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Production of new Volvo and BMW electric models underway in Belgium and China

Additional choices of electrically-powered cars will be in showrooms soon with the start of production of new models from Volvo and BMW. From the Swedish carmaker’s factory in Belgium is the XC40 Recharge while BMW has begun rolling out its new iX3 at the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) in China.

Volvo XC40 Recharge
The XC40 Recharge is the first of several fully electric Volvos to come. By 2025, Volvo expects 50% of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids. Customer demand for the XC40 Recharge has been strong and at this time, every car to be built during this calendar year has already been sold. First deliveries to customers in Europe will commence later this month.

As a fully electric version of the popular XC40 SUV, the XC40 Recharge is based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), an advanced vehicle platform co-developed within the Geely Group. It has a projected range of over 400 kms on a fully charged battery pack which can be charged to 80% capacity within about 40 minutes (with a fast-charger system).

The XC40 Recharge, Volvo’s first model to win the ‘European Car of the Year’ title, has the typically high safety standards the brand has been known for. However, being a EV without a conventional engine means it has a different architecture and Volvo engineers have reinforced the frontal section to address that issue.

The battery pack is protected by a safety cage embedded in the middle of the car’s body structure. Its placement in the floor of the car also lowers the centre of gravity of the car, for better protection against roll-overs.

BMW iX3
The fully-electric iX3 is the first pure electric model from the BMW brand. The iX3 has been developed under the strategic “Power of Choice” approach to cover broad spread of customer requirements and statutory regulations around the world.

It has fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology with major progress made in terms of power density, operating range, weight, installation space requirement and flexibility. Electric motor, power electronics and transmission arranged in a central housing for the first time. The claimed operating range is between 460 kms and 520 kms, depending on the test cycle used).

Power transfer is to the rear wheels from the eDrive electric motor which produces maximum output of 286 ps/400 Nm. This gives the SUV a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time claimed to be 6.8 seconds which is close to that of the X3 30i that does the same run in 6.4 seconds.

The iX3 will be the brand’s first model to also be produced for export at the joint venture factory in China. As well as intelligent manufacturing and state-of-the-art technologies, the production facility in Shenyang is also distinguished by its comprehensive quality management system.

A special ‘zero defect concept’ ensures that the globally high market requirements for electric mobility are met. There is rigorous testing of everything from the battery to the finished car to guarantee the vehicle safety. These include 128 mechanical tests and 994 software functionality tests ensure the high quality of the high-voltage battery packs throughout the entire lifecycle. Another 140 functional tests check every aspect of the vehicle during acceleration, in particular road conditions and on rocky roads.

The tyres on your car may generate electricity in future!

BMW Safety 360° subsidy programme gets support from BMW Group Financial Services

BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia today committed, on behalf of their customers, to a RM100 donation to the BMW Safety 360° subsidy programme. The donation will come from every contract funded through BMW Engage, its online financing platform. By spending only 15 minutes to submit their applications through BMW Engage, customers can indirectly contribute to this good cause via BMW Group Financial Services.

25,000 applications for subsidised childseats
The BMW Safety 360° initiative subsidy programme was first introduced in December 2019 with Safe ‘n Sound and Childline Foundation. For that inaugural initiative, 150 units of infant carrier carseats were made available at a subsidised price of RM100 each. The initiative drew over 25,000 registrations from parents in the B40 income group. The second phase of the subsidy programme focused on equipping the remaining registrants from the first phase with a range of child safety seats for newborns to children of up to 36 kgs.

“Although the government has postponed the enforcement of the use of Child Restraint System (CRS) until the end of the year, we hope parents recognise the need for CRS to keep their children safe while on the road – no matter how short the driving distance. However, we recognise that advocating for child safety seats is a shared responsibility, and with BMW Safety 360° and its respective partners, we are also taking ownership to ensure more child safety seats are accessible to those in the B40 income group,” said Tobias Eismann, MD of BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia.

More supporters invited
Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Malaysia, notes that the support from BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia’s has come at just the right time. “We are continuing to equip even more parents with child safety seats before the end of the year. Once again, we want to continue to urge individuals, partners and companies who have the means to support – be it through raising greater awareness on the topic through education, making child safety seats more accessible or reaching out to us for collaborations – to make child safety seats instinctive for parents moving forward,” he said.

BMW Engage is a first-of-its-kind online financing platform introduced by BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia which makes applying for financing for a BMW or MINI vehicle purchase easier. The process can be done from home or office, thereby supporting the government’s call to practice social distancing as much as possible so as to prevent spread of COVID-19.

It also supports the BMW Group’s overall contribution to sustainable environment by reducing the use of paper through digitised processes.

BMW Group Malaysia invites other companies to join in childseat subsidy initiative

How Waymo is preparing self-driving technology

Imagine a place that is something like SimCity, the urban development simulation game, where you can control what happens on the streets. You manage how many cars move along the roads and how fast they go. You allow a certain number of cyclists on a roundabout – and allow some to ignore basic rules of the road. You can even change the weather conditions, with sunny skies one moment and suddenly there’s a heavy downpour.

Such ‘power’ is usually only available in computer simulations and doesn’t exist in real life. However, if you drive out to the middle of Merced County in the American state of California, you’ll find it at Castle, a former air force base used by the Waymo development team to help build ‘The World’s Most Experienced Driver’.

Covering over 450,000 square metres, Castle is a state-of-the-art, closed-course testing facility which has been specially designed and redesigned over the years for the unique testing needs of Waymo, the company handling Google’s autonomous car project and developing the required technologies.

Preparing the Waymo Driver
Waymo’s unique testing needs to prepare the Waymo Driver to handle challenges on the road, evaluate new software before it’s released to the self-driving fleet, and validate system performance in all kinds of conditions. The closed-course testing at Castle has always been a critical component of the development process, unlocking some key technology advancements.

Following some months of lockdown restricted movements due to the pandemic, Waymo’s test vehicles are back on the road and the Waymo Driver’s deployment can proceed with the entire development cycle. This involves gathering real-world data and analyzing it and rigorously testing updates made to the system.

The ‘one in a million’
The testing site on the former base is set up like an adaptable city, including everything from wide avenues and suburban driveways to a railroad crossing and roundabouts. It’s meant to be like the real world and complex and rare scenarios are staged in a safe, controlled environment.

These scenarios can be a person walking across the street without considering oncoming traffic, or garbage falling out of the truck ahead. Over the years, the Waymo team has built up a library of over 40,000 structured testing scenarios — and that does not include all the variations with each situation. Some of the scenarios include are situations never seen on public roads but could happen one day, perhaps once every hundreds of millions of kilometres.

Additionally, there are relatively mundane tests that can also be quite challenging for self-driving vehicles and humans alike. For example, driving behind a large garbage truck on a narrow street — one that keeps stopping to load garbage and sometimes the bins are left on the road – may create a lot of complexity on the road and an autonomous vehicle must know what to do.

One source of scenarios is documented traffic accidents and these situations are recreated. By exposing the Waymo Driver to a wide variety of scenarios and teaching self-driving technology fundamental skills rather than only to handle individual situations, the vehicles can become more equipped to handle any situation they encounter on the road.

Structured testing and simulation
When a scenario is developed to test new software, structured testing, simulation, and public road operations can be used separately or together. For example, after executing a test on the closed track, the researchers create and run hundreds of variations of that scenario in simulation. But as much as simulation can help scale the value of structured testing, structured testing complements simulation.

Waymo’s fifth-generation hardware suite
Over the past decade, Waymo has changed the number of vehicle platforms and sensor suites tested and operated on 5 times — from Lexus 450 SUVs to a custom-built Firefly; from Chrysler Pacifica minivans to 18-wheeler trucks. Today, it uses the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE. Like the platforms that came earlier, today’s custom-built 5th generation sensor suite has been rigorously tested at Castle to help ensure its safety and readiness for public roads.

Human drivers use two eyes, autonomous cars need three eyes

Dongfeng Motor unveils first product of Voyah sub-brand – the i-LAND

Like a number of automakers, China’s Dongfeng Motor has a constantly growing range of models and to provide more differentiation, sub-brands are created to cater for specific niches. In July this year, the company launched VOYAH, its new premium brand which is dedicated to EV products.

It aims to introduce a new model each year over the next 3 – 5 years, creating a line-up of at least 9 models in the various bodystyle segments. The first of these is the i-LAND, a sportscar that will go on sale in July 2021.

In collaboration with ItalDesign
The i-LAND prototype was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show recently and the project is being undertaken with Italdesign. The Italian studio has been given the responsibility to develop the interior and exterior styling as well as the on-board human-machine interface. Additionally, it is also providing engineering development services and the concept construction.

The approach taken by the designers and engineers at Italdesign for the i-LAND is to combine ergonomics and cutting-edge technology with innovative aesthetic solutions, blending form and function.

GT styling
The i-LAND exterior styling follows the Italian tradition of Gran Turismo (GT) cars. For the prototype, there are typical exotic features such as large gull-wing doors with eye-catching front and rear light clusters and a LED-illuminated front grille. Viewed from above, the sculpted form of the bonnet can be seen to be coordinated with the design of the grille.

The front lights, referred to as ‘winged headlights’, provide a characteristic signature for the i-LAND, which makes it recognizable even in the dark. It generates directly from the centre of the grille where the Voyah logo, created by ItalDesign, is embedded.

The rear of the car also has a form inspired by GT models with a classic truncated tail that combines both aesthetic elements with aerodynamic functionality.

3-seater cabin
Sitting on an ESSA (Electric, Smart & Secure Architecture) electric platform developed by the company, the i-LAND has a 3-seat layout. One position at the rear right end is for relaxing or smart working, with the seat next to the driver replaced by an element that can become a table or footrest if necessary.

A series of floating screens provide infotainment services as well as driver assistance. Some aesthetic elements enhance the general feeling of luxury experienced within the i-LAND. Examples are the vanes positioned in the central tunnel, along with the start/stop button, gear selection and the air conditioning switches.

The platform is set on EIC technology and integrates the WindLink 4.0 intelligent network connection, L3 and higher-level intelligent driving and other core configurations. In terms of power and battery runtime, MVP (Multi-choice important power) solutions are said to be provided, according to Voyah.

McLaren celebrates 1995 victory at Le Mans with 5 exclusive Senna F1 GTRs

In the 1995 Le Mans 24-Hour race, two McLaren F1 GTRs finished 1^st and 2^nd, with three others finishing 4^th, 5^th and 13^th. 25 years later, the company celebrates that victorious occasion with 5 customer-commissioned examples of the Senna GTR model.

Each car is finished in a unique hand-painted livery completed in more than 800 hours of painstaking craftsmanship. Every painted detail on the 5 cars was finished by hand at McLaren Special Operations (MSO). Special permissions were granted by brand owners such as Gulf and Harrods and by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (the Le Mans organiser) to recreate logos and trademarks.

The roof of each car even features an authentically recreated scrutineering sticker, which is the only piece of vinyl in the livery. Each car also comes with a ‘1 of 1’ dedication plaque featuring the VIN number of the car, with provenance details of its 1995 Le Mans F1 GTR ‘twin’ etched on the carbonfibre sill.

There’s also a more powerful engine which develops 845 ps/800 Nm, an increase of 20 ps over the 4-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine in the regular Senna GTR. Revised torque curve characteristics deliver more torque at lower revs and enable a redline set closer to 9,000 rpm than the ‘soft limit’ of 8,250 rpm.

OZ Racing, which supplied the wheels for the McLaren F1 GTR, created a bespoke, 5-spoke GTR LM wheel design. The brake calipers finished in satin gold are another nod to the F1 and the suspension wishbones are in an anodised version of the same colour.

In the cabin, the exclusive features include a racing steering wheel with anodised gold gearshift paddles and control buttons (in tribute to the McLaren F1’s gold-coloured gear linkage), and titanium nitride pedals with LM logos. The leather door-pull straps and lightweight carbonfibre racing seats are complemented by bespoke headrest embroidery and an MSO 6-point racing harness coloured black with body-colour pads.

“The incredible cars of the McLaren Senna GTR LM collection are an exceptionally fitting way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Le Mans victory in 1995,” said Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive. “That achievement is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest endurance racing performances of all time, but for McLaren its importance was even greater because it demonstrated an immediate and undeniable connection between the racing DNA of our brand and the start of our road car journey.”

All five owners will have the opportunity in 2021 to participate in an unprecedented Le Mans circuit driving experience on the morning before the race starts, accompanied by the original F1 GTRs that competed in 1995.

Mclaren 765LT introduced to Malaysian market – Priced at RM1,488,000

PLUS urges highway users to observe SOPs at all times

With 1.5 million vehicles using PLUS highways each day, interaction between motorists and PLUS personnel is inevitable. As such, the highway concessionaire is reminding highway users that they must strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the National Security Council (MKN) and the Ministry of Health (KKM). These procedures include wearing of facemasks in public areas and social distancing in areas where there are a lot of people.

This reminder comes in light of the increase of COVID-19 cases in certain states where PLUS highway network operates. Its is especially critical at this time to adhere to the SOPs to prevent further spread of the coronavirus by protecting each other.

Kita Jaga Kita
“We urge our highway customers to please follow the established SOPs set by the government. In the spirit of ‘Kita Jaga Kita’, the onus is on us to take good care of each other every step of the way. Every single PLUS employee, from our CSA, PLUSRonda Officer to Toll supervisors are fully compliant to the SOP’s of facemasking in public and maintaining a safe 1-meter physical distance when interacting with you our customer, we ask the same of you. Please reciprocate by doing the same when we serve you on the highway,” implored Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of PLUS.

Under the New Normal practices by many organisations that manage premises which are open to public, customers are denied entry/transactions if face masks are not worn. PLUS is also adopting the same. There must also be 1-metre physical distancing when at the R&R areas, lay-bys as well as interacting with PLUS personnel at the toll lanes and toll plazas.

*Remember to wear a facemask and stand 1-metre apart when visiting R&R areas along the highways.*

SOPs strictly observed at R&R areas
All PLUSRonda personnel are required to wear face masks and practice 1-metre physical distancing when attending to highway emergencies. From compulsory body temperature checks at each R&R and contact tracing via MySejahtera, PLUS prioritises food hygiene as well as the cleanliness at all the R&R premises as well as lay-bys and toll plazas via regular routine cleaning and periodical sanitisation.