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BMW Group Malaysia continues to help B40 income group with subsidies for childseats

BMW Group Malaysia has been among the more supportive car companies with regard to the introduction of childseats by car-owners. As far back as 2019, the company was already running a subsidy programme to help parents in the B40 income group to purchase childseats required when the mandatory requirement came into effect in 2020.

Now it has announced the NEXTStep Subsidy Programme in collaboration with long-term partner Safe ‘n Sound, to provide fully subsidised childseats to parents in the B40 income group. This programme is part of the BMW Safety 360° initiative. It follows on from the successful subsidy programme that saw over 300 childseats delivered to parents across Malaysia since the end of 2019.

The new subsidy programme will provide parents with childseats for children of up to 36 kgs with donations previously made by BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia.

*Over the past 2 years, BMW Group Malaysia has provided subsidies for parents in the B40 income to purchase childseats.*

“For over eight years, the BMW Safety 360° initiative has focused on raising awareness and encouraging action amongst families for more responsible road and car safety practices in Malaysia. Although we have placed a strong emphasis on child carseats in recent years with our many programmes and partnerships to advocate for the use of these seats, we recognise that the issue of low uptake must be tackled beyond verbal advocacy and partial subsidies, especially within communities that are in need in a time like this. With the NEXTStep Subsidy Programme, we aim to continue making child safety seats even more accessible to parents who can use a helping hand, ” said Hans de Visser, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia.

How to apply
The NEXTStep Subsidy Programme is applicable for families expecting a newborn or with a child up to 36 kgs, and whose monthly household income is below RM3,500. Parents can register at the Safe ‘n Sound website from now until May 22, 2022. Eligible applicants will be notified by Safe ‘n Sound via a WhatsApp to the contact number they provide.

Selected parents from outside the Klang Valley will be notified on the delivery status, while parents within the Klang Valley will be informed of a date, time and place to pick-up their new childseat. A suitable seat will be selected for the recipient according to their child’s respective weight and height, as well as vehicle requirement.

The range of fully subsidised childseats and prices (including shipping fees to recipients outside the Klang Valley) are shown below:

“For those still traveling back from their hometowns with their children, we would urge parents to think of their children’s safety by ensuring the right child car seats are used while on the road,” Mr. de Visser added.

https://www.piston.my/2021/02/10/bmw-group-financial-services-malaysia-contributes-over-rm200000-to-bmw-safety-360-subsidy-programme/

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.

BMW Group Malaysia invites other companies to join in childseat subsidy initiative

BMW Group Malaysia invites other companies to join in childseat subsidy initiative

Since the year began, the law making it compulsory for small children and infants to be placed in childseats when travelling in cars has come into effect. While the Transport Minister has said that, during the first 6 months of 2020, summonses will not be issued to those who do not comply, it doesn’t mean that the matter should be ignored either.

Meanwhile, one car company has taken the initiative to help in promoting the use of childseats. As reported earlier, BMW Group Malaysia has a subsidy programme as part of the BMW Safety 360° initiative. In its first phase, the car company, Childline Foundation and Safe ‘n Sound made 150 units of certified infant carrier car seats available at a subsidised price of RM100 each for parents in the B40 income group.

Not unexpectedly, response was great and over 25,000 parents made applications within 2 weeks of registrations being accepted. The infant carrier seats, which retail for RM199, were recently presented to parents from the Klang Valley region, while the remaining seats will be sent to recipients across the nation.

From the big response, it is clear that parents are aware of the need to provide the seats for their little ones. However, one company alone cannot keep subsidising the cost and BMW Group Malaysia invites other companies to join in the initiative. “There is an urgent need for us to come together and take action. The overwhelming response to the first phase of the subsidy programme shows that more parents are now aware of the need for child car seats and are quick to adopt its usage given the opportunity. As such, to all partners and companies who have the means to help subsidise these infant carrier car seats, we welcome you to join in the subsidy programme to prioritise child safety in cars for all,” said Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Malaysia.

Interested parties can be part of the subsidy programme by writing to bmw@voxeureka.com with the name of the participating company and the amount of subsidy (in Malaysian ringgit) they would like to commit by February 13, 2020.

150 units of infant carrier carseats available at a subsidised price with BMW Malaysia’s support

150 units of infant carrier carseats available at a subsidised price with BMW Malaysia’s support

With the mandatory usage of childseats in cars coming into effect next month, parents have to start making the purchases to ensure they do not commit an offence (although summonses will not be issued during the first 6 months of the year). For 150 qualified parents, there is an opportunity to buy such seats at subsidised prices, thanks to BMW Malaysia, Safe ‘n Sound and Childline Foundation.

“With only 30% of drivers using child carseats for their children, it became more imperative for us as automakers to press on for child safety, regardless of the challenges we encounter in the fight for its education and accessibility. It is encouraging to see the Ministry of Transport take a definite step into making child carseats mandatory in the year to come, but at the same time, recognise that there are parents who may have limited access to them – therefore providing tax breaks and reduced excise fee for child carseats. In support of that, we are now bringing the subsidy programme online to make infant carrier carseats accessible to households with income less than RM3,000 a month,” said Harald Hoelzl, MD of BMW Group Malaysia.

BMW Malaysia aims to accelerate the adoption of child car seats through the subsidy programme as part of the BMW Safety 360° initiative. In collaboration with Childline Foundation and Safe ‘n Sound, 150 units of infant carrier carseats will be made available at a subsidized price of RM100 each.

BMW Malaysia and Safe ‘n Sound will be subsidising 150 snskidz Ace infant carrier carseats at RM100 each. The rear-facing infant carrier carseat, which retails at RM199, can be used from birth to 13 kgs and carries the ECE R44-04 certification.

How to register
Parents can register for the subsidised infant carrier car seat at www.safensound.com.my/pages/child-car-seat-subsidy-programme from now until December 15, 2019. Applicants eligible for the subsidy will be notified, after which a payment of RM100 must be made prior to the collection of the carseat.

“Parents will also be educated on the proper ways of choosing and installing the child carseats to ensure the utmost safety of their children upon collection of the infant carrier carseat. By educating them, we hope that they, too, will become advocates for child safety.” Said Datin Wong Poai Hong from Childline Foundation.

BMW childseat — *BMW also offers a range of child carseats to suit different budgets of its customers.*

“While the BMW Safety 360° Programme has been running for over 5 years now, we hope to see more partners take active roles to ensure that child carseats are a norm in Malaysia, be it through education or increasing accessibility to them. Partners can also engage with Childline Foundation to further advocate for child safety. For both parents and partners, there is no better time than now to take action and they should not wait until the ruling comes into effect before considering child safety,” added Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Malaysia.

REMINDER: Child seats mandatory starting year 2020

Piston.my

Safe ‘n Sound

BMW Group Malaysia continues to help B40 income group with subsidies for childseats

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

BMW Group Malaysia invites other companies to join in childseat subsidy initiative

150 units of infant carrier carseats available at a subsidised price with BMW Malaysia’s support

BMW Group Malaysia continues to help B40 income group with subsidies for childseats

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

BMW Group Malaysia invites other companies to join in childseat subsidy initiative

150 units of infant carrier carseats available at a subsidised price with BMW Malaysia’s support

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