Go Granny Go!
Whoever said that women and old people can’t drive has been proven wrong by Shirley Veine. Shirley isn’t your average lady – she’s 82 and drives like a speed demon.
The Causeway War continues
It was just about a year ago that ‘frenemies’ Singapore and Malaysia got into a tiff when the Republic raised Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fares for cars entering the island. The raising of fee from SG$20 to SG$35 per day for foreign-registered cars and the quadrupling of fee for goods vehicles, from SG$10 to SG$40, caused the Malaysian transport authority to respond by proposing an entry fee for Singapore cars entering Malaysian soil. (see: Singapore Raises Vehicle Entry Permit; Malaysia Reacts).
Car sales in Indonesia keep falling
With only 43 cars per 1,000 people in Indonesia, automakers have had their eyes on Indonesia as a key emerging market in Asia Pacific. But lack of consumer confidence, high lending rates and inflation meant that sales have fallen short of expectations.
BMW to lower forecast amidst China slowdown
Bayerische Motoren Werkes AG, more commonly known as BMW to the likes of you and me, has announced that they are thinking of lowering their global profitability forecasts as market conditions continue to worsen in the world’s largest automobile market, China.
Lotus and Proton turn to China for future survival
Is this a picture of the new Lotus Extinct?
Lotus Group International has announced the long awaited plans to build and manufacture a Lotus-branded Sports Utility Vehicle in Fujian Province, China, by 2019. The news of the new venture for the Malaysian-owned but UK-based sports car company was made late last year but it is only now that details are emerging from Proton Holdings Berhad, the owner of Lotus.
A good July for automakers in India
Low fuel prices, a series of new model launches and better than expected monsoons have boosted consumer sentiments and, in turn, vehicle sales in India. Automakers announced sales numbers on Saturday, and there was a combined growth of 17.2% and a total of 206,455 units sold in the month of July.