hitachi car battery

CATL has announced that it is ready to produce an electric car battery with a battery lifespan of a million miles or approximately 2,000,000 km and 16 years. To put it into context, current electric cars have warranties that last up to 240,000 km. Although current electric car batteries are predicted to last from 10 to 20 years, the warranty period is usually about 8 years. In February 2020, CATL and Tesla confirmed a partnership from July 2020 to June 2022. The batteries are to be used in the S

Arif

Jun 10, 2020

If you drive an automatic car, it is impossible to push start the car. Your only option in case of a flat battery is to jump start the car and get a battery replacement ASAP. A weak car battery has obvious tell-tale signs like a slow crank and dim lights. Changing a car battery is a simple task, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, there’s still a high chance of screwing things up. If you have absolutely no experience in replacing a new battery for your car, here are a few guidelines to help

Arif

Oct 9, 2020

Volvo Car Malaysia has announced an extension of the warranty for its PHEV range to 8 years or 160,000 km (whichever comes first), now covering models registered after 3-December 2015. Earlier this year, the extended warranty was only offered for Volvo cars registered from 1 January 2020 onwards. Volvo Malaysia has now decided to offer the extend warranty for its PHEV range that were purchased since the launch of the Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV on 3 December 2015. Nalin Jain, Managing Director of Volvo C

Arif

Dec 21, 2020

CATL, the Chinese battery giant, plans to invest 5 billion USD in Indonesia for a lithium-ion battery plant. The Edge Market reports that the target is for the lithium-ion battery plant to start production in 2024. This information was conveyed by Deputy Minister Septian Hario Seto in a virtual briefing. CATL has signed an agreement with Indonesia to ensure that 60% of the nickel will be processed in Indonesia, and not abroad. Indonesia’s large reserve of nickel has attracted many investors incl

Arif

Dec 16, 2020

In today’s trend of tightening emission regulations which require carmakers to lower their average fleet CO2 emissions, the easiest way to bring down that average is through zero-emission vehicles such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) or battery electric vehicles (BEV). It’s easier to get consumers to switch to PHEVs because it’s still a familiar machine to them as the main source of propulsion is still from an internal combustion engine (ICE). BEVs, on the other hand, are a little tri

Adrian Chia

Nov 1, 2019

Thailand car buyers can look forward to cheaper BMW plug-in hybrid models with the opening of BMW’s first high voltage battery plant in Asia outside of China. The THB 500 million plant is operated in partnership with battery supplier Draxlmaier Group and is located at WHA Chonburi Industrial Estate 2. It is equipped to assemble the latest generation (Gen4) of the BMW Group’s high-voltage batteries, not just the casing but the battery modules as well. Final batteries are then transported to the B

Hans

Sep 17, 2019

Just like a smartphone, smart Key Fob is something we can't do without. It's almost a magic until it ran out of power someday. Fun Fact: Every automaker makes provision for owners whose key fob battery is running out of juice. You can either check out the owner's manual or google the backup method according to the model. Here's one simple hack that can free you from flipping through the tedious owner manual and start the engine at the same time. 1st Step: Open the door A tried-and-true way to un

Wilson

Aug 30, 2019

From 1 January 2020 onwards, all Volvo plug-in hybrids sold in Malaysia will be covered with an 8-Year warranty for the hybrid batteries with no extra charge. Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) is now the leader in hybrid battery warranty coverage for PHEVs in the premium segment. BMW Malaysia and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia offer 6-Years/100,000 km warranty for their hybrid battery. According to Marketing and PR Director of VCM, Akhtar Sulaiman, this is their assurance to customers on Volvo’s electrified powe

Adrian Chia

Jan 23, 2020

Malaysia is now into its sixth week of the Movement Control Order (MCO) triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. This also means that many cars have been left parked for an extended period of time. To be clear, leaving a car parked for an extended period of time won’t damage your car. It’s not unusual for new cars to be parked at a dealer’s lot for months before it is sold. My own 36-year old classic is driven only about once a month but it starts at the first crank every single time. The difference

Hans

Apr 28, 2020

Honda Malaysia has opened Malaysia’s first high voltage battery assembly plant in Melaka, to support the world debut of the first ever Honda City RS with i-MMD. You can read our review of the City RS here. Production of the full-hybrid Honda City RS with a two-motor intelligent multi-mode drive (i-MMD) has already begun at Honda Malaysia’s Pegoh plant. It is the fifth Honda hybrid model to be produced there. Assembly of the GP1 Jazz Hybrid (IMA) started in 2012, followed by the GP5 Jazz Hybrid (

Hans

Sep 25, 2020

Indonesia has officially launched the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), a government-owned EV battery company, last Friday. The IBC consists of the following organizations: PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium ANTM (Aneka Tambang Tbk) Pertamina PLN (Perusahaan Listrik Negara) The organizations fall under Indonesia's BUMN, which is a collection of state-owned enterprises in Indonesia. CNBC Indonesia reports that IBC will oversee the entire supply chain including the stages of mining, smelting, produc

Arif

Mar 29, 2021

MG Thailand will double its battery production for PHEVs to serve growing demand in the market. Bangkok Post reports that MG’s manufacturing plant in Chon Buri will ramp the battery production to 700-800 units per month from the current 300-400 units per month. One of the PHEVs sold by MG Thailand is the MG HS PHEV. Also read: New 2021 MG HS PHEV launched in Thailand – Proton X70 rival goes electric! The MG HS PHEV is built in Thailand and launched last year, shares the same platform with the fu

Arif

Mar 23, 2021

Having launched in Thailand back in February this year, the Mini Cooper SE (all-electric) will be coming to Malaysia soon. The Mini Cooper SE is priced at 2,290,000 baht in or approximately RM 310,000. With BMW Malaysia selling the BMW i3s, it would be no surprise then that the Mini Cooper SE becomes available in the Malaysian market. The MINI Cooper SE has a rather small battery capacity in comparison to bigger electric cars like the Audi e-tron 55 Quattro (95 kWh) and the Tesla Model X (100 kW

Arif

Jul 14, 2020

BMW 5 Series One of the concerns of owning a hybrid vehicle or a fully electric vehicle is the cost of battery replacement. BMW’s solution is to have the high-voltage battery pack with individual modules that can be replaced. In the BMW 530e, there are 6 cell modules. If only one of the modules is needed to be replaced, owners can simply change that one cell module at a cost of RM 5,000 per cell, rather than replacing the entire battery pack. BMW Group Malaysia offers a 6-year/100,000 km warrant

Shaun

May 8, 2020

BMW Malaysia extends its current PHEV battery warranty programme for BMW and MINI vehicles by an additional 2 years and 60,000 km, bringing the programme to 8 years or 160,000 km, whichever comes first. The new warranty programme applies to the hybrid battery only, the rest of the vehicle is covered by the 5-year unlimited mileage warranty. From now until 31 December 2020, existing BMW PHEV customers are able to purchase the new hybrid battery warranty as an extension for the BMW 330e, X5 xDrive

Shaun

Jun 2, 2020

Geely has announced that it will invest 30 billion yuan (4.6 billion USD) to build an EV battery plant in China. The planned production capacity of the factory is 42 GWh/year, similar to Volkswagen’s planned factory in Europe. Geely is now in talks with Farasis Energy for its planned battery production plant. With a 42Gwh/year production capacity, Geely should be able to provide enough batteries for 600,000 electric vehicles per year. While the battery plant is still in plans, Geely has received

Arif

Mar 17, 2021

Since Accord and Odyssey involving a battery sensor failure and defective door mirror component, the Honda Malaysia has announced a product recall. The battery sensor failure is caused by inaccurate forming on the PCB, which could cause a short circuit, resulting in smoke emitting from the bonnet or in the worst case, a fire. 20,233 units of the Honda Accord models are affected, built between 2013 till 2016. The inconsistent surface treatment of the movable contact area, which located inside the

Gemma

Jul 20, 2019

Following the announcement of the 330e plug-in hybrid going on sale in Europe with an improved eDrive range of 66 kilometers (nearly 50 percent further than before), BMW has also announced that it is rolling out an to the 530e to bring its eDrive technology to be on par with the lower range 330e. The previous 530e has an electric driving range of around 45 km. The new and improved 530e however, is capable of driving with electric power-only for up to 66 km, with a maximum speed of 140 km/h – sim

Robert

Aug 16, 2019

Auto Start-Stop is a feature most of us despise. Cars like the Perodua Myvi and Perodua Bezza have this feature. With its jerky starts, a simple manoeuvre like the three-point-turn feels clumsy and unfamiliar. And with a belt-driven compressor, cool air stops blowing when the feature kicks in. The simple solution for most of us then, is to just turn it off. While some people would rather have sweaty pits to save the environment, the majority couldn’t be arsed to have the engine stopping and star

Arif

Jul 5, 2020

While the country is sitting through a Movement Control Order to curb the spread of Covid-19, our cars are getting a well-deserved rest from its daily gruelling commute. Leaving the car inactive for 2 weeks will not damage your car, but with a possibility of MCO extending, you might want to follow these steps. In the event that MCO is extended, we highly suggest that you… Drive the car around to heat up the engine It is common knowledge that leaving your car inactive will often result in flat ba

Jerrica

Mar 23, 2020

Looks like the Mini EV2 X2 has a new rival in China. This Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV is the latest small electric vehicle (EV) on the market and it is cheaper and more practical than all its rivals. As like most small cars, the boxy 3-door Wuling EV’s design is inspired by Japanese Kei-cars. Overall, the Hong Guang looks very much like a life-size toy car with its straight simple lines and a colour scheme that gives the EV the illusion of a floating roof. Thanks to its size of 2,917 x 1,493 x 1,6

Jerrica

Jul 3, 2020

Just like that, we are 2 weeks into MCO 2.0. This most likely means that most of us are working from home, which then means our cars aren't driven much. Nevertheless, there are some things you can do to keep your car in tip top condition despite it being underdriven. Here are some pointers that might be useful to keep in mind in this second MCO season. Don't park under trees You might think that parking your car under trees is a good idea, since the car does get some shade from the sun. Well, if

Jason

Feb 14, 2021

Volvo Car Malaysia has revised its warranty programme to a factory five-years/unlimited mileage for all privately owned Volvo cars registered from 1 January 2021 onwards. This comes after the announcement of the hybrid battery warranty extension. In previous years, Volvo car owners were entitled to the standard three-year/100,000km factory warranty with a combined two-years/20,000km Extended Warranty Programme (EWP) provided by an external insurance partner. Now with the introduction of the exte

Shaun

Feb 4, 2021

We’ve seen various attempts at innovation by Proton such as the Arena, Juara, and Savvy. As an automaker, Proton is actually quite young considering Hyundai was founded in 1967 and Volkswagen was founded pre-World War 2. Proton was founded in 1983. Now, one car you might remember from Proton is the Proton Tiara. It was an oddball since it was Proton’s only collaboration with a French automaker. The Tiara had a 1.1 L 4-cylinder engine that only made 57 PS of maximum power. The transmission was a

Arif

Jun 19, 2020

Mazda’s rotary engine has been widely reported to be used as a range extender for electric vehicles. Now, Mazda announced that the Mazda MX-30 electric vehicle will be available with a rotary range extender. The MX-30 is a pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) that offers around 200 km of range using a 35.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The reason for this small battery pack and limited driving range is to keep well-to-wheel CO2 emissions (CO2 produced from oil extraction to combustion applied thr

Adrian Chia

Apr 9, 2020

With MCO 2.0 truly underway and upon us, most of us will be spending most of our time at home. That also means our cars won't be driven as often as usual. But that is no excuse to sideline our precious set of wheels. In fact, this could be the perfect time for the DIY project that you never got started with! WapCar has come together with Lazada to make your car care DIY a cinch this MCO period. Here are some recommended products from online retailers that you can find in Malaysia's leading e-com

Jason

Jan 22, 2021

How many of you are aware of the warning lights on your car's meter cluster? You're not alone if you don't have a slightest clue at all. Unsurprisingly, some of us choose to ignore the warning lights entirely until the car eventually breaks down, and by the time that happens, it is a little too late to cry. While some warning lights may seem unimportant, it’s good to know what they mean and how to react next. Usually, warning lights illuminate whenever there is a problem with one or more of your

Zamil Syaheer

May 22, 2020

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its new electric car today, the Mercedes-Benz EQA. Based on the Mercedes-Benz GLA, the EQA has a range of 420 km (WLTP) and takes 5 hours and 45 minutes to charge to 100%. Currently, the Mercedes EQA is available with a 190 PS/375Nm electric propulsion system that drives the front wheels. The century sprint is done in 8.9 seconds. In the future, a version with 271 PS and AWD might become a reality. The battery capacity of the Mercedes EQA is rated at 66.5 kWh. With 11k

Arif

Jan 20, 2021

We heard through the grapevine that Lexus has registered the name RZ450e in the USA, Europe, and Australia. This suggested that Lexus has both a new model coming soon and a possible new powertrain. Now that we have a name, we can start speculating on what it can tell us. The Z is a hint that this will be a whole new model of its own. We glanced through Lexus’ history book and noted that the brand has never used the letter Z on any models that have come before. We can’t help but wonder if this co

Jerrica

Aug 14, 2020

Volvo Malaysia has quietly updated the Volvo XC60 T8 with a larger capacity battery at 11.6 kWh, compared to 10.4 kWh previously, and a newly designed Orrefors crystal gear knob. Apart from those, both the T5 and T8 variants gain a net pocket on the transmission tunnel for the passenger side. The exterior colour lineup has also been revised. Gone are the Maple Brown and Luminous Sand colours, replacing them are Osmium Grey and Bright Silver. Specifications wise, it remains unchanged from before,

Shaun

Apr 22, 2020