If you’ve long been thinking of having a McLaren sportscar in your home, it’s easier than you think. Perhaps you’ve never known about the carmaker’s junior Ride-On range which models such as the P1, 720S and Senna. And now comes the latest addition – the McLaren GT.
Based on the lightest and quickest accelerating vehicle in its class, the McLaren GT Ride-On is ahead of the other larger models the carmaker offers today as it is fully electric. Suitable for supercar enthusiasts aged 3 to 6, the GT Ride-On comes with McLaren’s iconic dihedral doors, functional storage compartment and brake pedal with working LED lights
Many options to add
Like all McLarens, the new Ride-On model has an impressive list of standard options including authentic McLaren design detailing. Working dihedral doors make for the ultimate entrance and getaway and a functional storage compartment is ideal for stowing any junior driving essentials.
There’s also a workable dashboard controls with key start that activates McLaren engine sounds. Journeys can also be accompanied by music, played through an infotainment system that can access files from a USB device or SD card with optional MP4 display screen.
The little drivers will get a thrill from the working accelerator with revving sound and brake pedal with brake light function as they speed off on their adventures.
To inspire future enthusiasts
‘’At McLaren Automotive, we aim to inspire the future generation of supercar enthusiasts. The new GT Ride-On allows even the smallest of fans to discover the magic of our pioneering supercars. We’re proud to develop and encourage younger minds and seek to create the next generation of drivers, engineers, and automotive designers,’’ said Hayley Robinson, Merchandise, Licensing & Partnerships Manager at McLaren Automotive.
Available in 6 authentic McLaren colours – Burnished Copper, Silica White, Onyx Black, McLaren Orange, Amaranth Red and Burton Blue – it is priced from £163.00 to £234.00 (around RM840 – RM1,350).
The larger full-sized McLaren GT costs considerably more…
Volvo Cars has signed an agreement with its parent company, Geely Holding, to acquire Geely Holding’s stake in the companies’ joint ventures in China. This development means that the Swedish carmaker, acquired by Geely from Ford in 2010, will take full ownership of its car manufacturing plants and sales operations in the biggest car market in the world
The acquisition of an additional 50% of the shares in Daqing Volvo Car Manufacturing and Shanghai Volvo Car Research & Development will further strengthen Volvo Cars’ position in China, its largest market, and maximize exposure to one of the fastest growing regions globally.
Volvo factory in Chengdu.In 2017, Volvo began sending the S90 sedan to Belgium from its Daqing factory via the China-Europe railway link. The connection to Europe is faster than the traditional sea route from Asian ports.
Full control over operations in China
Although the two joint venture companies are already fully included in Volvo Car Group’s financial statements, Volvo Cars’ share of their net income and equity will increase following the transaction. “With this agreement, Volvo Cars will become the first major non-Chinese automaker with full control over its Chinese operations,” said Hakan Samuelsson, Chief Executive of Volvo Cars.
“Geely Holding Group and Volvo Cars are continuously evaluating the best way to collaborate and structure operations within the wider Group. These two transactions will create a clearer ownership structure within both Volvo Cars and Geely Holding,” said Geely Holding CEO, Daniel Donghui Li.
Acquisition includes R&D facility
Volvo Cars has grown significantly faster than the average market in China in recent years and will continue to invest in the country to maintain the strong growth trend. Following the transactions, Volvo Cars will have full ownership of its manufacturing plants in Chengdu and Daqing, its national sales company in China and its R&D facility in Shanghai.
The transactions will be completed in two steps, starting in 2022 when the joint venture requirement for auto manufacturing in China will be lifted, and expected to be formally completed in 2023. The transactions will, of course, need regulatory approvals.
Volvo dealership in Beijing.
Strong growth in China in spite of pandemic
Volvo Cars has seen strong growth in the Chinese market in recent years. In 2020, it sold 166,617 cars in China, an increase of 7.5% over 2019 performance and its eighth consecutive sales record in the market in spite of the pandemic. In the first half of 2021, sales increased 44.9% compared to the same period in 2020, and by 40.1% compared with the same period in 2019.
Vaccination does not make you immune to COVID-19 infection. You can still get infected and you may not show symptoms but spread the coronavirus. Do not stop taking protective measures such as wearing a facemask, washing hands frequently and social distancing.
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) has announced new executives for two senior positions in the company. They are Sagree Sardien as President & CEO, and Edmin Naidoo as Vice-President of Customer Services. Both of them also have roles in Mercedes-Benz Cars SEA II region, with Mrs. Sardien as the Head.
Mrs. Sardien, from South Africa, takes over from Dr. Claus Weidner who was President & CEO of MBM from 2015. She has over 20 years of experience in the auto industry, of which 13 years have been with Daimler where she started as the Head of Operations in South Africa for Daimler’s Fleet Management division.
During her tenure, she held various leadership positions across the Daimler organisation in Fleet operations, Logistics, Sales, Product management and Customer Services, in South Africa. In 2018, Mrs. Sardien moved to Stuttgart, Germany, where she was the Head of Sales for Region Overseas markets comprising Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.
She was also responsible for the implementation of the ‘Retail of the Future’ business model in the South African market, transforming the sales environment to Model D between 2016 and 2018, where Mercedes-Benz maintained the No. 1 Premium Brand position in the country.
“I am excited to join the Malaysia and SEA II regional team. In the last few years, Mercedes-Benz has grown from strength to strength in the premium automotive segment in the region. It is an incredible and opportune time to join the company, and I look forward to contributing to the implementation of our ambition to shape the future of mobility and support the transformation of the automotive environment,” said Mrs. Sardien.
Sagree Sadien (left) and Edmin Naidoo
Mr. Naidoo has been with the Mercedes-Benz brand for over 25 years, with experience in the Customer Service retail and wholesale business. Prior to taking on the current role here in Malaysia, he served as the Director Customer Services at Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific, preceding his 15-year stint at Mercedes-Benz South Africa.
In collaboration with the Customer Service team of Region Overseas, he was also responsible for introducing best practice steering tools, digital KPI dashboards and Customer Services chatbot for retailers, advancing the standards of digital transformation in the region. Naidoo is passionate about introducing digitized concepts to the market, enabling customers and retailers to enjoy the advantages of the Digital Service Drive Transformation.
“We are entering an exciting time where innovation including data at the core allows us to create hyper-personalized ecosystems, where our customers can experience true Mercedes moments that are Best-in-Class. I am excited to join the SEA team to build upon our achievements in shaping the future of service products that offer our customers a Mercedes of Service Experience,” Mr. Naidoo said.
The advancement of battery technology over the past 20 years has accelerated as electrification by the auto industry becomes more extensive. The battery has a vital role in an electrified powertrain (hybrid or fully electric), influencing performance and operating range. New technologies, materials and chemical processes have enabled the batteries to be more compact and store more energy, a trend which will continue.
Inevitably, motorsports are also going electric with Formula E and Extreme E, the latter a pioneering off road championship which is in its first season this year. These events push electric powertrains to extremes and will certainly help in the development of new technologies that can be used for road cars.
Supplier to Formula E and Extreme E
To get the best available batteries, the organisers of both Formula E and Extreme E brought in Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) as a partner. The company (which is related to the racing team) is a major force in the electric motorsport arena, having been the original and only battery supplier to the Formula E series when it began in 2014.
Williams Advanced Engineering provided the batteries for Formula E (above) and with all the expertise gained in developing and manufacturing batteries for motorsports, it was in a good position to also be a supplier for Extreme E (below).
“Following the on-track successes we’ve had at Le Mans (providing engineering support for Porsche’s sports car racing programme), through the hybrid F1 era, then 4 seasons supplying batteries to the first-generation Formula E grid (and due to supply the Gen 3 batteries), together with being technical partner for Jaguar Racing, we have learned a lot about how to extract the highest levels of performance from a battery,” said Craig Wilson, CEO of Williams Advanced Engineering.
Greater challenges with Extreme E
Their expertise put them in a good position to gain a sole developer role in Extreme E. But while the basic technology would be the same, Extreme E presents a greater challenge because of its off-road nature. “In Extreme E, we are taking battery technology away from the traditional race circuit and into hostile environments, where humidity, dust, extremes of temperature, shock and vibration will play a huge part and to that end, the batteries have had to be uniquely tailored for the environment,” explained Glen Pascoe, WAE Principal Engineer.
“And with races being head-to-head over short distances, the batteries are sized to manage high intensity operation over a shorter time than in other e-racing series, but in a far harsher environment,” he added. “As a result, we have developed a whole new module that can produce 400kW peak power in a bespoke battery construction along with an entirely new pre-race conditioning system to maximise robustness and minimise mass.”
Simplicity, serviceability and modularity were all critical design requirements. Commercially available cells were selected and designed into a pack in conjunction with the series to align both with the race format and the vehicle performance duty cycle. “Working with limited space in the car, we had to meet tough power and mass performance targets and deliver a bespoke battery pack design in under 12 months!” recalled Pascoe.
Environments change with each round
Each venue of Extreme E has different environments and in the opening round in Saudi Arabia in April, sand and high temperatures were the big challenges, as well as thin air. “The first run simulation took part at the hottest time of the day and a battery rebuild we carried out was intensive and not helped by strong winds and even a sandstorm providing an unwelcome interruption, which covered all battery parts and electronics with a fine grit. We had to bring out the vacuum cleaner to deep clean for all components in time for the team-wide shakedown runs,” he said.
The Senegal event brought a mixture of similarities but also differences to Saudi Arabia in the challenges faced. Whilst not as hot, ambient temperatures in the seaside area still remained high, accompanied by 90%+ humidity levels. This brought its own unique challenges in actively managing the battery temperature both during the on-track action and between races.
“Alongside this, the Senegal event showed the cars tackling a very demanding, technical and aggressive track. The batteries were constantly punished with heavy impacts and harsh vibrations as the cars bounced around the dunes and deep ruts. Ensuring battery health throughout the weekend was key to ensuring a successful event,” Pascoe revealed.
He added that the batteries performed flawlessly even with the severe impacts that happened in the Desert X Prix as well as the intense head-to-head battles on the 6-km long harsh, technical course, through woods and beach sand of the Ocean X Prix.
The paddock area in the Desert E Prix in Saudi Arabia. On the left side is AFC Energy’s hydrogen fuel cell station to recharge the e-SUVs with zero emissions generated except water.
On-site servicing and recharging
Unlike being at a closed racing circuit, Extreme E’s tracks are in the open, without the usual facilities. Nevertheless, the WAE team was able to work on the batteries on location without difficulty. “Servicing and maintaining the batteries throughout the events went well, which is a reflection of all the design work that went into them,” said Pascoe.
After two rounds, the ODYSSEY 21 racing SUVs have covered 1,070 kms, of which 480 kms were recorded in Senegal. Cumulative energy discharge has been nearly 2,000 kWh, with about half drawn in Senegal. In total, over 12 hours of on-track running has taken place.
The first two rounds of Extreme E in Saudi Arabia and Senegal (above and top) have had a lot of sand and high temperatures. The third round – the Arctic X Prix – will be in a very different environment in Greenland (below).
The third round next month is the Arctic X Prix which will take place in Greenland. The engineers will be glad for no more sand, but the climate and track conditions will be vastly different. “There will be very new challenges of snow and of course, water and mud. There will be stone impact and less grip resulting in more drift and vertical impact. In addition to the physical challenges, the remoteness of the location means we need to forward plan for every eventuality before arriving on location as there will be no opportunity for late deliveries or freight, no additional transport available or indeed, supplies!” noted Pascoe.
Unlocking further vehicle performance
As the season progresses, the engineers at WAE will gain more data on battery and overall powertrain performance and behaviour. This will allow them to unlock further vehicle performance so the performance envelopes will be extended. “The batteries have been designed for multi-season use so WAE will inspect, re-test and go again. Any incremental improvements available will be implemented during the turn-around. Once the batteries reach the end of their final racing season, the cells can be easily removed as module ‘building blocks’ and configured into a suitable second-life application. Some components are targeted for reuse in alternative applications, and some will be recycled in order to recover valuable raw materials,” said Pascoe.
Whatever is learnt during the events and the solutions found may be transferred into production cars. With the R&D opportunities that the series gives, innovations can filter into the consumer market. “Specifically in areas such as fast charging, battery management and software development,” said Wilson. “Essentially, affordability comes with volume production. By pioneering and showcasing EV technology in a series such as Extreme E, manufacturers will be able to ‘carry over’ technology into road cars and in doing so, enable the technology to become more affordable.”
Vaccination does not make you immune to COVID-19 infection. You can still get infected and you may not show symptoms but spread the coronavirus. Do not stop taking protective measures such as wearing a facemask, washing hands frequently and social distancing.
Staying at home more than going for casual outings is the ‘New Normal’ in this age of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the situation in different countries varies, the main thing is to minimize close contact so many of the usual activities we used to enjoy are not possible – for now. In Malaysia, we have been having the Movement Control Order (MCO) for over a year and this has largely restricted leaving the home, except for essential or emergency matters or to go to work (with permission from the authorities).
Fortunately, this is the 21st century where we have the internet, so even though people cannot meet face to face, they can still remain in regular contact via the various online channels. Perhaps it’s just not the same as sitting at the mamak stall with your friends but it is certainly better than 30 years ago when such a situation would have meant isolation and much more boredom. Now you can even go racing with your friends online!
‘Paint’ a digital canvas
For families with little ones, Mazda Malaysia (represented by Bermaz Motor) has an interactive colouring contest which is ideal at this #stayathome time. It’s a digital age activity where children can ‘paint’ a digital canvas on their computer or tablet (a smartphone would be too small).
There are five different drawings to colour, four of them with current Mazda models and one of the Mazda RX Vision concept car. There doesn’t seem to be a limit on the entries that can be submitted so participants can probably choose one or all the drawings offered.
Cash prizes and Mazda Premium Merchandise
The drawing tools are simple to use (like MS Paint) and once completed, they can be printed out as well. To join the contest, the completed image needs to be attached to the submission form available at the website. All submissions must reach Mazda Malaysia by August 18, 2021. Cash prizes and Mazda Premium Merchandise will be given as prizes for the entries judged to be the best.
Click here to go to the Mazda Interactive Colouring Contest page and if you are interested in knowing more about the models in the drawings, you can get information at www.mazda.com.my as well as take a virtual tour of the Mazda Malaysia flagship showroom in Glenmarie, Selangor.
Right from the start, the battery pack has been a crucial element for the development of electric vehicles (EVs). The earliest EVs in the 1930s used very heavy batteries which made them unappealing, apart from the fact that performance was poor. Not much development of batteries took place in the decades that followed as the internal combustion engine dominated the auto industry and the battery’s role was minimal – mainly to start the engine.
It was only by the end of the 20th century that development of batteries started picking up, as interest in EVs started growing. Although the lead-acid type (the small one in the engine bay of cars) was used, it was totally unacceptable as its storage capacity was small and it was heavy. But R&D into this area accelerated and it was possible to use other chemical processes that could achieve a higher density and capacity for battery packs. Currently, it is the lithium-ion battery pack that is widely used in many EVs and hybrids.
Second generation of the Prius Aqua/Prius c
Now, Toyota has come out with another type of battery with a high output bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery. This is installed in the all-new Aqua (also known as Prius c) that is launched in Japan today and it is the first vehicle in the world to use this type of battery. Compared to the nickel-hydrogen battery that was used by the previous generation of the Aqua, the new more compact battery can provide approximately twice the output while enhancing performance and range.
Since the launch of the first-generation Prius in the late 1990s, Toyota has accumulated expertise both in the technological development and the quality management of batteries and hybrid systems. One subsidiary, Toyota Industries Corporation, has developed proficiency in analysis technologies for the development and performance assessment of materials through many years of developing batteries for electrified forklift trucks. By combining their respective fields of knowledge, the companies have worked to develop better batteries and their efforts have led to the development of bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries.
First generation of the Prius c was sold in Malaysia for a few years when the government allowed full tax exemption on hybrid vehicles.
What is a bipolar battery?
In bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries, a cathode is applied to one side of the current collector, and an anode to the other; several of these structures, which are known as ‘bipolar electrodes’, are stacked together to form the battery architecture. Compared to non-bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries, bipolar versions consist of fewer current collectors and other parts, enabling them to be made more compact. It is possible to stack a larger number of cells in bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries than in non-bipolar nickel-hydrogen batteries of the same size.
In addition, since bipolar batteries have a greater active surface area and a simpler construction, there is lower resistance within the battery itself. This enables the flow of larger currents, leading to increased output. As an example, the bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery equipped to the all-new Aqua has an output approximately 2 times higher than the non-bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery used in the previous Aqua.
Toyota’s own battery factories
Toyota has its own battery manufacturing subsidiaries but it’s not known which company is producing these new batteries. Back in 1996, Toyota formed a joint-venture with Panasonic to develop and manufacture batteries for electrified vehicles. It was first known as the Panasonic EV Energy Company but changed its name to Primearth EV Energy Co., Ltd. (PEVE) in 2010 when Toyota became the majority shareholder.
Primearth EV Energy, Toyota’s first joint venture with Panasonic to develop and produce batteries for its hybrid vehicles.
PEVE focussed on making prismatic nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) as it worked on improving the quality of lithium-ion batteries. It began mass production of these higher performance batteries in early 2011.
Toyota also has a second joint-venture with Panasonic which was established just last year. Known as Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES), it will handle development, manufacture, and sales of high-capacity and high-output prismatic lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries and next-generation batteries for automotive application.
Prime Planet Energy & Solutions is the second joint venture that Toyota has with Panasonic to make batteries for electric powertrains in motor vehicles. The company has two factories with the one in Japan (below) to have a capacity of 80,000 batteries annually and a second one in China which is expected to supply batteries for up to 400,000 hybrid electric vehicles per year.
PPES has an ambitious target to reduce battery costs by up to 50% this year. This will be achieved by expanding production capacity at two factories – one in Japan which will supply up to 80,000 battery electric vehicles annually, and a second one in China which is expected to supply batteries for up to 400,000 hybrid electric vehicles per year.
