Archive for International News

Taiwanese automotive company Yulon Motor Co is set to launch its first 7-seater MPV, marketed under the Luxgen brand sometime in mid-2009. The new Luxgen MPV will be using the previous generation Renault Espace’s platform, with Luxgen’s own styling and a choice of two engines - a 2.0 liter normally aspirated motor producing 145hp and 185Nm of torque, and a 2.2 liter turbocharged motor producing 200hp and 280Nm of torque, both developed by Yulon’s powertrain division.

The company said the MPV project took the Toyota Estima as a benchmark for its development, and the final product will compete with similiar sized MPVs like the Estima such as the GM/Buick GL8 and the Honda Odyssey. It will feature lots of electrical goodies such as cameras located around the MPV to assist with parking and maneuvering, a night vision system, a lane departure warning system, and etc.

Yulon is targetting the Chinese market with this new MPV. “The car segment in China has evolved, where a car has to be more than merely four wheels plus an engine. Any prospective carmaker has to adopt a quality-oriented strategy. Ours is to cull the R&D expertise achieved in Taiwan`s technology industry to build smarter cars, which I think would be feasible in China,” said Yulon’s CEO Kenneth Yen.

There is a split opinion on what the MPV in the images you find in this post is. Some say it is a new MPV from Roewe based on its alloy wheel design, but as the vehicle was snapped testing in Taiwan, another camp says it is in fact the new Luxgen MPV.

The Chevrolet GPiX crossover coupe concept was unveiled earlier this week at the Sao Paulo International Auto Show in Brazil. Yes, this is another one of those coupe-SUV vehicles, but after looking at it you can’t help but think - hasn’t Chevrolet already done this before back in end-2005 with the Chevrolet T2X Concept?

According to GM, the reason the GPiX has a high ground clearance is because it is tailored to the types of road conditions typically found in emerging markets, and presumably the show’s host country Brazil is considered by GM to be one of those emerging markets with horrible roads, since the concept car was launched there.

The GPiX name means Global Picture (G-PiX), which translates into Global Image as they’ve intended it to mean. It probably sets the design direction for how GM/Chevrolet’s next generation global cars are going to look like.

Just give us the Chevrolet Cruze already!

Click here to read the rest of Chevrolet GPiX crossover coupe concept

It must be great to be in the royal family of a country of which oil consists of 90% of its exports. The Saudi Arabian royal family purchased 80 units of the new Kahn Cosworth Sport 300 SUV based on the Range Rover Sport just because they wanted the cars before anyone else. I suppose the global recession is non-existant in countries of which economies are driven by petroleum exports.

The Kahn Cosworth Sport 300 is a joint venture between Cosworth and Kahn Design, headed by CEO Afzal Kahn. The Sport 300 carries a £20,000 premium over the Range Rover Sport’s regular price tag of £55,000, and for the 20k pounds you get an additional 32 horsepower from the car’s turbodiesel V8 engine, resulting in a total of 300 horses. The styling is by Kahn design, which includes flared wheel arches and 22 inch alloy wheels.

Look after the jump for a couple of more shots of the new Saudi fleet.

Click here to read the rest of Kahn Cosworth Sport 300: first batch of 80 cars for Saudi Arabian royal family!

Ford has spiced up the Ford Focus Zetec for the UK market with a single alphabet suffix that means a few things, namely a full bodykit, 17 inch alloy wheels, aluminium-look foot pedals, and an S badge on the front cover. This new equipment level is called the Ford Focus Zetec S and is available for both 3-door and 5-door bodies.

The Zetec engine range (125 PS 1.8L, 145 PS 2.0L, 115 PS 1.8L TDCi, 136 PS 2.0L TDCi) is maintained, with the addition of the 115 PS 1.6 liter Ti-VCT engine. Ti-VCT stands for Twin Independent Variable Cam Timing, which uses variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust valves of the engine. It’s got a pretty punchy torque curve, as although peak torque of 155Nm is achieved at 4,200rpm, Ford claims that alot of that is already there from 2,000rpm onwards, though a percentage is not stated.

Each Zetec S model costs approximately £750 above the equivalent Zetec model, while Ford says the Zetec S accessories such as the bodykit and wheels would typically cost over £1,600 if purchased separately.

As usual, more images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Ford Focus Zetec S for the UK market

Mercedes-Benz is adding a second BlueEFFICIENCY model to its W204 C-Class range - the petrol-powered Mercedes-Benz C 350 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY. Stuttgart claims 8.3 liters of premium grade fuel consumed per 100km, and CO2 emissions of 193g/km.

Peak power for the 3.5 liter V6 engine is 292 horsepower and 365Nm of torque, which is more than the conventional port-injected 3.5L V6 of the C 350 by 20 horses and 15Nm. It is also more fuel efficient by 1.4 liters per 100km. The engine is mated to the 7G-Tronic automatic and takes the car up to 100km/h in 6.2 seconds.

The 3.5 liter V6 engine is claimed to be the world’s first engine (at its time of introduction in 2006) with spray-guided direct injection. In a conventional wall-guided direct injection engine (such as Volkswagen’s FSI), the injector points at an angle at a trough-shaped piston floor. The fuel hits the through, causing it to swirl up and mix with the air.

In a spray-guided direct injection engine, the piston floor is flat and a hollow cone of fuel forms at the injection nozzle thanks to a special nozzle shape. Benefits include the ability to run the engine in lean burn mode over an increased rev range.

The moment Toyota started selling the Toyota iQ in Japan, you knew this was going to happen. Toyota has wasted no time in getting out Modellista styling kits for the Toyota iQ. There are two styling kits available - the Maxi and the Mixture.

The Modellista Maxi focuses more on the bodykits itself with custom bumpers, side skirts and even a center exhaust tailpipe on the rear, while the Mixture adds some funk such as orange wing mirrors and other decorations such as decals, all done up in orange or another colour of your choice.

Look after the jump for more angles of the kitted up iQ.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota iQ Modellista comes in two flavors

Toyota Avanza - 7 seats at an affordable price

Everyone is reporting a trend in vehicle size downsizing in efforts to reduce fuel consumption and emissions as well as reduce cost of purchase/ownership in these financially depressing times. For those who travel alone or with one or two passengers most of the time it is easy, but motorists who have to lug a whole family around its going to be hard to find something to fall back on. This is probably the reason why the 7-seater Toyota Avanza is doing extremely well in Malaysia. There’s just nothing else.

Nissan Grand Livina - good to drive thanks to its car-based chassis

The other car manufacturers are catching up though. Nissan’s more elegant answer to the Toyota Avanza is the Nissan Grand Livina - although more expensive than the Avanza it is enjoying brisk sales and currently has a waiting list. Our national carmarker Proton is also developing a new 7-seater MPV and spyshots of the Proton MPV have already been posted on this blog, so check it out. The Proton MPV is probably the most eagerly awaited of all, given the “Proton discount” that its price tag is most likely going to have, it’s probably going to offer the most space for the least amount of money out of all the new MPVs coming out next year.

The Honda Freed - it can even sit 8!

Honda has always had a few vehicles that could sit more than 5 people based on the Honda Jazz platform. You had the Honda Mobilio and Mobilio Spike which looked quite typically Japanese quirky and may not be tuned to ASEAN tastes (Suzuki suffered a similiar fate with the Suzuki APV which looked like a Juara-ish K-van), but the newly launched Honda Freed based on the Jazz platform as well looks like it could have potential in the ASEAN region.

In fact there were rumours going around a few months ago right after the Freed’s unveiling that Honda would be ASEAN-izing the Freed and setting up a production base in Indonesia for it, though these still remain rumours at the time being.

Could a 7-seater stretched Hyundai i20 platform work?

Kia is also coming up with a baby MPV codenamed the YN based on the same platform as the Kia Soul and the Hyundai i20, and if they’re smart they should seriously consider developing a 6 or 7-seater version for emerging markets! Although Korean cars have quite some way to go here in Malaysia, Kia seems to be doing quite alright when it comes to value people movers, just look at the amount of Naza Ria and Naza Citras around. It will be unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March next year. A locally assembled, 7-seater version of this upcoming baby MPV could be a sales hit if the launch timing is right, but of course it will face competition from both the Proton MPV and another local competitor, likely to be the cheapest 6/7-seater in Malaysia, the upcoming Perodua MPV.

Been there, done that. Expect the new Perodua MPV to follow the formula of the Toyota Sienta, but not necessarily its looks!

The Perodua MPV will be based on a new MPV being developed by Toyota and Daihatsu at a cost of 180 million USD including expanding manufacturing capacity in Indonesia. The development and production schedule seems on track for a Q1 2009 international revealing in Indonesia next year, and Perodua’s Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar has stated in an interview early this year that a Perodua-badged version of the MPV will be launched in September 2009. But for a statement made so long ago, bear in mind it could be outdated by now and in fact it may have been pushed earlier because of the Proton MPV!

The Volkswagen Bora for the Chinese Market goes on sale today, priced between 107,800 to 143,00 yuan, which translates to about between RM55,900 to RM74,570. This particular Bora was designed for the Chinese market and is about the same size as the Volkswagen Jetta it is based on.

Volkswagen says the car’s design is inspired by Chinese elements such as the front end of the car which is apparently inspired by the Chinese lion dance. The Bora is 4540mm long, 1775mm wide and 1467mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2610mm and a boot space of 450 liters. It will be produced by Volkswagen’s JV partner First Automotive Works.

Two engine options will be available at launch - both gasoline engines. Either a manual or a 6-speed automatic is available. Two equipment levels are available - a Trendline and a Comfortline. Standard features on the Trendline include ABS, dual front SRS airbags, power steering, power windows, climate control and a MP3 capable CD player with radio.

The Comfortline package adds 15 inch alloy wheels, a sliding sunroof, a chrome trim package, an alarm, cruise control, and parking sensors. An additional “highline” package can be specified which includes leather seats, side and head airbags as well as a GPS navigation system.

Look after the jump for more photos of the new Chinese market Volkswagen Bora.

Click here to read the rest of New Volkswagen Bora designed for the China market

A new ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP) will be taking effect on the 1st of December 2008. This FTA covers not only goods but services and investments. It will enable Japanese companies that want to expand into the ASEAN region to reduce trade costs, which is especially beneficial for electronics and automobile manufacturers.

Tariffs on 93% of imports from ASEAN into Japan will be removed within 10 years, while 90% imports from Japan into ASEAN will be reduced by six ASEAN members (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) within 10 years.

For Malaysia in particular, CKD kits for motor vehicles regardless of engine displacement are classified under the B4 range, which means tariffs have to be gradually reduced in 4 annual installments starting from 35%. This probably means a step by step reduction every year until the 4th year which will see a maximum 5% CEPT tax.

For CBU vehicles, the rate begins at 50% for vehicles with engine displacements under 2,500cc (B7 category) and will slowly be reduced in 7 annual installments down to a maximum CEPT rate of 5%. CBU vehicles above 2,500cc is classified under the R category, which means reduction to a maximum of 10% tariff (not a CEPT 5% tariff) in 11 equal annual installments.

Malaysia is part of ASEAN but Malaysia already has an FTA with Japan called the Japan-Malaysia Economic Partnership Agreement (JMEPA). This agreement also provides tariff reductions for cars coming in from Japan. Under the JMEPA, CBU vehicles with engine displacements are covered with a 0 to 5% tax in 2008 and eliminated by 2010. All other CBU tacxes are to be eliminated by 2015.

These reductions in taxes will allow more companies to be like DRB-HICOM companies Suzuki Malaysia Automobile and Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia, offering CBU Japan vehicles at surprisingly good prices. Its either that or they maintain prices and fatten up their account books anyway, which hopefully will be reinvested locally into better 3S centers and other support facilities.

The bad news is with this new AJCEP there is one less reason for Volkswagen to pick Malaysia over Indonesia or Thailand for its ASEAN assembly plant if it also wants to use the plant to penetrate the Japanese market.

Interestingly, industry people are of the opinion that this new FTA will probably not change much. John Bonnell of Automotive Resources Asia in Bangkok says policies are not always implemented, preferential rates are not always honored and there will be all kinds of stalls. Head of research for BNP Paribus Securities Indonesia Ferry Wong is of the opinion that not all countries will play by the new rules.

Of course, Malaysia has always and probably for a long time more been criticized as being one of these FTA-dodging countries, especially when it comes to the automobile sector, thanks to the dark shadow cast by the controversial Approved Permit system.

The high price of a high powered version of what is still essentially a Japanese C-segment sedan may be a deterrent to those who are considering the Lancer Evolution X and find that its price comes too close to cars like the BMW 325i Sports especially in Malaysia. The BMW, while alot less powerful, still offers an interior that is so much more premium and ultimately to alot of people the nicer car to be in when you aren’t pushing it. It seems that the Evo’s interior isn’t much different from the Lancer’s - plasticky!

Mitsubishi attempts to solve this in Japan at least with the GSR Premium Edition, which slots in at the top of the line above the standard GSR and the stripped out RS. The Premium Edition adds 18 inch BBS alloy wheels, fog lamps, leather Recaro buckets, side and curtain airbags, and a Rockford Fostage 9-speaker premium audio system. It’s the seats that give the interior ambiance a whole different feel - the design and the leather gives it a much more premium feel compared to the standard GSR and the even emptier RS which comes with fabric non-bucket seats.

Look after the jump for a few more shots of the Evo X GSR Premium.

Click here to read the rest of New Premium trim level for Lancer Evolution X