Paul Tan's Automotive News» Local News at Paul Tan’s Automotive News

Perodua D46T MPV test drive units on trailer en route to Perodua showrooms?

Paul Tan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:45:57 +0000

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Trailerloads of the Perodua D46T MPV are on their way somewhere, and from the looks of the livery on the side of one of the exposed vehicles, it looks like they are promotional units, probably to be used as display units or test drive units. These shots are thanks to long-time reader KK Chen.

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The Perodua D46T MPV is based on the Toyota Passo Sette so if you absolutely need to know more about this new model to hit our local roads you can refer to my story on the Passo Sette, but for a more accurate picture of what we’ll get in our Perodua version you’ll have to wait for the full story after the launch next week on the 23rd of November 2009 at 5pm.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

New Proton Exora Basic from RM57,548!

Paul Tan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:08:13 +0000

The new Proton Exora Basic (also known as the B-Line) is Proton’s cheapest Exora variant, priced at only RM57,548.00 for the manual transmission solid white model for the Peninsular Malaysia. The following is the full price list:

Model	West Msia	East Msia
Exora Basic (Metallic)	RM57,998	RM60,598
Exora Basic (Solid)	RM57,548	RM60,148

It is available at all Edar and EON branches nationwide and the booking fee is RM500. Here’s a list of what has changed compared to the M-Line and H-Line:

Manual transmission only
Driver airbag only
Seatbelt pretensioner for driver only
Passenger airbag replaced with tissue box holder
No front seat back pockets
No grocery hook at the front passenger seat
No aircond outlet for 2nd row, but 3rd row outlets remain
Fabric flat knitting for the seats (M-Line uses fabric flat woven)
Only 2 headrests for the second row
No third row headrests
No door trim inserts
No assist grip for the third row
No inner carpet deck box
No luggage lamp
No rear power socket
Matte black finishing for gear knob, panel shift lever, door inner handle, center panel finishing, side mirror hosing finishing, exterior door handle, rear garnish
No front grille garnish
No front fog lamp
15 inch steel wheel with cover
No reverse sensors
No ABS and EBD

On another note, if you’ve ran out of ideas of a family activity this weekend, you can check out the “Proton 4 You” customer appreciation event held at all Proton Edar and EON outlets throughout Malaysia.

They’ve planned a variety of family-oriented programs at all outlets such as coloring contests, family quizzes and games wih prizes to be won. Proton will also throw in free personal assurance worth RM10,000 for all customers who book a Proton car on that weekend. There will also be Proton iCare teams at almost every outlet to perform free 20-point car inspections.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Honda Civic Type R facelift has arrived!

Paul Tan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:50:01 +0000

New stocks of the Honda Civic Type R is officially in Malaysia! The car is very much the same track car for the road as before, but there are a few changes here and there. There are no changes to the front end but the rear end now gets the diamond cluster design for the tail lamps. The side mirrors are now power-retractable. Finally, the 2-DIN player in the interior now gets a USB port for you to load your MP3 files from.

There are currently nearly 200 pre-facelift Honda Civic Type R on the road, sold officially by Honda and not counting the grey imports. Malaysia is the only country in the world other than Japan to get the sedan Type R via the official Honda distributor. The rest of the world especially Europe gets the hatchback version. Recently the hatch version was added to the Japanese line-up as well.

The best part is even with the high demand the price has remained at RM199,980, as with the pre-facelift model. We probably can’t say the same about the Civic Hybrid (introduced the same time as the Type R) in a year’s time, when the excise duty exemption ends You can find out more technical details about the Type R by visiting the link below.

Related Posts:
Honda Civic Type R launched in Malaysia

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

New E-Class Sedan and Coupe at Carcosa

Paul Tan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:51:11 +0000

A reader sent in these shots of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan and E-Class Coupe at a private preview at Carcosa Seri Negara sometime earlier this month. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has already taken up teaser press ads in the newspapers with the tag line “Engineered around you” for the launch.

The base model for the E-Class and undoubtedly probably the most popular one in terms of sales will be the E 200 CGI, which will be powered by Mercedes-Benz’s new turbocharged direct injection engine. We’ve been waiting for this engine a long time, so the the old 1.8 liter Kompressor can be sent into retirement.

Look after the jump for a full photo gallery of the cars.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

New fuel subsidy system in May 2010?

Paul Tan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:12:31 +0000

According to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung, the new fuel subsidy management system will be implemented from May 2010 onwards, so I suggest everyone be prepared to restructure your household’s monthly budgets for a potential increase in fuel expenditure, especially if you are a middle income earner, a group that like its namesake are constantly squeezed around the world.

The system is currently being finetuned and studies on the subsidy distribution and target groups are currently still underway. The system’s exact mechanism will be announced after the study is completed and a decision has been made.

The PM had previously announce in his Budget 2010 speech that the system would use our MyKad identification card.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

2nd generation Nissan X-Trail in Thailand soon!

Paul Tan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:38:09 +0000

Here’s some interesting news – the 2nd generation Nissan X-Trail that has been around since year 2007 is making its debut in Thailand in Q1 2010.

The photo you see above is of the new model although it looks very similiar to the old one. More of a minor evolution of the old one in terms of design. The interior has been completely revamped though, and the center meter panel is now gone, replaced with a conventional one behind the steering wheel. The chassis is a new one shared with the Qashqai, with wheelbase increased by 5mm over the old model to 2630mm.

The X-Trail will be launched with a sole engine option – a 2.0 liter model mated to an XTRONIC CVT transmission with a 6 speed manual shifting mode. The 2.0 liter engine is not the old QR20DE found in the first generation X-Trail 2.0 sold here but the newer MR20DE model that you can also find in the Nissan Sylphy.

With the X-Trail soon in Thailand, there could be a chance that we can finally enjoy the new X-Trail here in Malaysia, as the SUV can be sourced from Indonesia whether in CBU or CKD pack form. Yes, the Thai market X-Trail is built in Indonesia, but the MR20DE engines are built in Thailand. Tan Chong tends to drag on their model lifespan here for as long as possible, resulting in a product lineup that’s an utter yawnfest if not for their ‘mother trucker’. But it could be because of a lack of support from Nissan.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

First official images of new Volvo S60

Paul Tan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:18:13 +0000

Click the images above for larger hi-res view

These are the first few product photos of the new Volvo S60 officially released by the Volvo PR team as a preview to a full-fledged unveiling soon. The car will make its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show 2010 in early March next year, and production will begin early summer 2010 at Volvo’s Belgian plant.

No other details or specifications have been revealed other than the fact that you can specify an optional feature called Pedestrian Detection that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver doesn’t react in time.

Looking pretty good I must say, though I would prefer if the front end were to be a little sharper. It’s a little soft now, especially with the big soft ‘eyes’ (headlamps) and all. What do you think, do you like it?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

VW Cars no longer Volkswagen dealer

Paul Tan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:53:43 +0000

Volkswagen Malaysia announced yesterday that VW Cars Sdn Bhd was no longer an authorised dealer of Volkswagen cars in Malaysia. This is some interesting news as VW Cars is one of the more prominent Volkswagen dealers in Malaysia, with showrooms in PJ and The Curve. A sister company of VW Cars is also the official dealer for Abt in Malaysia. They are part of the Cartrade group who used to be BMW dealers. I wonder what will happen to the bookings for the new Volkswagens (Scirocco, Passat CC, Golf GTI) made through their showrooms as they are sure to have a decent amount in hand. Hopefully if there is any kind of transition etc it will be smooth for customers.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Italdesign-Giugiaro hired for Persona Replacement

Paul Tan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:26:56 +0000

Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin has revealed in an interview with Business Times that the Italian design company contracted to develop Proton’s next C-segment sedan is in fact Italdesign-Giugiaro SpA.

Giugiaro (founded 1968) has designed a lot of vehicles in the past, including the Mk1 Volkswagen Scirocco (not the modern one that’s just launched in Malaysia). It even had a big part in the development of the R56 MINI. Here are some of Giugiaro’s recent work:

Ssangyong C200 Concept and Suzuki SX4

The Business Times report revealed that a clay model of the car already exists at the design house’s headquarters in Turin, Italy. It definitely has to be, considering the new Persona replacement car was previously mentioned to be out by 2012, after the Waja replacement in 2010 and the Perdana replacement in 2011.

The car will be engineered to meet tougher European and North American standards. Proton’s North American entry is still a hazy area at the moment but there was talk earlier this year that Detroit Electric would be helping with getting the cars registered with whatever authorities there are there. Not sure what happened with that whole project.

The Exora introduced new technologies in Protons that were not used before – more sensors for the airbag system and a Body Control Module. Datuk Syed Zainal says the new C-segment Persona replacement will implement these new features and add even more features to bring the new Proton up to international standards. Proton is currently in talks with various vendors on what can be implemented.

It is also in exploratory talks with some parties including a Chinese company (Europestar, SAIC-Roewe?) on collaborating on an SUV, and in talks via Lotus with a South Korean battery company and an electric motor supplier regarding EVs (what happened to Detroit Electric?).

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Nissan Navara 6-speed manual now available

Paul Tan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:35:59 +0000

400Nm of torque and a 6-speed manual transmission. I could be referring to the new BMW M3. Or the new manual Nissan Navara which has just been introduced in Malaysia, joining its 5-speed auto ‘Mother Trucker’ sibling which was launched first. The new cars are CBU imports from Nissan in Thailand.

Two versions of the 6-speeder is on sale. One is the basic Navara 2.5L 6M/T and another is the Navara 2.5L 6M/T SE. Nissan’s press release refers to the SE as the Safety Edition (what, is the non-SE unsafe? heh just kidding). This new “Safety Edition” also gets the necessary airbag software updates that resolves the bad crash test results in early 2008. The base 6M/T does not have the dual SRS front airbags, ABS brakes and EBD and the 6M/T SE model has.

The engine is the same powerful YD25DDTi 2.5 liter engine producing 174 PS and 403Nm of torque to be exact. So that’s actually 3Nm of rated peak torque more than the M3. Of course you can’t expect the same kind of shove as the powerband is narrow in a diesel and super wide in a high revving petrol BMW V8. The Navara M/T also gets the Shift-on-the-Fly 4WD system as the 5A/T, which allows 2WD/4WD shifting using a dial at speeds of less than 100km/h.

The list of equipment is a downgrade from the 5A/T LE. The xenon headlamps are replaced by halogens, the seats are fabric, the rearview mirrors lose their auto-dimming function, the CD changer is replaced with a single-CD, and the 6 speaker system has been downgraded to 4 speakers (they probably removed the 2 tweeters).

Some plastic bits in the interior which used to have a silver finish have been replaced by the same beige interior colour. On the outside, the door mirrors have their chrome finish replaced by body colour.

Nissan Navara 2.5L 6M/T – RM89,800.00
Nissan Navara 2.5L 6M/T SE – RM94,800.00
Nissan Navara 2.5L 5A/T LE – RM105,800.00

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Honda Stream RSZ Facelift now in Malaysia

Paul Tan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:46:54 +0000

Honda has brought in the new facelifted version of the Honda Stream RSZ. Of course being facelifted there are changes with the vehicle’s looks.

The front end has a new honeycomb design with a chrome bar going through the middle of it, similiar to the Accord Modulo grille. The bumper design is also new, and there are side skirts for the side profile. Thankfully 17 inch alloys have been provided as when the Stream first came out, the alloys were rather small compared to the rest of the car’s sporty demeanor which looked a little odd.

On the rear, the bumper now has a diffuser insert design, and there is a tailgate spoiler. The tailgate has a black garnish around the individual rear lamps. The wing mirrors now have turn signals.

Personally I feel the best change in the facelift is the addition of VSA stability control to the Stream, which is a definite plus point in raising the safety level of the Stream. A typical Stream driver who only carries full loads of 7 people during the weekends may not be used to the different vehicle dynamics and VSA may be able to catch him out of a tight spot, touch wood. Other than VSA, suspension settings have also been improved for better comfort.

On the interior you get a leather gear knob, and a leather steering wheel, both of which come with leather stitching. The rest of the interior is done up with black and red upholstery. The instrumentation panel, speedometer, air conditioning controls, and cupholders have red illumination instead of the ’standard’ Stream’s blue illumination. The styling seems extremely skewed to a certain type of young 30s buyer who has to get an MPV but still wants to stay true to his ’sporty’ heart. You know, the kind that probably wishes the turbocharged grey import Toyota Caldina GT4 comes with 7 seats instead of 5.

But performance will not match its sporty looks. Under the hood is the R18 engine similiar to the one used in the Civic 1.8 making 140 PS and 174 Nm of torque, mated to Honda’s dual-overdrive 5-speed automatic transmission.

Look after the jump for hi-res photos of the new Stream facelift.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

New batch of Honda Civic Type R on a trailer

Paul Tan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:18:50 +0000

The last unit of the last batch of Honda Civic Type R was sold by Honda Global Amity Sdn Bhd to a 8GCC club member, so if you were in the market for one in the past month at least, you’d probably receive a “no stock” answer from Honda dealerships nationwide. But probably not any more, as reader Kent spotted this trailerload of facelifted Honda Civic Type R being transported. But don’t expect the Type R to maintain its current pricetag due to Ringgit-Yen differences from the last time it was brought in. It could go up to just over RM200k.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Vehicle scrap policy scrapped… for now

Paul Tan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:25:05 +0000

MITI has gone back on its decision to implement a Vehicle End-of-Life Policy for now. An intention to implement such a policy had been announced when the ministry released its NAP Review 2009 earlier this month. The Ministry of Transport was to come up with a road map of the policy’s implementation, but the first step was to introduce a mandatory vehicle inspection for your road tax to be renewed annually.

So we don’t have to worry about them taking away our old vehicles after a certain amount of years, or being hassled with an inspection every year. Personally I feel that we are not ready financially for a scrap policy, but vehicle inspection could have been a good idea, if implemented with spaced out intervals such as every 3 years instead of every year. It’s good news but not all good news, as the ban on used part imports from June 2011 still stays.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Perodua D46T MPV set for Nov 23rd launch

Paul Tan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:30:32 +0000

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Perodua held a media test drive for the new Perodua D46T MPV this morning somewhere in Putrajaya. I’ve tried it out and will share my findings with you after the MPV’s launch (due to embargo reasons), which is expected to be on the 23rd of November 2009. Showrooms will officially start taking bookings earlier, from the 13th of November 2009 onwards. Stay tuned for an update on the new Perodua D46T MPV on the 23rd of November 2009 at 5.00pm sharp.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Perodua gets new MD from UMW Toyota

Paul Tan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:15:44 +0000

Perodua’s Datuk Syed Hafiz will not be renewing his contract at the end of the year. Replacing him as the top man at Perodua will be another UMW man – Tuan Haji Aminar Rashid Salleh, who currently heads the Strategic Marketing Group at UMW Toyota.

49 year old Aminar is a familiar face for me as he is usually the one who gives product presentations at Toyota car launches. He has been in the UMW group since 1992. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering. I don’t have any kind of ‘insider’ details but I don’t expect anything much to change with the way Perodua is run.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Annual vehicle inspection for road tax renewal implementation start date not set yet for now

Paul Tan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:05:14 +0000

MITI has posted a statement on its new MITI blog clarifying a few points in the NAP Review, specifically the end-of-life policy and the annual inspection for road tax renewal. Hopefully this will clear some of your doubts on the exact timelines of certain things to be implemented.

Firstly, I think the most feared part of the review for all of us is the announcement of an impending vehicle end-of-life policy. There have been plenty of comments from readers on how this policy will negatively affect them and their qualify of life. I particularly like this story about the old atuk who drives a Pajero diesel to his surau.

MITI has revealed that the government has not set a Vehicle End-of-Life Policy in stone yet. It has merely announced intentions to develop one, and they (Ministry of Transport who are in charge of developing the policy) claim they will take into consideration views of all parties through consultations with consumer associations and NGOs. There is no mention which associations and NGOs these are, but I sure hope they fight for us. I hope we end up with a reasonable end of life policy with the option of extending your vehicle lifespan at a cost, similiar to the act of buying a new COE for your car in Singapore.

Though the NAP review document seemed to lead us to believe 2010 is the start point of our yearly Puspakom nightmares, MITI has clarified that a start date for the annual vehicle inspection for road tax renewal has not been fixed yet, so it will not be 1st January 2010. An effective date will be announced later.

In the statement, MITI Secretary General Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Mamat said the whole idea of the annual inspection was to ensure vehicles over 15 years of age are safe and roadworthy. He compared the inspection to the current rule where commercial vehicles have to go for an inspection every time their road tax is due for renewal. Commercial vans, pick-ups, 4X4s and etc are currently charged between RM50 to RM70 for inspections, and RM25 for reinspections.

So all in all, the NAP has given no allowance for a drop in car prices except at the higher end of the market, and that is only if the manufacturers decide to take up the carrots offered, but that looks a little unlikely at this point of time. Even the premium boys have set up shop in Thailand – did you know some CBU BMWs come from BMW’s Thailand plant in Rayong?

We will now lose the option to use good condition used parts for our cars, have to spend extra cash on annual car inspections, and finally the big bang is face the possibility of a reduced fuel subsidy once the Mykad subsidy system is implemented, together with high car prices. That wraps up what the NAP Review 2009 and Budget 2010 is all about for the common motorist.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

NAP Review: 15 year old car annual inspection precursor to full Vehicle End of Life Policy

Paul Tan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:51:31 +0000

Under Section E Part VI of the NAP Review, the government revealed that it would be implementing a full Vehicle End of Life policy which would come in stages. A roadmap will be formulated by the Ministry of Transport to lay out the steps towards the scrap policy implementation, but the first step is already here – a mandatory yearly inspection for cars older than 15 years in order to get their road tax renewed. Why 15 years? Could that be the vehicle age that they are looking at to enforce scrapping in the future?

According to the NAP review, Malaysia currently has 2.7 million cars on the road that are 10 years or older and the country has a very low vehicle scrap rate and a relatively high average vehicle age. With so many people having to go for 7 to 9 year loans to buy their vehicles, is this really a surprise that after suffering financial burden for so long, you would want to reap the benefit of your transportation longer?

There are currently a few situations where we go to Puspakom for their dreaded tests. It is an open secret what kind of environment that place is. A friend of mine had his tint test failed repeatedly even though his car windscreen was clear and had absolutely no tint. He argued that he should not be failed and somehow he ended up passing but with some rubber parts of his car damaged. When my E30 was sent for an ownership change inspection (B5 test), it came back with a broken glovebox latch and all the rubber trim around the door utterly raped.

If you are a straight shooter the only cash you will have to pay during these annual road tax inspections are the Puspakom fees itself. Right now there are two tests for private motorcars – the transfer of ownership test and a voluntary test which most of the time is not really voluntary – you may need certificates from these tests to renew your insurance these days. The ownership transfer test involves checking your vehicle identity (chassis and engine), chassis frame condition, and tinted glass. The voluntary inspection checks more stuff – identity, above carriage, emissions, brakes, suspension, side slip, speedometer, headlamps, undercarriage and tinted glass.

The voluntary test goes for RM50 (according to this Puspakom pricelist) and the transfer test costs RM30. So you can expect this annual inspection for road tax renewal to probably cost around these prices as well.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Juicy details about Proton’s future plans revealed

Paul Tan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:54:20 +0000

The Edge as always has a very interesting and revealing interview with Proton’s managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir. The ex-Perodua man has been at Proton’s helm for about 4 years now and I think most of us agree that under his leadership Proton has taken a turn for the better.

Here are some key points in the story:

Chinese automaker Youngman’s Europestar brand is building a new car, engineered by Lotus. It uses components carried over from the GEN2. Lotus is being paid about US$20 million for the work, and Proton also gets licensing for this new car’s platform once it rolls out. This could be the car we saw yesterday.
Proton’s new model investments will be in core models. Models with lower volumes such as a Perdana replacement will be through collaborations. There is no sense in spending half a million ringgit investing in a Perdana when it will not get the kind of sales the Saga (5.5k to 6k) and Persona (3.5k to 4k) currently gets.
The Campro’s lifecycle will end in 2014, after of which a new engine will replace it. Proton is currently looking at two different options, but are still looking at other OEMs. They hope to decide where the new engine will come from by next year.
Proton will be consolidating its plants to Tanjung Malim in 3 years time. The Shah Alam plant’s land can be utilised better than its current use as it is appreciating in price now. A sale to Sime Darby?
The Waja replacement model will be coming next year. The Perdana will come in 2011. We will get an all-new global model to replace the Persona in 2012. That would mean the Persona will be replaced after a 5 year lifecycle (well, it’s longer actually if you consider the Persona a GEN2). Proton plans to continue a typical Japanese 5 year lifecycle for all its products, but this could go to 7 years (like premium conti lifecycles) at most.
The new 2012 Persona replacement model will be styled by an Italian company instead of Proton’s design team led by Azlan Othman.

Read the full interview here.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Naza Picanto: latest facelift now in Malaysia

Paul Tan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:04:31 +0000

This is the new Naza Picanto, just launched by Naza Kia Sdn Bhd a few days ago at The Curve. Yes, this is the CKD Picanto that was previously called the Naza Suria, but now the Suria name has been dropped and replaced by the Kia name, though the Naza badge remains. The Suria name was probably inspired by the Picanto’s Korean market name, which is the Kia Morning.

The most obvious change is of course the aesthetic update to the latest look that has been available from Kia internationally. With the latest facelift in Korea, there were actually two different front ends available but Naza has picked the version with the rounded foglamps to sell here. There is another one with leaf-shaped look foglamps and funkier alloy wheels, probably some kind of special edition.

On the inside, the interior has been updated with orange backlighting for the controls and meter cluster. The meter cluster is complete with an RPM meter but there is no water temp meter. The head unit provided is a 1-DIN design with USB support so you can read your MP3 files off a USB thumbdrive and do away with carrying CDs in your Picanto. The 1.1 liter engine revs up to 6k RPM and puts out a peak of 64 PS at 5,500rpm and 96Nm of torque at 2,800rpm. I like the fact that peak torque is made under 3,000rpm, which is usually the point an automatic car would shift gears if driven gently. But in any case acceleration from 0 to 100km/h will take a long 15.1 seconds.

In terms of safety, the front passenger and driver get two airbags – one each. The airbags are only available on the more expensive EX model. None of the models have ABS. There are four 3-point belts and a lap belt for the rear center. Wheels are 14 inch steels for the LS and 15 inch alloys for the EX, wrapped with 165/60R14 and 175/50R15 tyres respectively. The EX goes for RM46,800 while the LS goes for RM44,500. If you are in the market for one I’d recommend you just go for the EX since you get alloys and two airbags for a premium of RM2,300.

Also note that the Picanto is basically the original car that the Hyundai i10 was based on, and the i10 is sold at a higher price of RM48,888 in Malaysia. But the i10 comes with ABS brakes and a 5-year warranty while from the Naza Kia website it appears the Picanto gets 2 years, though it looks like a (optional?) 2 year extended warranty program is also available. Also, the i10’s CKD packs come from India, while the Picanto’s CKD packs probably come from Korea.

Look after the jump for an E-Brochure and a gallery of the Picanto.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

NAP Review’s Hybrid Car Incentives

Paul Tan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:55:34 +0000

Now that most of the regional automotive manufacturing and assembly has gone to Thailand, the biggest buzzword that had been uttered repeatedly during the period where the NAP review was being formulated was hybrid cars and green technology.

So we had to shift focus. The government was quite bent on trying to get a piece of the green pie instead. Or so it seemed, there was plenty of talk in the papers. And you know what they say, supposedly in ASEAN you build your pick-ups in Thailand, your MPVs and vans in Indonesia and your passenger cars in Malaysia. That’s supposedly what kept Volkswagen interested despite flip-flop partnership decisions in the first place.

The new National Automotive Policy review offers a cocktail of R&D grants, duty exemptions, fiscal incentives to whoever invests in the assembly or manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles. For automakers, you’ll get 100% Pioneer Status/Investment Tax Allowance for 10 years, training and R&D grants in addition to existing grants, 50% exemption on excise duty on CKD/manufactured vehicles from the IAF.

For hybrid parts suppliers such as electric motors, batteries, Battery Management System, inverters, electric-powered air conditioning, and air compressors, you will get 100% Pioneer Status for 10 years and 100% Investment Tax Allowance for 5 years.

Even before the NAP review was announced, there was one measure that was announced leading up to these new hybrid/EV car incentives announced during the Budget 2009 last year. Imports of CBU hybrid vehicles were given an exemption on import duty and a 50% excise duty exemption. These exemptions will end on the 31st of December 2010 and the NAP review mentions no intention to extend this deadline. If you want to grab a Prius or a Civic Hybrid, you’d better do so before the end of next year, as prices on these cars are sure to go up.

The biggest blow to the government’s green dreams was the announcement that Toyota was going to setup a hybrid manufacturing facility in Thailand. One of the cars that were to be assembled is the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Toyota sells the most hybrid vehicles among all automakers and they are probably the first to setup a hybrid plant outside of their ‘home ground’. Because of their best-seller status, they are able to get the volumes to justify new investments not only in Thailand, but in Australia and soon the UK.

Even with the new lower price of RM129,980 (RM1,180 higher than the Civic 2.0S), Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd only managed to register a total of 100 units of the new Honda Civic Hybrid in Malaysia as of July 2009, and this is the total amount registered since its introduction in our market. The numbers for the much more expensive Toyota Prius certainly will not do any better.

It looks like hybrid cars remain a niche product here despite reduced pricing and there is simply no volume for any car manufacturer to even think of setting up Malaysian assembly facilities, let alone manufacturing facilities. Unless of course you are talking about the ‘SKD’ trickery that some car companies are successfully pulling off. All Honda hybrids are so far assembled at its Suzuka plant.

The government has failed to understand that the production of hybrid vehicles cannot be simply placed anywhere a car company likes – there has to be an ecosystem of hybrid component suppliers as well. It’s a completely different chicken and egg scenario than the one the government thought was most important – pricing and acceptance of hybrid cars which they attempted to solve with the CBU hybrid car incentives that managed to bring the prices of the Civic Hybrid and the Prius down in Malaysia.

And now that Toyota – the largest seller of hybrid vehicles in the world – has placed a hybrid production center in Thailand, guess where the hybrid supplier eco-system is going to be?

The only thing we can do now is sit and wait for hybrid vehicles to take off in terms of acceptance and sales internationally. Then maybe some will come here. But that’s a big maybe. We can look at companies like Ford and GM. GM has a big base in Thailand but they’ve shown some interest in facilities here in the past. We’ve already covered how the Chevrolet Volt is simply too expensive a vehicle to make for what it is, but perhaps the next generation of GM hybrids.

Ford has also shown some improvement in its hybrid car sales – it’s hot on Honda’s heels to take the position of the #2 hybrid seller in the US from the Japanese company. But still, all of these hybrid cars from non-Japanese manufacturers are very US-centric – all medium to large SUVs pretending to be green by adding a motor-assist system in order to comply with weird CAFE systems. They won’t sell in any kind of decent numbers here, not in Malaysia, not in this region, so no reason to assemble them here. Ford Europe is relying more on diesel but the Ford Kuga will be the first European hybrid for the company.

But seriously, for any of that to happen, there will be a gap of years and years in between the end of the CBU import incentives and the introduction of the first locally assembled/produced hybrid car. Prices will shoot up skywards all over again. Hybrid cars will once again become unaffordable. When the cars are not on the road, people will be less exposed to them. Whatever low level of acceptance that hybrid cars currently have will once again go down the drain. And then the first CKD hybrid car will roll out with a decent price, with everyone being afraid to actually buy it.

Do you see what’s wrong with the picture?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

The full NAP review text released by MITI

Paul Tan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:48:46 +0000

Here’s the media release from MITI detailing every bit of the National Automotive Policy review. More stories on this issue to come later. By now you would probably already have seen this embedded document viewer used on this site a few times before so please use the Full Screen function for the best reading experience.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

National Automotive Policy 2009 Review Results

Paul Tan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:30:46 +0000

UPDATED: The results of the National Automotive Policy review were revealed this morning at a media conference.

The following are the updates I’ve been getting so far from various sources, this post will be updated as I get more info.

A total of 18 new policies and measures covering licencing, duties, incentives, technology and environment, safety and standards and APs to be effective January 1st 2010.
Open AP system to be scrapped by December 31 2015.
AP holders will be audited twice a year.
A gazetted Customs pricelist for used CBU cars to be established to supplement the current list of new CBU cars. This will be used to prevent underdeclaration of grey import vehicles by declaring then as “used” instead of new in order to manipulate the price, as the gazetted pricelist is currently only for new vehicles.
A large chunk of the RM300 million expected to be collected from the RM10,000 per Open AP fee to be used to develop the auto industry and increase Bumiputra entrepreneurship participation in the auto industry.
Import duty on CBU & CKD cars maintained.
Import of used parts to stop in June 2011 (what???).
Incentives and exemptions will be increased to develop local auto parts.
Franchise APs to be terminated by December 31 2020.
Foreign firms can apply for manufacturing licenses to hold 100% shares in firms to produce vehicles with engine capacity of larger than 1,800cc and costing more than RM150,000. This will open up the upper end of the market while keeping the lower end where Proton and Perodua are protected.
Issuance of new Manufacturing License to be unfrozen for selected segments – hybrid and electric vehicles, pick-up trucks, commercial vehicles and motorcycles with engine capacity of 200cc and above.
Vehicles 15 years and older will have to be tested annually for roadworthiness; provisions to be made for vintage cars.
A new strategic partnership between Proton and an established manufacturer will be established.
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to establish clear roadmap for fuel standards and quality towards Euro 4M standards to be implemented by 2011
Automotive Development Fund and Industrial Adjustment Fund will be continued. Despite excise duty and import duty being the same across the board for all makes whether ‘national’ or foreign, cars that have a decent amount of local content as well as proof of local activities such as R&D will receive incentives from the funds. This is where national makes like Proton gets an advantage – despite an equally high excise duty, it gets rebates because its cars are developed locally. Supposedly anyone who meets the fund requirements are able to get the same incentives, but it’s safe to say only Proton has that much investment in the Malaysian auto industry.
Exemptions on statutory income from exported goods will be increased to 30% from 10% for goods with at least 30% value-added content (I’m guessing this means local content), and from 15% to 50% for goods with at least 50% value-added content.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Nissan Navara getting 6-speed manual transmission variant in Malaysia soon

Paul Tan — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:38:49 +0000

Nissan will be adding two more variants to its Nissan Navara line-up soon, and both of them will be manual. The two manual models will be called the Standard and the SE.

Instead of the 5-speed auto, you’ll get a 6-speed manual gearbox, which is a first in the pick-up segment in Malaysia. The engine is the same 2.5 liter YD25DDTi engine which is the most powerful engine in its segment, producing 174 PS and 403Nm of torque. The engine is intercooled and has VGT.

The list of equipment will also be a downgrade from the current LE Automatic. The xenon headlamps will be replaced by halogens, the seats will be fabric, the rearview mirrors will lose its auto-dimming function, the CD changer will be replaced with a single CD, and the 6 speaker system will be downgraded to 4 speakers.

Some plastic bits in the interior which used to have a silver finish will also be replaced by the beige interior colour. On the outside, the door mirrors will have their chrome finish replaced by body colour paint.

What the SE has over the Standard are ABS brakes and the dual front SRS airbags, which the Standard version lacks. So far no prices of the new manual Standard and SE have been released yet, but expect them to of course be lower than the RM105,800 that you have to pay for the automatic Navara LE in Peninsular Malaysia. With the equipment deleted off the Standard compared to the top of the range LE, it’d better be significantly lower!

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Myvi “Exclusive Edition” – showroom pix

Harvinder Sidhu — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:54:22 +0000

Perodua has just launched the Myvi 1.3 Exclusive Edition which is now available for booking. We have visited an official distributor in Jalan Manis, Taman Segar Cheras and snapped away some images which can be found after the jump.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Perodua Myvi Exclusive Edition limited to 5,000 cars

Paul Tan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:02:49 +0000

As we reported earlier this week, Perodua has added one more variant to the Perodua Myvi range called the Perodua Myvi 1.3 Exclusive Edition. The Myvi Exclusive Edition is limited to a production run of 5,000 units and it is now open for booking.

The Myvi Exclusive Edition runs the same 1.3 liter DVVT engine as the rest of the Myvi range, save for the 1.0 liter model of course. The 1.3 liter engine is the K3-VE inline-4 DOHC with variable valve timing producing 86 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 116Nm of torque at 3,200rpm. No 1.5 liter Myvi in sight yet, and it looks like if you want that you’ll have to just opt for the D46T and get a larger boot or a third row of seats in the process. What the Myvi Exclusive Edition does have is some uprated equipment.

It has 14 inch alloy wheels, side skirts, and chrome door handles on the outside. On the inside, the chrome treatment continues on the inner door handles. The seats, door trims and steering wheel are wrapped with leather. The audio system is a 2-DIN system (not the Myvi’s standard integrated audio) supports CD, MP3 and WMA, USB support and a Bluetooth handsfree feature. Basically it’s the same 2-DIN system that the Myvi SE gets.

Only three colours are available – Ebony Black, Ivory White and Medallion Grey. It’s priced at RM51,000 for solid colours and RM51,500 for metallic colours. It’s basically a regular non-SE Myvi but with side skirts, Myvi SE alloys and the upgraded specs mentioned above. This is for those who want abit more than a standard Myvi but don’t like the styling of the Myvi SE or the SE’s higher price. In accordance with its specs, its price is also somewhere in between a normal Myvi and a Myvi SE.

On another Myvi-related note, have you noticed that Caribbean Blue is no longer available as a colour choice? I liked that colour.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery of the Myvi Exclusive Edition.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

CBU Ford Mondeo 2.3 with 6-speed auto to land in Malaysia in November 2009

Paul Tan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:01:27 +0000

Malaysia will finally get Ford’s D-segment sedan entry, the new Ford Mondeo sometime next month. Sime Darby Auto ConneXion has revealed that the Malaysian spec Mondeo will get a 161 PS 2.3 liter Duratec engine mated to a 6-speed Durashift torque converter automatic transmission (would be nice if it was a PowerShift instead though). The Ford Mondeo will be a CBU unit imported from the Ford production plant in Genk, Belgium. AutoConneXion will be organising a series of exclusive preview sessions for members of the public leading up to the official launch in October. You can get your own personal invitation by calling Tania of AutoConneXion at 03-77181223 or 03-77181216.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Budget 2010: what it means for Malaysian motorists

Harvinder Sidhu — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:10:27 +0000

Our PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has just revealed the annual budget for the year 2010, which is his first since taking office on April 3rd 2009. The RM191.5 billion budget would be the final budget under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

The Government expects the economy to grow by about 3% next year. The premier revealed that the budget for 2010 will focus on the ‘rakyat’ and aims to turn the Malaysian economy into a high-income economy.

Apart from unveiling various plans and measures to further improve the overall economy under the budget that is themed “1Malaysia, Together We Prosper”, the PM also briefly spoke about the local automotive industry and issues that relate to motorists.

First of all – one of the most important things for motorists – the combustible stuff we put into our cars so they can move. The Prime Minister says the fuel subsidy currently given to the public is being utilized by people who don’t deserve the subsidy.

The Government plans to introduce a fuel subsidy management system to determine the eligibility of a citizen, to find out whether she or she is eligible to enjoy the subsidy. The system is to be implemented in early 2010 and will incorporate the use of the MyKad. We’ve already saw a potential vendor demonstrating their ePetrol system at the WCIT 2008 (picture above). Not much other details regarding this was revealed.

There will also be a implementation of a new insurance and Takaful scheme for motorists. According to the PM, right now the structure of the motor insurance scheme is rigid (premiums are fixed) and fails to take into account rising business costs and claims. So in mid-2010, a new system will be introduced that will include an affordable ‘basic’ insurance and Takaful scheme.

The premium for the insurance will be figured at an ‘appropriate’ level and will be on par with the level of coverage. The scheme will provide mandatory coverage for bodily injuries and the death of a third party. Policy holders will also receive their compensation expeditiously without delays. I have a nagging feeling that this means the cost of entry to get a motor insurance policy will be low but to get the same amount of coverage we enjoy now, we’ll be paying higher prices.

Also announced is a RM10,000 price tag for an Open AP (Approval Permit). The change will be implemented on January 1st 2010 and a portion of the proceeds will be channeled to the automotive sector of Malaysia’s “Dana Pembangunan Bumiputera”. Four years ago in 2005, a total of 17,526 Open APs were issued. If the figure is used as a gauge, the Government can potentially earn over RM175 million. I wonder how the grey importers will deal with this new cost to them – will the buck be passed onto customers?

There was nothing revealed on the National Automotive Policy review in the Budget so we’ll have to continue waiting for updates on that issue.

Look after the jump for the full Budget 2010 text.

PM Najib’s 2010 Budget – English
Click to fullscreen button for easy viewing.

PM Najib’s 2010 Budget – BM
Click to fullscreen button for easy viewing.

PM Najib’s 2010 Budget – List of Appendices
Click to fullscreen button for easy viewing.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

PM’s Budget 2010 speech text available here!

Paul Tan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:16:21 +0000

The Prime Minister has just announced his 2010 Budget and it contains a few interesting bits of information to do with the automotive industry and motoring in general.

Look after the jump for the speech in both English and BM.

Click to fullscreen button for easy viewing.

Click to fullscreen button for easy viewing.

Attachment – List of Appendices

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Honda Civic now available in Tafetta White

Paul Tan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:59:05 +0000

The Honda Civic is now available in Tafetta White, making it the third model in the Honda Malaysia line-up to offer the new colour. Both the 1.8 liter and 2.0 liter models will get the new colour. Tafetta White Civics are expected to be quite high in demand, accounting for 30% of projected 600 units sales per month.

“After conducting research and analyzing customer feedback, coupled with the positive response from the introduction of the colour for Honda Accord and Honda CR-V, we decided to incorporate the Taffeta White in the Honda Civic 1.8L and 2.0L as well,” said Honda Malaysia’s new CEO Toru Takahashi.

Mr Takahashi also revealed that the two CBU Civic models – the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Honda Civic Type R – have surpassed over 200 units each in Malaysia. The Type R is currently sold out for the moment and it’s not known when the next batch will come in. The last unit was sold by Honda Global Amity in Seri Kembangan.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.

Good news for blog readers – another four sets of Goodyear Duraplus to give away!

Paul Tan — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:21:29 +0000

Goodyear’s Duraplus giveaway which was held before the Raya holidays this year had received tremendous response from blog readers. In fact, there were so many entries that Goodyear had felt deserving that they decided to increase the prizes from one set of tyres to four sets.

Now Goodyear has decided to open up the giveaway again. Here is how you can win one out of four sets of Goodyear Duraplus tyres that are to be given away:

Snap photos of your current tyres to show that you need a change of new tyres.
Give your best reason to change to a set of Goodyear Duraplus tyres!

Send me the photos, your required tyre size and reason to my email at paul@paultan.org. Send your entries in by the 18th of November 2009. Goodyear will pick the winners. You can have a look at the previous round of winners to have an idea of what kind of entries are likely to be picked. Here’s a table of all available sizes as well as their recommended retail price per tyre:

Related Posts:
Goodyear Duraplus lasts up to 100,000km?

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 08:00:39 +0800.