17/05/2026

theSunday Special XV ON SUNDAY MAY 17, 2026

Rugged Cross Yaris SUV hits the road with petrol, HEV variants

THE Toyota Yaris Cross is now officially launched in Malaysia. Two variants are offered (locally assembled at Toyota’s Bukit Raja plant), starting with the Toyota Yaris Cross 1.5S priced at RM99,900, while the Toyota Yaris Cross 1.5S Hybrid is priced at RM 109,900. Built on the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA), the Asean-market Yaris Cross measures 4,310mm in length, 1,770mm in width and 1,615mm in height, with a 2,620mm wheelbase. Visually, the Yaris Cross adopts a more rugged SUV-inspired design compared to the regular Yaris hatchback, featuring a large front grille, pronounced wheel arch cladding, slim LED lighting signatures and 18-inch two-tone alloy wheels. Powering the petrol Yaris Cross is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine producing 106PS and 138Nm, paired with a CVT transmission driving the front wheels. Meanwhile, the Yaris Cross Hybrid uses a 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle engine paired with an electric motor, forming a full hybrid system capable of EV-only driving at lower speeds. The electric motor itself produces 80PS and 141Nm, while the engine produces 91PS and 121Nm. Combined output stands at 111PS, which goes to the front wheels via an e-CVT. WITH all the attention on electric vehi cles (EVs) these days, have you noticed how little talk there is about what hap pens to the batteries once a car reaches the end of its life cycle or meets an unfortunate end and is scrapped? With regular petrol or diesel cars, engines and components like transmis sions can often be salvaged and reused. But EVs are different. Batteries come in various forms, chemical archi tectures, and sizes; there is no “one size-fits-all” solution. A Tesla battery, for example, cannot simply be swapped into an Xpeng. So, what happens to these batteries, and why aren’t more companies speak ing up? BMW Group Malaysia has recog nised this challenge and has been working on giving its batteries a second life. In fact, the company has been working on repurposing automotive components as far back as 2021, and perhaps even further. This mission falls under an initiative called Re:Generate. A commitment by BMW Group Malaysia to embed circular economic principles into its everyday operations, the programme extends beyond vehicles to how the company works with local communities. Guided by a global framework of

Inside, both variants come standard with a seven-inch TFT LCD instrument display with digital LED speedometer, a 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise control, adaptive high beam and ambient interior lighting. The Hybrid variant additionally receives a wireless phone charger as standard equipment. On the safety front, The Yaris Cross comes equipped with Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) suite of Adas that includes Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Pre Collision System (PCS), Lane Departure Alert (LDA), Lane Tracing Assist (LTA) and Automatic High Beam (AHB). Five colours are offered, including Dark Turquoise, Silver Metallic, Attitude Black, Spicy Scarlet SE and Platinum Pearl White, with the latter carrying a RM400 surcharge. The Toyota Yaris Cross is sold with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty. Hybrid variants additionally receive an eight-year warranty for the battery, inverter and power management ECU, extendable by another two years for RM2,500. Customers can also opt for service packages priced at RM2,350 for three years/60,000km or RM3,650 for five years/100,000km.

How BMW, UM are powering rural Malaysia with second-life batteries

energy poverty in rural Malaysia. These second-life batteries store solar energy, provided by participating partners, to provide lighting and, crucially, refrigera tion for remote communities. For communities that rely on hunt ing, refrigeration is a game-changer. Previously, hunted game had to be consumed immediately. Now, thanks to the partnership between BMW and UM, food can be stored for weeks. This significantly improves nutrition and reduces the constant need to hunt wildlife. In an era where new car brands are popping up “like mushrooms after rain”, it is important for buyers to look beyond the size of an infotainment screen or the number of ambient light ing colours or acceleration times, things that car makers seem to be obsessed with these days. BMW Group Malaysia has shown that it cares not just for the buyer, but for the entire life cycle of the machine. Through its partnership with Universiti Malaya, it is making a change where it matters most – changing the way peo ple live their lives. As car buyers, we should choose vehicles not just for what they offer us today, but for what the company does with them once they can no longer transport us.

need power the most. In 2023, BMW partnered with EV Connection to develop the first mobile EV charging vehicle using repur posed BMW and Mini battery modules. This “power bank on wheels” uses 16 modules with a 70% state of health, allow ing it to provide a quick

Re:Think, Re:Duce, Re:Use, and Re:Cycle, it is a promise to give automotive materials a meaningful second life. In Malaysia, Re:Generate began with a focus on lubri cants. Through a partnership with Pentas Flora, one of the nation’s largest re-refined fuel oil providers, used lubricants from authorised BMW service

WRITTEN BY KESHY DHILLON

recharge to stranded EV owners. But the impact goes even deeper. In January 2026, BMW Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Universiti Malaya (UM), bringing together three entities: the Power Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre (Umpedac), the Community Engagement Centre (UMCares), and the Sustainable Development Centre (UMSDC). Under this MoU, BMW supplies retired batteries to Umpedac, where a research team led by Associate Professor Dr. Tan Chia Kwang re-engi neers them into solar-powered energy storage systems. Through careful grading and sorting, the team maximises the performance of each pack, regardless of its age or original energy density. This work is part of UM’s Rural Electrification Project, which addresses

centres were turned into eco-base oil. This diverted hazardous waste from landfills and returned it to productive use. Building on that momentum, over 200 BMW associates partnered with Precious Plastic Malaysia to upcycle office and household plastic waste into furniture for the Epic Learning Hub – a school serving Orang Asli children in rural communities. That served as the founding princi ple for Re:Generate: circularity prac ticed from within, with direct commu nity benefit. Now, BMW Group Malaysia has turned its attention to EV batteries. As of March 2026, the company has deliv ered over 38,700 electric vehicles. As these cars age, BMW has already rec ollected over 13,600 batteries. What do they do with them? They repurpose them to serve those who