Diesel powered passenger vehicles outside of the pick-up truck segment have mushroomed in recent times, thanks to players such as BMW and Ford, while some like Hyundai, Chevrolet and Land Rover have brought in torquey oil burner SUVs. This is in addition to truck based SUVs that traditionally use diesel engines such as the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuner.
As for hybrids, they’re now a regular fixture in urban areas. The government’s tax exemption for hybrids below 2.0 litres has benefited Honda with the Insight and Toyota with its Prius; the former is the cheapest and most popular hybrid in the country now. Even premium brand Lexus has joined in with the fun with the CT 200h, RX 450h and the LS 600hL, although the latter two do not qualify for tax breaks.
Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) figures show that Honda sold 745 units of the Insight in July, and 3080 units so far this year, far higher than the costlier, but higher tech Prius, which did 158 units in July and 1085 units year to date.
By the way, Honda Malaysia sold more Insights than Civic 1.8s from Jan-July; the RM99,800 hybrid also highlights the ambitious price of the Jazz, making the supermini, which costs an extra RM10k, look very poor value.
Some considering the RM140k Prius may have decided to cough out RM30k more for a Lexus badge and the associated luxury. Launched in late February, the RM168,000 CT 200h has found 141 new homes so far. Interestingly, the RM196,500 Luxury spec is the more popular of the two CTs with 171 sales this year.
The hybrid RX and LS haven’t caught on though – only one unit of each has been registered, likely the ones on display at Lexus Mutiara Damansara.
Combing through the figures, it’s obvious that BMW is the diesel champ, which comes as no surprise since the company is the most vocal and active proponent of modern diesel tech in the country. It’s paying off – ‘Advanced Diesel’ vehicles now account for more than 25% of vehicles delivered by BMW Group Malaysia.
In fact, the F10 520d became the second top seller in BMW’s stable for July – with 62 units sold, it’s second only to the 523i’s 74 units.
However, many still fear the infamous “poor Malaysian fuel quality” issue, which according to diesel drivers Paul and Harvinder, are unfounded. Some are put off by the cleanliness (or rather lack of) at the diesel pumps, while others don’t like the clatter, which by the way, is near inaudible in the 520d’s cabin.
Another brand racking up big diesel numbers is Hyundai. The Santa Fe SUV and Grand Starex MPV both come with modern commonrail turbodiesels; the former with Hyundai’s latest ‘R engine’ with 197 PS and 442 Nm of torque, which is a lot of grunt for the capacity.
No surprise then, that 306 buyers chose the CRDi variant (Jan-Jul) compared to 182 for the 2.4 Theta II petrol. The 2.5L Starex (526 units YTD) remains popular thanks to its huge body and unrivaled seating capacity.
So while the seeds of hybrid and diesel sown in Malaysia are beginning to see fruit, there’s still a long way to go before these alternatives become mainstream. The hybrid cause is gaining momentum, but it remains to be seen if it can be sustained when government incentives are lifted.
For diesels, despite the facts and figures strongly favouring its kind, age long prejudice and perception is hard to reverse, and we’re a long way from Europe, or as our earlier story revealed, India, in acceptance.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
The lack of popularity in diesel cars in Malaysia is not entirely down to the unconvinced public. Even if we were all for diesel cars, it’s not like there’s much of a choice here is there? 1 model per segment does not constitute a variety to choose from. Therefore it’s down to the dealers as well to exploit the possibility of expanding the diesel car market in Malaysia.
i definitely agree on this….
currently the most affordable diesel car is focus TDCi….and that cost 130k apart from the luxury BMWs which not many can own.
the bulk of car sales, coming from national, japs and korean cars dont have a diesel alternative unless u wanna buy a SUV or pickup.
so its up to the auto boys to make diesel happen in malaysia, i’d like to own either a diesel or hybrid for my next ride but limited choices at the moment.
Its clear that our diesels still sub par. Few modern turbodiesels faced problems (especially those owned by ‘aggressive’ drivers) after some 50k km, e.g Starex with infamous injector prob (the injector even sold in mudah), some bmw with turbo prob, and focus with fuel pump issue.
Most of them are diesel quality inherent problem…
At least we should have euro 4.
Yes, we agree that more manufacturers should bring in their diesel variants.
We’ve heard from one company that apparently, after testing, they realised that our diesel quality isn’t as bad as initially feared. They will be introducing diesel engines soon, watch this space for updates!
Wohooo is it? Thats great.. Thank you for the heads up!
Ooh! Hint! Hint! At least tell us the price bracket :D
We want diesel cars and petrol trucks! Please bring Mitsubishi Lancer diesel and Triton petrol!!!
Any new pickup trucks in Malaysia uses petrol?
The quality of our diesel plays a part as well. Not all car manufacturers willing to tune their car just to suit our diesel quality. I bet if our diesel is upgraded even further, more and more manufacturers are willing to bring their diesel car. I for one prefer diesel over hybrid.
Bring in the diesel hybrid pug 3008 already!
The BMW 520d and 320d are surprisingly responsive cars, the only fault I can find is the engine noise outside the cabin.
we demand for euro 4 compliant diesel :)
curious to know…at what price perliter?
Yes, more diesels please!
so danny, the diesel quality doesn’t matter in this case? is there any solid evidence that it does matter (or it does)? and why aren’t other manufacturers bringing in more new-generation clean diesels?
Ya, I once heard of the news that Mercedes are reluctant to bring their diesel cars to Malaysia because of this issue.
MBM and MB Germany are very conservative in their decision. They claim protecting the consumers by denying modern diesel models; while we felt that they are protecting themselves from warranty repairs.
I’m currently driving one diesel MB, imported with certain components modified and ecu retuned. Imported when Malaysia has made the switch to adhere to E2M emissions. So far so good.
DPF removed i reckon?
BMW uses Euro 3 fuel in their single turbo diesel engines which work fine with the diesel quality here. However you won’t see the BMW twin scroll/twin turbo 2.0 or 3.0 diesel coming here since these require Euro 4 or better.
Mercedes as far as I know is similar, they only have Euro 4 or better diesel engines right now hence they can’t bring in diesel cars until Malaysia starts using better quality diesel.
Not sure about Audi, Peugeot or other european car makers.
Our official Euro 2 fuel standard isn’t the most ideal, of course, but that doesn’t mean there’s no way around it.
As mentioned above, one manufacturer currently testing diesels in Malaysia realised that our black stuff isn’t as bad as initially thought, and their cars might be able to drink it without harm.
I don’t drive a diesel though, so Paul and Harvinder are better qualified to share and explain.
Harvinder drive Mercedes C220 CDI diesel eh?
i saw he drive e270 cdi
aku mmg suka prius tuu…tapi aku tgl kat swak…so payah sket la nak beli hybrid nie
plg koman pun beli modenas elektrik Ctric je…
go hybrid go diesel…..
Honda Insight is a lot better looking than the Prius. Makes a lot of sense to get one over the civic.
Bring in Hydrogen cars.
hydrogen cars are a lot more complicated than hybrids. Furthermore, there are no infrastructures that support hydrogen cars in Malaysia.
The reason why Honda Insight is better than Toyota Prius is because Honda’s IMA system offers the best balance between cost, performance and fuel efficiency because of the usage of parallel hybrid which is simpler. The Insight’s IMA system is the cheapest hybrid system, while the Prius’ HSD is more complicated but very fuel efficient. That’s why we see a lot more Insights on the road than Prii, especially in Klang Valley.
N.B.: Toyota has already confirmed that the plural for “Prius” is “Prii”.
I hope this trend continues. We need more diesel cars that cost below RM70k so that more people can enjoy lower fuel costs. In the long term, the government won’t have to spend so much on fuel subsidy.
somehow i like the diesel engine clatter sound
diesels are tha future
why no diesel car here?
1) Proton don’t have diesel car (or failed miserably previously)
2) Petronas need more petrol pump, diesel means drivers pump less…and imagine who paying the $$ to government most in a year? ya right, Petronas.
3) apply #1 and #2 above to why no public transport infra as well
Not in our life time you will see Diesel car popular in Malaysia. Euro 4? next life.
Why only road from north to south where in other part of the world got high-speed train? use the above philosophy and you will get…#1 Plus..#2 Tol companies (the royal related one la of course) YTL wants to built from KL-SG but not get supported. Done.
Hurm.. Kind of disagree with your facts. As for proton.. Those are old news.. We are talking about new and improved diesel tech maaa
Ever thought they didn’t do high speed train to help their crony who just recently bought Queen’s Park Rangers?
Besides, most commercial vehicles here are only up to Euro 2 standard which means that higher standard (and probably higher priced) fuel won’t mean jack to them and the only benefit they get is to jack the transportation cost of stuff which ultimately is transfered back to us…
Proton used to have a diesel car model, the Wira 2.0D – a normally-aspirated diesel machine with old distributor pump technology, resulting poor pickup (it only generates 67 bhp) and quite sooty exhaust (it’s only Euro 1 compliant), but the only good thing is that it can use poor-quality diesel fuels.
when you can drive from the southernmost end to the northernmost end of the Malaysian peninsula in half a day, is a high speed train really necessary?
Which means to say Diesel are still the priority ? Is our diesel quality acceptable for Euro Mobiles ?
Poor H. Jazz, she is getting less popular nowadays.
Nevertheless, I still have high hope on H. Jazz Hybrid which was launched earlier this year in Europe. Hope this version of Jazz would land in our country to enjoy tax rebate so that a more affordable Jazz could be ours!
Not a big fan of honda but if theres a mini that equipped with hybrids and good looking as swift and Jazz.. Damn i must have one.. Itd be great to have that car just for week ends and kedai kopi hangout vehicle
honda jazz…
ok ok car..but wayyyyy overpriced…
better save a few more k to buy golf gti or somethng
Poor Honda City… Why Honda City doesn’t sell well in Indonesia???
One reason why Jazz is pricey and therefore resulting low sales is because it is assembled in Thailand. The result will be a huge amount of tax (low import tax due to AFTA regulations but the excise tax is kaw-kaw high). The same reason happens to Honda Freed as well.
Don’t we get other models from TH too? Are they priced relative to the Jazz?
The older Honda City was made in Thailand as well, but our current City is made in Alor Gajah.
In Indonesia, the Jazz is priced at RM70k, but the City is at RM100k! Why Indonesian Honda Jazz is cheaper than ours, but their Honda City are more expensive than ours?
The Honda Jazz is assembled in Karawang, Indonesia, plus the government cuts down some excise duty from hatchbacks, so the Indonesian Honda Jazz seemed to be cheaper. But the Honda City is pricey there, and suffered from low sales, because it is assembled in Malaysia. The result will be a huge amount of tax (low import tax due to AFTA regulations but in Indonesia, the excise duty for an B-segment sedan is kaw-kaw high), and political issues (Indonesians hate Malaysian-built cars).
Most probably their Jazz is a CKD model made in Karawang, but their City may be imported either from Ayutthaya or Alor Gajah. So expect the extra cost due to transportation. The same thing happens when we import the Jazz and Freed from Ayutthaya and Karawang respectively.
I saw a lot of Jazz but a few of Citys in Indonesia.
Paul/Harv,
What is the make and model of your respective oil burners? I in the market for a diesel powered passenger vehicle.
The poor quality of diesel is a real issue in this country, service centres are having a real problem with it with multiple warranty claims relating to it.
If he want to tell us he already have.. I bet he’s already drafted the post but yet a good time to post it here..
ORLY? what service centers and which cars having “real problem” and “multiple warranty claim”?
http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?40402-How-are-your-320d-doing-so-far
look at those happy 320d owners… own their car for very long already still no problem
Very long? Please state the mileage they have driven.
My company that i work have 5 toyota hiace turbodiesel since 2006 to transport staff. Already clock 500k++ millage but engine still ok and no black smoke. Always service on schedule.
That’s non Euro 4 compliant vehicle, just Euro 2 or 3 compliant. Current issue most people worry is Euro 4 and above diesel vehicles using Euro 2M diesel fuel.
paul owned the latest bmw F10 520d and harv have mercedes benz w211 e270 cdi if i’m not wrong..
Even though I don’t have one yet, my personal favorite is the Insight at the moment, the Honda Jazz (or the hybrid version else where) have no place any more. The Insight is a power assist hybrid, bigger, more spacious and much much more fuel efficient while being cheaper than Jazz. Time for hybrids, turbodiesels, turbos, or combination of any of them until the all electric cars or Hydrogen fuel cells finally come to us. The day will eventually come :)……….!!
Give me euro4 diesel fuel then I might consider going diesel. Anyway to benefit from diesel preferably u must be a high mileage driver, probably around 30-40k km per annum the least. Where as in our stable we have few ride, so getting 15k km every year for any of the ride is consider good enough.
For me at least, the home minister doesnt approve the diesel clatter noise while being outside. Taxi she said. Nothing sound or move sweeter than our V8 school runabout. The least she’ll tolerate is the straight inline 6 if I were to buy any again.
Got few mates running 530d and e270 cdi, feedbacks varies. Some recommend some don’t, but for our local scene at least maintenance is more due to our dirty euro2m diesel. One of it is every year at least must strip out all the intake parts for good cleanup of all the diesel sludge. And consider yourself lucky if the injector still runs fine after 100k km. Might want to chk out those for those interested in diesel.
Cheers
I’m a bit out of date. But is the road tax for diesel cars still way more expensive than petrol cars? That might also be a problem.
Nope.. according to online roadtax calculator from Kurnia/Autoworld. Diesel and Petrol 2.0 Roadtax is at RM379.00
Even if the roadtax is double. The fuel you saved will definitely cover the extra cost for the roadtax (if there is).
A normal full tanked focus will get around 600km (fren’s car), while a tdci can reach 1k (paultan’s article).
Captiva Diesel Rocks !!!!
It’s all staged wayang kulit, testing-the-water phase first lah.
So it give more Tongkat Time for Protongkat excuses to sell more ancient Campro engines, still proceed with Hybrid, or break the bank to spend on diesel engines R&D (after wasting the govt grant RM200m).
All of you 10 Million car users must be denied all these proven fuel-efficient tech unless Protongkat said so.
All of you 10 Million car users must be charged kaw-kaw just to save some fuel making it worthless therefore limits your choice to Protongkat only.
All of you 10 Million car users must pay UNFAIR car duty structure based solely on Engine Capacity CC rather than Engine Emission, Efficiency thus making ancient Campro truly Jagoh Kampong Bertongkat!
All of you 10 Million car users must pay OVERPRICED smaller capacity car which also give similar fuel efficiency as Hybrid cars (but given zero car duty).
“The Day Protongkat Close Shop It’s Our 2nd Merdeka Day!”
i 2nd to your pov…
we cant enjoy good car becoz of perasanton….
they set foreigner cars at skyrocketting price so they can sell theirs- wadahell?
its a provocation… and Malaysian make it works!
its pitty when u have two perasantons in your porch and you proud of it because its cheap to tune to a shitholes that only capable of making noise like fisherman’s boat.
perasanton tuners= bunyi cam ribut jalan cam siput!
I think we shouldn’t even have homegrown car industries. Rather fully producing imported models from let say Volkswagen, Honda, Hyundai etc. and sell them for affordable prices.
Thailand is doing fine without a fully homegrown local car company.
And say yes to inflasion? Say yes to supporting other countries growth? Like that? Duhh
the public needs to be re-educated about the pros and cons of diesels
i drive a diesel car which is quite rare at someone my age (im 25 y/o)
the most common consumer vehicles utilizing diesels and has thus far a success in malaysia is TADA……the pickup trucks (i drive one – the navara)
i dont see any problem using the diesel in malaysia with either a CBU or CKD pickup truck so the claims that the diesel in malaysia or diesel in general IS DIRTY and BAD FOR THE CAR are unruly
yes, diesel engines sometime clatter as you accelerate, the exhaust may emit black smoke at times but i believe the benefits are trailing behind
it saves cost, gives higher torque and is to my experience, efficient in burning (my dad’s new nissan serena consumes more petrol than my bigger displacement truck)
if europe whom are really vocal on green tech are embracing diesels, why shouldnt we?
just my 2 cents
bcos thy are more educated n environmentally aware than us….plus the insentives thy get for buying diesels dont exist here….
Diesels rock anytime…more mileage, more torque, though perhaps higher mainance in the long term….diesels are soooo easy to tune up…a simple ecu upgrade and a change of intercooler will see so much torque hike….more fun if u into those things…
how about both, hybrid & diesel? I am waiting for the 3008 hybrid4 to arrive here. really eye ing that.
i envy you guys.. me as a malaysian, moving to singapore, thinking all is good and preppy.. but this article just kept reminding me how I can’t see a value in getting a diesel or hybrid unit… i would love to roll around in a land rover, or a freelander, or even a lexus CT200h.. BUT.. to all the malaysian who keeps complaining about car ownership in Malaysia.. come to singapore..
MRT there is very good, crime rate is low. Why do you even need a car there?
Come back Malaysia, see if you can survive without a car.
IF ME I WILL PREFER 520D PRIUS IS SUCK FOR ME……AND THE FUEL COMSUMPTION,POWER 520D BETTER AND THEN PRIUS……
Diesel clatter = character….macho ; )
..anyway, if u like to drive & love powerful drive but still want to save fuel…go for diesel…but if u don’t mind to drive slow, go for petrol hybrid (they will gobble up petrol if u start to drive hard…bcoz petrols need to rev above 4k rpm to make real progress)
thailand? compare price of CBU imported cars, they are more expensive in thai. they have higher import tax, are they protecting proton? camry is rm140k in thai, but they sell it rm80k in saudi arabia, are they protecting proton? only 5% of car in korea are imported. toyota & honda doesnt exist there. are they protecting proton?
So u r only happy when Malaysia reaches the bottom, the very bottom,
U r just not happy when the prices of cars in Thailand is more expensive than us.
The only time u r happy is when the cars in Malaysia are the most expensive in the world.
At the same time, u didnt realise that only a few countries have cars that are more expensive than us. The rest of the world ( >100 countries have cheaper and higher quality cars. )
im in singapore too. ok, mrt is good. but still you’ll feel the need to have a car. u go out dating and ronda2 with gf on mrt? bring ur little baby on mrt and everybody else stare at u? of coz taxi here is good too, but nothing beats the feeling to travel on your own car, wherever and whenever u want to. that’s the joy and freedom that u would miss. house and petrol is soo expensive that almost all below 25 couldn’t own a car. in japan, u need to get a proof from local police that u have a parking space before u can buy a car!
But it’s not essential to have a car there, issit? I think you know we need at least a kapchai here to travel around, or most will end up with our most hated Myvi.
It’s an essential needs in Msia while it’s a desire in Spor.
But I do hope you earn a lot $ over there. :)
Insight Vs Prius @ Others Hybrid
Any1 can share on its Life Cycle Cost (Operate Vs Maintenance)?
Which the BEST?
Hybrid Car
Any1 can share its economic (life cycle cost: Operation Vs Maintenance) perhaps?
Which is the best
I just went to test drive the Honda Insight, it’s of course amazing and I love it. First time in my entire life to drive a hybrid :]. It’s not as slow as most people think it is since it’s a power assist hybrid, beats a Proton 1.6L or others. Driving the Insight is almost like playing a game LOL, you’ll try your best to save fuel + emissions and it’ll remind you, at the end of the short session I got 18.6km/L!! And I achieved the low speed cruising electric only mode at 4x km/hr. I drove with and without ECON, including S mode.
Even if you’re not getting it you should try it.
Yes its gooooood…
The best part is, Insight battery only cost rm6k and last 10 years compared to Prius battery rm12k.
If diesel car were so many in Malaysia, a new business will grow like a mushroom that is fuel tank cleaner who mistaken refuelling the tank.
In UK, almost 200,000 case misfuelling, 90% filling petrol to diesel car and 10% of it filling diesel to petrol car.
Pros of diesel car:
1. cheap fuel
2. fuel economy better than petrol
3. powerful
4. many more
Cons of diesel cars:
1. expensive road tax for registered as private vehicle (similar if bus and lorry using petrol also very expensive roadtax)
2. stereotypes
3. misfuelling often happen
4. difficult to repair
5. many more
Petrol and diesel road tax are exactly the same.
Oh, what i meant and forgot to add is company car road tax.
Example my old Proton Waja 1.8, roadtax during the car bearing company name, annual road tax is RM 630, since changed to private name, annual road tax is RM200. Company road tax still very expensive.
My backhoe just have an annual road tax just RM 60. I saw a Nissan cabstar lorry using petrol with annual roadtax RM 325. If diesel Nissan Cabstar, the annual road tax just RM 10.
If diesel road tax are similar to petrol, means there is an encouraging environment for using diesel car.
I read from lowyat forum titled “wai proton phased out wira diesel?, the only diesel car “.
“Since 2008, same as petrol. 2500cc diesel is RM 840 per year. Applicable for green engine only. If not, it will be RM 1680 per year. For 2000cc, it is RM 384 per year. Again, green engine only.”
If old Proton Wira Diesel emits black smoke worse than lorry, The road tax will very expensive. It cannot be considered as same petrol road tax.
Misfuelling is very-counter productive action and wasting a lot of money for tank cleaning.
For me, If diesel car were many in Malaysia, misfuelling is a very big issue and some of the issues are taking drastic action to ban other type of fuel car and restricted to use for example petrol only for police car or diesel only for taxi.
In UK, the frequent misfueller is police officer. Police car in UK are using both diesel and petrol and most car misfuelled are police car. Wasting tax payers money. Misfuelling can only be stopped by issung police car only using one type of fuel only police car.
Just watch youtube wrong fuel for more information.
Ismaia, am bringing back a B 200 CDi from UK. Can you advice where can I make the retune and changes to my B?-SEW