I’d like to wish all my readers a happy new year. 2005 has been an interesting year for the automotive industry. Pretty exciting. We had new launches from both our largest national car manufacturers, the Perodua Myvi and the Proton Savvy. We had the controversial AP Saga involving Rafidah Aziz, Tun Dr. M and the AP Kings. A new National Automotive Policy. We saw Proton undergo a major management change, and the possibility of a take-over by Volkswagen AG.

Let’s hope 2006 will bring us more exciting developments. I’m sure everyone is eagerly awaiting the new Proton Satria Replacement Model. Sightings of a K-car being test driven which might be a Perodua have also been spotted, though these are all just speculations.

Petrol prices have gone up multiple times this year and currently stands at 1.62 a liter for RON97. There are speculations of another hike REAL soon, so be sure to adjust your finances in preparation for it.

As for imported makes, I think a replacement for the current Honda Civic is also due very soon since if I recall correctly, they’ve stopped production of the older 1.7 VTEC and 2.0 i-VTEC models to clear out the stock. No immediate indications of an update for the Altis or Camry yet. The Accord has been facelifted in Japan and the US but not in Malaysia, fine by me as I don’t like the new facelift anyway. The Sentra has been facelifted again. Nissan has to do alot better than this for their sedans. They seem to be focusing on the X-Trail and the Frontier for the moment. They still don’t have a proper competitor for the City and the Vios. Both the City and Vios have been facelifted in 2005.

Happy trails and enjoy 2005’s last night, wherever you may be spending it. I’m likely going to spend it at home. Already partied enough last night at the Malaysian Press Club’s pre-New Year party. Remember, don’t drink and drive. I’ve had my fair share of that experience.

Mail Money reports that sources have indicated petrol diesel prices might be raised as much as 20 sen and 10 sen a liter respectively next month, which is only 1 day away!

Currently RON97 petrol goes for about RM1.62 a litre, so after the increase it should be about RM1.82 a litre. My Satria’s (RIP -_-”) full tank should cost about RM81.90 to fill up if the price increases.

The increase if put into effect would save the government RM1 billion in subsidies.

Volkswagen and Proton tie-up talks have made some progress, after a meeting between Proton Holdings Bhd and Volkswagen AG in Bangkok recently.

Apparently Volkswagen has dropped it’s insistence to have a controlling stake in Proton, and details of the proposed partnership has been revised. The issue of the controlling stake has been a main stumbling block in the talks so far. But Proton officials has not confirmed this matter.

Bernama also reports Proton is exploring multi-party strategy involving relationships with General Motors and Mitsubishi.

In other news, Proton shares went up 15 sen to RM6.30 after the announcement of it’s MV Agusta share disposal. Mayban Research has set a target price and fair value of RM7 for Proton shares. Shares should go up again after this tie-up progress announcement.

Source

Proton Holdings has sold it’s 57.57 percent stake in MV Agusta Spa to an Italian company Gevi Spa. Gevi Spa will assume MV Agusta’s debts and working capital requirements totalling 139.44 million euros, as announced today to Bursa Malaysia by Proton Holdings as part of it’s non-core asset divesting exercise.

Interesting to note that Proton originally acquired MV Agusta Spa last year on July 7 2004 for 70 million Euro, and finally sold it for a token sum of 1 Euro (RM4.48).

Source

The NAZA Group, controlled by tycoon Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin has set up a company called N-2 Sdn Bhd. N-2 is believed to focus on assembling and distributing Chinese-made mini cars, competing with Perodua in the K-car market, like the Kancil and Kelisa.

A Chinese auto company will be involved in a joint-venture to set up an assembly plant in northern Malaysia. Little is known of which Chinese auto company this is, but from past rumours it might be the Hafei Lobo. Just a little speculation on my part though.

Source

UPDATE: The Nissan Sylphy has been launched in Malaysia! Two model variants are available, both with 2.0L engines. Click to read more and find out details and pricing.

Nissan has launched it’s Nissan Bluebird Sylphy mid-sized luxury sedan in Japan, targetted at today’s executive woman, focusing on hospitality and care in mind.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Nissan Bluebird Sylphy

Short piece of news. Proton Holdings and MV Agusta management met up on Wednesday to discuss MV Agusta’s future, according to Corrierre della Sera, citing sources. Proton no longer believes it’s 57.7% investment in MV Agusta is strategic, and they are likely to be seeking a buyer for it’s investment now.

Source

ChangAn Auto Group, based in Chongqing, China has completed negotiations with a Malaysian company to build it’s ChangAn CM8 here in Malaysia. An agreement was signed this week on investing and building an assembly plant for the vehicle. ChangAn Auto is the fourth-largest producer of automobiles in China as of 2005.

Click here to read the rest of ChangAn CM8 assembled in Malaysia

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia Sdn Bhd (joint venture betweeen Mitsubishi Japan 52% and EON 48%) is in talks with Proton Holdings Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd, among a few other car manufacturers on the possibility of assembling Mitsubishi cars locally.

Currently Mitsubishi models like the Mitsubishi Lancer sedan are CBU models, fully imported, thus having to pay hefty CBU taxes. Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia officials have said they are waiting for the full details of the National Automotive Policy to be announced before deciding which models to assemble locally.

Source: The Edge

A team of engineers at Keio University led by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu has developed this 8-wheeled electric car called the Eliica. Eliica stands for ‘Electric Lithium-Ion battery Car’ and it has some pretty impressive performance statistics.

With 600kW of power on tap, 0-100km/h only takes 4 seconds and 0-160km/h takes 7 seconds - this means it’s acceleration times are faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo. During a test on the Nardo high-speed test track in Italy, the Eliica managed to record a top speed of 370km/h, though theoretically it could touch 400km/h on smoother roads. What makes this car excellent on windy tracks is it runs on a single gear, so acceleration is very linear.

The Eliica is more than 5 meters long, shaped like a bullet and stores it’s batteries and motors low in the chassis, creating a low centre of gravity. It is also low for maximum aerodynamic efficiency, which means headroom is limited. No one taller than 178cm can fit in the car which rules me out since I’m about 181cm.