In December 2023, Neta announced the completion of its 20,000 units per year capacity plant in Thailand. The company has since followed up on its progress, confirming that the first batch of Thailand-assembled (CKD) right-hand drive cars – a first outside of China – will reach customers by April 2024. The plant is in the outskirts of Bangkok, built in partnership with Neta’s local partner Bangchan General Assembly. Currently, the plant only makes one model, the Neta V-II, a facelift version of t

Say what you will about the Toyota Corolla Cross but one thing is certain, it’s been a sales success in Malaysia, outselling the Proton X70 even though it is pricier. 4 years after its world debut in Thailand, the Kingdom played host to the unveiling of the facelifted crossover earlier this month. The 2024 Corolla Cross facelift sports a new look but what else changed? We’ll take a look at the differences between the old pre-facelift and the new facelift which would be arriving in Malaysia somet

Light the candles and spin some party records as the Smart brand is now all grown up, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. From what started out as a study between watch company Swatch and Mercedes-Benz (Swatch Mercedes ART) to fulfill the gap for a small city car, the brand has revived under Geely's purveyorship and now has two all-electric models – the Malaysia-bound #1 and #3. The occasion is livened by the Smart #3 25th Anniversary Edition, and like most special editions, it comes wit

Enthusiasts have been increasingly lamenting the greenification of our cars and roads. Many are worried that the rise of electric vehicles, and the concern of emissions over everything else, will wipe out the joys of a sonorous engine. The manual gearbox? Don't even mention it. Toyota's engineers are confident that won't be the case. "We think sound is essential. We are developing the hydrogen engine to preserve the fun-to-drive engine, and the sound for the future," says Keisuke Fujikura, a mem

There are very few bosses of car companies who walk the talk like Toyota’s President Akio Toyoda. While others read out scripted messages prepared by their public relations department, President Toyoda races the cars that carry his family name. He is also a skilled Master Driver who keeps a close watch on his company’s product development process, and it shows. Recent TNGA platform-based Toyota and Lexus vehicles have such a high level of driver engagement and fluidity in its responses that riva

In early 2020, before Covid-19 hit and Russia hadn’t attacked Ukraine, makers of electric vehicles (EVs) were optimistic that prices of batteries will come down and reach cost parity of with combustion engine cars by 2025. Today, no one believes in that message anymore. In the near-term, prices of EVs will go up, not down. Consulting firm AlixPartners say that between 2020 to 2022, the cost of raw materials to build an EV has gone up by 144 percent. Yes, inflationary pressure, higher energy cost