Osamu Suzuki, senior advisor and former chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, passed away on Christmas Day, December 25, 2024, at the age of 94. According to a statement from Suzuki, the cause of death was malignant lymphoma. Although he stepped down as chairman in 2021 after more than four decades of service, Osamu Suzuki continued to serve as a senior advisor, refusing to fully retire. He was well known for his candid replies to questions about retirement, famously declaring, “I will die on th

Hans

Dec 27, 2024

Pick-up trucks have evolved into mainstream lifestyle vehicles, appreciated for their size, go-anywhere capability, and increasingly premium features that rival similarly priced SUVs. However, the priorities for a business owner or tradesperson choosing a pick-up truck are often vastly different. At its core, a business-oriented pick-up truck must prioritise affordability, low running costs, excellent fuel economy, ample cargo capacity, and—most critically—uncompromising reliability to minimise

Arvind

Dec 27, 2024

Leapmotor announced its projected annual sales for 2024 to reach nearly 300,000 units, exceeding its initial target of 250,000 cars. The announcement was made by Zhu Jiangming, founder, chairman, and CEO, on 24-December 2024, as reported by Chinese media. The company reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2024 on 11-November. The carmaker posted revenue of RMB 9.86 billion (~MYR 6 billion), marking an 83.9% increase from the previous quarter and a 74.3% rise year-on-year. Q3 res

Sanjay

Dec 27, 2024

Latin America's notoriously tough New Car Assessment Program (Latin NCAP) has crowned the BYD Dolphin as the region's safest Chinese battery electric vehicle, by virtue of it getting 5 stars in its crash test. In fact, it's the first Chinese-made BEV to get 5 stars in Latin NCAP's history. Prior 5 Star-rated cars include the Chevrolet Tracker and Ford Ranger. Latin NCAP is famously fastidious; with familiar models like the Toyota Raize nabbing only 1 star. The Brazil-market Dolphin comes with se

Sanjay

Dec 27, 2024

No car says "I have arrived" quite like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Spanning seven generations since its inception, the S-Class has consistently set the benchmark for luxury sedans that all others must measure up to. In Malaysia, the locally assembled (CKD) Mercedes-Benz S580e plug-in hybrid is the sole flagship sedan model. However, recent trends show recon units entering the market – primarily the S500L—are priced starting from RM 790k—a hefty RM 80k more than the official S580e. Why is this th

Arvind

Dec 27, 2024