Archive for Local News

The Naza Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with General Motors to be the official distributor of Chevrolet cars and parts in Malaysia. The MoU was signed by Naza Group joint executive chairman SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin and General Motors Southeast Asia Operations and Chevrolet Sales Thailand President Steve Carlisle.

“This is part of the group’s on-going efforts to continuously look out for viable business opportunities with foreign partners to complement and consolidate our automobile sales portfolio,” the conglomerate said.

This expected announcement confirms longstanding rumours linking the two parties which started even before GM and DRB-HICOM officially parted ways. We will deliver updates as it becomes available.

It was quite an open secret that Naza was looking to take over custody of the Chevrolet brand in Malaysia, even before the official break up announcement by DRB-HICOM and GM. So a Starbiz report saying that Naza and GM are in talks for the exclusive distribution of Chevy comes as no surprise.

Although the report, which quotes an unnamed “industry source” said that GM is in talks with several parties, it didn’t mention any local company besides Naza. According to the source, Naza and GM will make an announcement by the second week of January.

In the meantime, GM is counting on dealer Cergazam Sdn Bhd to manage the franchise until a new partner comes on board.

Naza taking on Chevrolet in its stable will be quite interesting as it already handles one of Chevy’s big rivals in Kia, and we can imagine that one of the big topics on the discussion table with GM will be how Naza will manage this situation.

Sime Darby Auto ConneXion, the company behind Ford, Land Rover and Alfa Romeo, has announced a new price for the Alfa Romeo 159. Available only in 2.2 JTS spec with Selespeed gearbox, it is now priced at RM195,888 (nett selling price excluding insurance, road tax and registration fees). The previous price was RM188,888.

For your RM200,000, the 159 comes with 9 airbags (front, rear, window, driver’s knee), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), auto lights and wipers, bi-xenons, three-zone climate control, sunroof and 18-inch alloys, among other kit.

The direct injection 2.2 JTS engine comes with 185 bhp and 230 Nm of torque, good for 0-100 km/h in 8.8 seconds and a top speed of 222 km/h.

The Naza Group targets to achieve sales of 25,970 units next year with major contribution coming from its Kia division. Joint executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin broke down the 2010 sales target to 22,000 Kia vehicles, 2,930 Peugeot vehicles and 1,040 units of the Naza Forza.

Naza plans to launch four new Kia models which will include a “recreational vehicle” in the first half of the year. The conglomerate will also introduce four new Peugeots in 2010, including the “T33″ entry-level model that will be manufactured at its Gurun plant.

Our guess is that the “RV” in question will be the new Sorento, while the Soul and Forte Koup should also be coming. How about the facelifted Optima to make it four?

On the Peugeot front, T33 is the 207 Sedan, which despite the name is a booted 206 with the 207’s “big mouth” face. Naza will be counting on this small saloon to provide the bulk of Peugeot sales. My personal prediction for the other three is 207, 308 CC and a crossover, possibly the 3008.

Proton Xchange Programme, the car scrapping scheme from Proton has been discontinued. In a media statement, Proton said only applications that reached its offices on or before Oct 31 would be processed for the rebate vouchers.

The national car manufacturer said it had received a total of 25,862 applications from March 10 to Oct 31, exhausting the funds provided by the government’s economic stimulus plan before the given year-end period. 7,539 applications were received from Nov 1-6 before Proton realised that the piggy bank was empty – however, the company has come up with a “special incentive scheme” for this group of customers. If you are among those who submitted forms in November, contact Proton for further arrangements.

Unsuccessful applicants will not need to surrender their old cars in order to enjoy the special scheme but Proton would provide the necessary assistance in making arrangements with used car dealers. “While this scheme is applicable to the purchases of any Proton cars, the cars must be registered by the Jan 31, 2010,” the statement read.

DRB-HICOM has announced plans to introduce its own hybrid car by 2012. Group director of automotive, Datuk Nik Hamdan Nik Hassan said the conglomerate is currently in talks with three potential partners to manufacture the car and that they hope to finalise the deal next year.

“We want to have our own hybrid car that we can call it HICOM hybrid. It will take 18 to 24 months to have this car to come on stream,” he told a media briefing today. When pressed for details, he declined to name the parties but said that one of them was DRB-HICOM’s existing partner.

Who might that be? At present, DRB-HICOM has links with Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Mahindra as well as local brands Proton and Modenas. It has just cut off ties with GM and Chevrolet.

After long standing rumours, DRB-HICOM has finally announced its break up with the Chevrolet marque in Malaysia. The statement said that DRB and General Motors Asia Pacific have mutually agreed to discontinue their existing joint venture agreement to import and distribute Chevrolet vehicles from Jan 1, 2010.

This will see the winding down of joint venture company HICOM-Chevrolet Sdn Bhd, which was founded in August 2007. GM and DRB-HICOM hold 51 per cent and 49 per cent stake in the JV, respectively. DRB-HICOM, through its subsidiary DRB-HICOM Auto Solutions, was reponsible for the importation of the vehicles into Malaysia while GM was in charge of the management and operations of the business.

The identity of GM’s new partner is almost an open secret by now, and we expect a formal announcement by the parties involved soon. This constant changing of hands doesn’t bode well for the Chevrolet marque in Malaysia; customer confidence will take a battering and current owners won’t be too happy with this news at all.

First glance at the title of this story and you may think students from UMP have developed transforming robots based on the Perodua Kancil, depending on what kind of vivid imagination you have. What has happened here is that Perodua has actually donated the robots used on the Kancil’s assembly line to UMP.

The Perodua Kancil was finally phased out in July this year and to replace it, Perodua introduced the cheapest Viva BX model. These 13 robots donated to UMP were used by Perodua over the 12 year period of Kancil manufacturing, and a total of around 590,000 units were churned out during that time. The robots were used as automated welders.

Perodua will also be training UMP technicians on how to operate and maintain these robots. The robots will be used in UMP’s Manufacturing Engineering Faculty and it is estimated that an average of 200 students per academic year will benefit from the utilisation of the robots.

“Students will be able to learn – first hand – the operations of these robots and they can take this knowledge and apply it in any automotive company or any other relevant industry as they see fit. Our hope is that they take this opportunity to learn as much as they can to prepare themselves in the ever demanding job environment,” said soon retiring Perodua managing director Datuk Syed Hafiz.

Click here to read the rest of Kancil robots for Universiti Malaysia Pahang

Proton’s head designer Azlan Othman tweeted the above on his Twitter account a few days ago – it looks like we’ll be able to look forward to a showcase of a new look for Proton cars next year!

It was reported earlier this year that Italdesign-Giugiaro (which recently penned the Ssangyong C200 Concept) was hired to help Proton out with the new global Persona full replacement model and a clay model of the new car already exists at the design house’s HQ in Italy. They could also be helping Proton out with its new family design language?

We assure you Azlan, we’re definitely looking out for an announcement soon!

The first Hyundai i30 registered in 2010 will get a free bodykit that Hyundai calls “M Sport” (from MS Design), which consists of a new front, rear and side skirts, a black plastic cover for the grille, twin exhaust pipes and plastic mouldings on the rear bumper.

Comparing the price list I have here, it looks like the full kit costs about RM8,000 if you buy it separately after the first free 50 units. You can find hi-res images after the jump.

Related Post:
Hyundai i30 Test Drive Review

Click here to read the rest of Free bodykit for first 50 Hyundai i30 in 2010

MINI is British. And to cement that rich heritage, there’s a trio of limited edition MINI variants that sport names such as Mayfair, Camden and Earl Grey. These cars are to commemorate MINI’s 50th birthday, and they’re now available in Malaysia.

Just like the districts they’re named after, the MINI 50 Mayfair is the posh sibling while the MINI 50 Camden is the vibrant, energetic one. Both these variants are available for the 175 bhp turbocharged Cooper S, while the MINI Earl Grey is based on the 120 bhp Cooper.

Find out what’s special about this trio after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of BMW Malaysia launch limited edition 50th anniversary MINI variants

I stumbled on an ad by Hyundai-Sime Darby in today’s The Star newspaper. The page 18 half pager had the title “Welcome 2010″ and had a picture of the all-new Tucson in the background. This is a clear hint that the mid-sized SUV will be coming our way next year. The other pictured cars are the Avante and i10.

Called the ix35 in Europe and Tucson ix in Korea, this Honda CR-V rival made its global debut at the Frankfurt motor show earlier this year, and is designed by Hyundai’s European design studio in Germany. It was introduced last month in Singapore with the 166 bhp/197 Nm 2.0-litre Theta II engine paired with a new six-speed automatic – figures that should put it as the best in class, on paper, if we get the same spec.

Were you there at Goodyear Formula Drift Malaysia? If you made your way to MAEPS Serdang yesterday, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that the event served up great sideways action and drama – I was even hoping that the show will drag longer with few more “One More Time” runs! For those who didn’t, here’s what you missed: Malaysia’s Tengku Djan outdrifted 54 others from across Asia-Pacific to be the inaugural Goodyear Formula Drift Malaysia champion!

Read the full report and view the gallery after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of Tengku Djan wins Goodyear Formula Drift Malaysia!

Class 1 vehicles on the PLUS and ELITE highways will be enjoying a total of 20% discount on toll charges from 12 midnight to 7am (their definition of off-peak) from the 22nd to 24th of December and from the 28th to 30th of December. This is an increase of 10% on top the existing 10% discount currently offered by PLUS and ELITE.

These off-peak hours are beyond the normal bedtimes of many people so please remember to get enough rest before driving. You shouldn’t be driving if you are sleepy. For some people, even getting enough sleep is useless as their body clock tells them they should be asleep during that time. Stop by the highway rest areas whenever necessary and minum kopi!

The black SUV you see above may look like an ordinary Range Rover to you, but it cost the British High Commission here in Malaysia a massive price tag of RM3.6 million!

It’s not a regular Range Rover – but this is instead the 2010 Armoured Range Rover, powered by a 5.0 liter V8 engine producing 375 horsepower and a good 510Nm of torque. The equipment list includes a touch screen dual-view center dash display which can show two different things to the front driver and passenger, and a instrument cluster that replaces the typical analog dials for speedo and RPM with a large TFT LCD panel that displays virtual dials and other information.

There are also a few optional features that can be tacked on – tinted windows, an intercom system, an under-bonnet fire extinguisher, tamper-proof exhaust, self-sealing fuel tank, an independent oxygen supply to ensure a continuous flow of fresh air to the cabin, a new Surround Camera System which uses five cameras situated around the vehicle to provide an almost 360-degree view on the touch-screen and a Blind Spot Monitor system that utilises side-mounted radar sensors to survey the vehicle’s blind spots.

The Armoured Range Rover features ballistic steel armour and glazing which provides B6 level ballistic and blast protection in accordance with European standard EN1063. There is also an Armoured Discovery available, priced at RM2.1 million. The Discovery meets the EN1522 standard, which ensures resistance to a comprehensive range of hand guns and rifles, including the AK47, AK74, M16 and M60; as well as side blasts from high-explosive materials. Standard equipment includes run-flat tyres, bullet resistant glazing and under-floor Kevlar shielding for 360 degree under-skin protection.

All models have a full 3 year or 80,000km warranty. Each purchase also comes with a full driver training programme, and a dedicated technician can also provide a number of scheduled visits each year, to assist with vehicle familiarisation and servicing.