Weekly wrap-up: BMW K 1600 B, new Honda Wave Alpha, & BMW iX xDrive50 Sport launch, Toyota, MINI, & BMW price list for 2023

The new year brings a lot of newness to the automotive sector. While the motorcycle sector was the launch of a new Honda scooter, the Wave Alpha, and the BMW K 1600 B. As for the local automotive sector, the all-new BMW iX xDrive50 Sport was added to the local iX range. Also, the rising manufacturing cost and global inflation forced Toyota, MINI, and BMW to increase the prices of their models. Similarly, a lot happened in the international market like the debut of the VW ID.7 and more.

Local news

Toyota is Malaysia’s best-selling non-national brand

In 2022, Toyota Malaysia sold 100,042 units which makes it the best-selling non-national car brand in the country. Out of the total vehicles sold 27,198 units were commercial vehicles like pickup trucks like the Hilux. Other top contenders in Toyota Malaysia's lineup include

The Corolla Cross, Hiace, and Fortuner with 17,208, 390, and 3,432 units respectively. Taking Lexus’ sales figure into consideration, UMW Toyota Motors delivered a total of 101,035 vehicles in 2022.

BMW M2’s ROI open in Malaysia

BMW Malaysia has opened registration of interest (ROI) for the upcoming M2 on its official website. The two-door RWD coupe was revealed globally in October 2022 and will make its way to our shores. The car will be powered by a 3.0-liter straight-six turbocharged engine generating a max power output of 460 hp along with a peak torque of 550 Nm. The power is sent to the wheels via either an 8-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission. The coupe is equipped with Adaptive M suspension with electronically controlled dampers, M Servotronic steering with variable ratio, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), M Compound brakes with six-piston, fixed-caliper brakes at the front and single-piston, floating-caliper brakes at the rear.

Honda Malaysia surpasses its 2022 sales target

Honda Malaysia recently announced that it has surpassed its initial sales target of 80,000 units for 2022 and instead sold a total of 80,200 cars. Thus representing a 51% hike over the previous year. Also, March was its best-performing month in 2022 with more than 10,500 units sold. As for model-to-model performance, the City was the biggest contributor, followed by the City hatchback and HR-V. Also, in 2022, the brand launched three models, the Civic, HR-V, and the Civic e: HEV RS, all of which were big contributors to the brand’s overall sales performance.

Perodua sold 282k units in 2022

The year 2022 was a challenging one for Perodua due to a handful of obstacles that came its way like the massive flood, worker shortage due to a spike in COVID-19 cases along with an increase in raw materials prices, and semiconductor shortage. The automaker sold a total of 282,019 units, representing a 48.2% growth over 2021.

Proton 2022 sales figure, highest ever since 2013

Proton sold a total of 141,432 cars globally in 2022 which compared to 2021 showcases a 23.3% increase. Also, the said figure is the highest for the automaker since 2013 with the automaker aiming for more growth this year. As for exports, the automaker saw a 79.1% growth with 5,406 units exported to international markets. Three Proton models come out to be segment lenders at the end of the year namely, the Exora, X50, and X70.

Toyota Camry and Corolla prices hiked for 2023

Effective from 3rd Jan 2023, Toyota Malaysia has updated its price list for two of its models, the Corolla and Camry sedan. While the former experiences a price hike of RM 4,000 (both variants) and RM 10,000 hike for the latter. The new prices are inclusive of the automaker's standard 5-year unlimited-mileage warranty.

BMW Malaysia’s price list updated for 2023

BMW has updated its price list for 2023 where several models experience a hike. Part of the list is - the entire 3 Series, the X1 range, the fully-electric iX3, the 5 Series line-up, the i4, the iX, the Z4 sDrive30i M Sport, the M135i x Drive, the 630i GT M Sport, the 218i M Sport Gran Coupe. The enhanced price tags include the Service and Repair Inclusive that extends the car's warranty to 5 years along with a 5-year unlimited mileage service package.

MINI Malaysia’s price list updated for 2023

MINI has increased prices for several models that range from 0.2% to 4.1%, depending on the variant picked. The said price rise is attributed to rising manufacturing costs and global inflation. Part of the new price list is the following MINI cars - the 3-Door Cooper S, fully-electric Cooper SE, Convertible, 5-Door, Clubman Cooper S, Countryman Cooper S, and John Cooper Works models.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity now standard for all BMW models

Starting 2023, BMW Malaysia will offer Smartphone Integration and Connected Package Professional as standard for all its models. Meaning Apple CarPay and Android Auto connectivity will now be free on all its cars.

BMW iX xDrive50 Sport in Malaysia

BMW Malaysia has updated its iX line-up with the launch of the all-new xDrive50 Sport variant. The fully-electric SUV offers additional performance and range, however, at an additional cost. The variant retails for RM 546,800 with a Service and Repair Inclusive package.

2023 Honda Wave AIpha in Malaysia

Honda Malaysia has updated the Wave Alpha kapcai for the model year 2023. The new model features a new 110 cc fuel injection engine meeting EURO 4 emission standard. The reworked mill offers better fuel efficiency and smooth power delivery.

BMW K 1600 B in Malaysia

BMW Motorrad Malaysia launched the all-new K 1600 B in the country last week. For the model year 2022, the luxury tourer comes with an improved engine with enhanced emission figures. Also, part of the new and improved kit is - a new engine control, a new engine drag torque control, a knock sensor system, fully adaptive LED lighting with an ‘adaptive headlight’, an anti-theft alarm, and a center locking system.

International news

BYD sold nearly 2 million units in 2022

BYD sold 1.85 million units in total in 2022, thus placing the Chinese automaker at the top of the New Electric Vehicle sales charts worldwide. However, compared to Tesla, the fully-electric BEV still has a long way to go before catching up to the 1,313,851 sales mark. The brand’s plug-in hybrid models were the biggest contributors to its part year’s success with a total of 946,239 units sold. As for exports, BYD reports selling a total of 11,320 NEVs in overseas markets (Malaysia, Australia, Europe, and Thailand). The largest contributor to the brand’s export figure is the fully-electric Atto 3 SUV.

Volkswagen ID.7 debuts

Volkswagen’s sixth ‘ID’ all-electric car, the VW ID.7 made its debut this past week but all covered in a bight-colored digital camouflage. Currency at display at the Consumer Electronics Show taking place in Las Vegas. The ID.7 is the second VW built on the brand’s MEB platform after the ID.4. The luxury electric sedan will have a range of 700 km and accompanied by several innovative features like - a new display concept, an augmented reality head-up display, a 15-inch screen, new air conditioning controls integrated into the first level of the infotainment system, and illuminated touch slider.

Sony and Honda unveils new EV prototype

It was nearly a year ago that Sony and Honda announced their plans to build EVs together and now finally the two companies have revealed a new prototype at CES 2023. Called the Afeela, the electric sedan was driven on the stage by Sony’s CEO and will enter production by the end of 2025. Not much is revealed about the EV, but it is sure to feature a total of 45 cameras & sensors, a Level 3 automated driving system, and Level 2+ driving assistance, and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Digital Chassis processor.

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