“The interest is calculated based on the principal sum and not the remaining balance, that’s crazy!” That was the conversation I had a car company executive who has just been transferred from Europe to Malaysia. The topic of increasingly long loan tenures for auto loans is also becoming a concern in the US but how long is too long for them? 7-year tenure auto loans now make up 20 percent of total US car loans – more than twice as many compared to 10 years ago. To many financial experts in the US
Jul 17, 2020
The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is urging the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Bank Negara Malaysia to compel banks to extend the deferment of loans for another six months. The current 6-month moratorium was announced back in March when the first stage of the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced in an effort to prevent the spread of the pandemic. With all activities and businesses put on pause, many people were either forced to take massive pay cuts, go on unpaid leaves by employers
Jul 7, 2020
It turns out that it wasn’t just used car sales that saw an increase throughout the past few months, used car dealers in Johor Bahru are reporting an increase in car owners trying to sell their vehicles after the Movement Control Order (MCO) ended in June. One second-hand car shop manager Chang Keng Keong told The Star that there has been a 30 percent increase in the number of people who came to his shop enquiring for information about the disposal of their cars. This was especially apparent in
Nov 25, 2020
It’s time to sell your car. You’ve already figured out how to get the highest price and how to clean the interior, but how do you sell your car without going through a used car dealer? Assuming that you’ve somehow managed to find for a buyer that’s willing to buy your old car, there are some steps to follow before you can sell off your old car. Also Read: Selling your car soon? Here's how to ensure you get the highest price If it’s a cash sale and there’s no outstanding loan, it’s pretty straigh
Apr 6, 2021
In 1949, the loan tenure for a VW Beetle was 12 months with an interest rate of 9 % per annum. Things have changed. In Malaysia today, car loan tenures are usually of 5,7, or even 9 years with interest rates hovering around 3% per annum (calculated on principal). Cars are getting more expensive and are almost impossible to purchase without using a loan. But is taking a car loan a bad financial decision? Well, it depends on your financial circumstances (mainly your income), how much you benefit f
Jan 28, 2021
Bank Negara Malaysia have announced a 6-month moratorium for all bank loans except credit card balances, starting 1 April 2020. The moratorium is basically a temporary freeze on loan repayments. However, do remember that the moratorium applies only to loan repayments. Interests will continue to accrue every month as usual. Also, the moratorium applies only to loans that have not been in arrears (all previous payments owed paid in full) for more than 90 days as of 1 April 2020. How does the 6-mon
Mar 25, 2020
The highly-anticipated 2020 Proton X50 is finally here, after several preview sessions held across the country. With prices starting from RM 79,200 for the Proton X50 1.5T Standard, it sure does look like a tempting deal, but is your salary enough to sign that loan? Let’s find out more in this article. How much do I need to make? Starting things off is the entry-level Proton X50 1.5T Standard (RM 79,200, on the road, without insurance), the monthly repayment is roughly RM 800 a month, given a 2.
Oct 27, 2020
The Toyota Yaris nameplate isn’t exactly new in Malaysia, as it was first introduced here back in 2006 before getting discontinued a couple of year later. Fast forward to 2019 and UMW Toyota Motor reintroduced the Toyota Yaris in Malaysia, this time based on the NSP151-generation Toyota Vios. In this article, we will take a closer look and see how much you need to make each month before you can apply for a loan to purchase and maintain a Toyota Yaris. How much do I need to make? Starting things
Oct 24, 2020
The 6-month long loan moratorium is set to expire in September and its expiry could have some negative impact on the Malaysian automotive industry. The loan moratorium went into effect in April as the country entered the Movement Control Order (MCO) period. Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Datuk Aishah Ahmad told The Edge, “People will not have the money to buy new vehicles. But I think it depends on the category of vehicles. I think high-end vehicles will not be impacted; people
Jul 27, 2020
Ever since Honda Malaysia introduced the tenth-generation Honda Civic a few years ago, it proved to be a very popular model. The facelifted Civic was introduced earlier this year, keeping it fresh for a couple more years. It's an aspirational car for a lot of young buyers, attracting many who can barely afford the car. So in this article, we will take a look and see how much you need to earn before you can afford to buy and maintain a Honda Civic. Taking the entry-level Civic 1.8 S (RM 109,326,
Oct 6, 2020
A couple of weeks ago, Honda Malaysia finally launched the all-new 2020 Honda City, replacing the GM6-generation model that was introduced back in 2014. Unlike the aspirational Honda Civic, the Honda City is aimed a more price-conscious crowd. In this article, we will take a look and see how much you need to earn before you can buy and maintain a Honda City. How much do I need to make? Take for example the entry-spec Honda City 1.5 S (RM 74,191, on the road, excluding insurance), the monthly rep
Oct 18, 2020
Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia recently released the prices of the 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander, a model that will compete directly against the Honda BR-V, Perodua Aruz, and Toyota Rush. In this article, we will take a closer look and see how much you need to make each month before you should apply for a loan to purchase the Mitsubishi Xpander. How much do I need to make? The Mitsubishi Xpander has a starting price of RM 91,358 (on the road, without insurance), meaning that the monthly repayment is rough
Nov 20, 2020
Just recently, official prices of the 2021 Toyota Yaris have been released. It is priced from RM 70,940 onwards for the base Yaris 1.5 J, before topping out at RM 84,808 for the Yaris 1.5 G. Currently, the Yaris competes against the Honda Jazz, but it will be replaced with the Honda City Hatchback in 2021. In this article, we will take a closer look and see how much you need to make each month before you should apply for a loan to purchase the Toyota Yaris. How much do I need to make? The Toyota
Dec 16, 2020
Ever since spyshots of the all-new Nissan Almera started surfacing late last year, the hype started building up for ETCM’s newest B-segment sedan. Fast forward to November and ETCM has revealed prices of its highly-anticipated model. In this article, we will take a closer look and see how much you need to make each month before you should apply for a loan to purchase the all-new Nissan Almera. How much do I need to make? The all-new Nissan Almera has a starting price of RM 79,906 (on the road, w
Nov 4, 2020
UMW Toyota Motor has just announced the official prices of the 2021 Toyota Innova facelift in Malaysia. Prices start from RM 111,622 for the entry-level Innova 2.0 E variant and tops out at RM 129,667 for the Innova 2.0 X variant. Although there is a slight increase in prices across the board for the updated Innova, it is justifiable as UMWT has improved the safety and features of its people mover. Now, you might be thinking what’s the minimum salary needed in order to apply for a loan. Well, yo
Jan 10, 2021
UMW Toyota Motor has just released the official prices for the 2021 Toyota Vios facelift and the prices are nothing short of appealing. Starting from RM 74,623 for the base Vios 1.5 J, it is only RM 430 more than the base Honda City 1.5 S. As appealing as the prices are for the Vios facelift, you might be wondering what's the minimum salary needed in order to apply for a loan. Well, you've come to the right place as we will show you how much is the minimum monthly salary required to purchase the
Dec 16, 2020
Even though the Movement Control Order (MCO) is in effect, Proton is wasting no time at all with development works for the upcoming 2021 Proton Iriz crossover version and 2021 Proton Persona. Both cars were spotted testing on the roads not far from the Proton Shah Alam Centre of Excellence. The photos were sent to The Ajerul by Muhamad Nur Affieq and Nadhirah Ahmad Najib. According to The Ajerul, 2 new colours, Passion Red and Citric Orange will likely be made available for the 2021 Iriz but the
Jan 25, 2021
Renault has been named Malaysia Car Subscription Company of the Year at the 2020 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Best Practices Awards for its Renault Subscription programme, a year after the programme celebrates its first anniversary. Launched in August last year, the programme was designed to offer an alternative to vehicle ownership beyond the traditional hire-purchase model as well as car sharing and rental options available. “We are delighted to have received this prestigious accolade from Fr
Aug 24, 2020
Pada tahun 1949, tempoh pinjaman bagi sebuah VW Beetle ialah 12 bulan dengan kadar bunga tahunan 9%. Itu dulu, sekarang dah lain. Kini, di Malaysia, tempoh pinjaman kereta selalunya untuk lima, tujuh atau sembilan tahun dengan kadar bunga tahunan berubah-ubah sekitar 3% (dikira berdasarkan jumlah prinsipal). Kereta-kereta zaman sekarang pun makin mahal dan hampir mustahil bagi kebanyakan orang untuk membelinya secara tunai. Tapi, adakah meminjam untuk membeli kereta satu perkara yang buruk? Perk
Feb 7, 2021
Malaysia’s Budget 2021 was tabled today by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, under very unusual CMCO circumstances. There’s nothing specific to the automotive industry, but on the topic of loan moratorium, the government has confirmed that there will be no extension. However, Zafrul explained that the government is putting forward a set of targeted assistance packages for the B40 low income earners, as well as small and medium enterprises. Eligible borrowers can choose betwee
Nov 6, 2020
We know that the Perodua Myvi has been a crowd favourite since it was first introduced back in 2005. The little hatchback doesn’t just dominate the new car buying scene but also the used car market as the second-hand car market continues its sales high following the month of July. Previously, it was reported that the used car market has hit an all-time high since the country entered the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) with year-on-year sales spiking over 25 percent in July. The y-o-y grow
Oct 13, 2020
Proton Saga armoured up a new infotainment system in the mid-life facelift. Some Ford vehicles also have the infotainment system updated, but not for facelift or whatsoever, but for its congenital defect. Law firm Hagens Berman said in a release on Tuesday that Ford and Lincoln reached compensation agreements with more than 360,000 owners in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Washington. According to the Top Class Actions, Ford has set aside $17 million to
Aug 9, 2019
Mercedes-Benz has given us a quick sneak peek of their upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS! The full-electric luxury sedan is slated to make its world debut in early 2021. The EQS is the fully electric member in the new S-Class programme. Hence why the model will be produced alongside other S-Class models, soon to include the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, in Factory 56 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen (Germany). From what we can see of the EQS, the limo will have a sloping coupe roof and a shorter
Dec 21, 2020
Over the past two weeks, the banking sector lost not just money, but a lot of goodwill from its customers. The former was unavoidable due to Covid-19, the latter was all their own doing. We are talking about how banks managed the communications to their customers regarding the 6-month moratorium for bank loans. Do banks not have any PR strategy at all? Hands up if you had trouble understanding Bank Negara’s first announcement on 25-March, which said: “It is important to note that the interest/pr
May 9, 2020
The Movement Control Order (MCO) in place to control the Covid-19 pandemic has put a huge speed bump on the various economic sector. The automotive industry has come to a complete halt as JPJ (Road and Transport Department Malaysia) has yet to resume new private vehicle registration (services related to commercial vehicles are available). It’s only a matter of time before consumers can go out and purchase their next perfect car. But with the soft economy that will prolong for the foreseeable fut
May 24, 2020
SEC approved the settlement agreement regarding both the misstatements of Nissan's director compensation and also the prior case of false annual securities reports. The SEC charged Nissan for omitting more than $140 million from Ghosen’s retirement. As for Carlos Ghosen, the chairman and chief executive of Nissan's French partner Renault, was accused of concealing more than $90 million of compensation. SEC states that Nissan will pay $15 million, while Ghosen to receive a $1 million penalty and
Sep 24, 2019
The following is still a developing news, we will update it when clearer official announcements are made. We were tipped off by our friends at Careta.my that banks might begin imposing interest charges on delayed/outstanding car loan repayments of borrowers who took up the 6-month moratorium. A statement released by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) earlier today said “…banking institutions are in the process of formalising agreements which reflect the revised payment terms with borrowers/customers wit
Apr 30, 2020
If you haven’t heard yet, Bermaz Auto Bhd, the distributor of Mazda cars, have taken over the distributorship of Peugeot along with the management of Citroen and DS’s aftersales services. The first item of their agenda to revive the Peugeot brand is to target the aftersales service. In a report by Maybank Investment Bank Research, Berjaya Auto Alliance Sdn Bhd (BAASB) - the new joint venture company formed by Bermaz Auto and Berjaya Corp to take over the distributorship of brands under Groupe PS
Dec 4, 2020
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has set up a committee to study various revenue enhancing measures including the possibility of reintroducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and imposing new taxes like carbon tax. In a note from Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) Research, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying that MoF is also analysing other aspects of the taxing system. Amongst them included analysing weaknesses in the current tax regime and impact of new t
Nov 23, 2020
Renault is probably one of the quieter car brands in Malaysia. The French brand has always been on sale in Malaysia for years under TC Euro Cars and while it doesn't appear on consumers' radar as often as a Honda or a Toyota, TC Euro Cars (TCEC) have trippled their sales in five years. Renault sold only 475 cars in 2015, climbing to 599 in the following year. They hit a new high in 2018 with 1,009 cars sold and ended 2019 with 1,218 cars sold. The marketing strategies has paid off through the ye
Apr 3, 2020
Honda HR-V
Perodua Alza
Honda City
Honda City Hatchback
Toyota Yaris