BEV Archives

Lancia Pu+Ra HPE Concept Uncovered, To Be Design Basis For New Ypsilon

Lancia, which is part of the FCA Group within Stellantis, seemed to have no future not so long ago. Its declining sales numbers and a stagnant range with just one model put its continued existence at risk, and it was only Italians who seemed to have any affinity for the brand.

Stellantis sees Lancia as a brand with some hope and is willing to help it revive and embark on a new era. For a start, the 116-year old company has worked on a new brand vision which takes it into the electric age.

The brand vision has a design vision which was described last November and previewed in the Pu+Ra Zero, a 3-dimensional ‘manifesto’ that will guide the designers of the 3 new Lancia models to be launched between 2024 and 2028. Created from the words ‘Pure’ and ‘Radical’, Lancia Pu+Ra Design is described as a sustainable design language that is intended to ‘last for the next 100 years’.

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HiPhi X Luxury EV From China Gets Approval From TUV SUD, Can Start Selling in Europe

Just as the Japanese and then the Korean carmakers have swept across the world, displacing the older European and American brands, carmakers from China are now starting their offensive on international markets. They are targeting Europe in particular as this region is moving strongly ahead with electrification, with regulations that aim to minimise or even stop sales of vehicles with combustion engines.

Electrified vehicles are an area where Chinese manufacturers have built up a lot of experience and knowledge, thanks to their government’s introduction of the national New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy in 2009. This had the goal of 500,000 electrified vehicles – battery (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) – by 2012, which would account for 5% of new passenger vehicle sales.

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More Natural Lighting In The Volvo EX90 Enhances Wellbeing, Makes Driving Safer Too

Scandinavia, where Volvo originated from and still has its home, has longer periods of darkness than other parts of the planet. As such, Scandinavians tend to have a love for sunshine and also try to create environments which are bright (but in a tasteful way) in their design language.

Now Volvo is also bring sunlight into the car in a way that will enhance the feeling of wellbeing when travelling. Particularly in the winter darkness, the cabin becomes a welcome space to enter with a hint of sunshine becoming a ritual to start the day like each sunrise.

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Lotus Eletre Hyper SUV Debuts In Malaysia, Priced from RM578,000

One year after making its global debut, the Lotus Eletre has arrived in Malaysia. This is the British brand’s first hyper-SUV which also lays claims to being a world first in this category. Apart from being the first of a new breed of fully electric SUVs, the Eletre also bears several firsts for Lotus. It is the first model outside sportscar segments; the first lifestyle EV; and also said to be the most ‘connected’ Lotus ever.

Three variants will be available for the Malaysian market – Eletre, Eletre S and Eletre R – with prices ranging from RM578,000 to RM798,000. There is currently no duty imposed on fully electric vehicles and roadtax is also exempted till the end of 2025. So customers have only to pay for insurance and whatever options they want to include to personalize their Eletre.

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Bringing Back Emotional Engine Roar In The EV Age

Motoring enthusiasts often talk about driving as an emotional thing and while there are various kinds of emotions – stress, fear, anger – it is often the emotion of pleasure that is publicised. ‘Driving’ pleasure is often mentioned as what can be experienced from a new car and advertisements play it up in different ways.

Going together with driving pleasure for sportscars is also the sound of the engine and exhaust – a growl or a roar or even a crackle – and it is what gets the adrenaline flowing faster. The ultimate sound comes from racing cars which, not being restricted by regulations for vehicles used on public roads, are typically louder.

With electrically-powered cars, there is no combustion engine, no exhaust pipe – and therefore no sound. Environmentalists are happy with the prospect of roads becoming quieter in future as more electric vehicles (EVs) travel on them. But for those who have always loved driving and the pleasure it gives, the absence of engine and exhaust sound is a huge loss. The silence, as the saying goes, is ‘deafening’.

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Sime Darby Motors Delivers 1,000 BYD EVs In 100 Days

Although the full duty exemption for electric vehicles (EVs) began last year, the sales were slow as the incentive was announced by the government only towards the end of 2021. As a lot of production planning and ordering had already been done by many carmakers, the sudden demand from Malaysia was difficult to meet right away in 2022.

However, 2023 should see acceleration in EV sales as the car companies would now have secured larger allocations and stocks are arriving constantly. An indication of this is the announcement by Sime Darby Motors that it has sold and delivered 1,000 units of the BYD ATTO 3 in 100 days.

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BMW iX1 Available For Registration In Malaysia

BMW Malaysia has made its first fully electric SUV, the BMW iX1 available for registration of interest (ROI). This was revealed on BMW Malaysia’s website just yesterday.

The iX1 made its debut in June 2022 and is available in Malaysia in the xDrive30 form.

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V2L Turns EVs Into Mobile Power Banks

Going camping usually means leaving behind the conveniences that modern living has, much of which depends on electric power. To cook or make coffee, you would need to have a fire and for lighting at night, you have a fire or use portable lanterns. Of course, those who travel by a vehicle could bring along a portable generator or with some vehicles (like the latest Ford Ranger), there are heavy-duty 3-pin outlets to supply electricity for equipment and devices.

In future, those who travel outdoors with electric vehicles will be able to use their EVs like ‘power banks’ with a feature known as Vehicle-To-Load (V2L). It’s slowly becoming a common feature in many of the latest EVs and is useful not only for camping but also at home. The large amount of energy stored in the battery pack can be used to power appliances in the house, which would be useful when you have a power cut.

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All-New MINI To Be Produced In Germany For The First Time

For all its life, the Mini has been primarily manufactured in England. Even when the Mini became the modern MINI after the name and model rights were acquired by the BMW Group, the original factory in Oxford was also acquired to continue production of the model.

Of course, besides England, the Mini was also assembled locally in some countries, including Malaysia. Same with the MINI, which has been assembled at the Inokom plant in Kedah. Soon, the new MINI model will be produced in Germany for the first time, at the BMW Group’s plant in Leipzig. This makes the production facility the first plant at which vehicles of the BMW and MINI brands are manufactured together.

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First Driving Impressions Of smart #1 EV In Malaysia

The smart brand was once in Malaysia, around 20 years ago, when DaimlerChrysler Malaysia (now Mercedes-Benz Malaysia) marketed it, but it was poorly received. Though its small size – which could only take two – was appreciated in European cities, it was too small for Malaysians who could get more seats and more space – for less money.

So smart faded away from the market and a decade later, declining sales in other markets also saw Mercedes-Benz, which owned the company, rethink its strategy for the brand. With the auto industry rushing towards electrification, it was logical for smart to also go in that direction. In fact, it had already started electrification earlier but needed a new generation of models developed from scratch as electric vehicles (EVs).

This led the German carmaker to team up with the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in a new joint venture company which would use the smart brand, which still retained its trendiness. It looked like a smart (no pun intended) move as Mercedes-Benz would offer the design expertise while Geely would provide its Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) modular platform engineered specifically for EVs. Thus smart gained a ‘second wind’ and has been quick to roll out its first product, the smart #1.

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BEV

Lancia Pu+Ra HPE Concept Uncovered, To Be Design Basis For New Ypsilon

HiPhi X Luxury EV From China Gets Approval From TUV SUD, Can Start Selling in Europe

More Natural Lighting In The Volvo EX90 Enhances Wellbeing, Makes Driving Safer Too

Lotus Eletre Hyper SUV Debuts In Malaysia, Priced from RM578,000

Bringing Back Emotional Engine Roar In The EV Age

Sime Darby Motors Delivers 1,000 BYD EVs In 100 Days

BMW iX1 Available For Registration In Malaysia

V2L Turns EVs Into Mobile Power Banks

All-New MINI To Be Produced In Germany For The First Time

First Driving Impressions Of smart #1 EV In Malaysia

Isuzu Unveils Electric D-Max Ute Concept for Australia

Strategi Toyota dalam Pasaran Kenderaan Elektrik yang Berkembang

Toyota’s Strategy in the Evolving Electric Vehicle Market

Toyota Perkenalkan Konsep Sport Crossover di Eropah

BYD Set to Unveil Sea Lion 07 SUV at Guangzhou Auto Show

Lexus To Unveil BEV Concept Ahead Of 2026 Debut

Toyota Trademarks Lexus TZ Name For Upcoming Three-Row Electric SUV

Polestar 4 – Brand’s Fastest Production Car

MG’s Cyberster Roadster To Go On Sale in 2024

160 Kms Of Range in 5 Minutes? It Will Be Possible Next Year

Archive

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Canadian Arrested in US for Allegedly Stealing Tesla’s Trade Secrets

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