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Hyundai Strengthens Malaysian Presence With New EON Dealership Partnership

Hyundai Motor Malaysia has taken another step to deepen its roots in the local market after signing a Letter of Intent with Edaran Otomobil Nasional Berhad, better known as EON, setting the stage for a renewed retail expansion across the country. The agreement signals Hyundai’s intent to grow its presence in Malaysia in a more meaningful way, with a clear focus on long-term customer value, stronger service standards and easier access to its products and support network.

Under the collaboration, Hyundai and EON will work together to establish two new Hyundai dealerships in key growth areas, namely the Klang Valley and Penang. Both outlets are targeted to open in the first half of 2026. These locations were selected based on strong demand, growing interest from customers and a noticeable rise in hybrid adoption, making them strategic centres for Hyundai’s expanding line-up.

The upcoming dealerships are intended to bring Hyundai’s sales, service and aftersales operations closer to major population hubs, helping to build trust through more convenient and consistent customer touchpoints. Beyond improving accessibility, the partnership is also expected to help Hyundai reach new groups of buyers while supporting Malaysia’s broader move towards safer, smarter and more sustainable mobility solutions. Over the coming years, Hyundai plans to further develop its local ecosystem by widening dealer coverage and raising service quality across the board.

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Proton Ends November with Strong Sales

Proton had a strong month in November, selling 13,451 cars in Malaysia and overseas. This brings the total for the year so far to 143,322 units. This number is 3.6% higher than the same period last year, meaning Proton is almost guaranteed to finish the year with sales growth.

This success is happening even though Malaysia’s overall car market is slightly down by 0.9%. For November, Proton is expected to hold an 18.4% market share, and 19.7% for the whole year so far. This keeps Proton as the second best-selling car brand in the country.

Saga, X50 and S70 Continue to Lead

The Proton Saga was the best-selling model again in November with 6,931 units. Its total for the year is now 66,038 units. Despite Proton switching to the new Saga, sales stayed strong because the factory is speeding up production. More than 30,000 bookings have already been made for the new model.

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Near Product Ready Caterham Project V Will Debut At Tokyo Auto Salon

Caterham has confirmed that it will unveil the first working prototype of Project V at the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon on the 9th of January 2026.

The Project V, built in partnership with Italdesign, was initially announced back in September 2022, and has since undergone multiple updates.

The most significant announcement came in October of 2024 when Caterham announced Yamaha as a development partner, providing e-axel technology which will be built by Tokyo R&D.

Now the company will move on to evaluating Yamaha’s rear-mounted electric motor, as well as the performance of the battery, safety and the durability of the car’s chassis.

Caterham CEO Kazuho Takahashi said this next step will enable the company to complete a comprehensive vehicle testing programme.

Takahasi is also the president and founder of Japanese firm VT Holdings, which acquired Caterham in 2021.

The Project V was first shown to the media and public at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed and back then the company said it will be launched in 2026.

But with a price tag of about £80,000 (about RM441,000 before taxes), an output of 268hp and a range of 400km, it remains to be seen how the company will be received by the market. Particularly now since the market for electric performance cars has slowed down.

As for performance, the Project V will accelerate to 100kmh in under 4.5 seconds and top out at 230km/h.

Opinion: Your New Car May Not Work One Day & Here’s Why!

One of the biggest news in the automotive industry in the past week comes out of Russia, and it should be a source of concern for everyone that has bought or plans to buy a new car.

Hundreds of Porsche owners in Russia reported issues with their cars which included not being able to start the engine, or shutting down after ignition or simply not being able to unlock their cars.

Porsche models dating back as far back as 2013 were apparently affected by this supposed attack.

According to international automotive media outlets, owners awoke on December 1st to find that their Porsches were “mysteriously inoperable”.

Media outlets like The Moscow Times were quoted as suggesting that “it is possible this was done deliberately”, though the publication also noted that there was no evidence in support of the theory.

Russian importer Porsche Rusland LLC was also quoted confirming the existence of the problem yet Porsche’s headquarters in Germany has yet to issue a statement at the time of writing.

Yulia Trushkova, Service Director at Rolf (a popular Russian automotive dealership), confirmed that Porsches built post-2013 were affected, “likely due to a coordinated attack on the onboard immobiliser system”.

Such systems are integral parts of a vehicle’s security system and prevents unauthorised operation or theft of a car.
According to cyber security news outlets, Trushkova also speculated that the so called cyber-attacks may be the result of geopolitical tensions, possibly the work of external state-sponsored hackers using advanced cyber capabilities to target Russian consumers and the automotive industry.

So why should this be a cause of concern for you and me?

Because all new cars come with such anti-theft systems installed and if someone wanted to, a new car can easily be remotely accessed as well.

Cybersecurity experts have warned that hackers are now targeting critical infrastructure in more creative ways. And by hacking and disabling a vehicle’s immobilising system, hackers can cause severe transportation disruptions.

Merely disabling a car is only the tip of the iceberg, some cars particularly those with autonomous driving capability can also be remotely piloted as well. An eerie resemblance to the 2023 movie Leave the World Behind where hundreds of Teslas were remotely operated and driven into a massive pile-up on a highway.

As for the Porsche problem in Russia, parent group Volkswagen is said to be tracing the root cause of it though I found no official statement from the group on the official news site.

It is also important to keep in mind that Volkswagen halted all business with Russia in 2022 following the Ukrainian invasion, though it has faced difficulty selling some subsidiaries there since.

Volkswagen was also hit by a data breach in 2021 where the database of three million customers were stolen and then again in 2024 where Volkswagen claimed its IT systems were unaffected, though the ransomware gang behind the attack say they made off with troves of sensitive data.

So our data is more important than ever, and it is not just banking data but now also our automotive data.

Review: The Perodua QV-E Is A Great First Effort!

So, it has finally happened. Perodua’s highly anticipated EV has officially been launched by none other than our Prime Minister. That is how big of a deal the car is.

Perodua was tasked by the government with producing Malaysia’s first home grown EV. It had to be 100% Malaysian made, none of that rebadging stuff would be accepted. And Perodua did not just deliver, it aced it. And it took them a little over two years to do it.

It costed the company about RM800 million and 266,000-man hours was invested in research and development alone. So, trust me when I say that this is Malaysia’s most important car since the Proton Saga was introduced back in 1988.

First, let’s look back.

Perodua has undoubtedly come a long way since it first made the announcement that it was working on an electric vehicle circa 2023.

Perodua had to go at it alone since its long-term partner and shareholder Daihatsu does not have its own EV.

If you don’t already know, Daihatsu provides some of the know-how for Perodua cars, and in the early days, models like the Myvi were rebadged Daihatsu’s.

Now though, Perodua Myvis, Axias and Bezzas all have local engineering with localised parts and such. They are no longer simple rebadged Daihatsu’s.

So, Perodua had to go at it alone from the get-go.

Recognising that it had to recruit partners or risk facing unfathomable cost, Perodua went to global automotive giant Magna Steyr for some knowledge transfer.

The Austrian company works with some of the biggest brand in the business such as Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and others. (more…)

Kia Sets Out to Rebuild Its Presence in Malaysia Under a New Principal-Led Structure

Kia is preparing for a significant new chapter in Malaysia as Kia Sales Malaysia Sdn Bhd (KSM) steps forward as a fully principal-led entity, aiming to reintroduce the brand with clearer direction, stronger support and a far more polished customer experience. The company is taking on local scepticism directly, encouraging Malaysians to reassess the brand with a simple question in mind: why Kia?

KSM’s President and CEO, Hyung Ho Kim, has stressed that the company is not racing to be the fastest-growing name in the industry. Instead, the mission is to build steady, long-term progress while prioritising the needs of customers, dealers and the broader Malaysian market. The shift to a direct model, effective from 1 January 2026, means KSM now commands all aspects of the brand locally—from marketing and sales to after-sales and training—allowing it to present Kia’s identity without the limitations of a third-party distributor.

Managing Director Emily Lek explained that operating as a standalone entity gives the brand full control over its messaging and direction. She described this as an exciting return, noting that Kia now has the systems, strategy and freedom to deliver what she considers the brand’s true experience.

Malaysia remains a vital hub for the region, with the Kia Asia Pacific headquarters based here. The APAC office functions as the strategic centre for operations across 33 markets including ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand, overseeing six subsidiaries—among them Kia Sales Malaysia and the manufacturing arm, Kia Malaysia.

In 2024, the APAC region accounted for retail sales exceeding 165,000 vehicles, representing a 3.4% market share. With more than 100 staff, the headquarters continues to generate skilled job opportunities, drawing on Malaysia’s talent pool.

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