Released into Malaysian market

DATUK ABDUL JALIL HAMID

cbt@nst.com.my zuraimi@ mediaprima.com.my.

jeannieleong@mediaprima.com.my roche@mediaprima.com.my. RM159,990 for the 1.8 TSI Trendline; RM179,990 for the 1.8 TSI Comfortline and RM198,990 for the 2.0 TSI Highline, inclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST), but excluding insurance and road tax.

The Passat is powered by a 1.8-litre engine producing 177hp and 250Nm of torque or a 2.0-litre powerplant churning out 217hp and 350Nm of torque.

It is available in seven colours: Pure White, Deep Black, Reflex Silver, Indium Grey, Crimson Red, Black Oak Brown and Harvard Blue.

The Beetle Dune is priced at RM179,990, inclusive of GST, but without insurance and road tax.

It is powered by a 1.4-litre TSI turbo four-cylinder petrol engine producing 148hp from 5,000 to 6,000rpm and 250Nm between 1,500 and 3,500rpm, delivering power to the front wheels via a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission.

VPCM managing director Florian Steiner said VW aimed to sell a hundred units of Passat a month. On the other hand, only 50 units of the Beetle Dune will be made available to the Malaysian market.

He added that VPCM recorded sales of 6,400 Volkswagen cars last year, adding that the comwould pany not be raising prices next year even if the ringgit were to depreciate further.

“We do foresee a challengnext ing market year, but we are still expecting to be able to sell around the same amount of cars, this year as we did last year,” he said at the launch”

VPCM has sold some 10,000 units of the Passat since 2011, which was when DRB-HICOM’s Pekan plant began local assembly of the seventhgeneration model.

At the global level, the Passat is Volkswagen group’s most successful model with some 22 million units sold since its launch in 1979.