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Honda Malaysia has resumed its operations and gearing up to regain momentum

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An informative article on Penang.

Honda Malaysia has officially resumed all its operations, both at the Melaka manufacturing plant and the operations office in Selangor as well as its dealerships nationwide and following the strict SOPs laid out by the respective government agencies.

“In our plans to regain the momentum and set a new benchmark in the market, Honda Malaysia has lined up new models that feature Honda’s Next Generation Advanced Technology to be launched in the coming months,” said Honda Malaysia, Managing Director and CEO, Ms Madoka Chujo.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Based on the timeline of Honda Motor Thailand, only two candidates are on the radar for us Malaysians- Honda City Hatchback (regular iVTEC and hybrid eHEV) and all-new Honda Civic Turbo. The all-new Honda HR-V/Vezel that was launched in Japan earlier this year has yet to be launched in ASEAN or North America, while Honda Malaysia just last week introduced the current generation 2021 Honda HR-V Hybrid.

As of August 2021, the Civic, Accord, HR-V and CR-V models all have continued their respective segment leadership position with 72%, 36%, 71% and 24% of the segment market share respectively.

Apart from the September Special Benefits promotion offering rebates and rewards of up to RM6,000 with a new purchase of selected Honda models, the Special Financing Program continues to be offered until the end of the year. This initiative allows customers to pay lower monthly instalments during the early stage of their new Honda ownership.

An online pre-booking platform has also been created to minimised contact and movement. It can be accessed from anywhere- the HondaTouch smartphone app or at Honda Malaysia’s official website. Scheduling service appointments via the HondaTouch smartphone app is also encouraged for a smoother and more efficient process.

Next-generation Honda BR-V SUV to start production in Indonesia. Find out how soon here!

The company also took the opportunity to thank the government and relevant authorities for the reopening of the manufacturing sector as well as automotive sales which Honda Malaysia undertook careful planning and stringent actions to ensure everyone’s safety, both internally and externally.

Honda HR-V

“We are pleased that 80% of Honda associates have been fully vaccinated as part of our effort to help curb the spread of COVID-19. This effort was also accelerated by the Public-Private Partnership COVID-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS). Full vaccination is expected to be completed by October,” Ms Chujo continued.

During the mandatory shutdown of its operations, Honda Malaysia undertook several initiatives to help the communities in need, such as distributing necessities to six charity homes and contributing food and beverage packs to patients under quarantine.

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The cool Hyundai Staria lands in Indonesia, choice of 7- or 9-seater

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A great article on Malaysia.

After making its ASEAN debut in Thailand in early July, Hyundai has introduced the large Staria window van in Indonesia.  The Hyundai Staria is designed to replace the Starex 11-seater window van that has been in service 2007.

No changes have been made to both markets which are in the right-hand drive layout. However, the Indonesia-market Hyundai Staria gets an exclusive rim design as well as two different trim and badging highlights.

The Brass Chrome package applies bronze effect over the Hyundai emblems, Staria emblem as well as the mesh pattern on the grille, the front spoiler, side mirrors and the elaborately patterned 18-inch rims, as seen in the examples provided.

For the Indonesian market, the colour palette for the new Staria has White joining the other three exterior colours- Abyss Black Pearl, Silver Metallic and Graphite Grey. The Dark Chrome package (image above) is paired only to this grey shade.   

Hyundai and LG Energy to build Gigafactory in Indonesia. How big? More about the facility here.

Now for the interior, of which the new Hyundai Staria is offered in 7- or 9-seater configuration in Indonesia. Called “Premium Relaxation Seats”, the captain seats in the 7-seater are loaded with comfort features, such as ventilation, 8-way adjustment with additional reclining angle as well as ottoman leg support!

For the 9-seater, occupants can swivel the individual second-row seats to face the third row, turning the Staria into a mobile conference room or more engaging atmosphere.

Both interior configurations have standard premium features such as remote engine start, a fully automatic air-conditioning system for the front and back sections, leather upholstery (two colour choices), front passenger walk-in switch, manual window sunshades and LED ambient mood lighting. The 7-seater variant adds a Bose 12-speaker Premium Audio System. 

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Power to move the new Hyundai Staria is a modern CRDi turbodiesel unit displacing 2.2-litres. Outputs are 177 hp and 430 Nm of torque and all that power is sent to the front wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission. Independent multi-link rear suspension provides comfort to the occupants as well as better cornering stability.

Prefer the rear-wheel driven Hyundai Starex? Hyundai Sime Darby Malaysia is offering the Starex with a new Smart Lease programme. More about the ownership experience here!

Captain

Similar to the Thailand model, the Staria gets almost the full suite of Hyundai SmartSense ADAS features. We say almost because the only missing assist system is the Adaptive Cruise Control. Both seat configurations have standard fitment of the blind-spot monitoring (BSM), rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), Safe Exit Assist and Surround View Monitor camera system.

LG

Hyundai Mobil Indonesia is positioning the 7-seater higher; thus it gets autonomous emergency braking, lane following assist, front vehicle departure alert and active assists in the BSM, RCTA and Safe Exit Assist.  

The new Hyundai Staria in Indonesia is priced at IDR888 million (~RM260k) for the 9-seater variant and IDR1.020 billion (RM300k) for the 7-seater variant. A ballpark figure, the new Hyundai Staria is IDR300 million (~RM88k) dearer than the Starex H1 model.

For reference, the entry-level Toyota Alphard 2.5 X starts from IDR1.065 billion, while a Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer starts from IDR1.027 billion.   

GALLERY

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Toyota Thailand stops production due to Covid-Delta outbreak

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An informative article about Penang.

Toyota Motor Thailand has stopped operations at three of its factories due to an outbreak of the Covid-19 Delta-variant.

The Nikkei Asia reported that operations have stopped since Wednesday (July 21st) and will last for at least seven days. The timing couldn’t be any better though, as operations were meant to take a short break from July 24th to 28th anyway in conjunction with national public holidays.

Thailand has a variety of vehicles that are aimed specifically at their taste and preferences

Nonetheless, Toyota Thailand will assess the situation and decide on the reopening on July 29th. The closure from Wednesday was due to a break in the supply chain, where a facility supplying wire harnesses has been forced to shut down due to an outbreak of the virus that is said to be from the stronger Delta variant.

The reopening will also be judged if the company finds a solution to the specific supply chain issue, thereby minimising its downtime to just three days.

Asia Pacific

This is the second time Toyota’s production in Thailand has been affected by the global pandemic, with the first beginning in March 2020.

UMW Toyota currently imports the Toyota Corolla Altis and Camry models from Thailand. The first batch of Toyota Corolla Cross is fully imported, before moving to local assembly by the end of this year.

With the semiconductor chip shortage starting to hit automakers, it is only a matter of time before the next wave of production is affected. Last year, Toyota Thailand only managed to produce 442,822 units, a significant drop from the total capacity of 760,000 units.

Camry

This year, the company is hoping to churn out 527,000 units, a 19% improvement compared to 2020. Close to half of the total production is exported to the Asia Pacific as well as other regions.

Closer to home, UMW Toyota also laments closure due to EMCO, hopes the situation improves soon.

The automotive industry in Thailand, dubbed Detroit of the East, is also gearing up to face the accelerated transition to electric vehicles. Last month, the state-owned energy company specialised in oil and gas has announced a collaboration with Foxconn to set up production of EV platforms in the Kingdom.

semiconductor

The government of Thailand also recently announced bold plans to accelerate the supply and adoption of EVs in the country. By the end of 2025, Thailand hopes to have 25% of new vehicles sold are zero local emissions, with the figure increasing to 50% by the end of this decade, up from 30% previously proposed.

The kingdom plans to only offer zero-emission new vehicles from 2035, the earliest country in the ASEAN region to wave goodbye to the internal combustion engine.   

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Thailand phasing out combustion engines, pushing to have only EVs as new cars in 2035

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A great post on Penang Malaysia.

Thailand, the largest automotive market in the ASEAN region with Indonesia a very close second, is setting up an ambitious plan to only offer electric vehicles (EV) as new vehicles from 2035, completely phasing out the internal combustion engine, five years earlier than Singapore!

The report from Bloomberg highlights now that the country has set a target for phasing out vehicles with combustion engines, the next step for the government will be to facilitate the transition.

Association of Southeast Asian Nationsbangkok post

Kawin Thangsupanich, an adviser to Energy Ministry’s national policy committee, said the government must press hard on the development of strategies to build more charging infrastructure, implement favourable tax incentives, regulations as well as promote manufacturing of EVs.

The target, that is only 14 over years away, is incredibly ambitious for the nation that registers over 1 million units of new vehicles annually, of which, half are commercial vehicles such as pick-up trucks powered by diesel engines.

MG is aggressive with its EV plans in Thailand

Battery EVs currently make up less than 1% of cars in Thailand, with just 2,202 units sold last year. Hybrid vehicles, both self-charging and plug-in charging, fare much better, registering over 178,000 units in 2020, a growth in sales given the disruption following the global pandemic.

By the end of 2025, Thailand hopes to have 25% of new vehicles sold are zero local emissions, with the figure increasing to 50% by the end of this decade, up from 30% previously proposed.

Both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have facilities to assemble PHEV batteries in Thailand

In a separate report by the Bangkok Post, total production of EVs consisting of both cars and pick-up trucks is estimated to be 400,000 units by 2025, and see an exponential jump to under 3 million units in just five years, supporting the plan to have 50% of new cars to be EV in 2030.  

With the idea of 100% of new vehicles sold being an EV, the automotive industry in Thailand expects to have produced a cumulative of 8.6 million cars and pick-ups by 2035.

BMWEnergy Ministry

As the supply of many components and sub-assemblies of vehicles come from Thailand, this bold plan will surely affect us all in the ASEAN region. Could this also mean the first electric-powered pick-up truck could be released as soon as 2025?  

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The Volkswagen ID.4 honoured as the World Car of the Year 2021

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A really good post on Penang.

Volkswagen’s global fully electric car, the ID.4, has just been awarded the grand prize of World Car of the Year (WCOTY) 2021. This is the 17th edition of the global automotive awards ceremony.

This year’s winner was chosen from an initial entry list of 24 vehicles from all over the world, then a shortlist of three finalists was announced at the end of March.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Volkswagen ID.4 received a total of 798 points, beating another popular electric car, the Honda e, which amassed 742 points. The Toyota Yaris scored just 10 points lower. Finalists were assessed and given marks in traditional categories (e.g. space, value and performance) as well as more intangible items such as emotional appeal and market significance.

Other models in the pool of finalists include the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

Audi Q8

Judged by a panel of 93 international automotive journalists from 28 countries, the WCOTY finalists were selected via a secret ballot, based on their individual evaluation of each eligible vehicle conducted throughout the year as part of their own professional work. The votes were tabulated by KPMG.

There are also categories for more targeted segment such as luxury, performance and design. The winners and finalists are listed as below:

World Luxury Car

Malaysia
  1. Mercedes-Benz S-Class (853)
  2. Polestar 2 (815)
  3. Land Rover Defender (774)

World Performance Car

Porsche
  1. Porsche 911 Turbo (822)
  2. Audi RS Q8 (792)
  3. Toyota GR Yaris (773)

Unsurprisingly, the Toyota GR Yaris scored big in Value and scored better than the Audi Q8 in the categories of Market Significance and Emotional Appeal.

Curiously, only vehicles in this category are available for sale in Malaysia today (out of the 15 top finalists), with the now-sold-out Toyota GR Yaris asking RM286,896 a unit while the just-introduced Porsche 911 Turbo has a price list that starts from RM2.2 million.

World Urban Car

Toyota Yaris
  1. Honda e (754)
  2. Toyota Yaris (737)
  3. Honda Jazz/Fit (719)

Both the Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz/Fit are variants for developed nations i.e. Japan and Europe, where safety and emission regulations are more stringent than the products found in ASEAN.

World Car Design of the Year

  1. Land Rover Defender (299)
  2. Honda e (239)
  3. Mazda MX-30 (197)

With more and more fully electric cars being launched every quarter, the organising committee has also introduced a category just for local zero-emission vehicles. The Honda e has been quite popular with the global jurors. Last year, it was awarded as the overall winner of the German Car of the Year 2021.

The jurors in the Women’s World Car of the Year awarded the Honda e as the Best EV while its beautiful design was given the award of ‘Best of the best’ by Red Dot.

Last year’s WCOTY was the Kia Telluride, with the Porsche Taycan taking top honours in the Performance and Luxury categories.

GALLERY

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Kia Malaysia to begin CKD operations earliest 2022, prioritising aftersales service

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An informative article about Malaysia.

For those excited at the prospects of cheaper Kia models following the announcement of the new Kia Malaysia joint-venture, bad news – you’ll still have to wait a little longer.

At the Q&A session following today’s media event formalising the partnership between Bermaz Auto (BAuto) and Kia Motor Corporation, BAuto Executive Chairman Dato’ Sri Ben Yeoh said that the CKD operations will take roughly 12 to 18 months to set up, implying that the earliest we’ll get to see any new locally-assembled models would be from 2022 onwards.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

For now, the company will be focusing on establishing a “quality ownership experience” for existing and new customers by addressing the after sales issues that many owners have experienced. “We have to address these issues before we try to sell cars,” he added.

While the company is working on setting up its new assembly line at Inokom’s plant in Kulim, Dinamikjaya Motors, the BAuto subsidiary that has been appointed distributorship for Kia vehicles in Malaysia, will begin selling off existing “hangover stock” inherited from the previous distributor.

Carnival

As a recap, Bermaz Auto has just taken over stewardship of the Kia brand here in Malaysia thanks to a new strategic partnership with Kia Motor Corporation themselves, forming the new Kia Malaysia joint-venture company where Kia holds 66.6% of shares – the rest held by BAuto.

The Kia Malaysia company will carry out the local assembly operations here in Malaysia, where three CKD models including the Kia Seltos and Carnival have already been planned. The company also plans to export these cars to the neighbouring ASEAN region, making Malaysia the regional hub for Kia.

Meanwhile, distributorship for Kia vehicles have been appointed to Dinamikjaya Motors, a BAuto subsidiary.

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KARACHI 🇵🇰 VS. GEORGE TOWN (PENANG) 🇲🇾 | Cities of Pakistan and Malaysia | ASEAN VS. South Asia #3 |

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Welcome to The ASEAN Section!
Enjoy watching the beautiful cities of Karachi, Pakistan and George Town, Malaysia!

ASEAN VS. South Asia Edition

Special Thanks to the Sources of Video Clips👇

— Karachi —
Aerial Footage
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1SndX2hKvYkVx0PnVP6_Zw
Sarah Arif
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrdWHIgYMgNsEQyMAOKwpQ
Hussnain Tarar Official
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRHbRRgUOB9t5jr4XetFCcQ
Moneeb Anjum
https://www.youtube.com/user/muneeb54321
Haiderr Ali
https://www.youtube.com/c/PakiGamerr

— George Town —
Arnab Gurun
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4dLcoHCAEt9Vx2LwiuE3uw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/encik.arnab.gurun/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/arnabgurun/
SKYRUN MALAYSIA
https://www.youtube.com/c/kakikujalanjalan
Zoez Teh
https://www.youtube.com/c/ZoezTeh

And others.

Please Try Checking Out their YouTube Channels.

Disclaimer
I do not own any video clip on my video. Every video clip belongs to their respective owner

Song: MBB – Bora Bora
Music provided by Vlog No Copyright Music.
Creative Commons – Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Video Link: https://youtu.be/53ZjQWNfBcI

Song: MBB – Feel Good (Vlog No Copyright Music)
Music provided by Vlog No Copyright Music.
Video Link: https://youtu.be/wIDKJeLXO5Q

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This video was posted by the YouTube channel: The ASEAN Section

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KARACHI 🇵🇰 VS. GEORGE TOWN (PENANG) 🇲🇾 | Cities of Pakistan and Malaysia | ASEAN VS. South Asia #3 |

By Leave a Comment

Welcome to The ASEAN Section!
Enjoy watching the beautiful cities of Karachi, Pakistan and George Town, Malaysia!

ASEAN VS. South Asia Edition

Special Thanks to the Sources of Video Clips👇

— Karachi —
Aerial Footage
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1SndX2hKvYkVx0PnVP6_Zw
Sarah Arif
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrdWHIgYMgNsEQyMAOKwpQ
Hussnain Tarar Official
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRHbRRgUOB9t5jr4XetFCcQ
Moneeb Anjum
https://www.youtube.com/user/muneeb54321
Haiderr Ali
https://www.youtube.com/c/PakiGamerr

— George Town —
Arnab Gurun
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4dLcoHCAEt9Vx2LwiuE3uw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/encik.arnab.gurun/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/arnabgurun/
SKYRUN MALAYSIA
https://www.youtube.com/c/kakikujalanjalan
Zoez Teh
https://www.youtube.com/c/ZoezTeh

And others.

Please Try Checking Out their YouTube Channels.

Disclaimer
I do not own any video clip on my video. Every video clip belongs to their respective owner

Song: MBB – Bora Bora
Music provided by Vlog No Copyright Music.
Creative Commons – Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Video Link: https://youtu.be/53ZjQWNfBcI

Song: MBB – Feel Good (Vlog No Copyright Music)
Music provided by Vlog No Copyright Music.
Video Link: https://youtu.be/wIDKJeLXO5Q

Like and Subscribe!

This video was posted by the YouTube channel: The ASEAN Section

You can find more videos on our main site here: Whats On Penang

Leave a comment below to let us know what you thought of this video and if you have any topics that you would like us to cover in the future.