11/01/2026

theSunday Special XV ON SUNDAY JAN 11, 2026

Luxurious practicality Volvo ES90 open for

VOLVO CAR MALAYSIA has opened registrations of interest for the Volvo ES90, a new fully electric sedan that is set to join the brand’s locally assembled line-up in Malaysia. The move marks an important step for Volvo as it expands its electric vehicle port folio for the local market. Customers can now register their inter est through Volvo Car Malaysia’s official website, with full details such as the official launch date, model variants and pricing to be revealed closer to market introduction. Early registrants will enjoy a 2% early bird incentive, limited to the first 100 units booked between now and 31 March 2026. The arrival of the ES90 is especially sig nificant for Volvo Car Malaysia as the com pany celebrates 60 years of presence in the country. The locally assembled ES90 will be Volvo’s first fully electric sedan produced in Malaysia, reflecting the brand’s long-stand ing relationship with Malaysian customers and its continued focus on innovation, quality and safety. Technologically, the ES90 sits at the top

early interest as brand’s first locally assembled electric sedan of Volvo’s electric range. It is built on an advanced 800-volt architecture designed to deliver strong performance and everyday usability. With charging capability of up to 350kW, the sedan can be charged from 10 to 80% in about 22 minutes, or gain up to 300km of driving range in just 10 minutes under optimal conditions. Power output is rated at up to 333PS with 480Nm of torque, while the estimated WLTP driving range reaches up to 651km on a single charge.

prices are going to go up anyway? They might as well import their cars and pay the duties rather than have to go through the hassle of setting up plants, training workers, securing per mits, partners and vendors. All of which cost a lot of money. The price of fully imported electric cars is also set to go up. New brands that have never oper ated in Malaysia before now have a RM250,000 floor price for imported cars and they must have a power out put of 286hp and above. Brands that are already in Malaysia despite having fully imported models do not have much to worry about as yet. But the prices of their cars may also go up since the duty exemption for imported EV’s has expired with no extension announced. The government has yet to announce what the duty rates will be, but it is worth noting that the previous import and excise duty rates for imported EV’s were 30% and 10%. So yes, you can expect prices for cars and motorcycles to go up. By how much? That ball is firmly in the govern ment’s court. puting system. This makes it the most powerful Volvo ever in terms of processing capability and forms the backbone for next-generation safety systems, artificial intelligence func tions and data-driven optimisation, all aimed at enhancing safety and the overall driving experience. With local assembly and a strong focus on advanced technology, the Volvo ES90 positions itself as a well-rounded electric sedan offering a blend of performance, lux ury and everyday practicality. Interested customers can now register their interest via Volvo Car Malaysia’s offi cial website ahead of its formal launch.

This combination allows the ES90 to comfortably handle long-distance journeys and daily commuting across the country without frequent charging stops, offering drivers greater confidence and conven ience. The ES90 is also Volvo’s most software focused vehicle to date. Built on the SPA2 platform and supported by the Superset technology stack, the car is fully software defined, allowing its systems to be continu ously updated and improved over time through over-the-air updates. Further strengthening its technology credentials, the ES90 will be the first Volvo to feature the Nvidia Drive AGX Orin com

Will car and motorcycle prices go up this year?

THE simple answer is yes, if the gov ernment doesn’t backtrack on an announcement made in December. The announcement was made at the end of December, and it involves something called the Open Market Value (OMV) excise duty revision. Or if you are tax savvy then this is a revision (or implementation, depending on who you speak with) to the PU(A) 402/2019 – Excise Tax Regulations, a critical part of the Malaysian tax struc ture that determines the value of locally produced goods by expanding the number of taxable items (or serv ices) for locally assembled (CKD) cars. For simplicity’s sake, we will refer to this duty revision as OMV/402. In 2019, former finance minister Lim Guan Eng announced an amendment to OMV/402, supposedly as part of an effort by the Malaysian customs’ department’s to align tax regulations with the World Customs Organisation. Before this revision, the customs’ department determined the OMV of a car or motorcycle by manufacturing related costs. With the new revision, other non manufacturing related costs like gen eral expenses, administration fees, mar

sigh of relief for now, but these constant delays are also not good for the image of the country as an automotive assembly hub. Something that Malaysia has made quite a name for itself over the past few decades. Industry observers and members of the press have consistently pointed out that

keting expenses, cost of sales and profit collected will all also be used to determine the OMV of a car. By doing this, it will drive up the OMV of a car or motorcycle, thus increasing the tax amount as well. Back to December of last year. The finance ministry announced then that the

WRITTEN BY KESHY DHILLON

the delays make it difficult for automo tive companies to plan ahead, particu larly for those who have local assembly programmes. Companies need to have a plan in place for vendors, both local and inter national. And this plan needs to be firmly in place for at least five years. For now, they can only plan for the next six months, which is not some thing the vendors want to hear. A six month agreement is a joke in a multi billion dollar industry. This also means that the current price tags on cars and motorcycles are only valid for six more months. Unless there is another deferment. This also raises the question, why would car companies continue to invest in local assembly programmes if

implementation of the revision will once again be deferred by six months. It has been deferred four times since the revision was first gazetted back in 2019. The delays are perhaps a good thing because when the tax revisions come into effect, car buyers will have to pay at least 10% more for new cars, with some speculating that prices will go up as much as 40%. But the industry is aware that it might have to cross that painful bridge soon. No reasons were provided as to why the revision has been extended once again, but speculation is rife that the ministry has yet to finalise the finer details. While we can all breathe a collective