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Hyundai Veloster arriving in Malaysia Q1 next year

November 9, 2011 at 1:15 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Local News

Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors says it will be launching the Veloster three-door coupe sometime in the first quarter of 2012.

“We have been receiving enquiries about the new Veloster from Malaysian car enthusiasts and I’m delighted to announce that this revolutionary three-door coupe, the first of its kind in Malaysia, will be arriving on Malaysian shores in the first quarter of next year,” said HSDM’s MD Dennis Ho.

The car will arrive here in its 132 hp 1.6 litre Gamma II engine form. Stick shifter fans will be pleased to know that the Veloster 1.6L will be available in both automatic and manual transmission versions.

Complete specifications of the model will only be announced at the launch in Q1 next year, though HSDM adds that it’s currently studying the possibility of bringing in the GDi (Gasoline Direction injection) and Turbo GDI models in the near future, with a consideration of the fuel quality here – a decision will be made upon the completion of this study.

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Hyundai sells 2.95 million units worldwide through third quarter 2011 – sales up by 10% over same period in 2010

October 31, 2011 at 2:17 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans

Hyundai Motor Company has reported that it has sold 2,949,914 units worldwide in the first nine months of the year, up 10.5% from the same period a year earlier. Of the total, 510,228 units were sold domestically, while 2,439,686 vehicles were shifted in other global markets. The Korean automaker’s overseas sales rose 11.2% from the same period last year, while its domestic sales increased 7.3%.

The growth has been led by the launch of new models and strengthened product competitiveness throughout its lineup, the company said. New models such as Accent (badged as the Verna in some markets), Grandeur (Azera), Veloster and i40 drove up sales in all regions.

Net profit increased 34.1% to 6.1 trillion won as of the end of September from a year earlier, while operating profit rose 27.1% to 5.95 trillion won. Improved product mix and sales growth boosted sales revenue by 18.2% to 57.28 trillion won.

For the remainder of the year, however, the company said that global demand is expected to be lower than the industry’s original forecast earlier this year, due to unfavourable external factors such as the European financial crisis and slower growth in emerging markets. It added it would strengthen its focus on qualitative growth and implementing innovative marketing strategies to overcome these hurdles.

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Hyundai Santa Fe: standard spec joins lineup, RM151k

October 27, 2011 at 4:41 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Inokom, Koreans, Local News

Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors has introduced a standard specification variant of the Inokom Santa Fe, available only in the vehicle’s 2.4 litre petrol form. This version of the seven-seater SUV rolls in around RM8,000 cheaper than the premium specification model announced recently, being priced at RM150,888 (on-the-road, with insurance).

Again, no difference to the output figures of the 2.4 litre Theta II engine, which are 174 PS and 228 Nm. The vehicle comes with a six-speed maintenance-free automatic transmission and continues to feature an electronically-actuated 4-wheel drive system that changes from two- to four-wheel drive or 4-wheel lock at the touch of a button.

The main differences from the premium variant are in terms of interior trim, and some features have of course been omitted. Off the item list are the Audio Visual Navigator/GPS (AVN) unit, sunroof, smart key/push start button, reverse camera and driver power seat. The standard spec version features black leather seats.

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Hyundai-Sime Darby opens new 3S centre in Penang

October 24, 2011 at 12:34 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Local News

Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors has opened its latest 3S centre in Penang, and the Sungai Pinang branch becomes the the third 3S outlet for the brand on the island. The showroom is operated by Sime Darby Auto Hyundai (SDAH), a subsidiary of Sime Darby Motors.

The 31,000 sq ft centre, located at 3, Jalan Sg Pinang, features a total of 11 service bays, enabling a quicker turnaround time, and can accommodate 30 Hyundai vehicles a day.

The outlet features, among other things, a premium customer lounge with free Wi-Fi and refreshments, as well as Quick Service and 24-hour Key Drop to its customers. Quick Service eliminates long waiting hours at the service centre, though it only applies to basic car servicing and doesn’t include repairs.

The 24-hour Key Drop enables customers to leave their car at the service centre at any time of the day for servicing or repair. It’s as simple as filling up a form and dropping off the key at a secured box. Once the envelope is picked up by the Service Advisors, a call will be made to confirm the type of service or repair required.

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The Grand Prize of Test Drive Kia On Tour 2011 goes to Mohd Ismail Ibrahim – he drives home a Forte 1.6 EX!

October 20, 2011 at 1:27 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Local News

By now many would have already heard of, or participated in the Test Drive Kia On Tour 2011 campaign, a roadshow organised by Naza Kia. Test Drive Kia On Tour started in May at 1Utama PJ before heading to Penang and Johor Bahru, stopping over in Seremban and Melaka. The final leg was recently held at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara.

Those who went got to check out and test drive Naza Kia’s products such as the Forte, new Sportage and Sorento SUV. The company is happy with the response – a total of 600 bookings were collected throughout, from a total of 3,144 test drives conducted.

A big pull was that those who went and test drove stood a chance to win a Forte, besides mystery gifts for those who signed up as fans of Kia Malaysia’s Facebook page. Some 4,896 people “liked” Naza Kia and 9,000 entries were received for the grand prize draw.

This morning, it was announced at Menara Naza Kg Baru that Mohd Ismail Ibrahim from Kuala Lumpur has won the grand prize. The 38-year old baker received the keys to his new Forte from SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, Joint Group Executive Chairman of the Naza Group.

Interestingly, the Forte winner (who currently drives a Myvi) test drove a Forte at The Curve, so he’s getting what he was interested in!

The team is already planning for next year. “Next year, we will take the Test Drive Kia On Tour roadshow to more destinations in the country,” said Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar, COO of Naza Kia, adding that there should be six legs including locations in East Coast and East Malaysia.

Instead of trying to lure people to showrooms, Naza Kia is bringing its showroom to the people, which is a clever move.

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Test Drive Kia on Tour – Final leg at The Curve this week

October 13, 2011 at 9:44 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Local News

Naza Kia, the official distributor of Kia vehicles in Malaysia, will host the final leg of its popular Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 roadshow in Petaling Jaya, Selangor this week. The five-day event will be held from now till 16 Oct (Sunday) at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara.

At the roadshow, customers will be given a chance to test drive the new Sportage as well as the Forte and Sorento SUV. Those who test drive any of the vehicles at the any of the roadshows will be in the running to win a Forte 1.6EX. The lucky winner will be announced at the end of the roadshow at The Curve.

There are also mystery gifts for those who test drive or sign up to be a Kia Malaysia fan on Facebook on the spot.

The Test Drive Kia on Tour 2011 roadshow kicked off in May at 1Utama PJ before moving to Penang in August and Johor Bahru in September.

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Hyundai Motors CEO Steve Yang resigns – his role to be taken up by domestic and foreign sales chiefs

October 3, 2011 at 12:45 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News

According to reports, Hyundai Motor has said that its co-CEO Steve Yang has resigned from his role for personal reasons. Following this, the company’s heads of domestic and foreign sales will now split Yang’s role – the new structure sees Kim Choong-ho and Kim Seung-tack promoted to head Hyundai’s domestic business and overseas business respectively.

Yang, who will be 58 this month, stepped down due to health issues and is to take up an advisory role, the reports add. He was one of three CEOs of Hyundai, along with chairman and founding family member Chung Mong-koo, and was also the head of Hyundai’s production at its top plant.

Among the marketing guru’s achievements during his tenure was notching up record sales for the brand in India in 2005 while serving as the company’s sales head there, reports said.

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New Kia Optima spotted being tested by JPJ officers

October 2, 2011 at 6:39 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans, Spyshots

The new Kia Optima is currently on test with JPJ, and it seems it’s being driven quite frequently as well, as it’s been spotted twice by two different readers in the span of a week. Reader Adrian Yong snapped the Optima parked at an undisclosed location, while Khairil got his opportunity to snap photos at the Tapah R&R, north-bound. Perhaps we could see the Optima launched before the end of the year, or in the first half of next year? We’ve already driven the Kia Optima during an international press drive event in Australia, so you can read our first impression test drive review story posted earlier this year. The model we tested had a 2.4 litre GDI engine.

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SEMA 01: ARK Performance 210 hp Hyundai Veloster turbo

September 30, 2011 at 12:10 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Koreans

This mean looking machine is team effort by Hyundai and ARK Performance, to be shown at the 2011 SEMA show in November. The ARK Performance Veloster comes with a custom twin-scroll turbocharger increasing the stock 1.6-litre engine’s horsepower to 210 hp (from 138 hp) and matching aesthetics.

Many other goodies have gone into the coupe, including custom intercooler system with piping, custom oil cooler, turbo manifold, lightweight pulley system, six-pot brake kit, eight-point Chromoly rally style roll cage, DTP track coilover system and GRIP dual exhausts as well as RSEPC downpipes and test pipes.

“The Hyundai Veloster is an ideal car for enthusiasts with its distinctive design and dynamic architecture. At SEMA, our ARK Performance Veloster will bridge the realm between an affordable sports car and an extreme motor sports vehicle. From the first Tiburon, to the Genesis Coupe, and now with the Veloster, ARK Performance continues to uphold the torch as the pioneer of aftermarket performance manufacturing for Hyundai,” said Ted Lee, owner of ARK.

The ARK Performance Veloster will also showcase interior and exterior mods including an open wheel concept with aggressive fenders and Nitto tires. ARK will also develop Veloster specific parts to showcase the tunability of the car to the American Import Tuner crowd. The Veloster was unveiled at this year’s Detroit show. Read all about it here.

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Hyundai self developing 10-speed automatic transmission

September 30, 2011 at 10:46 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Koreans

How much is too much when it comes to gears? Cars like the BMW 5-Series come with eight forward ratios now, which is already a lot, but you can count on someone trying to outdo that. That someone is Hyundai, which is reported to be developing a 10-speed automatic transmission. Yes, 10.

Bloomberg News reported Park Seong Hyon, president of Hyundai Motor Group, the umbrella company of Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp, saying that they’re developing the said 10 speeder for future luxury vehicles starting in 2014.

These could possibly including the next Hyundai Genesis and Equus luxury sedans. ZF is rolling out a 9-speed auto in 2013, and this one will retake the lead, if no one else joins the race.

Automakers are increasingly using transmissions with more gears to cut fuel consumption and emissions, and this piece of news signals that the Korean carmaker is firmly on the path of developing its own transmissions, instead of picking one off the shelves of ZF, BorgWarner or Aisin.

The 6-speed slushbox servicing the current Sonata and Tucson is an in house effort, and earlier this year, Hyundai launched an self developed 8-speed auto for the 2012 Genesis and Equus sedans. But 10?

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