EXCITEMENT BUILDS OVER LAUNCHING OF PROTON’S NEW SUV

pROTON Holdings Bhd is building up market hype for its anticipated sportutility vehicle (SUV), embarking on activities for product awareness and generate excitement among Malaysians.

So far, Proton has revealed that the SUV will be equipped with technological features like smart voice recognition, 360˚ 3D camera, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency brake assist just to nameafew.

The vehicle’s launch date has not been announced, but Proton’s online poll to name its first SUV has attracted a huge response, perhaps an indication of the interest of Malaysians in the new offering.

As of Wednesday, 69,000 Facebook users had taken the poll.

“Over 1,000 people shared the content on their own personal pages, thus increasing the potential reach of the exercise,” Proton vice-president of sales and marketing Abdul Rashid Musa said.

As a token of appreciation to those who took the poll, RM100,000 worth of gift vouchers will be shared among participants.

There is the option of proposing an alternative name for the SUV, which if chosen will be rewarded with a four days/ three nights tour package to Hangzhou and Shanghai for two inclusive of a visit to the Geely’s headquarters. Geely is Proton’s foreign partner. meRceDes-Benz malaysia RegisteRs continueD gRowtH in fiRst quaRteR of 2018 Its been another stellar quarter for Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM).

The company set another record for Q1 sales performance with 3,335 vehicles delivered, with 13.2 per cent growth compared with the same period the previous year, during which 2,895 units were shifted.

The results show that MBM is bucking the declining domestic automotive market trend, and expanding its percentage of the luxury market, with 0.5 per cent growth, and now holding 2.8 per cent of the market share.

“It was a stellar first quarter for us in 2018, our best ever first quarter,” president and chief executive officer Dr Claus Weidner said.

Weidner said sales in January and February were the main growth drivers.

“We had record January and February sales. In January, we notched 1,200 vehicles sold while in February, 1,185 units were sold.”

The limousines chalked up the most sales, with 1,965 units sold between the C, E-, and S-Classes.

The compact car range saw the biggest growth, at 37.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Compact vehicles comprising the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, BClass, GLA and CLA Class recorded 596 units sold.

The Mercedes-Benz SUV range remained a growth driver recording 675 units sold, which translated into a 13.6 per cent jump from the same period last year.