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For years, motorists have complained about the poor quality of the roadtax stickers on the windscreen peeling off or curling, and at one stage, the print even faded. Past Transport Ministers were aware of the matter but never seemed to be able to get it resolved.

Now the new Transport Minister has done it and his solution is very straightforward – don’t use a sticker any longer! Perhaps, in the past, the authorities were stuck with the thinking that the roadtax sticker must be displayed for checking but this is the age of digitisation and there are electronic solutions that do not require a sticker.

The announcement was made today by the Transport Minister who also said that it will be with immediate effect (from February 10, 2023). While there is a law under Section 20 of the Road Transport Act which requires a roadtax sticker to be shown, this will no longer be enforced. Perhaps an amendment will be made in due course to the regulation.

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The winding road up to the Genting Highlands resort complex on the border between Selangor and Pahang is well known by Malaysians (and even Singaporeans). For drivers, it is a challenging drive and being able to drive up is ‘test’ of a car.

But for the families and friends of a group of tourists who travelled along that road recently, it will bring memories of a tragedy. They were involved in an accident when the van they were in crashed into the concrete divider, with 6 of the passengers being killed right away. A seventh person who was the co-driver, died later in hospital.

According to the police, the group was returning to Penang from Genting Highlands when the driver lost control of the van at a bend near Km 4.8 and it crashed into the divider. The impact was severe at the front and killed the driver, and caused serious injuries to the co-driver. It is not known how four of the passengers died and whether everyone had seatbelts on.

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Motorists insured by Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad will know about their Road Warrior 24/7 roadside assistance benefits which  will be most appreciated when there’s a breakdown. Now, the same support is also available to operators of goods-carrying vehicles as a supplemental benefit.

Launched today, the Allianz Truck Warrior provides roadside assistance to Allianz Goods Carrying Vehicle (comprehensive) policyholders involved in accidents or breakdowns. It is the first coverage of its kind in Malaysia and has only been available since 2023 started.

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Audi is the latest brand in Malaysia to electrify, with 2 fully electric models (in multiple variants) to go on sale from mid-2023. The range will consist of the Q8 e-tron in SUV and Sportback versions, and e-tron GT quattro/RS e-tron GT. Malaysia will be among the first markets in the region to introduce the Q8 e-tron.

As the shipments have not arrived yet, PHSAM (PHS Automotive Malaysia), the Audi distributor, can only offer estimated prices for the models. Pricing for the Q8 e-tron is estimated to range from RM369,000 – RM476,000, while the e-tron GT quattro will have a price range estimated to be RM550,000 – RM643,000 for the two versions to be offered. The RS e-tron GT is estimated to have a price range from RM749,000 – RM769,000.

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ASEAN NCAP, the organization which assesses new models in the market (especially those made and sold in ASEAN), has released its report after testing the new Perodua Axia. The hatchback is the second generation of the Axia and will be officially launched on February 14. ASEAN NCAP was provided a unit for their assessment which included a crash test and after analyzing the results, the Axia received 4 stars (out of the maximum of 5 stars).

The first generation of the Axia tested by ASEAN NCAP in 2014 also received 4 stars then. According to Perodua engineers, the new Axia, with its new structure and increased safety features, should be able to score 5 stars if the same protocols are used as for model tested in 2014.

However, in 2023, the bar has been raised with new protocols that are more demanding. ASEAN NCAP periodically upgrades its assessment protocols, which the industry is informed of, and this serves to advance the safety standards that the industry should provide.

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Malaysian motorists are fortunate to have pump prices for petrol (excluding RON97) subsidized by the government. It is a costly exercise for the government, especially if global oil prices go up. For this reason, there are plans to stop the blanket subsidies for RON 95 petrol and biodiesel and only provide fuel subsidies for those really needing assistance.

This will mean that pump prices will rise and motorists will have to start thinking about driving more economically if they want to moderate running costs. But besides driving more economically and not wasting fuel unnecessarily, there’s also the choice of petrol that they can make to go further on each litre.

With the New + Improved Shell FuelSave 95, there is the claim that the range on a full fuel tank can be extended a further 15 kms. It’s interesting that Shell Malaysia uses this approach and it is based on test runs in Malaysian conditions with more than 6 vehicles which were driven a cumulative distance of over 10,000 kms each.

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