BMW Malaysia delivered fully subsidised child car seats to B40 families

KUALA LUMPUR: Back in May, BMW Group Malaysia rolled out a NEXTStep Subsidy programme in association with its long-term partner, Safe 'n Sound, while addressing the safety of infants/toddlers sitting in a car. Under this, the German automaker invited B40 group families to apply for fully subsidised child car seats to make them more accessible to lower-income households.

The company received over 900 registrations throughout the application period and has recently presented a total of 90 fully subsidised child car seats to the eligible applicants at the NEXTStep Subsidy Programme’s special handover event, which concluded in the Klang Valley. 

During the event, a total of 12 child car seats were presented with the remaining delivered to the families that reside within and outside of the Klang Valley. 

While commenting on the NEXTStep Subsidy Programme, BMW Group Malaysia managing director Hans de Visser said, “The overwhelming response we have received for this subsidy programme highlights the crucial need for us to make child car seats more accessible to the public, especially to lower-income families.”

“We hope to continue advocating for the uptake of child car seats amongst families in Malaysia, while also raising awareness and encouraging more parents to act independently in ensuring the highest level of safety for their children while on the road,” he said.

Here, we have a list of the subsided child seats provided to the B40 families along with their normal costs in the market.

• snskidz Ace (infant carrier) - RM 199 
• snskidz sport (convertible seat) - RM 279
• snskidz Whizz (ISOFIX seat) - RM 499
• snskidz Proto (combination booster seat) - RM 399
• Mifold (booster seat) - RM 199 

The funds for the subsided seats were raised by BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia last year. “We are pleased to have been able to support the NEXTStep Subsidy Programme with the funds we raised last year through one of our fundraising initiatives,” said BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia CEO Matthias Schlesiger.

“For every signed contract of a BMW or MINI electrified vehicle (EV), RM100 was contributed to the fundraiser and ultimately channelled to a cause that we hold close to our hearts,” he added.

As part of the BMW Safety 360° initiative, BMW Group Malaysia initiated the first subsidy programme in 2019 and received an overwhelming response of almost 25k applicants. To date, it has offered subsidised child car seats to more than 400 families.

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