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BMW Malaysia’s Child Safety Seat Subsidy program moves to Phase 2

With the compulsory use of Child Restraint Systems (CRS), typically childseats, having been imposed at the beginning of this year, parents have to buy such seats if they want to bring their small children out in the car. However, for those in the lower income group, it may be tough to purchase this item. To help this group, BMW Malaysia, Safe ‘n Sound and Childline Foundation have announced the second phase of the child safety seat subsidy programme.

Helping the B40 group
The programme, aimed at the B40 group, will be supported by Shopee as its exclusive E-Commerce Partner alongside baby and children goods brands – KU.KU Duckbill and Otomo, educational toys and games distributor – Mideer, food storage sealing solutions provider – Ankou, and car performance parts and accessories provider – Kakimotor.

As part of the BMW Safety 360° initiative, the subsidy programme was first introduced in December 2019 with Safe ‘n Sound and Childline Foundation where 150 units of infant carrier car seats were made available at a subsidised price of RM100 each. The initiative drew over 25,000 registrations from parents in the B40 income group.

“Our aim with this initiative has always been to make the use of child safety car seats instinctively mandatory; a basic practice as parents to ensure that children are always safe in cars. We are very pleased that these brands have come in to help us to not only advocate the importance of child safety seats but also to make more child safety seats accessible to those in the B40 income group. We hope more partners will continue to join us in taking ownership of this shared responsibility as we move towards collectively affecting change,” said Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Malaysia.

Second phase
The second phase of the subsidy programme will focus 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. This includes the snskidz Ace infant carrier car seat (for newborn to 13 kgs), the snskidz Sport car seat (for newborn to 18 kgs) and the snskidz Proto (for 2 year-olds to 36 kgs). All snskidz child safety seats carry the ECE R44-04 certification.

Each of the snskidz child safety seats will be made available with the RM50 in subsidy amount, on top of a discounted price from Safe ‘n Sound that is exclusive for recipients of the subsidy programme. The snskidz Ace will be available at a subsidised price of RM99 (normally RM199) while the snskidz Sport and snskidz Proto will be priced at RM169 (RM269) and RM249 (RM349), respectively.

Recipients of the subsidy programme will receive a unique Shopee voucher worth RM113 which can be applied upon check-out at a dedicated microsite.

Raising additional funds
In hopes of accelerating the delivery of child safety seats amongst the first 25,000 registrants, BMW Malaysia, Safe ‘n Sound and Childline Foundation are also initiating a public fund-raiser on the microsite. There is no minimum amount of contributions required from individuals. All funds raised will be channelled to Childline Foundation to subsidise as many child safety seats as possible for the remaining registrants.

“The new partners coming in to help us with this programme could not arrive at a better time, especially in light of the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. We want to continue to urge individuals, partners and companies who have the means to help subsidise these child safety seats to come together and take part in this movement to make child safety seats the first thing parents think about when they have their children in vehicles – whether by raising greater awareness on the topic through education, making child safety seats more accessible, or reaching out to us to be a part of the subsidy programme. We do hope to further accelerate delivery with the help and support from all Malaysians nationwide,” said Mr. Ambi.

‘No’ means NO on interstate travel but there are people who insist on breaking the law

Hari Raya Aidilfitri (expected to fall on May 24) is approaching but this year, with the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to stop its spread, the government has declared that the traditional ‘balik kampung’ journeys cannot take place. There are great risks in allowing thousands to travel around the country as some may be carriers of the virus which has so far caused 114 deaths from almost 7,000 infected cases.

Malaysia is fortunate not to have the thousands of deaths that have occurred in some other countries and while the pandemic won’t completely end for some time, it is at least moderated to some extent in this country. That’s thanks, in a large part, to the hard work and sacrifices of the frontliners, especially those in hospitals.

Also helping to ‘flatten the curve’ of infections was the introduction of the Movement Control Order on March 18. The aim of the MCO is to cut the transmission of the virus by restricting contact and interaction among the population. Overnight, the country was virtually shut down as people were told to stay at home and the police and army were ordered to enforce the regulation strictly.

The MCO included a prohibition on interstate travel because it makes things more difficult to trace the movements of virus carriers who may bring it to their hometowns that might not have been affected in the first place. Contact-tracing is a crucial part of suppressing the spread as people who have been in contact with the carrier will be quarantined so they do not pass it on to others.

The prohibition on interstate travel is still on and the only exception was during four days recently when special permission was given to allow those who had been trapped in other places to return to their homes in other states. And that too required application and approval by the police who checked for valid reasons. Other than that, only in emergency cases will permission be granted, and the police are firm on this.

On many occasions, announcements have been made to remind people that they should not make any ‘balik kampung’ trips. By now, no Malaysian should be unaware of this restriction and yet, it appears that there are people who are desperate to travel to their hometowns. But there are roadblocks and if they have no authorization letter, they will be made to turn around. If they make things difficult, they could also get charged for not complying with the MCO which carries a RM1,000 fine and/or a jail term.

In fact, the police have reported the number of people trying to cross state lines increasing and they must be getting fed up with such law-breakers. Now they have announced that they will also be conducting checks in certain areas where there are many vehicles outside homes (a sign that may suggest many returnees) and owners of vehicles with registration plates from other states. It is an unnecessary waste of time as they have many other more important duties to carry out.

According to the Health Ministry, around 14% (971) of the total number of Covid-19 cases have a history of inter-state travel, meaning the infected persons brought the virus from one state to another. “About 18 clusters, from a total of 48 clusters recorded in the country, are linked to activities which involved crossing state borders. Ten of these clusters are still active,” said the Director-General at the Ministry of Health, Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, who is troubled by the number.

The implications of carrying the virus to the homes of parents or relatives in another state just don’t seem to be understood enough. It is known that older people are more vulnerable and can be seriously affected by the virus. It is known that there are some people who may not show symptoms of the virus immediately but they are already spreading it. If these senseless people who insist on going to the homes of their elders cause them to be infected and die, how will they ever live with that?

Yes, it is understandable that the family should be together on Hari Raya but these are extraordinary circumstances and as many say, there will still be other years to celebrate together. Carry the virus home and you may never celebrate with some of those loved ones again.

As Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham has warned, unless there is good compliance with the MCO/CMCO, the restrictions will have to remain in place. In the eyes of the Health Ministry, there is still a lot of non-compliance when so many are trying to ‘balik kampung’ even though they are not allowed to. Because of these people, the rest of us have to continue to endure restricted movements. Please do not be selfish and just stay in your state.

Entire Perodua sales and aftersales network is ready to serve customers

As the leading car company in the country, Perodua has a huge network of sales and aftersales outlets – all of which had to be closed when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was activated on March 18 this year. Now that the situation regarding the COVID-19 virus has eased a bit – though it has not ended – the government is allowing businesses to resume operations.

However, for Perodua, there are 182 sales, 202 service and 68 Body & Paint outlets nationwide and with the Standard Operating Procedures stipulated by the Health Ministry for the protection of the public as well as employees, the facilities have required some reconfiguration. This is to meet important requirements like social distancing that should be 1 metre apart.

“We announce today that we have finally put in place the necessary safeguards at all our outlets nationwide to ensure that our valued customers and employees will be sufficiently protected in the light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation,” said Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

Perodua outlets restarted operations on a staggered basis from May 12 and the company has been working hard to ensure all the sufficient health and safety measures are in place.

“We thank our valued customers for their patience and loyalty. We will ensure that all their motoring needs will be met as soon and as safely as possible,” he said.

Perodua factory — *Vehicle production resumed on May 11 and the company is now doing its best to fulfil demand as quickly as possible.*

Customers looking to service their vehicles are required to secure an appointment slot beforehand with their service centre of choice. Walk-ins will not be accepted at present to avoid crowding.

All visitors to any outlet must undergo temperature checks before entering the outlets, register their details and adhere to social distancing markers within the outlets at all times. Hand sanitisers are placed at key locations, while the outlets themselves are sanitised regularly.

“These safeguards are part and parcel of our commitment to our collective health and safety, towards making the Perodua Experience the best it can be,” said Dato’ Zainal.

To locate a showroom or service centre near you, visit www.perodua.com.my.

New Ford Ranger FX4 to be unveiled on June 3 and you’re invited to the launch event!

Malaysians throughout the country are invited to the launch of the new Ford Ranger FX4 scheduled on this June 3 at 11 am. Of course, with the restriction on gatherings due to the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), a public event is not possible at this time so Sime Darby Auto ConneXion, the sole distributor of Ford in Malaysia, will unveil the new model online.

“The Ranger FX4 will be the first pick-up truck in the country to be launched simultaneously online via YouTube and Facebook,” said Syed Ahmad Muzri Syed Faiz, MD of Sime Darby Auto ConneXion. “As we embrace the new normal, we also embrace in new ways to bring excitement to our customers.”

Ford Ranger range — *The Ford Ranger family in Malaysia will soon get a new member.*

While retaining the tough and bold exterior, the new Ranger FX4 has a host of new and unique features which are apparent from first glance. Additionally, it has the Smart Technologies seen in various current Ranger versions. These include 4X4 Shift-On-The-Fly (no need to stop to engage 4×4), Limited Slip Differential, rain-sensing wipers, Electric Power Assisted Steering and Daytime running lights.

Safety systems include SRS airbags, Hill Descent Control, Hill Launch Assist, ABS with Emergency Brake Assist and Electronic Brake Force Distribution, ISOFIX child seat mounts, Electronic Stability Control with Traction Control, Rollover Mitigation, Trailer Sway Control and Adaptive Load Control.

To celebrate the launch, the first 150 customers who purchase the Ranger FX4 will receive complimentary accessories worth RM5,398. These are a matte black sports bar and executive tinting, along with a built-in Digital Video Recorder with an 8GB memory card.

If you already know about the Ranger and that it’s ‘Built Ford Tough’, and want to be among the first owners of the new FX4 version, you can place a booking ahead of the launch to take advantage of the free accessories offer.

To do so, contact the Ford Digital Salesperson at +6019-204 1200 from 9 am – 4 pm, Monday – Friday (excluding public holidays) and through this dedicated WhatsApp channel, customers can be linked with an authorised Ford salesperson at a dealership located nearest to them. This would allow customers to transact at their own convenience and pay the deposit for their vehicle from wherever they are.

“For customers visiting our showrooms and service centres nationwide, we would like to welcome and assure you that the necessary precautions are in place to ensure the health and safety of our visitors and staff as outlined by the government. This includes the practice of social distancing, temperature checks upon entering the premise, and hand sanitiser dispensers located at common areas. In addition, there is frequent sanitising of high contact points throughout the premises, including service and display vehicles,” said Jeffrey Gan, MD for Retail and Distribution, Malaysia, Sime Darby Motors.

For more information on Ford vehicles or to locate a showroom in Malaysia, visit www. sdacford.com.my.

Isuzu Malaysia to expedite delivery of new vehicles to customers

As the country continues to transition towards the recovery phase of the pandemic, Isuzu Malaysia is doing its best to fulfil customer orders, particularly those that were placed before the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into effect in March. Efforts are underway to ensure vehicles are speedily processed from the plant in Pekan, Pahang to be dispatched to dealerships around the country.

The company had received some 300 orders for various Isuzu D-Max models but as movements were restricted and the JPJ also closed its branches so registration and application for roadtax could not be done, customers could not get their vehicles.

Isuzu vehicles for the Malaysia market are assembled at its plant in Pekan, Pahang. — *Isuzu vehicles for the Malaysian market are assembled at its plant in Pekan, Pahang.*

“While our customers do understand the circumstances for the delay, we empathise that during these trying times, our customers require Isuzu vehicles even more as these robust and versatile trucks play a key role in keeping them moving dependably and efficiently. It is therefore our aim to ensure that customers are able to take delivery of their new Isuzu D-Max pick-up trucks as quickly as possible,” said the Chief Operating Officer of Isuzu Malaysia, Masayuki Suzuki.

No procedures at dealerships
At the dealerships, a new delivery process has been put in place to ensure customers and staff are well-protected in line with the government’s call to effectively curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Standard operating procedures include a temperature record of every staff member prior to the start of each work day, compulsory use of surgical masks, disinfecting of all touch-points in the outlets three times daily, while demonstration vehicles and customer vehicles are disinfected after each human contact.

All visitors to Isuzu outlets are also required to have their temperatures while hand sanitizing liquid and if required, a face mask, will be made available at all facilities. Customers collecting their new vehicles will be informed of the delivery dates by their sales advisor and provided an appointed time of the hand-over in order to avoid crowding or prolonged exposure in the outlet.

“The procedures in the Isuzu Delivery System have been revised somewhat to incorporate the recommendations of the Malaysian government where dealing with the pandemic is concerned. We remain mindful that customers will continue to seek high-value Isuzu vehicles to serve their daily needs thus we endeavour to create the most conducive and safe environment for prospects, customers and our frontline teams,” added Mr. Suzuki.

Warranty extension
Isuzu vehicle owners whose vehicle warranties were to have expired during the MCO period will automatically enjoy a further 30-day extension from May 13, 2020 while those whose vehicles were also overdue for scheduled maintenance during this period can rest assured that their warranty will not be affected by the delay.

Customers intending to bring their vehicles in for service are advised to make prior appointments with their respective Isuzu Authorised Service Centres as each outlet is operating according to CMCO regulations in their respective states. They now practice social distancing and therefore have to limit the daily intakes based on the capacity of the individual service facility.

To arrange for viewing or test drive of Isuzu vehicles, customers may make an appointment via Isuzu Malaysia’s Facebook page.

Volvo S60 T8 now assembled locally, still priced at RM295,888

In view of the Conditional Movement Control Order limiting gatherings, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) today launched the locally-assembled (CKD) version of the Volvo S60 T8 online. This is essentially a follow-up from the earlier launch in October last year of the CBU (imported completely built-up) model which is now in its third generation.

The model is assembled at Volvo’s own plant in Shah Alam, Selangor, the first vehicle assembly plant in Malaysia. Rather surprisingly, even though the car is assembled locally, the price of RM295,888 (without insurance) is not lower than that of the CBU model (which was said to be ‘under-priced). Normally, the CKD model can be cheaper due to the different taxation rate applied which favours locally-assembled vehicles and the car companies pass on the savings to customers.

For exterior colour choices are available (one less than the CBU model) – Fusion Red (Metallic), Onyx Black (Metallic), Pebble Grey (Metallic) and Crystal White (Pearl). This is one less than what was available with the CBU model, the missing colour being Metallic Birch. A 5-year warranty comes with the car while service intervals are set at 20,000 kms.

The 2020 S60 T8 is pretty much the same as the CBU model, specs-wise, and as assured by VCM, the quality is also similarly high. After all, the plant has also been a regional hub for the Swedish carmaker for some time. It has received investments to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities, including laser welding equipment.

The S60 rides on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform which is used across the current Volvo range. Being modular in concept, SPA allows the engineers to develop a variety of models on the same platform, which saves R&D costs. In the case of the S60 T8, the powertrain is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) which consists of a 2-litre twin-charged (turbocharger + supercharger) 4-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor.

The latter is powered by an 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and total system output is 407 bhp/640 Nm, with maximum torque available from 1,200 rpm. Engine power goes to the front wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission by Aisin while the rear wheels are powered by the electric drive so the S60 has all-wheel drive.

The output numbers suggest brisk performance and indeed, this Volvo has a claimed 0 – 100 km/h time of 4.4 seconds with a top speed of 250 km/h (probably limited). However, because of the PHEV capability, it also uses less fuel and Volvo claims 50 kms/litre which is really quite amazing when you consider the performance. With a 60-litre fuel tank, that means the S60 should be good for 3,000 kms before going empty!

Like other PHEVs, the S60 T8 can run on just the electric motor alone and in this zero emissions mode, it should be able to travel up to 49 kms. Depending on the charging outlet available, recharging the battery pack to full takes around 3 hours.

For the Malaysian market, VCM includes R-Design styling features and accessories to give a sportier image to the S60. The looks are more aggressive with black-out treatment for various elements and dual tailpipes. Like all the latest Volvos, the distinctive ‘Thor’s Hammer’ graphic in the headlights provides instant identification.

The cabin has the typical Scandinavian ambience that Volvo is noted for although the interior colour theme is not light-coloured but dark. The contoured seats are wrapped in exclusive Charcoal Fine Nappa Leather with Open Grid Textile upholstery. The Digital Instrument Cluster with 12.3-inch TFT Adaptive Digital Display is complemented by a Head-Up Display (HUD) which shows important running information on the windscreen ahead of the steering wheel.

An immersive 14-speaker audio system powered by Harman Kardon is part of the Sensus Connect infotainment system. This system includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so smartphones can be easily linked.

An additional feature for the CKD model is the handsfree operation to open the bootlid. This is a nice feature to have and once you have a car with it, you don’t want to not have it in the next car.

Volvo has been a leader in safety and its Intellisafe suite of integrated high-tech systems is adopted in the S60. This includes City Safety with Autobrake technology, which assists the driver in avoiding potential collisions and is the only system in the market to recognise pedestrians, cyclists and large animals. In a world-first for the mid-size sedan segment. City Safety now also engages auto braking to mitigate oncoming collisions.

Volvo S60 safety — *The S60 has Volvo’s Intellisafe suite of driver-assistance systems*.

The Pilot Assist system – which supports the driver with steering, acceleration and braking on well-marked roads up to 130 km/h – has been upgraded with improved cornering performance. There’s also Run-off Road Mitigation, Oncoming Lane Mitigation and other driver assistance systems, now including Park Assist to make positioning the car in a parking bay much easier.

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