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BYD Enters EV Market In Malaysia With ATTO 3 SUV, Priced From RM149,800

With the surge in introduction of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as the government is providing tax exemption for a few years, we’ve been seeing a number of brands from China coming into the Malaysian market. It coincides with the increased export activity by the Chinese companies in recent years, particularly with EVs as the country has the largest market in the world.

The latest is BYD Auto which officially made its debut today with the launch of its first model, the ATTO 3 SUV. Its commencement of business has been exceptionally quick as the distributorship agreement with Sime Darby Motors (SDM) was inked only in September this year. Clearly, the two companies had already been having earlier discussions and had plans in place by the time the agreement was signed and announced.

With products from BYD Auto, now among the top 5 BEV companies in the world, SDM has another brand of electrified products to offer. From starting with just the electrified models of BMW and MINI, it now has BEVs from Porsche, Hyundai and Volvo which are sold by its various units. BYD and Hyundai are likely to provide the entry-level models in coming years while the other brands cater to customers further upmarket.

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Maserati Unveils Gen3 Racing Car For Formula E

Maserati is no stranger to motorsport, having been present in touring, GT and even Formula 1 (from 1950 to 1957) so competition is in its high-performance DNA. Next year, the Italian carmaker will enter the ABB Formula E World Championship, the all-electric series which will be in its ninth season.

It will enter as the Maserati MSG (Monaco Sports Group) Racing with the Maserati Tipo Folgore Gen3 – the first fully electric racing car in the history of the brand which is also the first Italian carmaker to enter Formula E. It is the second brand in the Stellantis Group to participate in Formula E, the other being DS from the Citroen affiliate which has been racing since 2018.

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Fuel Price Updates For December 8 – December 14, 2022

RON97 petrol falls another 10 sen cheaper per litre to RM3.85, based as usual on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM) which determines the retail price for unsubsidized fuel in Malaysia. RON95 petrol and biodiesel continue to be subsidized to maintain their prices and the new government says that while there is a need for subsidies to be targeted, it is a complex process to ensure that it will benefit those who really need assistance.

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Hayden Haikal Aiming For First International Championship Title At Thailand Super Eco

Young Malaysian racer Hayden Haikal will be putting in his strongest effort when he competes for the prospect of being crowned the overall champion in the Thailand Super Eco saloon car series at the Buriram Chang International Circuit located towards the northeast of the country.

With three 2nd places and two race wins in 6 rounds of racing so far, the 18-year-old is currently 2nd in championship and just 20 points behind Na Dol Vatanatham who has 105 points to his tally.

Both drivers have proven to be dominant in the series and their races results almost identical, but Vatanatham has the advantage of one extra race win as a result of Hayden’s misfortune in scoring any points in Round 2 due to a technical issue with his Honda Brio.

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Castrol Game Changers Contest Reaches Climax With Castrol Race-Off Battle Among 8 Teams

This year, Castrol’s presence in the football world has grown even further with the signing of an exclusive sponsorship with the Premier League (PL) for 2½ years, commencing from January 2022. As part of the supporting activities relating to this association, Castrol, one of the country’s leading automotive lubricant companies, organised the Castrol Game Changers event in Malaysia.

The event, which began in May, saw an exclusive Castrol X PL Rover travelling to 16 key locations nationwide to promote the contest. At the various venues, members of the public had a chance to win Castrol X PL merchandise when they purchased Castrol MAGNATEC or Castrol EDGE engine oils.

2-phase event
Two phases led to the culmination of the event, starting with the Castrol Race-Off which saw Meor Razzi Rizal Bin Meor Faisal with the fastest time win two tickets to watch a match in England next year. He had competed against 20 teams comprising of 40 qualifiers pre-chosen from May to September.

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Munro MK_1 – The World’s Most Capable All-Electric 4×4

Someday, the internal combustion engine will be gone and cars will be propelled only by electric motors. It’s still a long way off but it will eventually happen. While roadgoing cars will be fully electric, what then will happen to off-road vehicles? These vehicles travel long distances over very rough terrain where charging stations are unlikely to be set up. What will be the future of such vehicles?

Munro Vehicles, Scotland’s only volume production motor vehicle company, is already developing a fully electric off-road vehicle, the Munro MK_1, which it says is ‘the world’s most capable all-electric 4×4’. Capable of effortlessly transporting a crew of 5 to the most rugged locations, accommodating an 1000-kg payload and 3500-kg towing capacity, the Munro represents the ultimate, sustainable, utilitarian, off-road workhorse.

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