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SUV takes No.1 position for first time – and it’s the Proton X50

Having enough vehicles to deliver has been an ongoing problem for some time, due to the difficulty in completing vehicles as critical parts like microprocessors are in short supply globally. There is some progress in increasing output and at Proton, the effort has paid off with the carmaker able to deliver a record number of its X50 SUV in July.

And not only was it a new monthly sales volume record for the model but from their market intelligence, Proton also found that the 4,763 units of X50 delivered nationwide was the highest number for any model in the market. It’s been a long time since Proton could enjoy such an achievement and reflects the increasing output of vehicles from its factory in Tg. Malim, Perak.

The record number of units also strengthens Proton’s position as the leader in the hotly contested SUV segment and is also the first time such a vehicle has led the overall market in volume.

The X50 accounted for 41.5% of the total Proton registrations for the month – 11,477 units (domestic + export). The cumulative volume for 7 months has reached 71,601 units, an increase of 19.7% over the same period in 2021.

Proton had a 22.7% market share in July, based on its estimation of the Total Industry Volume for the month being 50,500 units. Its cumulative volume from January to July would likely see its market share going up to 18.7%.

Besides the impressive performance of the X50 in July, the X70 also sees continued strong sales. With the updated model launched in early June, interest has grown and 1,704 units were registered in July. This allowed it to retain sales leadership for C-segment SUVs, contributing to Proton’s cumulative SUV volume in 2022 going past 31,500 units.

Strong performances by other models
The rejuvenated Proton also continues to record strong numbers, with 4,521 units registered in July and bringing total volume for the year to 28,005 units. The figures also indicate the 2022 model, launched on May 12, achieved 9,811 registrations in just 80 days.

The Exora MPV also retained its long-standing leadership position with 476 units registered. However, due to approval delays in July, the Persona and Iriz numbers were not their usual high as registrations had to be temporarily suspended.

“Following a hectic June where automotive industry players scrambled to lock in bookings before the end of sales tax incentives, July was a month of consolidation where market demand fell to normal levels, and everybody concentrated on fulfilling orders already received. Proton was no exception and with our parts supply situation continuing to improve, we were finally able to show the true sales potential of the Proton X50,” said Roslan Abdullah, Deputy CEO of Proton.

“The company is immensely proud of the model becoming the first SUV to be crowned as the best-selling vehicle in Malaysia and we are thankful for the support from our customers. This achievement and Proton’s sales leadership in other segments shows our business plan is on the right track and repays the confidence placed in the brand by buyers, investors and other stakeholders,” he said.

“The easing of restrictions in global trade has been a major boost for Proton’s export division. With 5 months to go, we are on target for yet another year of double-digit percentage growth, though our enthusiasm is couched by economic issues faced in overseas markets,” said Encik Roslan Abdullah.

Proton Commerce Sdn Bhd
Proton’s financing subsidiary, Proton Commerce Sdn Bhd, has announced it will honour all Letters of Understanding (LOU) at the stated interest rate even if they were issued prior to recent interest rate hikes. Terms and conditions apply, and funds must be disbursed by December 31, 2022, but it ensures customers who already have an LOU from Proton Commerce and are awaiting their orders do not have worry about being charged a higher rate for financing.

“We are working to ensure that despite recent interest rate hikes, our customers will still be able to afford the vehicles they ordered. It’s vital to ensure we convert as many bookings as possible into transacted sales as this will help drive registrations as we continue to strive for more future success,” said Encik Roslan Abdullah.

Fuel Price Updates For August 4 – August 10, 2022

Fuel Price Updates for coming 7 days see another 5 sen reduction in RON97 petrol to bring the price per litre to RM4.55. New fuel price effective after midnight today.

Fuel saving tips
Slow and steady: You don’t have to drive at a crawl to save fuel but if you just drive more frequently at 80/90 km/h instead of 100/110 km/h, you could save 10 to 15% in fuel. Keeping a steady speed rather than ‘pumping‘ the pedal will also save on fuel.

Switch off the engine more: Many motorists do not fully realise that the engine is burning fuel every second it is running. They will keep the engine running for long periods while waiting for someone to buy things or waiting for their children to come out from school. This is very wasteful and running the air-conditioner at the same time wastes more fuel. Switch off the engine when you are going to be stationary for more than 5 minutes and you’ll find your fuel consumption improving.

Right tyres pressures: Under-inflated tyres will cause more rolling resistance (not to mention faster wear) which will worsen fuel consumption. Be sure they are inflated to the minimum recommended by the manufacturer and a bit more might also be better.

Service the engine regularly: Engine parts wear out or get dirty over time and reduce the operating efficiency of the engine. Regular servicing ensures that adjustments are set correctly and periodically, parts like filters or sparkplugs need to be replaced.

Don’t carry unnecessary weight: The less weight your car has to move, the less hard the engine has to work. So whatever you do not need to keep in the boot should be taken out. This includes those golfbags.

Plan trips: If you have different places to go on a single journey, spend a few minutes to think about the route so that you avoid congested areas. You may have to travel a few extra kilometres using a less congested route but you will actually use less fuel because the car won’t be stuck in a jam burning fuel going nowhere. Plus you will probably be less stressed out when you reach your destination.

Win a Proton X50 or Yamaha Lagenda in BHPetrol’s ‘Pam Dan Menang Lagi’ Contest

Spending RM30 at a BHPetrol station could get you a brand new Proton X50, one of the most popular SUVs in Malaysia. Even if you don’t get the X50 which is one of the four Grand Prizes of the ‘Pam Dan Menang Lagi’ Contest, there are over 300 other prizes as well as almost 5,000 monthly and weekly prizes to be won.

Participating in the contest is easy. Just spend RM30 at any participating BHPetrol station – the purchase can be for fuels or items in the BHPetromart stores – and for each RM30 spent, the customer will be entitled to one entry.

*Click here for terms and conditions of contest.*

BHPetrol eCard and eCard App members can enjoy the convenience of automatic submission of each entry if they swipe their valid eCard or scan with the eCard Mobile App. For those who are not having an eCard, each contest entry can be submitted via a physical purchase receipt (with contact details and IC number provided).

Since using the eCard is so much easier, why not apply for one? Get yourself an on-the-spot eCard at any eCard acceptance BHPetrol station and register to earn ePoints immediately. Or you can also download the eCard app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and register.

*Proton X50 and Yamaha Lagenda 115Z (below) are the top prizes in BHPetrol’s latest contest which runs until the end of October 2022.*

Besides the 4 Proton X50s, there are also 28 Yamaha Lagenda motorcycles to be won. Other prizes include 50-inch TV set, smartphones, smart watches, ovens and steam irons. 40 lucky winners will also get 30,000 ePoints each which can be redeemed for a wide range of products listed in the BHPetrol eCard catalogue.

As for weekly prizes, there are 4,849 Limited Edition BHPetrol umbrellas to be given away, and at the end of each month, lucky motorists will receive high-quality BHPetrol Syngard lubricants.

*Your purchases can also be in the BHPetromart, and you will be entitled to one entry for every RM30 spent.*

The contest period runs from August 1 to October 31, 2022. It is open to all customers who are 18 years old and above. The contest winners will be announced through BHPetrol’s website as well as the brand’s official Instagram and Facebook pages.

So make it a point to drop by a BHPetrol station regularly when you need to refuel your car or even yourself. The BHPetromart has lots of items for all the family and you can easily spend RM30 (or more) and who knows, you might win an X50!

Prodrive to sell RM212,000 racing simulator

Mention ‘Prodrive’ and the first thing that will come to the minds of enthusiasts will be Subaru, rather than simulator The British motorsport and engineering company had a successful partnership with the Japanese carmaker and ran its team and developed the rallycars. Between 1990 and 2008, Prodrive helped the Subaru works team win three Drivers and three Manufacturers titles in the World Rally Championship (WRC).

With its 3 decades of motorsports involvement, Prodrive continues to provide its services to various carmakers and teams. It also offers engineering services to customers in the aerospace, marine and other sectors.

Now, the 38-year old company is also getting into e-sports (or digital motorsports, as the FIA refers to it), not as a competitor but providing hardware – a Racing Simulator. The new business came to the mind of David Richards, its Chairman, who saw more and more digital devices coming into homes.

“The last few years have seen an explosion in people taking up gaming and e-sports. But I wanted something that married technology with contemporary furniture, something you would be proud to have on display in your home like a grand piano, rather than tucked out of the way. I’m proud of the result, it’s something that would not look out of place in a gallery of contemporary art,” explained Richards.

Elaborating further, he said: “There was a very clear vision for this project – to create something technically stimulating and visually striking. Rather than taking the functional and well-trodden route of a car-like structure, we opted for something more abstract, contemporary and elegant. This design intrigues. You know it’s a simulator, but then you have to look again. The sweeping form and ‘piano black’ gloss finish take the Racing Simulator to a whole new place – it’s a piece of furniture that can elegantly sit in a living space.”

The racing simulator project began last year, when Richards approached design and engineering house CALLUM, which was closely involved with Prodrive, having helped design the company’s recent Hunter Dakar and Hypercar projects, to create some concepts.

CALLUM then designed what would be a ‘statement sculptural piece’, blending traditional and modern materials. The 3.3-metre long sculpted carbonfibre monocoque houses the seat, the screen, steering wheel, and pedal box. All the elements appear to float beneath a striking canopy of 16 layers of birch wood, encased in an elegant, lacquered gloss black finish.

The Prodrive Racing Simulator also has the performance to match, offering the driver a first-class simulator experience. Featuring a purpose-built system with a 12GB GeForce RTX graphics card and 16GB of memory at its heart, smooth graphics are rendered across the sweeping curved 49-inch high refresh rate display. Bowers & Wilkins PX7 wireless headphones are provided for a thoroughly immersive experience.

The Precision SIM steering wheel coupled with a Simcube steering motor allows for precise driving inputs, and the mechanical pedal box has been purposely selected to complete the realistic experience. Not only is this beautiful to look at from the outside but wraps around the driver to give such an immersive experience that it feels like being in the cockpit of a racing car. The Nogaro seat comes from Cobra Seats in the USA.

The Prodrive Racing Simulator is priced at £39,000 (about RM212,425) ex-factory. Potential purchasers can visit the Prodrive headquarters to try out the simulator. The company will also deliver it to the customer’s home, but this is presumably only for customers in the UK.

AMR-C01 – the ultimate racing simulator from Aston Martin

Rimac Nevera EV hypercar to be delivered to first customers soon

After completing car ‘#000’ – the first Rimac Nevera EV hypercar – and running it at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Rimac’s factory is now putting the finishing touches on the first batch of hypercars to go to customers worldwide. Each unit is hand-built and at maximum capacity, up to 50 cars can be produced each year.

The first 50 units of the Nevera already have customers waiting for them to be delivered by Rimac’s 25 official dealer partners in four regions. Each car takes at least 5 weeks at the final assembly line alone, while many of its parts and systems are being made months earlier at Rimac facilities.

It’s taken 5 years of development and testing to reach this stage, along with evolving 3 generations of powertrain technology, 18 prototypes, 45 physical crash tests and more than 1.6 million collective hours of research and development.

The world’s first all-electric hypercar was developed entirely from scratch, with most key systems developed and made in-house by Rimac, the 13-year old carmaker in Croatia. To achieve the extremely high-performance targets that the team has set for the Nevera, all major components had to be custom developed. An entirely new generation battery system, inverter, gearbox, motor, control systems, infotainment and many more, were developed specifically for the Nevera.

Throughout the development process, the Nevera powertrain was redesigned 3 times in a process lasting more than two years, with each version pushing the envelope of performance further than before.

The development and homologation process was also an extraordinary journey for the whole team. Starting with initial experimental prototypes, leading on to validation prototypes and then pre-series cars, no fewer than 18 prototype examples of Nevera were painstakingly tested in every conceivable environment and measurable aspect, from the freezing Arctic Circle to a high humidity 48^oC climate chamber.

A rigorous 4-year crash testing program saw the destruction of 9 cars in 45 separate crash tests – all of which the Nevera passed with flying colours to ensure that owners will be well protected, should an accident occur.

The car’s name is taken from an unexpected Mediterranean summer storm off the coast of Croatia, and gives an idea of its character. It can be a comfortable grand tourer which can transform into a super-quick projectile in the next moment. Four electric motors generate a total of 1,914 ps, which can send the hypercar from standstill to 96 km/h in a claimed 1.85 seconds and to 160 km/h in just 4.3 seconds.

“The Nevera was developed with the intention to become the cutting-edge electric hypercar it is today, ready to thrill drivers and passengers in a way they have never experienced before. I’m very much looking forward to customers taking delivery of their brand-new, highly customized cars and hearing their stories of fun behind the wheel,” said Mate Rimac, CEO of the Rimac Group.

Customers have a variety of customization options available, with 36 different pre-defined paint colours and the option to go bespoke, a selection of in-house-designed liveries, 3 levels of exposed carbonfibre – including a full bare carbonfibre body – and an enormous selection of colourful leathers, Alcantara, contrasting accents and metal finishes for the interior. This will ensure that each of the 150 Neveras to be produced in total will not be the same. Incidentally, that first Nevera will remain in the possession of the company.

*While the very first Nevera completed will remain with the company, the first unit delivered went to Nico Rosberg, the former F1 champion.*

Croatian carmaker Rimac Automobili takes control of Bugatti from Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Life added as entry-level variant, priced from RM172,990

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) has added the new Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Life to its locally-assembled SUV range. ‘Life’ seems to be a new designation the German carmaker is using to denote entry-level models as it also displayed a model called Life last year which is described as an entry-level EV.

Thus, the new Tiguan Allspace Life is positioned as the entry-level version of the range, priced from RM172,990 (excluding insurance). Compared to the Tiguan Allspace Elegance, which has the same engine size, the price difference is RM7,600 less, while the 2-litre Tiguan Allspace R-Line is RM53,083 more expensive.

Like the other two variants as well as the latest Golf 8, Passat and Arteon the Tiguan is assembled at the Volkswagen facility at the DRB-HICOM Automotive manufacturing complex in Pekan, Pahang. As an indication of its popularity, the SUV model has accounted for 55% of the Volkswagen vehicles assembled in the first 6 months of 2022.

Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Life 2022 (2)

The current Tiguan (which is the German brand’s global bestseller) has two body versions – 2 rows for 5 persons and 3 rows for 7 persons. Only the 3-row Allspace version is being assembled in Malaysia, with many parts coming from the global production hub in Mexico.

Although the Tiguan Allspace with its additional row is 242 mm longer than the 2-row body, it doesn’t have the stretched look that some extended wheelbase. And though the Life variant is at entry-level, its appearance is no different from the other two variants. It also comes with the signature Volkswagen illuminated light strip between full LED headlamps. The taillight cluster has a distinctive lighting signature with dynamic visualization when the brakes are applied.

Other elements include the ‘Allspace’ trim, silver-painted side mirrors, ‘Tiguan’ lettering on the rear, and 18-inch Frankfurt alloy wheels.

The Tiguan Life is powered by the same 1.4TSI engine with power going to only the front wheels via a 6-speed DSG. Turbocharged, the engine produces 150 ps/250 Nm for spirited performance but can still do a claimed 13 kms/litre. With the 60-litre fuel tank, that should be good for almost 800 kms on an outstation journey.

The interior is also well equipped, as Volkswagens usually are, and VPCM has provided useful and functional features that would be expected of a SUV. Standard for the Tiguan Life are the 9.2” Discover Pro infotainment system with wireless app connect; built-in GPS navigation system; voice-control; 3-zone Climatronic air conditioner; and a leather-wrapped multifunction sports steering wheel.

Some may feel that they do not need a third row so it’s a waste but with the flexible layout, the unwanted row can be kept out of sight by being folded down. This gives a large cargo area that can be up to 1,775 litres – which anyone would appreciate. And perhaps there will be that one occasion in the year when you’ll be glad you have a 7-seater when having to fetch a large group of friends from the airport.

European carmakers are very serious about safety and often standardise safety equipment and systems globally. With the Tiguan Allspace Life, besides 6 airbags, Electronic Stability Control, ABS and Brake Assist , there’s also a Multi-collision brake system, Intelligent Crash Response System, and Electronic Parking Brake. Lane Assist and Driver Alert systems are available as well to help the driver while on the move.

Owners do not have to pay for scheduled maintenance for the first 3 years, and there is no mileage limit on the 5-year warranty. There’s also complimentary roadside during the first 5 years of ownership.

“The Tiguan Allspace plays a key role in our portfolio, so we are pleased to be able to bring its full range to Malaysia. With the Life, we are offering a high-performing SUV that gives our customers excellent value for money. It is also ideal option for a young family’s first choice of vehicle,” said Erik Winter, Managing Director of VPCM.

To find out more about the new Tiguan Allspace Life or to locate a showroom to test-drive Volkswagen models in malaysia, visit volkswagen.com.my.

Volkswagen Tiguan has crossed 6-million mark and remains VW’s bestseller

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