For decades, the traditional way of buying a car has required a down-payment of a certain percentage and then repayment of the loan – with interest included – every month for an agreed number of years. However, many people no longer want to be tied down by such a commitment and for them, TC Euro Cars (TCEC), the sole franchise holder of Renault vehicles in Malaysia, offers the Renault Subscription scheme.
Two plans are available for the Renault Subscription scheme which started with the Captur and Koleos models and is now also available for the latest high-performance Megane R.S. 280 Cup.
The Fixed Plan is a more structured plan, available for short periods of 1,2 or 3 years, with a monthly usage rate that covers annual roadtax, insurance premium and regular servicing costs. This plan starts from RM3,999 a month for the Megane R.S. 280 Cup.
Then there’s also the Switch Plan, offering more freedom and flexibility as buyers are given access to other Renault models with no change to the previously announced rates. The Switch Plan offers the Captur with the option of utilising both the Koleos and Megane R.S. within the subscription period.
Furthermore, the Switch Plan comes with no mileage caps, no cancellation penalties and fees are inclusive of insurance, annual roadtax and regular servicing costs. Replacement of wear and tear items for the Captur are also included under this plan.
Latest Koleos (left) and Captur
“We believe that Subscription is the alternative that consumers are looking for in their vehicle ownership experience. With the updated Switch Plan, Renault Subscription is even more compelling as customers can now swap from the compact Captur to the luxurious new Koleos SUV, and over to the high-performance machine offered with the Megane R.S. The public interest in Renault Subscription has exceeded our expectations, so we believe we are on the right track,” said Wong Hoe Mun, CEO of TC Euro Cars, adding that only limited units of the Megane R.S. 280 Cup are available on Subscription.
With competition in the market so intense these days. Car companies have a bigger challenge maintaining interest in their older model lines. There are new offerings virtually every month and car-buyers typically get drawn to the latest in the showrooms.
While the Nissan X-Trail line from Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) continues to be popular, the company has added special editions to freshen the SUV offering. These are the X-Tremer and X-Trail Aero Editions, each with a distinctive character,
X-Trail X-Tremer
The X-Trail X-Tremer has an aggressive appearance and comes with new two-tone exterior colour options; new Imperial Red, Brilliant White or Tungsten Silver body colours, with new Black Silhouette Roof, Roof Rails and Rear Spoiler.
It also has Gloss Black componentry which includes a new V-motion Grille Cladding, TOMEI Front and Rear Aero Bumpers, Side Under-Spoilers, Door Mirror Casings as well as Gloss Black 10-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels. Inside, there’s luxurious brown Nappa Leather Seats, a leatherette-covered dashboard, kneepad and armrest.
X-Trail Aero Edition
As for the X-Trail Aero Edition, this comes with silver TOMEI Front and Rear Aero Bumpers and Side Under-Spoilers, Gloss Black 10-spoke 17-inch Alloy Wheels as well as the same brown Nappa Leather interior of the X-Tremer. The Aero Edition is available in 3 exterior colour options – Diamond Black, Imperial Umber and Titanium Olive.
“The new Nissan X-Trail X-Tremer is specially tailored for customers who desire a bold and avant-garde design, while the Aero Edition is for those who prefer a sporty and elegant appearance in their SUV. We believe that these new enhancements in the Nissan X-Trail together with its Nissan Intelligent Mobility advanced safety technologies are able to cater to customers who seek both driving dynamics and distinctive styling appearance,” said Christopher Tan, Sales and Marketing Director of ETCM.
The special editions are available for 4 variants of the current X-Trail range – the 2.0L Hybrid, 2.5L 4WD, 2.0L 2WD MID and 2.0L 2WD. All of the come with a standard 5-year unlimited mileage warranty while the package accessories (which are fitted at the factory) come with a 3-year or 100,000-km warranty (whichever comes first). The lithium-ion battery pack and hybrid powertrain-related components of the X-Trail Hybrid are also covered under the 5-year unlimited mileage warranty.
Try the special editions this weekend
The new X-Trail X-Tremer and Aero Edition can be viewed at Nissan showrooms nationwide from tomorrow (November 2), with test-drives available upon request. Those who are interested in experiencing the future of motoring can also attend the Nissan Electrifying Drive Carnival on November 9/10 at selected ETCM showrooms (click here for the list of showrooms). They can have a test-drive of the second-generation Nissan LEAF, the world best-selling electric vehicle, which is also available for purchase.
For information on Nissan products and services in Malaysia, visit www.nissan.com.my.
With just 2 months left to 2019, MINI Malaysia is giving customers a chance to benefit from the brand’s 60th anniversary year celebrations. Commenting on the latest promotions, Harald Hoelzl, MD of BMW Group Malaysia said: “2019 marks yet another milestone for us at MINI as we celebrate our 60th year anniversary, and we want to extend that celebration to MINIacs across Malaysia who have helped grow our brand to where we are today. Taking the premium ownership experience to yet another level, we are introducing a limited-time offering for new owners of vehicles from the MINI portfolio.”
The MINI range for the Malaysian market
With The Great British Deal offered at all MINI dealerships, customers who purchase a new MINI can enjoy significantly lower monthly instalments, starting from RM2,388 with MINI Balloon Financing, at a lowered interest rate starting from 0.77% for MINI vehicles purchased from now to December 31, 2019. New owners will also enjoy insurance rebate of RM2,000 off MINI vehicles with the MINI Financing plan.
All newly-registered MINI vehicles come with a 4-Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty with Free Scheduled Service; 24-Hour Roadside Assistance and MINI Black Card membership.
And every customer who purchases any MINI model during the campaign period, an automatic contest entry will be entered for one lucky owner to win an all-expense-paid trip to Great Britain for two.
The people at PLUS Malaysia Berhad, the North-South Expressway (and other highways), must feel very ‘wanted’ these days as their company is the subject of a potential takeover. Various parties have made proposals to the government but the latest from Khazanah Berhad, the majority shareholder of PLUS, is that they are not planning to sell it. “We are not in the mood of selling the asset and we actually haven’t got any kind of bidding process going on,” its MD, Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, revealed.
Nevertheless, to support a proposal from one group led by Tan Sri Halim Saad (who was actually involved in the original company that built the North-South Highway), some information on the debt and operational efficiency of PLUS has been made public. However, it seems that this information is not only inaccurate but also misleading, according to PLUS, which has issued a detailed clarification.
There are three points which PLUS considers inaccurate and misleading:
“Since the takeover, the debts have risen almost 10 times the tender price of RM3.4 billion in 1988. Only RM700 million [of debt] has been paid. Where did the money (cash from annual revenue) go?”
“When he (Tan Sri Halim Saad) left the highway operation 9 years ago, PLUS’ borrowings stood at RM6 billion, 5 times less than its current debt.
“Private companies can run PLUS more efficiently”
Here’s what Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of PLUS, has to say in response:
“When Syarikat Danasaham Sdn Bhd (subsequently transferred all assets to Khazanah Nasional Berhad) took over UEM Group Berhad (UEMG) from Renong Berhad and privatized UEMG in 2001, PLUS was a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEMG and was already a debt-ridden company with a total borrowing of RM16.5 billion on its balance sheet as at 31 December 2001. This amount is almost 3 times higher than the figure quoted in Tan Sri Halim Saad’s statement.
Subsequently, UEMG under the new shareholder, Danasaham, successfully listed PLUS shares on Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia) through an IPO exercise in 2002 at the value of RM12.75 billion, then only pared down PLUS’ debt substantially to RM7.2 billion.
PLUS was listed on Bursa Malaysia for 9 years and during this period, PLUS grew its business through various acquisitions of brown field (existing) highways together with their borrowings, which included ELITE and LINKEDUA.
The expressways currently owned, managed and maintained by PLUS. The 748-km long North-South Expressway from Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah to Johor Bahru was constructed in phases over a period of 7 years and opened in September 1994.
PLUS was subsequently taken private in November 2011 under the joint offer from UEMG and Employee Provident Fund Board (EPF), based on the approved valuation of RM23 billion, to address the conflicting pressures between the foreign/institutional investors and various stakeholders arising from toll rate increase issue. In order to fund this privatization cost of RM23 billion as well as the refinancing of PLUS borrowings totaling RM11.5 billion, PLUS had to gear up by issuing an enlarged Islamic Sukuk of RM30.6 billion in January 2012.
The Board of PLUS realized the growing competition that PLUS is facing against the other emerging highways, the public transport system and disruptions in digital technology. Hence, the Board took the decision to recruit the best talents and adopted a new business plan which includes optimizing non toll revenue and operation cost efficiency within the organization. The company continues to drive investment in the latest technologies towards the development of smart highways for the benefit of all customers.
PLUS is considered not only the largest and most experienced toll concessionaire in Southeast Asia but also among the top 10 toll highway companies in the world, and always benchmarks itself against the yardstick of operational and cost excellence. According to a recent benchmarking report, PLUS excelled in Operations as well Mechanical & Electrical maintenance and performed better than its domestic peers.
High traffic volumes on all the highways are common during festive seasons. As part of congestion management of the highway, PLUS works closely with the government authorities in line with their framework and regulations to facilitate RFID tag detection along the highway which is a pre-requisite prior to introduction of multi-lane free flow traffic system with no toll plazas in the future.
The dynamic tolling system which is being developed by PLUS will reduce bottlenecks during peak hours. Through this latest technology, real-time information on road and weather conditions ahead will be made available to all highway users. The overall safety of highway users and PLUS personnel is also further enhanced with the deployment of mechanized roadwork vehicles.PLUS manages over 1,100 kms of highways, along with 8,303 slopes, 2 tunnels (ie the Meru and Menora Tunnels), 741 bridges (including major bridges like the 1st Penang Bridge, JB Causeway, Linkedua) and 6,187 drainage/culverts. All these need constant maintenance and PLUS undertakes more than 10,000 inspections annually. Furthermore, these assets are all built over a wide variety of conditions from peat/swampy land to undulating terrain.
One of the R&R areas along the N-S Expressway with an overhead bridge that also houses restaurants and other facilities.
Apart from that, we continue to rejuvenate and enhance our 29 Rest and Services Areas as well as 50 lay-bys, 4 overhead bridge restaurants, 114 interchanges, 104 toll plazas and 1,212 toll lanes, of which the cost of maintenance works and upgrading projects are fully borne by PLUS.
PLUS R&R areas in selected locations are being refurbished into contemporary and family-friendly places to meet the demands of today’s highway travellers. Our business partners (ie the stall operators) benefit directly from all these improvements as it enlarges their customer footprint.
PLUS is also responsible for management and maintenance of the 13.8-km Penang Bridge which was opened in 1985.
Our aim is to provide a safe and enjoyable experience in keeping with an increasingly affluent Malaysian society and putting PLUS in the forefront of Malaysia’s modern infrastructure serving new townships and industrial areas along the highway corridors. We are committed to fulfil our social obligations under the Shared Prosperity Vision as we strongly believe that being a good responsible corporate citizen is good for business.
It is also worth noting that PLUS has not increased its toll rates for 14 years since 2005 and the current toll rate per kilometre of the N-S Expressway and ELITE are one of the lowest in the country.
The profits received by PLUS are distributed to its shareholders – EPF and Khazanah Nasional Berhad (via its wholly-owned subsidiary, UEM Group) – to benefit some 14 million EPF contributors, ie the Rakyat and the Government.
The new management is powering change by using technology and digitization to disrupt the barriers that once stood in the way of doing things better in PLUS. These initiatives will enhance the safety of motorists and employee productivity, which invariably will reduce cost.
We remain committed in our relentless efforts to provide our customers a safe, comfortable and enjoyable highway experience.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) has announced their plans to start sales on the pumped-up Toyota GR Supra GT4, a race machine for interested customer teams beginning March 2020 in Europe. This 430hp A90 Supra is will also go up for sale in Japan and other Asian countries next October for the ultimate racing nirvana. (more…)
