the door cards and floormats as well as Energetic Yellow as standard.

Drivers will be constantly reminded of this MINI's exclusivity thanks to the Sidewalk logo being found on the steering wheel.

Standard inclusions for this variant starts with its LED headlamps, LED front and rear fog lamps, 12-colour ambient interior lighting package, MINI Driving Modes of Green (efficiency), Mid (default) and Sport.

There's also automatic climate controls, height-adjustable front passenger seat and a storage compartment package that has a two-part boot floor, lashing eyelets to help secure down objects and a boot net.

For entertainment, the Sidewalk Edition comes with a wireless charger in the armrest, Apple CarPlay and a range-topping Wired Package that consists of an 8.8-inch MINI Visual Boost infotainment system with Navigation System that can be operated via the touchscreen, the MINI Controller or Voice Control.

For the sake of sound quality, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon Sound system has been installed as well as keyless entry with a flip switch Start system for added convenience.

To ensure connectivity is constantly attained, a built-in 4G SIM technology has been included in the mix to allow for Intelligent Emergency Call with automatic detection of vehicle location and accident severity is also available as well as MINI Online and MINI TeleServices.

The current updated MINI Connected App is able to send navigation destinations from a smartphone to the vehicle and even receive information regarding the ideal departure time, as well as Remote Services.

“The exclusive variant is limited to only 20 units in Malaysia and celebrates a rich heritage of open-top summer driving and the hallmark go-kart thrill–now with more power, space and supreme handling," said Hoelzl.


Test drive a BMW and win big

                PETALING JAYA: In celebrating the 100th Year Anniversary of the BMW Group worldwide, BMW Group Malaysia is inviting everyone to join the BMW Family by visiting participating BMW Authorised Dealerships for a test-drive, and stand a chance to win up to RM 100,000 on the purchase of their next BMW vehicle from Mar 19 to Apr 30, 2016.

Existing and potentially new BMW customers who brings a friend to test drive a BMW car will stand a chance to win RM 100,000, RM 60,000 or RM 40,000 to purchase a new BMW car.

Customers who book a new BMW car during the campaign period will also automatically be entitled to the lucky draw.

Participants need to only fill in a submission form and complete a slogan at these respective BMW authorised dealerships: Auto Bavaria, FM Autohaus, Ingress Auto, Lee Motors Auto Care, Millennium Welt, Quill Automobiles, Raza Premium, Regas Premium Auto, Seong Hoe Premium Motors, Tian Siang Premium Auto, Wearnes Autohaus and Wheelcorp Premium.

The three campaign winners will be announced on Wednesday, May 11, 2016.

For more information, visit the website.


Mercedes draws up electric Maybach to defend luxury position

Källenius (right) plays host to German politicians at the opening of Factory 56 in the Sindelfingen plant on Wednesday.The new S-Class is built at Factory 56, which represents the future of production at Mercedes-Benz and sets new standards for the automotive industry.
STUTTGART: Mercedes-Benz wants its line-up of battery-powered cars to extend all the way up to ultra-luxury vehicles to help defend its high-end market position, where electric offerings remain scarce.

To underline its ambition, the Daimler AG subsidiary could make use of the Maybach brand - for now reserved only for its most exclusive vehicles - and add the name to variants of the EQS sedan debuting next year, chief executive officer Ola Kallenius said in an interview.

“There’s room to do more with the Maybach brand name,” Kallenius said. “The electric platform offers some opportunities.”

Focusing on larger luxury cars in the shift towards electric vehicles is a cornerstone of Kallenius’ strategy to revive margins at Mercedes.

Bigger vehicles generate higher profits that are critical to fund large outlays for new technology, expand software operations and foot the bill for restructuring costs.

In a sign that efficiency measures introduced last year are beginning to bear fruit, capital expenditure will decline this year despite costs to roll out new vehicles packed with the latest electronic gadgetry, like the updated S-Class or the EQS, Kallenius said.

While demand for Mercedes cars has remained robust in recent years and the brand kept outselling rivals BMW AG and Audi AG, poor efficiency squeezed returns.

Mass-market peers like Toyota Motor Corp or PSA Group generated higher margins from selling bread-and-butter vehicles.

 The Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 was presented at Auto Guangzhou 2019.Chinese rebound

“We have to improve the financial performance of the company,” Kallenius said. “Nobody here underestimates the challenges of the industry transformation - but the opportunities for us prevail.”

The Maybach brand dates back more than a century, and Daimler took over the name in the 1960s.

The company brought out a stand-alone Maybach limousine about a decade ago that it positioned above its S-Class, but the vehicles had only limited appeal and ended their run without a successor.

Instead, Mercedes went on to use the Maybach badge for a variant of its top-of-the-range S-Class sedan, a car that costs more than US$200,000 and has been popular mainly in China.

Demand in China, the largest sales region for Mercedes, has recovered in recent weeks, helping generate the revenue needed to finance an expansion plans beyond the traditional industrial business.

“I see substantial potential for value creation - as a luxury brand, through the transformation and from an additional profit pool through digital business areas,” Kallenius said. Revenue generated from digital offerings could exceed 1 billion euros over time, he said.


Toyota C+pod city car with 150km rolls out to selected users

                TOYOTA CITY: Toyota announced today a limited launch of the "C+pod" ultra-compact battery electric vehicle (BEV) to corporate users, local governments and other organisations that have been exploring new options to drive the popularisation of BEVs.

Toyota said it would promote the ecosystem essential for electric car adoption before a full-scale launch by 2022.

Today's launch was also to showcase new services that can only be provided by BEVs.

The C+pod is an environmentally-friendly two-seater BEV designed as a mobility option, with a cruising range of up to 150km.

Available in two grades, it is priced in Japan from 1.6 million yen (around RM65,000).

In addition to short-distance daily use, the C+pod is also aimed at corporate users visiting customers on a regular basis, and at users in urban or mountainous communities needing safe, unrestricted, and environmentally-friendly transportation options.

With a compact body measuring 2,490 x 1,290 x 1,550 mm (length x width x height), and a minimum turning radius of 3.9 m, the C+pod can comfortably navigate sharp corners on narrow roads, minimises steering wheel operation when parking, and provides excellent maneuverability in everyday driving.

The under-floor location of the lithium-ion battery in front of the seat creates a flat, low-floor package that minimises steps.

The motor is positioned in the rear of the vehicle, while the combination of a rigid, lightweight body and independent suspension system, that absorbs irregularities in the road surface, enable riding comfort and brisk yet stable driving performance.

To drive BEV take-up, Toyota is expanding its product lineup and forming open collaborations as it works to build new business models.

In Japan, it is focusing initially on the C+pod, Walking Area BEVs, and Toyota i-Road, with more than 200 corporate and local government partners involved in exploring new transportation models.

One of those services is Toyota Green Charge, a joint project developed with Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co., Inc to offer a single point of contact for companies seeking support when building optimal charging facilities or developing electricity plans for BEVs, such as CO2-free power.

The service will be jointly implemented with Chubu Electric Power Miraiz, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., and TEPCO Energy Partner, Inc.

Other services planned are the Electric-vehicle sharing service that combines tourist information with the "Toyota Share" car-sharing service to promote sightseeing and excursions.


Self-driving Toyota Supra successfully drifts in push to next-level active safety

                SAN FRANCISCO: Toyota Research Institute (TRI) has reached a new research milestone in autonomy, providing a glimpse into the future of safer mobility for all.

TRI researchers successfully programmed a modified Supra to autonomously drift around obstacles on a closed track — a world first.

Combining a deep knowledge of both vehicle dynamics and control design, TRI’s Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) approach extends the vehicle’s operational domain to the very limits of its performance.

The idea behind this research is to use controlled, autonomous drifting to avoid accidents by navigating sudden obstacles or hazardous road conditions like black ice.

“At TRI, our goal is to use advanced technologies that augment and amplify humans, not replace them,” said Avinash Balachandran, senior manager of TRI’s Human Centric Driving Research.

“Through this project, we are expanding the region in which a car is controllable, with the goal of giving regular drivers the instinctual reflexes of a professional race car driver to be able to handle the most challenging emergencies and keep people safer on the road.”

Every year, car crashes result in nearly 40,000 fatalities in the United States and about 1.35 million fatalities worldwide.

While most crashes occur in mundane situations, in some extreme situations, drivers may need to make maneuvers that take their vehicle close to and, at times, beyond normal limits of handling.

“When faced with wet or slippery roads, professional drivers may choose to ‘drift’ the car through a turn, but most of us are not professional drivers,” said Jonathan Goh, TRI research scientist. “That’s why TRI is programming vehicles that can identify obstacles and autonomously drift around obstacles on a closed track.”

This achievement brings TRI researchers closer to understanding the full spectrum of vehicle performance. The software advances announced on Wednesday calculate a whole new trajectory every 20th of a second to balance the car gracefully as it goes around the track.

Looking ahead, Toyota will continue to push the limits of vehicle safety technology by researching ever more effective ways for emerging safety technologies to amplify human capabilities on the road.

The experiments were conducted at Thunderhill Raceway near here.

The Supra has been specially customised for autonomous driving research.

It is equipped with computer-controlled steering, throttle, clutch displacement, sequential transmission and individual wheel braking.

Vehicle state information is obtained from a dual-antenna RTK-GNSS-aided INS system at a rate of 250Hz, and the NMPC controller runs on an x86 computer.

For the purposes of data collection with expert drivers in a controlled environment, the suspension, engine, transmission, chassis and safety systems (e.g., roll cage, fire suppression) have been modified to be similar to that used in Formula Drift.


Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia donates to Orang Asli

                TANJUNG MALIM: Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia recently donated 30 bags of rice to an Orang Asli community at Ulu Slim, Perak.

The donation was in conjunction with an off-road test drive session of the 2015 Mitsubishi Triton by the Malaysian media.

The 437km drive from Ara Damansara, Selangor to Batu Ferringhi, Penang consisted of a mixture of highways, off-road, windy country roads, and a stopover at Tanjung Malim for lunch.

The fifth-generation Mitsubishi Triton pick-up has segment first-in-class features such as Push Start Button, Keyless Operation, Xenon HID Headlamps with integrated Daytime Running Lights, Tilt and Telescopic Steering and Paddle Shifters.

It is offered in five variants, and priced from RM67,603 to RM108,273.

Stay tuned for more updates on the test drive of the 2015 Mitsubishi Triton by carsifu.my.


Honda Malaysia striving to ensure customer deliveries unaffected by warehouse fire

                PETALING JAYA: Honda Malaysia was forced to shut it’s No. 1 production line for four days and its No. 2 production line for six days due to a fire on Aug 3.

The fire took place at one of Nistrans Malaysia’s 130,000 square feet warehouse in Malacca, where  the fire swept through 90% of it, destroying 2,500 units of Honda’s CKD parts.

Nistrans Malaysia provides logistic and warehouse management services to Honda Malaysia. Their warehouse in Malacca stores all Honda’s CKD parts.

The blaze took fire fighters five hours to put out.

No casualties and injuries were reported from the incident and investigations are ongoing.

Currently, production on both lines has resumed and Honda Malaysia will monitor the parts supply situation on the production schedule.

“We are very sorry to hear about the fire and the loss experienced by our supplier and we are currently working closely with Nistrans to assist in any way possible,” said Honda Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Yoichiro Ueno.

He added that Honda is doing its best to minimise impact onto its customers due to the unforeseen circumstances.


Push for work commute safety as accidents rise

                SEPANG: Every day last year, three people left home for work and did not return alive, according to a work fatalities survey.

The statistics by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) also showed that out of the three daily deaths, two occurred while commuting to and from work.

“Although the number of work-related accidents in the country has dropped over the past 10 years, the number during work commutes is on the rise.

“It has increased by 62% over the past 10 years to 28,037 in 2014. In the same year, 646 people were killed while they were travelling to and from work,” said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem yesterday.

“These are frightening figures and the public must take it seriously,” he said when launching Socso’s national “Safe Journey” campaign at the Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad headquarters here.

Riot attributed the rising number of work commute accidents to “driver attitude”, which he believes can be addressed.

“The Government can have many safety campaigns, but it can only do so much. In the end, it is still down to the drivers themselves to improve their attitude on the roads.

“Many accidents today are caused by drivers using their mobile phones while driving, as well as driving under the influence of alcohol,” he said. Further statistics show that 76.9% of work commute accidents involve motorcyclists, while 68.8% of the accidents occur during morning work shifts.

Under the campaign, Socso will organise advocacy events and safe riding campaigns and hold seminars and workshops at selected companies nationwide.


Toyota's new Aygo X proves even small city cars want to be SUVs

                BERLIN: While most manufacturers are scaling back or discontinuing their supermini cars for cost reasons, Toyota is doubling down with a new generation of its urban runabout, the Aygo.

And yet this time, the Aygo will be significantly larger and will also bring quite a few SUV leanings when it returns in the first half of 2022, the manufacturer has announced.

That's why the company - clearly worried about its baby Aygo losing ground in the SUV frenzy - is now also giving the new five-door supermini a more grown-up, crossover-like name: the Aygo X.

The X in the name is all about extra space: Built on the platform of its big brother Yaris, the Aygo has grown in wheelbase by 9cm, in length by 24cm and in width by 13cm.

With a length of 3.70m, Toyota promises noticeably more space for rear-seat passengers. The boot, meanwhile, is more than 60 litres larger than before and now holds 231 to 829 litres.

You won't find much of an X feeling under the bonnet, mind, and even though space has increased, this is still meant to be an affordable car for city trips and commutes.

Propulsion comes from a three-pot petrol engine with 72hp from one litre of displacement (you can get it as a manual or with a continuously variable automatic transmission).

The Aygo X accelerates from 0 to 100kph in 15.5 seconds at best and has a top speed of 158kph. Toyota puts fuel consumption at 4.7 litres and CO2 emissions at 110 g/km.

Toyota has not yet announced a price, but given the new format, it's likely to be considerably more expensive than the current model, which sells for at least €13,290 (around RM64,000) in Europe.


UK police receive 35 dash cam videos daily from public

                LONDON: Motorists and other road users have sent 52,174 dash cam recordings of potential traffic offences to UK police forces since 2017, with more than a third resulting in a court summons, Fixed Penalty Notice, driver awareness course or warning.

A Freedom of Information request was sent to every UK police force by the country’s leading new car buying platform and consumer champion, What Car?.

It found police forces across the UK receive more than 35 pieces of dash-cam footage every day.

Just over 10% of the incidents captured on film were severe enough to warrant a court prosecution and 9.6% resulted in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). A further 10.5% resulted in the driver being asked to attend a driver awareness course, and 3.0% of drivers were given a warning.

Thirty-five of the UK’s 42 police forces have a system in place to process and fine drivers and motorcyclists based on dash-cam evidence from other road users.

The use of dash cams by drivers and other road users has shot up by around 850% since 2017, when insurance companies started accepting footage as evidence for claims and the courts first used footage to convict an offender.

Dyfed-Powys Police in South Wales is the most active in using dash cam footage. It has taken action over 81.3% of the videos it’s received, with 40.2% of offenders receiving a warning, 18.6% of them were prosecuted in court and 18.4% were asked to attend a driver awareness course, while just 4.0% were handed an FPN.

London’s Metropolitan Police received the largest volume of submissions – nearly 25,000 videos over four years – and acted in 45.4% of cases, issuing court proceedings to 18.9% of offenders, driver awareness courses to 13.9%, FPNs to 9.6% and warnings to 2.9%.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “Our Freedom of Information request shows the vast majority of police forces in the country can now receive and process footage from dash cams in a matter of hours, meaning reckless driving is more likely than ever to lead to a fine or even a court summons.”


Audi RS 4 Avant goes on sale in Europe at €80K

INGOLSTADT: Customers in Germany and other European countries can now order the Audi RS 4 Avant, which is priced from €79,800 (RM393,000).

The newly developed 2.9-litre TFSI engine in the RS 4 Avant delivers more torque and efficiency. The V6 twin turbo sends 600Nm of torque (1,900 to 5,000rpm) to the crankshaft – 170 Nm more than in the previous model.

The output of 450hp equates to a performance of 155.5hp per litre, allowing the RS 4 Avant to accelerate from 0 to 100kph in 4.1 seconds, which is 0.6 tenths faster than before.

The RS dynamics package increases the electronically controlled top speed from 250kph to 280kph. In the new European driving cycle, the vehicle uses just 8.8 litres of fuel per 100km, equivalent to 200–199 grams of CO2 per kilometre. These values represent a 17% reduction in fuel consumption compared with the previous model.

In using the 2.9-litre TFSI V6 twin turbo, Audi Sport is following up on the legendary first-generation RS 4 Avant.

The RS 4 released back in 1999 was also equipped with a V6 twin turbo – the first ever supercharged twin turbo engine from Audi.

Delivering an output of 380hp, the engine performed at 141hp per litre. The first RS 4 Avant went from 0 to 100kph in 4.9 seconds. Huge demand for this founding vehicle of the V6 twin turbo success story led Audi to double the original number of models planned for production. In total, the brand produced 6,030 units of the first-generation RS 4.


GM to end petrol and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035

                WASHINGTON: General Motors Co said on Thursday it was setting a goal to sell all its new cars, SUVs and light pickup trucks with zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a dramatic shift by the largest US automaker away from gasoline and diesel engines.

GM, which also said it plans to become carbon neutral by 2040, made the dramatic announcement just over a week after President Joe Biden took office pledging to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and boost sales of electric vehicles (EVs).

GM sold 2.55 million vehicles in the United States last year, but only about 20,000 were EVs, the Chevy Bolt hatchback. It said in November it was investing US$27 billion in electric and autonomous vehicles over the next five years, up from US$20 billion planned before the coronavirus pandemic.

Chief executive Mary Barra has aggressively pushed GM to embrace electric vehicles and shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles.

She said in a statement the automaker had worked with the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF), an environmental advocacy group, to “develop a shared vision of an all-electric future and an aspiration to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035.”

Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas said the decision is “based principally on economic grounds... Would GM decide to wind down a business in under 15 years if it truly felt it would spin off cash and provide positive economic value?”

Jonas added that investors should look for most if not all automakers “to follow GM’s precedent.”

In September, California governor Gavin Newsom said the state plans to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks starting in 2035. Several states, including Massachusetts, say they plan to follow suit.

Newsom called GM’s announcement a “gamechanger” but the California Air Resources Board said “if GM is serious about cleaning up the air our children breathe today, it must also drop its defence of the Trump administration’s rollbacks of federal vehicle emissions standards.”

GM and other major automakers sided with Donald Trump last year in a legal challenge to his rollback of federal vehicle emissions standards through 2026.

However, in November, GM withdrew from a separate legal case in which it had sided with the Trump administration effort to bar California from setting its own vehicle emissions rules.

Last week, Biden directed US agencies to reconsider the Trump emissions rollback and the revocation of California’s emissions authority.

GM is “open to working with California and the Biden administration to achieve agreement on a national standard and complementary policies to accelerate the electrification of the light-duty transportation sector,” the company said in a separate statement.

However, in announcing the change, GM re-affirmed a commitment to producing zero-emission vehicles.

“We’re taking actions so that we can eliminate tailpipe emissions by 2035,” Dane Parker, GM’s chief sustainability officer, said at the media briefing. “Setting a goal for us 15 years from now is absolutely reachable.”

EDF president Fred Krupp said in a statement: “with this extraordinary step forward, GM is making it crystal clear that taking action to eliminate pollution from all new light-duty vehicles by 2035 is an essential element of any automaker’s business plan.”

GM also said it will source 100% renewable energy to power its US sites by 2030 and global sites by 2035, five years ahead of a prior goal.

David Friedman, a vice president at Consumer Reports and a former Obama administration auto regulator, said “strong aspirations are important and inspirational, but firm production plans and strong policies are what move the market and the climate.”

More than half of GM’s capital spending and product development team will be devoted to electric and electric-autonomous vehicle programs, GM said.

Biden on Monday vowed to replace the US government’s fleet of roughly 650,000 vehicles with electric models as the new administration shifts its focus towards clean energy.


India has an electric opportunity to focus on budget cars

                NEW DELHI: Sales of electric vehicles in India tripled last year to 14,800 units and there are growing signs of momentum in this key potential market of 1.4 billion people.

Impatient consumers rushing to switch from gasoline-powered two wheelers to electric scooters have been haranguing startups like Ola Electric on social media over the waiting times for deliveries.

Luxury brands are aggressively targeting the nation’s most affluent. Tesla has been haggling over tax breaks to ramp up sales in India, while Mercedes-Benz is rolling out a locally assembled EQS, the electric version of its flagship S-Class sedan, this year. BMW also plans to launch multiple plug-in models.

Even so, it’s the mid-point of the gasoline-powered passenger vehicle market - options that sit between a bargain two-wheeler and a pricey foreign marque - that has traditionally been India’s most lucrative segment.

Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors, all of which have budget combustion-engine cars, accounted for almost three-quarters of local sales last month, according to the Federation of automobile Dealers Associations.

Maruti’s Alto, previously India’s best-selling model, retails for less than US$4,300 (RM18,000) in New Delhi. Even the new best-sellers, like Hyundai’s i10 and Maruti’s Swift, sell for less than US$7,300 (RM31,000).

Cars remain deeply aspirational in India, and it’s common for new buyers to offer prayers when a family adds a new vehicle.

The upgrade from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler is also a hugely important status symbol.

Despite all that, no carmaker currently offers an entry-level electric option.

That suggests there’s a major opportunity for a mass-market model that can accelerate the shift away from gas guzzlers in a nation where overall EV penetration is just about 1%.

There are some key obstacles to overcome. India’s per capita income is less than $2,000 a year, putting electric cars out of reach for most people. Local producers also remain dependent on imported components, a situation that’s snarling efforts to reduce sticker prices.

Outside large cities, EV charging also remains a significant challenge. The country’s small number of plugs are concentrated in major cities including Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai.

Still, optimists on India’s EV prospects include Gautam Adani, the billionaire who is adding clean energy projects to interests that include coal mines and power plants.

An Adani unit is considering a push into the electric auto sector, weighing plans to produce vehicles, manufacture batteries and install charging networks, the Times of India reported in January.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration - aiming to meet a target of delivering net-zero emissions by 2070 - is also backing the faster development of local electric vehicles and supply chains.

His government also supports the use of battery swapping, an idea that’s so far failed to gain traction outside China.


Car theft syndicate crippled, six arrested

                KUALA LUMPUR: A vehicle theft syndicate, which has been active since last year, was busted with the arrest of six local men.

Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari said the suspects, aged between 30 and 56, were detained in Kuala Lumpur and Puchong on June 28.

"We also seized four vehicles, including two luxury vehicles, two remote control units and several forged documents of vehicle ownership.

"Two other men, known as Samuel and John, are still at large and they are believed to be the mastermind of the syndicate," he told a press conference at the Sentul police headquarters on Friday (June 7).

The syndicate would target luxury vehicles and modify their chassis number, he said.

"They would then sell the stolen vehicles online cheaper than the market price.

"The syndicate is also known to bring in Singapore-registered vehicles, which have been marked for scrap, and modify their chassis number before selling them," he said.

The syndicate is believed to have been responsible for four vehicle theft cases in Sentul and one in Perak, ACP Ahmad Sukarno said.

"Five of the suspects have been released on police bail and made prosecution witnesses while the remaining suspect has been handed over to Perak police," he added.

ACP Ahmad Sukarno said the police are tracking down the two masterminds.

"We believe the suspects have connections with those working in insurance.

"We urge those with information to contact Sentul police headquarters at 03-4048 2222," he said.


McLaren GT Grand Tourer unveiled

                LONDON: McLaren Automotive today reveals its unique interpretation of a modern Grand Tourer: the new mid-engined, rear wheel drive McLaren GT.

"This is a car that redefines the notion of a Grand Tourer in a way that only a McLaren could,” said Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive.

Like all McLarens, the new GT has a carbon fibre structure and at the rear, an integrated fixed rear wing, large diffuser and substantial exhaust tailpipes are reminders that this is a Grand Tourer with supercar performance.

The source of that performance is a new, 620PS 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine, designated M840TE which is bespoke to the new McLaren GT.

Torque of 630Nm is produced between 5,500rpm and 6,500rpm, with more than 95% of this available from 3,000rpm to 7,250rpm.

The new engine is mated to a 7-speed SSG transmission.

The performance statistics speak for themselves: with a launch control function optimising acceleration from a standing start, 0-100km/h (0-62mph) is achieved in 3.2 seconds (0-60mph in 3.1 seconds), 0-200km/h (0-124mph) is dispatched in 9.0 seconds.

The maximum speed of the McLaren GT is 326km/h (203mph).

The suspension is a lightweight aluminium, double wishbone design, paired in the new McLaren GT with hydraulic dampers to deliver Proactive Damping Control.

Driving precision and enjoyment is further enhanced in new McLaren GT by hydraulic steering, which uses a single software ‘map’ across Comfort, Sport and Track modes to deliver optimal feel and response.

At 1,530kg (DIN), the McLaren GT is more than 130kg lighter than its closest core competitor.

With 620PS from its 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the power-to-weight ratio of the superlight new McLaren GT is a remarkable 405PS-per-tonne.

The bespoke MonoCell II-T monocoque – the T denoting ‘Touring’ – incorporates a carbon fibre rear upper structure that adds minimal weight but allows the creation of a 420-litre luggage area below the front-hinged, full-length glazed tailgate.

The tailgate has a soft-close function as standard.

The streamlined, electrically adjusted and heated seats, which are unique to the McLaren GT, have been engineered to meet the requirements of Grand Touring, being optimised for long-distance comfort.

A 12-speaker, Bowers & Wilkins premium audio system featuring carbon fibre sub-bass woofers and Kevlar mid-range drive units, is available.

The Nappa leather trim that features as standard can be upgraded to softgrain luxury leather or Alcantara.

At almost 4.7m, the new McLaren is longer than any of the cars in the McLaren Sports or Super Series.


Volkswagen gets generous with Raya rebates

                KUALA LUMPUR: Volkswagen Malaysia is providing a RM2,000 “Duit Raya” rebate across all of its model range till July 31.

In addition, the models such as the Golf, Beetle, and Passat CC will enjoy additional cash rebates on top of the “Duit Raya”.

Volkswagen PoloVolkswagen BeetleVolkswagen GolfVolkswagen Golf GTIVolkswagen Passat CC

This is while stocks last and cash rebates vary according to the respective models.

Surprisingly, the newly launched Vento will also be included in this special Raya Promotion where Volkswagen will take care of the monthly instalments till the end of the year for cars booked within the promotion period.

To qualify, all vehicle bookings must be made within the promotion period.

For more information, log on to www.volkswagen.com.my or visit the nearest Volkswagen showroom.


BMW first-quarter sales slump as coronavirus hits all markets

                MUNICH: BMW AG’s first-quarter car deliveries sank by about 21% to 477,111 as the Covid-19 pandemic closed showrooms all over the world and idled production lines.

BMW brand car sales in the first three months sank 20.1%, the carmaker said in a statement today. Group sales, which include the MINI and Rolls Royce brands, were down 20.6%.

Carmakers in Europe have closed production lines, hoping the temporary measure will be enough to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

German car companies and the government are discussing how soon plants can be reopened in order to restart the country’s economic engine that employs more than 800,000 people. BMW’s plants are scheduled to operate again from April 20.

“We are responding to the worldwide challenging sales situation due to the corona pandemic and are adapting our production volume flexibly to demand,” BMW’s chief financial officer Pieter Nota said in the statement.

All major markets saw double-digit declines in the quarter, the company said in the statement. China, which dropped the most with 30.9% fewer cars sold, is seeing first signs of a recovery, Nota said.


Jan 20-26: Fuel prices unchanged

                PETALING JAYA: Fuel prices will remain unchanged from Jan 20-26, says the Finance Ministry.

In a statement today, it said the retail price for RON97 and RON95 petrol would remain at RM3.07 and RM2.05 per litre respectively.

The price of diesel remains unchanged at RM2.15 per litre.


Geely’s iconic Lotus Cars said to mull raising US$1bil

                HANGZHOU: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. is considering raising about US$1 billion (RM4.1bil) to help expand its iconic British sports and racing automotive business Lotus Cars into the electric vehicles market in China, according to people familiar with the matter.

Geely is working with advisers to sound out potential investor interest in a funding round that could value Lotus’s EV operations at about US$5 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Separately from the fundraising, the Chinese company is also weighing an initial public offering of Lotus Cars, or just the British carmaker’s EV business, as soon as next year, the people said.

A listing could value the entire business, including its combustion-driven sports and racing cars, at more than US$15 billion, the people said.

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. shares rose as much as 6.6% in their biggest advance in a month, outperforming a 1% gain in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Chinese billionaire Li Shufu’s Geely, which also controls Sweden-based Volvo Car AB, bought a stake in Group Lotus in 2017. It owns 51% of the company, including both Lotus Cars and consultancy Lotus Engineering, while Malaysia’s Etika Automotive Bhd owns the remainder, according to a press release.

Under Geely, Lotus in 2019 launched its all-electric Evija hypercar, a 1,972-horsepower coupe that costs about US$2 million.

Considerations are ongoing and details including size and timing could change, the people said. A Geely representative declined to comment. Representatives for Lotus didn’t immediately comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Geely is seeking to expand into electric vehicles amid a booming market in countries including China.

Polestar, the electric carmaker controlled by Volvo Car and its owner Geely, is exploring options for going public as soon as this year, Bloomberg News has reported.

Investor mania over EV-related stocks has pushed the share prices of players including Nio Inc. and Xpeng Inc. to stratospheric levels.

That intense interest has also spawned a wave of EV upstarts raising billions and racing to list via special-purpose acquisition companies. More than US$180 billion has been raised globally through SPAC IPOs in the past 12 months, Bloomberg-compiled data show.


Hyundai's N brand unveils two rolling lab concepts as it goes electrified

                BUSAN: Hyundai Motor’s high-performance N sub-brand is revealing its electrification vision to demonstrate the company’s commitment to future-focused zero-emissions technologies.

RN22e and N Vision 74 are inspirational examples of N’s electrification vision. These two "rolling lab" concepts demonstrate Hyundai Motor’s ambition to become a leader in the zero-emissions future.

Hyundai Motor’s "rolling labs" are where it tests and verifies the company’s advanced technologies to apply them to future production models.

RN22e melds the all-new Ioniq 6 and the company’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), while setting a new standard in high-performance EVs.

Meanwhile, N Vision 74 combines EV technology with an advanced hydrogen fuel cell system, making it Hyundai N’s first hydrogen hybrid rolling lab to explore ‘driving fun’ in the electrification era.

“RN22e and N Vision 74 play an important role in the strategic development of our entire product lineup, especially our electrified, high-performance vehicles,” said Thomas Schemera, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Experience Division at Hyundai Motor Company.

“Rolling labs represent the continuous development of our most advanced technologies. This unique approach makes us ready for the challenges of the future by empowering us to push ourselves to the limit.”

Both RN22e and N Vision 74 will continue to be tested and verified by Hyundai’s engineers, so future N road cars can be equipped with their advanced technologies.

Since launching its very first high-performance production road car in 2017, Hyundai i30 N, N has pushed the limits of performance to help customers discover how fun driving can be.

The brand claim is "Never just drive" because getting from A to B should never be boring.

Even in the electric future, N brand pursues its three pillars: corner rascal (tight, perfectly balanced cornering machine), racetrack capability (all N models are built to perform directly on the track) and everyday sportscar (for everyone and every need, not just track days and highways).

“In just seven years, Hyundai N has become the fastest evolving performance brand,” said Till Wartenberg, Vice President of N Brand Management & Motorsport Sub-Division at Hyundai Motor Company.

“N is moving forward to set new standards in sustainable high performance. We enthusiastically start this new chapter of electrified high-performance and will pursue this goal by using our creativity, engineering expertise and competitive spirit.”


Tesla takes on Porsche with battle on Germany's toughest circuit

                FRANKFURT: Tesla wants to steal Porsche’s bragging rights by testing its Model S on the northern loop of Germany’s Nuerburgring circuit, using a marketing tool that German carmakers have long used to tout the superiority of their products.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport this week published photographs of a Tesla with “100D+” markings on the track where according to the magazine, it clocked an unofficial time of 7 minutes and 23 seconds, beating the recently launched electric Porsche Taycan’s lap time of 7 minutes 42 seconds.

A formally timed record attempt was due to take place on Wednesday, with another attempt scheduled for Saturday, said Auto Motor und Sport.

Tesla is using the Nordschleife, as the track is known, to market its “Plaid” mode on a 7-seater Tesla Model S, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter.

“We expect these track times to be beaten by the actual production 7 seat Model S Plaid variant that goes into production around Oct/Nov next year,” Musk said on Tuesday.

Setting a new record time for four-door electric cars would give the US-based manufacturer’s ageing Model S a new lease of life just as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche prepare to launch electric cars.

The Nordschleife is one of the world’s most treacherous thanks to its length of just over 20km, slanted cambers and an altitude difference of 300 metres between its highest and lowest point.

Porsche says its 919 Evo hybrid racecar currently holds the record with a lap time of 5 minutes 19 seconds, set in 2018 by keeping up an average speed of 234kph, despite blind corners, narrow bends and limited safety run-off zones.

Porsche, BMW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Cadillac and Aston Martin have used the racetrack as a boot camp to hone reliability and handling and to benchmark their vehicles against top competitors.

“If you take the same corner, on the same road, at the same speed, in two different cars, you can see how your car measures up to the competition,” said driver Dirk Schoysman, who set a Nordschleife lap record in 1996 in a Nissan Skyline with a time of 7 minutes 59 seconds.

For Nissan, the new record underscored the Skyline R33 GT-R’s global status as a serious sportscar, proving that Japanese brands could be as competitive as vehicles made by Germany’s finest manufacturers.

The circuit opened in June 1927 to become an important battleground where legendary drivers like Tazio Nuvolari and Juan Manuel Fangio drove some of their most memorable races.

In 1935 senior Nazi officials gathered at the German Grand Prix ready to cheer the home team, only to see Italy’s Nuvolari beat the Mercedes-Benz W25 and the Auto Union Typ B in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3.

The track remained a venue for Grand Prix races until 1976 when a horrendous crash almost killed driving ace Niki Lauda, leading to the opening of a shorter, wider Nuerburgring track with improved facilities in May 1984.

But carmakers have continued to use the older circuit’s 40 right-hand and 33 left-hand turns through the Eifel region’s forested hills to develop their regular vehicles.

“Cars cannot keep secrets here, mistakes and problems will eventually rise to the surface,” Schoysman said.

At the Hatzenbach corner, cars enter a dip forcing them over a series of undulations with their suspension compressed, testing the chassis to the limit.

“If the car changes its line in that corner it may be a tyre flexing, the suspension bushes that have gone through their stroke, or a problem with the stiffness of the car body, or its electronic stability program,” Schoysman explained.

These development tweaks continue to be relevant for electric cars as well as for marketing purposes.

Understanding the circumstances of the test lap will be crucial for evaluating Tesla’s achievement, Schoysman said.

“Getting a new lap record shows the know-how of the company but there are always questions: Are the cars realistic copies of what the customer finds in a showroom? Or were they modified?”
Understanding the circumstances of the test lap will be crucial for evaluating Tesla’s achievement, Schoysman said.

“Getting a new lap record shows the know-how of the company but there are always questions: Are the cars realistic copies of what the customer finds in a showroom? Or were they modified?”

In a related development, Tesla has installed a Supercharger at the Nuerburgring to keep electric cars topped up. Tesla cars are said to perform at their best when they are fully charged. Prior to this newest installation, Tesla car owners taking their cars to the Nordschleife can only charge at a Supercharger some 50km away.

A Supercharger is a DC fast charger and generally cannot be used by non-Tesla cars because the plugs are different.

Tesla has indicated it would soon upgrade its Supercharger network to comply with the Combined Charging System Combo 2 plug standards so that non-Tesla EVs or PHEVs can use it.

O the other hand, Tesla has recently released a €500 (RM2,300) adapter that allows European Model S & X owners to use public CCS2 stations.


Michael 50 exhibition at Ferrari Museum

                MARANELLO: Fans and representatives of Scuderia Ferrari Clubs from all over Europe are flocking to the Ferrari Museum for the opening of the ‘Michael 50’ exhibition on the occasion of the champion's 50th birthday.

Maranello has put together a special exhibition telling the story of Michael Schumacher's extraordinary record-breaking F1 career: the German champion won an as yet unequaled seven world titles, 91 victories, and 155 podiums.

The Hall of Victories displays some of the most important Ferrari single-seaters driven in his eleven years with the Scuderia.

They range from the F310 of 1996, with which Schumacher won three GPs in his first season with the Prancing Horse, to the F399, the car that won the Constructors' title in 1999 to set Formula 1’s oldest team off on an exceptional run of victories.

There is also the F1-2000 of the legendary Alba Rossa (Red Dawn), when at Suzuka Michael secured Ferrari its first the world title since Jody Scheckter 21 years before.

Then of course there are the record-breaking F2002 and F2004, and the 248 F1 of 2006, in which he triumphed at the Chinese GP for his 72nd and final victory with Ferrari.

Fans will also be introduced to a lesser-known side of Schumacher, that of developer. Indeed, after leaving Formula 1, the German driver remained at Ferrari not only to help the Scuderia but also to contribute to the development of various road cars, such as the 430 Scuderia in 2007 and the Ferrari California in 2008.

The exhibition will run alongside ‘Driven by Enzo’ and ‘Passion and Legend’, which are already open at the Maranello Museum.


GM embraces Tesla's EV charging system, Wall Street cheers

                WASHINGTON: General Motors will join Ford in adopting Tesla's North American charging plug standard and give GM electric-vehicle buyers access to the Tesla Supercharger network under an agreement announced on Thursday.

GM's move, which follows a similar decision by Ford to embrace Tesla's charging plug standard, means three of the top EV sellers in the North American market have now agreed on a standard for charging hardware. The agreement was announced by GM CEO Mary Barra and Tesla chief Elon Musk in a Twitter Spaces event.

Investors applauded the deal, and the prospect of one charging hardware standard for the North American market.

The alliance among the three leading rival US EV manufacturers has significant commercial and public policy implications.

The Biden administration made adoption of a rival "combined charging system" (CCS) standard a requirement in order for companies to be eligible for billions of dollars of federal subsidies for new charging stations on some 12,070 km of the nation's busiest roadways. The alliance among Tesla, Ford and GM challenges the White House's direction.

But Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNBC in May after the Ford-Tesla deal that the industry will eventually converge on one system but that adapters would allow cross- usage.

Tesla, GM and Ford together account for about 70% of current US EV sales. Industry executives see differing EV charging connectors as a barrier to wider consumer adoption of electric vehicles.

"I think this is just going to be a fundamentally great thing for the advancement of electric vehicles," Musk said during the Twitter Spaces conversation with Barra.

"I think it all just got a little better," Barra said.

GM could save US$400 million from the agreement, Barra told CNBC in an interview Thursday.

'Snowball effect'

From a consumer standpoint, the deals with the Detroit automakers look like a win for Tesla, which invested heavily to deploy its distinctive fast-charging stations across North America when most other automakers delegated charging to third parties.

Tesla Superchargers account for about 60% of the total fast chargers in the United States and Canada, according to US Department of Energy data.

"This is pretty huge," Consumer Reports senior policy analyst Chris Harto said. "I could see this being kind of a snowball effect of more and more automakers jumping on board and shifting towards the Tesla standard."

For GM and Ford, the deals are a wager that the benefits of giving their customers access to Tesla's extensive rapid charging network outweigh the risks that their customers will like what they see and choose Tesla for their next purchase.

The alliance among Tesla, GM and Ford puts pressure on other automakers and independent charging network operators that had adopted the CCS standard.

A US move to Tesla's standard could be difficult for rival charging station manufacturers that are already setting up shop in the United States to make equipment that conforms to CCS standards.

"It does make it much more likely that NACS will win out in North America over CCS," said David Whiston of Morningstar Research, referring to Tesla's North American Charging Standard. Other charging providers could still use the CCS standard and rely on adapters to serve Tesla, Ford and GM vehicles, he added.

GM said it will equip EVs with connectors based on the Tesla North American Charging Standard design starting in 2025. Next year, current owners of GM EVs will be able to use 12,000 Tesla fast chargers in North America, and adapters will be made available.

Musk said Tesla "is not going to do anything to prefer Teslas" as more rival brands access the Supercharger network. "It will be an even playing field ... The most important thing is we advance the electric vehicle revolution."

Ford CEO Jim Farley held a similar discussion with Musk on Twitter last month announcing the No. 2 US automaker had reached agreement with Tesla to allow its electric vehicle owners to gain access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers in North America in early 2024.


Google exec takes wife to Maranello, gives her a Ferrari FXX K

 A gift of love. Christine with her new ride.

MARANELLO: Love is giving. For a Google executive, it meant buying his wife a Ferrari FXX K.

Supercar owner and enthusiast Benjamin Sloss kept the gift a secret by telling his wife, Christine, he would be bringing her to Fiorano to do a little lapping in their 599 XX as a birthday treat. And he did just that. But that was far from all he had planned.

In fact, when they arrived at the track recently, Christine found a beautiful FXX K, clothed, like all their Ferraris in a yellow livery, waiting for her. Naturally enough Christine, who is also a real petrolhead and a mean GT driver, lost no time in getting into her racing suit and putting her latest acquisition through its paces on the track.

Christine said she found the FXX K incredibly communicative, responsive, and confidence inspiring, and extraordinarily fast. After just a few laps she was running 1’20”, with a passenger on board, very close to the Fiorano FXX K lap record!

READ ALSO:Ferrari FXX K launched in Abu DhabiSame guy gets his Ferrari 599 XX Evo in 2012


Daimler to invest US$11b in electric vehicles, says paper

                STUTTGART: Daimler is planning to invest up to 10 billion euros (RM49bil) in developing electric vehicles, its research and development head told a German daily.

German firms are investing heavily in electric cars, once shunned for their high cost and limited operating range but now benefiting from recent advances in battery technology and a backlash against diesel fumes.

Technological advances to increase the reach of an electric car by up to 50% are now spurring major investments by Volkswagen, Daimler and suppliers such as Bosch and Continental.

"By 2025 we want to develop 10 electric cars based on the same architecture," Thomas Weber told Stuttgarter Zeitung's Saturday edition.

"For this push, we want to invest up to 10 billion euros," he said, adding three of the models will be Smart branded cars and that thanks to larger batteries they will be able to increase their cruising range up to 700km.

In September, a person familiar with Daimler's plans said that the car maker plans to roll out at least six electric car models as part of its push to compete with Tesla and Volkswagen's Audi.

Separately, Daimler said on Friday that it will continue to sell diesel-powered vehicles in the United States, in contrast to German rival Volkswagen.

"There is currently no decision nor are there considerations to withdraw diesel from the US", a company spokesman said, denying a report from weekly magazine Der Spiegel, which had said the carmaker was considering stopping its sales of such cars in the US next year.

Diesel-powered cars account for less than one percent of the Mercedes brand's car sales in the US this year, he added.

That compares to a diesel car share of about 5 percent several years ago, Der Spiegel said.

Daimler is conducting an internal investigation of its certification process for diesel exhaust emissions in the United States at the request of the Justice Department, after the US Environmental Protection Agency said it would review all light-duty diesel vehicles.

According to Der Spiegel, the potential pullback of diesel cars from the US market is not related to this probe.

Volkswagen said on Tuesday it would drop diesel vehicles in the United States and refocus on sport utility and electric vehicles, in the wake of a damaging diesel emissions cheating scandal.


Nissan's turnaround exec quits in latest setback

Seki denies he was leaving Nissan because he was passed over for the role of chief executive. — Reuters
YOKOHAMA: The executive tasked with leading a recovery at Nissan Motor Co Ltd said he had decided to resign just weeks into his new job, a move that could disrupt the automaker’s push to turn the corner on scandal and slumping sales.

Jun Seki, Nissan’s vice chief operating officer and a former contender for chief executive, told Reuters he was leaving to become the president of Nidec Corp, a Kyoto-based manufacturer of automotive components and precision motors.

He will likely depart in January after three decades at Nissan, including a stint heading its China business.

“I love Nissan and I feel bad about leaving the turnaround work unfinished, but I am 58 years old, and this is an offer I could not refuse. It’s probably my last chance to lead a company too,” he said in a brief interview.

“It’s not about money. In fact, I will take a financial hit since Nissan pays us well,” Seki said. He declined to elaborate further.

Nissan and Nidec declined to comment.

Seeking to roll back some of the costly expansion under ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan has embarked on wide-ranging turnaround plan.

That plan, which began in April, is now on track to generate a cumulative few hundred billion yen in cost cuts and operational efficiency gains by the year to March 2022, according to two Nissan sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. One hundred billion yen is roughly equal to US$915 million.

Adding to concerns about disruption among Nissan’s top management, the sources said that Seki, chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta and chief executive Makoto Uchida have so far failed to gel as a team after being named to their posts in October.

They officially took over on Dec 1.

“There was no instant, cohesive chemistry achieved by those appointments,” one of the sources said.

Gupta and Uchida were not immediately available for comment.

Seki’s resignation could further complicate Nissan’s relationship with top shareholder Renault SA. Seki recently worked in Paris for a year and was seen as relatively close to the French automaker.

Persuaded in the end

Asked if he was leaving Nissan because he was passed over for the role of chief executive, Seki said that was not the case but did not elaborate.

He and Uchida, most recently the head of the China business, had been seen as top contenders for the CEO job. Reuters reported in September that Uchida was seen as more favored by Renault.

Before being named vice-COO, Seki was a senior vice-president charged with leading the turnaround.

Nissan has been profoundly shaken over the last year, first with the downfall of long-term leader Ghosn, who is now awaiting trial on allegations of financial misconduct that he has denied. Former chief executive Hiroto Saikawa then left in September.

One of the sources said Seki was contacted by a headhunter about a job at Nidec in April, after he returned from a year working in Paris.

Nidec’s 75-year-old chairman, the brash and confident Shigenobu Nagamori, has been searching for an eventual successor to lead and expand its business.

Nidec, which sees electric vehicles as a key driver of growth, has a 40% global market share in automotive electric steering motors and has said it wants to boost its share in electric vehicle propulsion motors.

After April, Seki had no additional contact with Nidec until the recruiter called him again on Oct. 8 when Nissan announced the new management team, including Uchida as CEO.

After that second call, Seki agreed to meet Nagamori - to turn down the offer, the source said.

“Nagamori talked Seki into accepting his offer in the end,” the source said.


2019 Maserati Ghibli available for booking

                PETALING JAYA: Maserati’s best-selling luxury sedan, the Ghibli, now comes with discreet refinements to the ultimate detail in the 2019 version and Naza Italia, the official importer and distributor for Maserati, has announced its availability for booking in Malaysia.

The Ghibli makes a bold statement and elegantly delivers a smooth, lavish ride with razor-sharp coupé-like handling. A symbol of high-powered luxury that’s imbued with Maserati’s racing DNA, the Ghibli embodies the marque’s competitive spirit and maintains the tradition of empowering performance.

The latest incarnation of this model presents subtle style enhancements, new colour options, alloy wheels, full-grain Pieno Fiore natural leather with new veneers and a redesigned gearshift lever with shorter travel and improved operation.

Adaptive Full LED Matrix headlights are standard for all model range. Maserati’s eye-catching Nerissimo styling package has been updated and made available for the 2019 Ghibli.

Naza Corporation Holdings Sdn Bhd, Group CEO, Automotive Group, Datuk Samson Anand George said, “The Malaysian market will see the complete range for this model, which includes the Ghibli, Ghibli GranSport, Ghibli GranLusso, Ghibli S, Ghibli S GranSport and Ghibli S GranLusso. The highly popular Ghibli range offers gorgeous looks, top-quality performance, a comfortable driving experience and even greater refinement.”

The 2,979 cc V6 petrol engine - available in two power specifications with 350hp and 430hp - is designed by Maserati Powertrain in collaboration with Ferrari and is manufactured by Ferrari in Maranello.

All versions of the Ghibli are equipped with the same eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

The range-topping Ghibli S version delivers a top speed of 286kph and 0 to 100kph in 4.9 seconds.

The 350hp Ghibli is capable of accelerating from 0-100kph in 5.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 267kph.

The Ghibli enters the Malaysian market at the starting price of RM618,800.00 (inclusive of local taxes and duties) for the standard model, whilst the Ghibli GranSport and GrandLusso are priced at RM668,800.00.

The Ghibli S is priced at RM718,800 and the Ghibi S GranSport and GranLusso at RM768,800.00.

All models include 5 years Standard Warranty coverage with no mileage restriction plus a Free maintenance program of 5 years/100,000km whichever comes first (inclusive of Maserati Premium Service Plus of 3 Years/60,000km).