Chinese premium electric vehicle brand Zeekr has announced the formation of Zeekr Intelligent Technology (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a dedicated National Sales Company (NSC) established to oversee its operations in the Malaysian market. The move signals a decisive commitment by Zeekr to deepen its roots in Southeast Asia and elevate its standing in Malaysia’s fast-growing EV landscape.
The NSC will take direct control of core business functions including wholesale distribution, dealer network development, brand strategy, marketing initiatives, and aftersales support nationwide. Zeekr’s latest step comes on the back of rapid international growth, having already reached 500,000 mass-produced vehicles globally as of June and successfully entering over 40 countries and regions.
According to Alex Bao, Managing Director of Zeekr Southeast Asia, Malaysia represents a pivotal market for the brand within the region. He stated that significant investments are being channelled into building a sustainable and customer-centric presence. Bao noted that the formation of the NSC would serve as a bridge between Zeekr and Malaysian consumers, enabling the company to respond more effectively to customer feedback and expectations. He also emphasised three key areas of focus: expanding network reach, strengthening aftersales services, and ramping up marketing efforts.
Luxury Italian carmaker Ferrari has suffered a legal setback in Malaysia after the High Court ruled against its trademark infringement claim involving a local energy drink company’s logo that also features rearing horses.
The dispute centred on Ferrari’s claim that the “Wee Power” logo used by Sunrise-Mark Sdn Bhd bore too close a resemblance to its iconic single rearing horse emblem, famously associated with the marque’s global brand identity. However, the High Court dismissed Ferrari’s attempt to block Sunrise-Mark’s trademark registration, finding no substantial similarity between the two logos.
Presiding Judge Adlin Abdul Majid concluded that the opposition filed by Ferrari was unfounded and that Sunrise-Mark’s trademark could proceed to registration. In her decision dated 30 May, the judge stated that Ferrari’s arguments about potential confusion among consumers lacked merit.
Ferrari had sought to overturn the Registrar of Trademarks’ previous decision allowing Sunrise-Mark’s application, arguing that the energy drink’s logo infringed upon its exclusive rights to the prancing horse symbol. The Italian automaker maintained that despite the presence of the words “Wee Power” and the design differences, the rearing horses used by Sunrise-Mark could still mislead consumers.
The Road Transport Department (RTD) has announced a firm stance against operators of express buses and commercial goods vehicles who fail to settle their outstanding summonses by the upcoming deadline of July 8. Vehicles that remain unpaid beyond this date will face immediate enforcement action, including blacklisting and removal from public roads.
According to NST, Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli, Director-General of the RTD, warned that any vehicle with unsettled summonses will be prohibited from operating. He stressed that RTD enforcement teams will be deployed from midnight on the final day to take decisive action against non-compliant vehicles.
Toyota’s commitment to the internal combustion engine is gaining serious momentum with the development of a new range of advanced four-cylinder powerplants. Over a year since the initial announcement, the automaker’s upcoming 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre engines are shaping up to be lightweight, compact, and engineered for efficiency without compromising on performance. Among them, the 2.0-litre “G20E” variant has already attracted widespread attention, particularly after its unexpected debut in the striking GR Yaris M concept earlier this year.
Unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon, the GR Yaris M made waves with its wild mid-engine layout and aggressive power figures. Positioned just behind the driver, the G20E engine is paired with an IHI turbocharger and currently delivers an estimated 400hp to 450hp. However, Toyota engineers have indicated that this is far from the engine’s full potential. According to technical sources quoted by Auto Motor und Sport, a larger turbocharger could easily push the output beyond 600hp—more than twice the performance of the 1.6-litre “G16E-GTS” unit used in the GR Yaris, GR Corolla, and Lexus LBX Morizo RR.
Despite this potential, regulatory constraints will likely play a significant role in shaping the production-ready output of the G20E. With global emissions regulations tightening, Toyota is expected to dial back the final figures to maintain CO₂ compliance. Even so, a detuned version producing upwards of 400hp or even 500hp would still offer remarkable performance for a street-legal sports car. For motorsport applications, however, the uncorked engine is likely to reach its upper limits and showcase its true capability.
Proton and Grab Malaysia have reinforced their collaborative efforts in the e-hailing industry by expanding their strategic partnership, offering a wider selection of vehicle options and enhanced benefits for Grab driver-partners nationwide. This latest development includes the introduction of the Proton S70 and premium X-Series models to Grab’s fleet, further supporting driver-partners seeking practical, reliable, and value-driven transport solutions.
Building on the momentum of the “Saga Power Up for Grab Driver-Partners” campaign initiated in November 2024, the partnership continues to yield positive results. To date, the initiative has generated 220 customer leads and led to the registration of 148 units of the Proton Saga. This ongoing success reflects the strong appeal of Proton vehicles within the e-hailing segment and highlights the shared mission of both companies to modernise Malaysia’s ride-hailing landscape with vehicles that are both affordable and dependable.
With the expansion, driver-partners now have access to a broader range of Proton models, including options suitable for the GrabCar Plus and GrabCar (6-Seater) categories. The extended offering comes with exclusive incentives designed to ease the financial burden on drivers, particularly during the early stages of vehicle ownership. These incentives include cash rebates of up to RM13,000, a 5% service discount over two years or 40,000 kilometres—whichever comes first—and RM500 in fuel assistance, providing tangible benefits for daily operational costs.
Another day and another Chinese brand has made foothold in Malaysia. But is that necessarily a bad thing? Maybe for the competitions, but not for car buyers.
While previously Malaysian car buyers had to choose from the usual brands from America, Europe and Japan, now they have more options.
The Chinese have also shown that they can do everything the rest can and sometimes better and most of the time for cheaper as well.
While some of the Chinese brands are yet to show their commitment to the Malaysian market by launching more dealerships, 3S centres, local assembly and launch local spare part distribution centres. Some of the bigger names have done a great job.
Take Chery for example. It has launched a myriad of models, they have a local assembly program, a spare parts distribution centre and they are also launching new showrooms on a near weekly basis.
They were quick to sponsor our local badminton heroes. When the gas pipeline explosion happened in Putra Heights, it was Chery that responded first by offering cars for victims to use. Only then did the other car makers realise they have to do something as well.
That’s the commitment to a market I am talking about.
There are also other brands from the large Chery tree that have been introduced for the Malaysian market as well. Jaecoo being one of them. And if you have been following the Malaysian automotive scene, you will know how well received Jaecoo has been.
And now, there is another brand from Chery that has just been introduced, and it’s called iCaur, pronounced as i-car.
The brand is known as iCar around the world, but the U had to be thrown in the name because there is a publishing company in Malaysia known as iCar.
So, rather than coming up with an all-new brand, the company simply included an alphabet to skirt around legislations while maintaining the original pronunciation. Make of that what you will, but if it works, it works.
Anyway, iCaur is the result of a collaboration between Chery and Xiamo’s subsidiary Zhimi Technology, which is also known as Smartmi Tech.
iCaur is developed to produce electric lifestyle vehicles that will differentiate it from the rest of Chery sub-brands such as Jaecoo.
It’s first salvo at the Malaysian market.
The 03 is iCaur’s first model for the Malaysian market. Eventually there will be three or more models from the brand, including the 03, then the upcoming 03T as well as the V23.
Previewed at this year’s Malaysia Auto Show with the order taking commencing then as well, the 03 has a unique appeal to it.
It has the classic proportions of an off-roader, like a classic Jeep. But more accurately, it has the proportions of a four-door Suzuki Jimny but with a modern touch of course.
The head and taillights form the letter i, and there’s also the same alphabet at the centre of the front fascia, the steering wheel as well as underneath the centre air-conditioning vents on the dash.
There’s a storage box at the back where a spare wheel sits for the Jimny. For the iCaur, this is simply a box where you can place items you don’t want to have inside the car, such as durians and such. But we couldn’t fit a way to lock it, so you might not want to place anything too expensive.
This box could have also been a spare wheel, which is something EV’s struggle with since the batteries take up the space where a spare wheel usually sits. Is this a lost opportunity for iCaur? The thing about Chinese car makers is that they respond to market demands at the blink of an eye. So, if there is enough demand for a door mounted spare wheel, trust iCaur to deliver.
The 03 even comes in a dual-tone paint job. The model we drove came in white with a gloss black roof which looked very cool.
How’s the interior?
Typically EV with a large infotainment screen, a digital instrument cluster and very few hard buttons. I have to say though that there were some cleverly placed “teh-tarik” hooks all around the cabin, which simply makes day to day life a lot easier.
There’s also a 12-speaker Infinity sound system with Carplay and Android Auto for your navigation and entertainment.
The seats are brilliant to sit on and are ventilated as well and come with massage function. In fact, in the flagship variant, both the front as well as the rear two seats have ventilation function.
Almost all the key commands of the car such as the side mirror controls, air-conditioning, and memory function for the seats, among others, are located in the infotainment screen. So, the learning curve of the car may be a little bit steep for those not already familiar with how EV’s function.
Besides that, spaciousness is decent, boot space is good though a tonneau cover will be great, and if you are over six feet tall, the back seats may be a little cramped.
What about powertrains though?
There are two versions of the 03 available, the 2WD and the AWD, or iWD in iCaur lingo.
The 2WD is powered by a single, rear-mounted electric motor that churns out 181hp and 220Nm of torque. The motor gets its juice from a 65.7kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that will take about 30 minutes to recharge from 30 to 80% using a 80kW AC charger. It has a claimed range of 426km on the NEDC cycle.
The iWD on the other hand has twin motors with each mounted on either axle, making it an all-wheel-drive machine.
The front motor makes 94hp and 165Nm while the rear makes 184PS and 220Nm. The combined system output on the other hand stands at 279PS and 385Nm.
The LFP battery is also bigger; rated at 69.8kWh though with a lower range, rated at 418km on the NEDC cycle. Charging times remains the same, with 30 to 80% taking 30 minutes.
However, both models can only take 6.6kW of AC charging.
How does it drive?
Surprisingly well actually. I only drove the iWD variant but the driving feel was more decent than I expected.
Perhaps it is because I expected very little and was then blown away. Whatever it is, the suspension deserves special credit.
The front consists of MacPherson struts with Multilink at the rear. And this gives the 03 a compliant ride, firm yet comfortable.
Acceleration is great as well and it gets up to 100km/h in just 6.6 seconds from an absolute standstill. Not bad for a car with the aerodynamics of a brick weighing in at over 1.8 tonnes.
Should you buy one?
Absolutely, if for the design alone. There are a couple of things that annoy me, such as the grammar in the software and the iffy quality of the rear-mounted storage box. The latter should have at least come with a lock, lah.
But with an estimated price of RM145,000 for the 2WD and RM155,000 for the iWD, I think they will sell like hot cakes.
College boys with rich Daddy’s will probably buy one to show they are tough though they have never filleted a fish in their lives nor fried an egg.
Those who like the Suzuki Jimny but think it is overpriced may be swayed as well.
It may be a little iffy around the corners, but it nails its design and ride quality and for that, you can expect to see a few of them running around after its official launch in Q3 of this year.
Specifications (2WD):
Power: 184PS
Torque: 220Nm
Motor: Single, Rear Mounted
Range: 426km (NEDC)
Charging: 6.6kW AC / 80kW DC
Price: RM145,000 (Estimated)
