BEV Archives

First Locally-Assembled Mercedes-Benz EV Rolls Out From Pekan Plant

Following the launch of the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS in Malaysia last year, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia today rolled out an EQS 500 4MATIC as its first locally assembled battery electric model at the assembly facility in Pekan, Pahang.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has been assembling its vehicles there since 2004 and the EQS marks a significant milestone. It is not just for Mercedes-Benz but also the Malaysian auto industry since it is among the first fully electric models to be assembled locally.

The program to assemble has been quite fast and would have been encouraged by the Malaysian government’s decision to provide duty-free incentives for BEVs from 2022, with those assembled locally enjoying the incentives for an extra 2 years (till the end of 2025). Without the imposition of import taxes and sales tax, the price of the EQS 500 4MATIC is RM648,888 (excluding insurance), RM50,000 less than the CBU EQS 450+ AMG Line.

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Audi Malaysia To Sell e-Tron EV Models From Mid-2023

Audi is the latest brand in Malaysia to electrify, with 2 fully electric models (in multiple variants) to go on sale from mid-2023. The range will consist of the Q8 e-tron in SUV and Sportback versions, and e-tron GT quattro/RS e-tron GT. Malaysia will be among the first markets in the region to introduce the Q8 e-tron.

As the shipments have not arrived yet, PHSAM (PHS Automotive Malaysia), the Audi distributor, can only offer estimated prices for the models. Pricing for the Q8 e-tron is estimated to range from RM369,000 – RM476,000, while the e-tron GT quattro will have a price range estimated to be RM550,000 – RM643,000 for the two versions to be offered. The RS e-tron GT is estimated to have a price range from RM749,000 – RM769,000.

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Is Tesla Preparing To Officially Sell Cars In Malaysia?

Although Tesla does not have a global presence like Toyota (the world’s top-selling carmaker in 2022), it is still a world leader in as far as battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are concerned. While BYD Auto’s total sales of almost 1.9 million electrified vehicles in 2022 were higher than Tesla’s 1.3 million+ units, around 50% of the Chinese carmaker’s numbers were hybrids whereas Tesla sells only BEVs.

Nevertheless, Tesla has been steadily expanding its global footprint since first marketing BEVs four years ago. Apart from North America, it has covered much of Europe and has been looking at the Asia-Pacific region in the past couple of years. It began official sales in Singapore in mid-2021 and started up in Thailand this year.

Meanwhile, Malaysian EV enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the brand officially. While limited numbers have been sold by private importers, the absence of an official presence has meant that aftersales support – a vital part of ownership – is not readily available. This can be a risk to owners, especially for a high-tech product like a BEV. When there is official presence, such as an authorized distributor if not a subsidiary of the manufacturer itself (eg BMW Malaysia and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia), there is not only assured service and spare parts support but also direct access to the technical people to get assistance.

Now it seems that Tesla could soon be starting to official sell its cars in Malaysia. Although it has had a subsidiary in Penang handling back office operations (finance, accounting etc) since 2017, it has not done any retail sales. The buzz on social media, especially in EV-related groups, is that there has been a move to change the name of the Penang unit, originally known as Tesla Services Sdn Bhd, to just Tesla Sdn Bhd. A screenshot shared on many social media groups shows that the SSM (Malaysian Registrar of Companies) had confirmed the name-change last October.

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Ram’s Concept EV Truck Proposes A 3-Row Cabin!

Ram is unlikely to be known to Malaysians as it is a brand presently mainly in North America. It used to be the name of a truck range in Dodge but got spun off in 2010 to become a brand on its own within the Fiat Chrysler Group. With the merger of Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Group in 2021, Ram became part of the enlarged Stellantis group.

Ram has always been a truck specialist and when it was a division in Chrysler, it focussed on delivering ‘real trucks’ and not the ‘lifestyle’ machines that have become common in recent times. It therefore has a solid niche in the market where capable trucks are sought for serious work.

At CES 2023 recently, Ram gave a preview of what it’s looking at further down the road in the age of electrification. It presented its vision in 3-dimensional form as the Ram 1500 Revolution Battery-electric Vehicle (BEV) Concept which also gives an idea of its design direction.

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Toyota Suggests That There Could Be A Future For Old Models Like The AE86 With EV Conversions

Toyota, like some of the other top carmakers, has expressed a view that the goal of carbon neutrality to prevent climate change is not a single-solution – going electric with motor vehicles – approach. While they do recognise the importance of moving towards that goal, they feel that the electric-only solution is not practical and is also costly. A choice of solutions that include some existing technologies (improved, of course) is being promoted as a more realistic approach.

Toyota’s President, Akio Toyoda, is very vocal about this and was among the first car company CEOs to state the position. Perhaps that encouraged the CEOs in the other companies to also echo similar views but still committing to increasing production of zero emissions battery electric vehicles (BEVs). They are probably under a lot of pressure to allocate massive funding for BEV R&D and at the same time, they still need to continue some development of combustion engine powertrains.

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Jeep Takes European Car Of The Year Title For The First Time With Avenger EV

Since the European Car of the Year (COTY) awards began in 1964, the winners have come from European brands with the first one from Japan in 1993. That of course discounts Ford as being as American brand as the Ford models that won were essentially European models. So there has never been an American brand winning the European COTY – until 2023.

At the Brussels Motor Show today, the Jeep Avenger was announced as this year’s winner, probably a surprise to many as there were strong contenders among the other six finalists. It’s the first time that Jeep – a thoroughly American brand – has won the award though other brands in the Stellantis Group (which it is part of) have won awards over the years.

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Peugeot Inception Concept Begins New Era Of Electrification For The Brand

Concept cars used to be fanciful models created by carmakers to dazzle visitors at motorshows. They had amazing technologies and features but a lot was also for show as it was either to complex or too expensive to put into production models. These days though, concept cars serve to preview the next generation of models and much of the technology shown is already under development.

With the Inception Concept presented by Peugeot at CES 2023 (the Consumer Electronics Show), the French carmaker is giving a preview of what its future models in the electric era will be like, and what advanced features they will have.

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Nissan Conducts More Stringent Testing For EVs (w/VIDEO)

Crash tests have long been an important part of vehicle development. Apart from regulatory requirements which have become more stringent over the years, the carmakers themselves have also been improving the protection occupants are provided with as new technologies have become available.

Now, with the increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs), the manufacturers have also to take into consideration the presence of a high-voltage battery pack and many electrical systems. These too must be protected from damage in an accident.

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First Look At New Hyundai KONA Generation, To Be Launched In 2023

Hyundai Motor has released the first pictures of the new generation of its KONA sub-compact SUV, and like the original IONIQ, there will be a choice of battery electric (BEV), hybrid electric (HEV) or just an internal combustion engine (ICE). A fourth choice will be the sporty N line.

While sharing the same architecture, each version will have unique styling to differentiate it. The overall size has increased a bit with 150 mm addition to the length, 25 mm more width and a wheelbase that is 60 mm longer.

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Akio Toyoda Gives A First Look At Future Pick-Up Truck Models

Like other types of motor vehicles, trucks too are electrifying. Some companies like Ford and GM have already begun selling fully electric trucks and eventually, the bestselling truck outside North America will also go electric. This is the Toyota Hilux, a popular model in many countries for decades, which has built up a strong reputation for durability and reliability.

Toyota already has a development program ongoing for an electric Hilux as evident by a prototype shown in Thailand recently. On the occasion of the 60^th anniversary of Toyota Thailand, Toyota President Akio Toyoda personally presented the Hilux Revo BEV to give a preview of a future Hilux with electric power.

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BEV

First Locally-Assembled Mercedes-Benz EV Rolls Out From Pekan Plant

Audi Malaysia To Sell e-Tron EV Models From Mid-2023

Is Tesla Preparing To Officially Sell Cars In Malaysia?

Ram’s Concept EV Truck Proposes A 3-Row Cabin!

Toyota Suggests That There Could Be A Future For Old Models Like The AE86 With EV Conversions

Jeep Takes European Car Of The Year Title For The First Time With Avenger EV

Peugeot Inception Concept Begins New Era Of Electrification For The Brand

Nissan Conducts More Stringent Testing For EVs (w/VIDEO)

First Look At New Hyundai KONA Generation, To Be Launched In 2023

Akio Toyoda Gives A First Look At Future Pick-Up Truck Models

First Locally-Assembled Mercedes-Benz EV Rolls Out From Pekan Plant

Audi Malaysia To Sell e-Tron EV Models From Mid-2023

Is Tesla Preparing To Officially Sell Cars In Malaysia?

Ram’s Concept EV Truck Proposes A 3-Row Cabin!

Toyota Suggests That There Could Be A Future For Old Models Like The AE86 With EV Conversions

Jeep Takes European Car Of The Year Title For The First Time With Avenger EV

Peugeot Inception Concept Begins New Era Of Electrification For The Brand

Nissan Conducts More Stringent Testing For EVs (w/VIDEO)

First Look At New Hyundai KONA Generation, To Be Launched In 2023

Akio Toyoda Gives A First Look At Future Pick-Up Truck Models

Archive

BMW M Division Signals Possible Farewell to Manual Transmissions

Tesla Model S Plaid Gets New Sport Seats as Standard

Maserati Unveils The 2024 GranCabrio – 535hp and 650Nm

Brabus Turns the Mercedes-AMG S63 E-Performance Into A 930hp Beast

Highway Authorities Fine-Tune Strategies for Ramadan Traffic Management

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