Price Cuts - I am not happy

"Up to RM40,000 cut in prices for imported cars" the NST reports today.

Am I happy?

DO I LOOK HAPPY?


I am furious becuse I had seen this coming. I had predicted that prices would fall. I had argued with my friends who had insisted that the prices would not go down.

I am angry because I was planning to sell my not so old Wira (about to turn 4 this year) and prices of second hand cars have fallen down the roof. Now I am too late.

Just wondering how much my Wira can fetch now on the used car market.

NOTE: Just learnt through Paul Tan's blog that Proton has posted the new prices for its car on their website .

TAGS: policy NAP used cars

The New NAP

The Government of Malaysia has finally unveiled the new National Automotive Policy (NAP). The new tax structure which took effect yesterday, is exected to lower the prices of cars(fully imported and locally assembled).

It was reported that the players in the motor industry were happy with new policy. Read the interview with Aishah Ahmad, President of the Malaysia Automative Association here

Tax cuts include:
- Between 20 and 40% (depending on engine capacity) for Completely-built-up (CBU) passenger cars made in Asean
- Between five and 30%, for completely-built-up (CBU) passenger cars Non-Asean cars.

Two of the major points of the NAP: (from the Star report)

- Doing away with Approved Permits (APs) by Dec 31, 2010
- Establishing only two national manufacturers

Another report says that "the immediate beneficiaries will be national carmakers Proton and Perodua, who lead the industry in terms of production, sales volume and market share".

The two national car makers are expected to benefit from grants and incentives,"to help them boost production and seek more export markets". They would be happy with the ruling that no new manufacturing licences until overcapacity in the domestic automotive sector is resolved

The Government also plans to ban the import of re-conditioned (second-hand) cars by Dec 31, 2010 except for personal usage.

The Downside: Those who had been planning to get an MPV or 4WD will be dissapointed as the the duties on these vehicles were not reduced as much as for passenger cars.

Read what Paul Tan's report here

TAGS: Policy NAP

Proton in China

Here are some recent news reports about Proton's increasing interest in China:

1. Has Proton entered into a partnership with JinHua QingNian, to penetrate the sizable Chinese passenger car market? Chery is another carmaker that is said to be in talks with Proton. Read more here

2. Proton is reportedly to start a car assembly joint venture in China's Guangdong Province later this year, producing 50,000 Proton Wajas in the first year. The report says that the company will face the going tough there. Read more here.

3. Mayban Securities Research says that Proton will be unable to see much earnings contribution in the medium term from its investment in China via a subscription of a 49 per cent stake in Goldstar Heavy Industries Co Ltd. Read more here

New Honda Civic in Malaysia

The new 8th generation Honda Civic was unveiled at the KL Convention Center by Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd,on 9 March 2006.



Labeled the 'Advanced Dynamic Sedan', the new Civic is available in two specifications;

Honda Civic 1.8L
- New 4 cylinder 16V chain driven SOHC i-VTEC engine (after 17 years) with a DBW (drive-by-wire) system.
- Price RM117,800 OTR

Honda Civic 2.0L
- 4 cylinder 16V chain driven DOHC i-VTEC engine
- RM131,800 OTR

Both come:
- a Multi-tiered dashboard display that positions the speedometer, and other frequently checked displays on an upper tier near the driver's line of sight for minimum eye movement while driving, whereas the tachometer, and other gauges are located on the lower tier.
- 5 speed automatic gearbox.
- Dual airbags, active headrest and ABS. However, the Civic 2.0L comes with extra side airbags.

Other Info:
- The new civic doesn't come with a spare tyre.
- Ground clearance is 155mm for 1.8S and 150mm for 2.0S
- Produced at the Malaca plant which only has a capacity for 1000 units/ month.

Others:

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Yasuhide Mizuno:
"Since the 1st generation Civic in 1972, we have been creating new values for the next generations and with this 8th generation Civic, we are reinventing new values that surpass all existing ones in the sedan class. The all new Civic is truly a car designed for everyone and continues to earn the support and respect from Malaysians for its performance, reliability and quality."

Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.'s Asia-Oceania operations and also Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd.'s President and Chief Executive Officer, Satoshi Toshida (He will take over as Chief Operating Officer of Honda Motor's global power products' operations on 1 April 2006):
"For many of our customers, the Civic defines Honda. When it was first introduced 34 years ago, the Civic quickly became Honda's first mass market automobile sold on a global scale. To date, over 16 million customers in some 160 countries have purchased it. Our goal for each new generation of the Civic is to achieve substantive improvements in all measures of an automobile's value, including driving performance, fuel economy, safety, environmental friendliness and packaging. In so doing, we want to ensure that each new generation of the Civic immediately sets a new, global benchmark for its category".

- Power Products is one of Honda's 3 core businesses and includes solar panel development as well as multi-purpose engines used to power everything from lawn mowers to speedboats.

- 2005 was a record breaking year for Honda Malaysia with the company enjoying a sales record of 27,462 units, an increase of 11% compared to 2004.

- The sales target for 2006 is 30,000 units with the new Civic expected to make up 20% of the sales.

Read what Paul Tan has to say abotu the engine here.

TAGS: Honda Civic

The Name Matters

Just found a reason why the Proton Chancellor might not do well.

According to one of my sources the name when translated into Chinese ( forgot to ask whether in Mandarin or one of the dialects) sound a bit like “will surely die tragically or horribly”.

NOTE: Learnt that other bloggers including the famous Jeff Ooi had written about the issue before. Another related link here.

Knowing from experience how superstitious many of the Chinese in Malaysia are, its no wonder that the car is not that popular with them.

Added 13 March, 06: Proton is planning to export the Chancellor to some overseas markets and I am not sure whether they are going to rename it. I know for sure that they have a policy of having different names of it's various models in different markets. For example, the Proton Wira was known as the Persona (no more on sale in the UK apart from second hand). Similarly, the Waja and the Arena is known as the Impian and Jumbuck respectively in Australia and UK. Similarly . Hope they don't face the same problem that the Tata did with the Cliffrider.

RELATED POST: Proton Chancellor Launched

TAGS: Proton

Proton out of the Red

Proton Holdings Bhd showed profits in its third quarter of its financial year ending Dec 31, 2005.

The company saw an all time high record car sales of 22,971 units in october and a total52,418 cars old during the October-December quarter

The net profit of RM86.51mil was posted compared to loss of RM166.7mil for the first half of the year.

Other announcements by Managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir:

- A strategic tie-up with a China carmaker soon according to .
- Key areas of concern identified, namely, issues on quality, product diversity, cost control, vendor development, manufacturing efficiency and sales and marketing.''
- Better collaboration between Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd and Proton Edar in the future.

TAGS: Proton