All fuel prices remain unchanged for the following week, based on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism. RON97 continues to be unsubsidised while other grades continue to be subsidised by the government to maintain pump prices at a fixed level.
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All fuel prices remain unchanged for the following week, based on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism. RON97 continues to be unsubsidised while other grades continue to be subsidised by the government to maintain pump prices at a fixed level.
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With the completion of the Rally de Espana recently, and a win by Sebastien Ogier, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team won its third World Rally Championship (WRC) Manufacturers title. The Manufacturers title follows the Drivers and Co-drivers titles that were won by Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen on the previous rally in New Zealand.
This is the second year in a row that the team has managed a clean sweep of the three top titles. In total, this is the sixth occasion that Toyota has topped the WRC’s Manufacturers’ classification, the third time since it returned to the series in 2017.
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In March last year, Lotus unveiled its Eletre Hyper-SUV to the world, providing a preview of its future in the electrified era that would see it going from a British sportscar company to a global performance car business and brand. At that time, the Eletre was still under development so details were few – but that didn’t stop thousands of customers around the world from ordering one (or more).
Today, the company has released details of the car which has pricing ranging from £89,500 to £120,000 (about RM487,000 – RM653,000) in the UK, with three versions available: Eletre, Eletre S and Eletre R. There will be a choice of two fully electric powertrains – 450 kW (603 ps) single-speed version with a claimed maximum range of 600 kms, and a 675 kW/905 ps dual-speed system with a maximum range of 490 kms. Torque figures are 710 and 985 Nm, respectively, delivering a 0 – 100 km/h) performance said to be either 4.5 or 2.95 seconds. The 112-kWh battery pack that is installed in both versions has a charging time (10% – 80%) of just 20 minutes using a rapid charger.
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The last time Chery was in Malaysia was some 17 years ago and its experience was not good, nor would those who bought its products have had good experiences either. To be fair, the market conditions then were different, the products were also not as advanced and the brand was handled by a local company. When it left the market, it was not missed although its return has been much anticipated.
However, while Chery has entered neighbouring markets and started its business over the past year, it has been careful with the Malaysian market because it knows that its past image was not good. So it has been hard at work trying to present a better image, which is why you would have seen and read a lot about the brand, what it promises and what products are going to be available – but it did not start up.
Now, after months of preparing the market, Chery is officially back with a preview event today. And this time, it is directly involved in marketing activities with its own company, Chery Malaysia, and is therefore responsible for its own destiny. Other carmakers have also found it better if they are closely involved and direct the business in the market as they are the brand owners. Customers ultimately benefit as brand owners will always be thinking long-term and be willing to spend to grow the business.
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Toyota’s second model in its bZ battery electric vehicle (BEV) range is the bZ3, and it has been developed for the Chinese market using a different approach to product development. This approach has involved two other companies – BYD Company Ltd and FAW Toyota Motor.
Each company is a leader in its own field: Toyota in automobiles, BYD in batteries and FAW Toyota having the production facilities and network coverage across China. Over 100 Toyota engineers from the design, production, engineering, and quality control departments participated in the development, working together with engineers from BYD and FAW Toyota.
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In the early decades of the last century, there were far more manufacturers of automobiles than today. Many businessmen saw much potential in the ‘horseless carriage’ and with the internal combustion engine already developed, it was possible for anyone to make motorized vehicles. However, as the industry grew rapidly, smaller players faded away due to competition or were acquired by bigger ones and the number of carmakers became less.
Now, in the early decades of the 21st century, we are seeing the same thing happening with electric vehicles (EVs). In a way, these are also ‘new’ inventions and many enterprising businessmen want to get into the business of making and selling them. However, where most of the companies 100 years ago were in America and Europe, there are now numerous big and small ones in China, the largest EV market in the world (2.4 million units sold in the first half of 2022).
The national policies of China have aggressively promoted ‘new energy vehicles’ (NEVs) – largely electric vehicles – boosting demand for such vehicles and creating economies of scale for businesses to develop and grow. And as in the early days of the automobile, investors see a lot of opportunity and are starting up. They are looking at new approaches to doing the business to gain advantage in an increasingly competitive market – and to attract the new generation of customers.
One such company is Apollo EV Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Apollo EV Pte. Ltd, an investment portfolio of China International Capital Corporation. Apollo EV Malaysia has ambitious plans over the next 4 years to grow its business to the point where it can be listed on the NASDAQ in the USA by 2025.
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