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MRC signs agreements to provide data and tools for vehicle insurance industry

Motordata Research Consortium Sdn Bhd (MRC) has signed agreements with Thatcham Research, Proton Holdings Bhd and The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) at its annual symposium to help improve vehicle repair and claims processing in the country.

Under the new agreement with Thatcham Research, MRC will license software that will be able to aid in standardising claims of motor vehicle insurance. This could help streamline the process, which will make things easier both for consumers and manufacturers. In the agreement that it made with Proton, MRC also has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the local automaker to research and distribute data on local vehicle repair times. Such data will provide a clearer picture of vehicle repair information in the country and will help lower the cost of repair works but boost quality as well.

Steve Miller, CEO of the MRC said, “The new agreements will bring great benefit in terms of giving us a benchmark and standards for motor vehicle repair and claims processing, especially once the motor insurance is fully liberalized in July. I am very happy to continue extending our collaboration with Thatcham Research, whereby the MRC can leverage the experience and expertise that Thatcham already has in this industry”.

Through the three agreements, MRC is committed to be the sole provide in data collection for the insurance industry. As a means to cement that notion, it has singed an extended agreement with PIAM to provide training and accreditation programs for employees in the motor vehicle repair industry. These accreditations come with an international award from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).

MRC has been conducting regular training programs in vehicle damage assessment since 2012. The programmes are certified by the IMI and are said to be globally recognized. The company is also working towards accrediting the entire industry here in Malaysia by the end of 2017 as part of its ‘Duty of Care’ quality standards.

We can only hope that these efforts eventually trickle down to us, car buyers, making it easier and more affordable to claim for vehicle repair costs from our motor vehicle insurance providers.

Winners of Toyota Dream Car Art contest announced

Toyota’s annual Dream Car Art contest which saw more than 1,300 artworks submitted by talented children from around the country, has drawn to a close. Nine lucky children were chosen as winners at the national level (Malaysia) this year and they will go on to compete at the world level in August 2017. These winners were chosen from three age categories – under 8 years old, 8 to 11 years old and 12 to 15 years old.

The nine winners at Malaysia national level are, Lim Wei Wen, Choo Han Yean, Chew Xin Ni in the under 8 years old category, Lee Pei Lin, Tan Ee Ven, Lim Xiao Yun in the 8 to 11 years old category and Charmaine Lim, Chee Ying Xuan, Lim Yuan Qian in the 12 to 15 years old segment.

UMW Toyota (local distributor of Toyota vehicles in Malaysia) awarded first place winners at the national level the Apple iPad Mini 4. Second prize winners were given mountain bikes will those in third place received two tickets each to the Legoland theme park in Johor.

The artworks of all nine children will be sent to Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan and will be reviewed by a panel of experts along with submission from around the globe for the World Contest phase. Winners at this level win a trip to Tokyo, Japan to attend the awards ceremony in August of this year.

Since 2004, the Japanese automaker has conducted this art contest as part of the company’s social contribution initiatives. According to the automaker, the main objective of the contest is to foster interest in developing ideas on designs of future vehicles.

“The Toyota Dream Car Art contest aims to develop talents amongst children and teenagers to express their ideas on futuristic mobility through art form, by drawing their dream car. I also would like to congratulate the nine lucky winners for their efforts and creativity that made it through to the World Contest”, says the Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor, Mr. Akio Takeyama.

Toyota conducts contests like this every year as part of its commitment to promote art and develop young minds that may have an interest in vehicle designs. These young kinds may eventually go on to become vehicle designers some day.

Porsche introduce new driver line-up for WEC

Porsche has announced its new driver line-up for the upcoming season of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. After three years without change, the German automaker has decided to shake things up a bit for the 2017 Porsche LMP Team. Driving the No.1 Porsche 919 Hybrid are Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy.

Jani, is currently joint WEC champion and 2016 Le Mans winner. But he isn’t the only drive with winning experience, teammate Lotterer was the 2012 world champion with the Audi team, while Tandy was part of the winning Porsche team at Le Mans in 2015.

The driver line-up for the No.2 Porsche is made up of 2015 world champion Timo Bernhard and new Zealanders Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley. In 2015, Bamber claimed joint victory with Tandy at Le Mans and in the same year Hartley partnered Bernhard to win the World Endurance title.

Porsche has some serious championship experience with both teams of drivers and will probably be a formidable foe for the upcoming season. The Stuttgart based team has just completed testing at the a number of circuits such as Valencia (Spain), Aragon(Spain), Vallelunga (Italy) and the Paul Ricard circuit in France. Look out for more news of the team soon.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia sells 300th FUSO truck

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Commercial Vehicles (MBM CV), which is also the authorized distributor of FUSO trucks in the country, has reached a milestone with the recent sale of its 300th truck to Biforst Logistics Sdn Bhd.

Biforst Logistics Sdn Bhd is a one-stop logistics provider and has a fleet of FUSO trucks currently in its inventory. The latest addition, cements its faith in the brand to bolster the success of its current operations. As of now, the company has a number of light duty trucks such as the FE71PB, FE83PE, FE83PG and FE85PG, a FUSO medium duty truck and a Mercedes-Benz Actros for long distance travel. The 3S centre that tends to the needs of this fleet is Bumi Asia Sdn Bhd, an authorised dealer of MBM CV. It handles all after-sales support and vehicle maintenance for the logistics company.

“The delivery of the 300th FUSO truck to Biforst Logistics represents a significant milestone for us. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Commercial Vehicles takes great pride in delivering ‘Trucks you can trust’, and in doing so we are absolutely thrilled that Biforst Logistics benefits greatly from our highly reliable and economical commercial vehicles and extensive service network,” said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, Vice President, Commercial Vehicles, Mr Albert Yee.

During the ceremony of the latest handover, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed been Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdb Bhd and Biforst Logistics Sdn Bhd to formalize the logistics company’s intent on purchasing the electric-powered FUSO eCanter truck when it eventually becomes available here in Malaysia.

The signing was witnessed by Biforst Group Sdn Bhd Chairman, Yang Teramat Mulia Dato’ Johan Pahlawan Lela Perkasa Setiawan Dato’ Haji Muhammad Bin Abdullah; Deputy Minister of Transport Malaysia, Y.B. Datuk Ab. Aziz Kaprawi and Mercedes-Benz Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Managing Director, Mr Mike Ponnaz.

The FUSO eCanter truck, is the company’s first all-electric truck which is said to be an ‘attractive’ alternative to the current diesel ones. It features a modular battery platform which allows for the addition or removal of batteries depending on whether the priority is on distance or payload capacity.

“As a result of our robust business growth we need trucks which are dependable, and have plans to further increase our FUSO truck fleet over the next few years,” said Biforst Logistics Group Managing Director, Mr Hamie Appala.

Biforst Logisctics Sdn Bhd and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia may be able to break new ground with the new eCanter, but for now, diesel power is what will do the heavy-lifting.

UMWT to replace faulty inflator module on selected Toyota vehicles

If you own a recent model Toyota, this might be of importance to you. UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT), which is the offical distributor of Toyota vehicles here in Malaysia, has announced a special service campaign dubbed SSC.

Apparently, the issue is pertaining to the front passenger airbag inflator module in the Toyota Corolla Altis, Vios, Yaris and Alphard manufactured from May 2010 to December 2012 and distributed by UMWT itself. Toyota says that due to prolonged exposure to the humidity, high temperatures and high temperature cycling, degradation could occur to the propellant in the inflator module. The degradation of this propellant, a non-desiccated and phase stabilized Ammonium Nitrate, may cause the module to rupture.

As a result, during an airbag deployment, metal fragments from the ruptured module could pass through the airbag at high speed and into the vehicle cabin. This is a serious concern, because these metal fragments could cause serious injury or even death to the vehicle’s occupants.

So far, the company has identified 42,000 vehicles that are affected by this problem and are working around the clock to source for replacement parts for them. Once the parts have been made available, UMWT will contact respective owners to set an appointment to bring in their vehicles to rectify the issue. Toyota says that it will take 1 to 3 hours to have the faulty part replaced, and all costs for the replacement process will be borne by the company itself.

Some of these vehicles may not be in the hands of the original owners and may have been sold to a second-hand dealership or another buyer. As such, if you have a Toyota that fits the model and year of manufacuture mentioned above, please contact any authorised Toyota service centre or call the Toyota Freephone at 1800-8- TOYOTA (869682).

Alternatively, Owners can visit Toyota’s Special Service Campaign webpage through this link: https://toyota.com.my/aftersales-services/special- service-campaigns to check whether their vehicle is involved, through Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Checker. To those who have uploaded the Toyota Drive Apps, there is also a link to Toyota’s SSC page and the VIN Checker.

Toyota are also taking a proactive approach to reach owners. UMWT is setting up special SSC booths at Toyota Go 2017 events held in the month of April and May at selected AEON malls throughout the country. Details regarding the locations will be announced at a later date.

Bridgestone refines CSR programme

World-renowned tyre company, Bridgestone Corporation, has restructured its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme which is geared toward three priority areas which are Mobility, People and the Environment. The current refined plan is the culmination of a decade’s worth of lessons learnt from it’s inital CSR programme.

The CSR’s tagline, ‘Our Way to Serve’ is said to be based on the company’s philosophy of ‘serving society with superior quality’ and its matured understanding that the most respected companies are those that not only look after the best interests of their stakeholders, but help build a better world.

“We live in a time of unprecedented global change. Whether growing social inequalities, the myriad impacts of globalization, or the effects of climate change – the world is faced with many great challenges,” said Masaaki Tsuya, Global CEO and Representative Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation.

Bridgestone says that the fruits of its research and development have allowed the company to provide customers with better products and solutions. It also encourages its employees to expand their communication channels and is also doing its bit by building safer and healthier communities and improving access to education.

The company is also in the midst of improving its governance, compliance and day-to-day operations in order to adhere to its environmental and social commitments. Bridgestone conducts business in more than 150 countries and prides itself on building relationships and contributing to the sustainability of communities of where it operates. This proves, that at heart, Bridgestone does a lot more than just sell tyres.

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