Tag: Automotive

South Korea – Hyundai MOBIS, the South Korean automotive supplier, has introduced a new global campaign focused on next-generation mobility, targeting Millennials and Gen Z drivers.

Centered on the theme of ‘Move Improved,’ Hyundai MOBIS’ new campaign highlights its focus on developing advanced mobility solutions. Beyond technology, the company aims to create engaging and practical experiences designed for the next generation of drivers.

The campaign film also showcases three of Hyundai MOBIS’ latest innovations—the Holographic Windshield Display, Human-Centric Lighting System, and e-Corner System—infused with humor and lighthearted couple banter.

The global rollout of ‘Move Improved’ features dynamic social media activations, leveraging a multi-platform approach to engage audiences worldwide through interactive experiences.

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia – CARSOME and Petronas AutoExpert have formed a strategic partnership to enhance aftersales service offerings for customers across Malaysia. This collaboration highlights both companies’ commitment to building an integrated automotive ecosystem that goes beyond car sales to include comprehensive aftersales support.

The partnership designates PETRONAS AutoExpert as CARSOME’s Official Panel Workshop, with CARSOME providing training, internships, and workforce supply to support the expansion of existing and future service centres. 

Additionally, CARSOME Academy, the Group’s accredited automotive training institution, will collaborate with PETRONAS AutoExpert outlets under Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) TVET Apprenticeship Program. Together, they certify technicians in compliance with Malaysian Standards, focusing on upskilling and reskilling the current workforce to drive sustainable growth and meet the evolving needs of the industry.

In the first phase, the partnership will introduce services at 15 PETRONAS AutoExpert locations beginning 13 January 2025, complementing CARSOME’s existing service centers in Ampang and Petaling Jaya. From the launch date onwards, customers will be able to place bookings at these 15 outlets in addition to CARSOME’s centres through CARSOME’s app or website. 

This strategic move not only enhances service accessibility but also enables both companies to explore new market segments and expand their service offerings, further strengthening their market presence in the automotive industry. 

Additionally, CARSOME will establish new inspection points at selected PETRONAS AutoExpert locations in January 2025, allowing customers to conveniently schedule these services through CARSOME’s online platforms when a CARSOME inspection centre is unavailable nearby. PETRONAS AutoExpert Operators would also benefit from this additional service offering, creating a new revenue stream and enhancing their traditional business model.

To mark this partnership, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed recently by Encik Mohd Zameer B Zahur Hussain, chief executive officer at PETRONAS Lubricants Marketing Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PLMM), and Chris Ang, CARSOME Malaysia’s managing director at CARSOME’s PJ Automall. The signing was witnessed by Chong Wen Hong, general manager sales highstreet of PLMM, and Eric Chan, CARSOME Group’s president and chief operating officer. 

Hussain said, “This strategic partnership represents a pivotal milestone for both PETRONAS AutoExpert and CARSOME, which reinforces our commitment to make our customers’ everyday lives simpler and better. This collaboration is more than just a business move – it is a promise to elevate the automotive service experience to new heights. By combining our expertise, we are poised to deliver an unprecedented level of service, convenience, and value-added benefits, ensuring that every customer receives reliable service, genuine care and a peace of mind.”

Meanwhile, Cheng commented, “By providing comprehensive aftersales services and additional inspection points at selected PETRONAS AutoExpert locations, we ensure our customers receive continued support long after the purchase.”

He added, “This partnership offers convenience and peace of mind, as they can access high-quality maintenance services and vehicle inspections nationwide. It underscores our commitment to delivering a seamless, worry-free car ownership experience, making it easier for our customers to keep their vehicles in top condition and enjoy the full benefits of our integrated ecosystem.”

Singapore – BMW Group Asia has announced the return of Preeti Gupta to the position of corporate affairs director, based in Singapore. Gupta is currently the director of sales channel and network development and has been in this role since June 2023.

During her previous role, Preeti and her team implemented the ‘Retail.Next’ concept across 19 dealerships and service centers in the BMW Group Asia region. She collaborated closely with the team in Indonesia to drive expansion efforts and support future growth for both the BMW and MINI networks. 

Additionally, she led her team through the business’s digital transformation. During this time, Preeti also served as the organisation’s sustainability lead, spearheading CSR initiatives, conveying ESG messages to key stakeholders, and overseeing the Polaris Award initiative for BMW Group Asia Dealer Partners.

Preeti joined BMW Group Asia in April 2016 as corporate affairs director. Before joining the organisation, she worked with various communications agencies in Singapore, India, and the United States, providing strategic consultancy to global B2B and B2C clients across diverse industries, including technology, logistics, and automotive.

Meanwhile, Lars Nielsen will assume interim responsibility for the sales channel and network development team until Preeti’s successor is announced.

Nielsen, currently serving as the managing director of BMW Group Asia, said, “2024 was a surprisingly successful year for both BMW and MINI across the Group Asia region, despite ongoing market challenges. However, we’re acutely aware that the automotive industry in our region will continue to evolve at a fast pace in 2025 and will bring with it new challenges. Whether it be new retail formats, market entrants, or the ever-changing media landscape, we need to address these head on.”

He added, “We firmly believe our corporate affairs strategy is essential to ensuring we keep a finger on the pulse of the market and stay one step ahead. Preeti brings with her a successful 7-year tenure of leading our Corporate Affairs team and nearly two years of experience working closely with our Dealer Partners across the region to develop and improve our sales channels and retail network. We are confident she is best placed to take us through this next phase as we relook at who our industry stakeholders are in this new environment, rethink what we want to communicate and to which audiences, and determine how best to deliver these messages to our growing target audience.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Sime Derby Berhad has announced its rebrand as Sime in order to reflect the Group’s vision for the future and its renewed strategic focus as a pure-play powerhouse in the automotive and industrial equipment segments.

In line with this, Sime also introduced its new tagline, ‘Bridging Opportunities’, encapsulating its leading role in driving growth and creating sustainable value across the region’s most dynamic markets.

The rebranding launch brought together key stakeholders, partners and employees in a celebration of the Group’s transformation. The event also featured an experiential exhibition highlighting Sime’s evolution throughout the years.

Moreover, the new brand identity will be progressively rolled out across all Sime operations and touchpoints in the coming months.

Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson, group chief executive officer at Sime, said, “For over 100 years, we have adapted time and time again to shifting market dynamics, and this evolution of our brand stands testament to our agility and resilience. We are especially excited about the vast prospects in Asia-Pacific, where we are at the heart of enormous growth potential. This transformation enables Sime to better serve our stakeholders while establishing a more distinctive identity in the market.”

He added, “Our new identity befits our purpose of bringing the best products and solutions to enable Asia-Pacific to move and to develop. It also brings forth our personality as a brand. As a reliable partner backed by a legacy of trust spanning more than a century, we combine deep market insights with innovative solutions. Our thoughtful approach ensures we remain responsive to the needs of our people, local communities and the environment, while working collaboratively with our partners to drive sustainable growth and win together.”

Dato’ Jeffri also stressed that the refreshed visual identity reflects their journey of transformation, featuring a modern design that honours Sime’s rich legacy while embracing a bold, future-focused aesthetic. Moreover, the new brand mark symbolises mobility and innovation, embodying the company’s role as a catalyst for progress across the Asia-Pacific region.

“This rebranding embodies who we are today and our bold aspirations for the future. By leveraging our century-long legacy and unwavering commitment to excellence, we will continue to bridge opportunities to drive innovation and unlock value for our stakeholders,” added Dato’ Jeffri.

Philippines – Hybrid integrated marketing solutions agency Optimax, a part of the DDB Group Philippines, has been appointed as the new integrated marketing communications (IMC) agency for global brand BYD electric vehicles (EVs) in the Philippines. 

Ayala-led Mobility Access Philippines Ventures, Inc. (MAPVI), the automotive arm of AC Motors and official distributor of BYD cars in the country, handed BYD EVs’ account to Optimax after a series of competitive pitches. 

Antonio ‘Toti’ Zara III, president of MAPVI, expressed his anticipation of collaborating with Optimax to develop the BYD brand and the electric vehicle (EV) sector in the Philippines.

He said, “Our newly formed partnership is a step closer to making more and more Filipinos appreciate the No. 1 selling new-energy vehicles in the world right now. We are excited to work with Optimax’s energetic and young team to introduce BYD cars to Filipinos and make them understand the advantages of new energy, or what is more commonly known as electric vehicles.” 

Also speaking on the partnership, Ela Federigan-Chua, general manager of Optimax, shared, “Handling a global automotive brand like BYD is very exciting for us. It opens up a lot of opportunities to harness our expertise and showcase our creativity with the end in view of achieving the goals MAPVI set out for BYD.” 

Australia – Following a competitive pitch, UM announces its appointment as the media agency of record for global automotive manufacturer Chery. 

As the brand establishes itself in the market, UM’s duties cover every facet of media strategy, planning, and purchasing in Australia. With this support, Chery will be able to launch its new vehicle releases until 2024. 

Speaking about the mandate, Anathea Ruys, CEO of UM, said, “It is fantastic news so early in the year and her team were excited to play a pivotal role in Chery’s Australian success. “UM’s strategic approach to media planning and buying will play a key role in bolstering Chery’s market presence in Australia connecting the brand with new audiences across various media platforms.” 

She added, “With a shared vision of driving ambitious growth, we will together unlock new possibilities to engage audiences, helping Chery create a lasting impact in Australia’s competitive automotive landscape.” 

Meanwhile, Mark Vukoja, brand and marketing director of Chery, stated, “We were very impressed with UM’s excellent understanding of our business and the agency’s creativity and strong effectiveness record, but it is their team’s passion for achieving results through open and collaborative partnerships that really made them stand out and we are delighted to welcome UM’s team to Chery’s agency village.” 

“With an ambitious growth agenda, Chery aims to become one of Australia’s top automotive brands, having launched 2 new SUV models this year; the Omoda 5, Tiggo 7, and more models on the way in 2024,” Vukoja added. 

Singapore – Cloud-based omnichannel platform Teads revealed the results of its global collaborative research with market research firm Ipsos on key creative elements that drive success in the omnichannel automotive campaign landscape. 

The collaborative research findings showed that streamlined messaging, brand clarity, wide shots, and human connection are among the key creative elements that can convey successful storytelling in an automotive campaign.

Based on the data, videos that focus less on the vehicle and instead integrate the object into a larger storyline tend to gain higher in-view times. Revealing the interior features of the vehicle is also found to be engaging, particularly in consideration-focused ads.

Additionally, campaigns that prominently feature the brand logo and name capture audience attention and provide a strong hook. Wide and simple shots are also effective as they convey a sense of freedom and movement, which tend to engage viewers.

Part of the data also revealed that videos with fewer scenes gain higher in-view times as they require less cognitive effort to comprehend.

In addition, colour contrasts also play an important role in a campaign’s effectiveness, with lighter elements having a significant impact on in-view time. The research showed that chromatic contrasts like blue and orange make the videos more appealing, increasing in-view time. Meanwhile, dark-coloured videos have a shorter viewing time due to a lack of contrast.

Teads leverages Ipsos cutting-edge AI capabilities and advanced statistical modelling techniques to gain a comprehensive understanding of effective automotive advertisement elements.

Henner Blömer, VP of global client partnerships at Teads, said, “Creativity is the crucial component of successful digital car campaigns. In previous Teads research, we found significantly higher levels of attention (+49%) and brand lift (+31%) with creatively optimised campaigns. In order to provide clients and agencies with further insights into the optimal design of advertising media, we have collaborated with IPSOS to develop best practices to significantly increase the view time of campaigns.“

Also commenting on the research, Jessica Sleep, brand communications and social media manager at MINI, said, “There have been some great insights presented as a result of this study, particularly around the use of people, colour contrasts, and text. We’ve implemented Teads’ recommendations in our upcoming campaigns, and I look forward to seeing the results!”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Carro, a regional used automobile platform, has announced that it has made a strategic investment to Driven Communications. Driven Communications is a Malaysian content production house that handles a network of websites, including Paultan.org, known for its car reviews and news material. This relationship is an important step forward for Carro as it increases its investment portfolio.

Driven Communications’ co-CEOs, Paul Tan and Harvinder Singh, will retain their leadership roles as a result of the transaction. The current board of directors will continue to serve, providing stability and continuity. Furthermore, Driven Communications will retain complete editorial control and decision-making authority, ensuring its independent voice. It is expected that the investment will be completed within two months.

“We welcome Carro’s strategic investment and our shared vision of a better, digitalised, transparent automotive used car ecosystem. Like many businesses, Driven Communications suffered financially during COVID-19. We are thankful for Carro’s future support that will protect our sites that loyal fans have come to love, save jobs, and ensure continued independent reviews,” Tan said.

Meanwhile, Singh commented, “We are thrilled to know that Carro respects our editorial independence, our work with our customers, and encourages us to charge arm’s-length commercial charges to Carro group of companies. With this investment, we are looking forward to achieving profitability and growth beyond Malaysia.” 

Aaron Tan, co-founder and CEO of Carro, said, “We have been working with Driven Communications for nearly 2 years. They helped us launch our first Tukar Autofair in Malaysia, and their digital online reach was incredible. Feedback from other automotive participants has been amazing: OEMs and end- customers alike rely on them. It would be a shame that it does not have the right resources and tools to scale higher.” 

Strategically, this investment is a proactive move toward encouraging transparency and independence. In recent years, competitors’ acquisition of automobile classifieds and websites has resulted in the barring of various dealers and platforms. Such efforts have hampered healthy competition and limited client access throughout the region, something Carro intends to change. Carro hopes that by making this investment, it will effect good change and create a more inclusive atmosphere that supports fair competition and improves customer accessibility.

Aaron, further explains, “We are a believer that classifieds and other services under Driven Communications should continue to be made available to their existing clientele, as our customers, dealers and competitors – a move we hope all classifieds emulate, given the Malaysian government initiative to break down monopolies and anti-competitive behavior. We also strongly support its role to freely shape industry awareness and disseminate relevant information that will benefit end-customers and the industry, by facts and professional journalism. We aim to maintain a non-controlling stake and welcome other industry participants to jointly invest and support Driven Communications continued growth.” 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Automotive group Cycle & Carriage (C&C) in Malaysia has announced the appointment of its new CEO, Thomas Tok Chek Kuan. Tok succeeds Wilfrid Foo Tsu-Jin who takes on the role of chairman of C&C and managing director of Cycle & Carriage in Singapore. 

Cycle & Carriage is an automotive group in Southeast Asia with presence in Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar. Tok’s new position comes after holding the role of C&C general manager and head of sales in Malaysia since January 2017. Prior to joining C&C, he held various positions across different functions in Cycle & Carriage Singapore for more than 10 years and spent another four years in China managing dealership operations.

Tok has over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry and held portfolios in sales, auto finance & insurance, vehicle logistics and leasing businesses. His tenure in Zung Fu, a major dealer group for Mercedes-Benz in China, included a stint in managing dealerships in Guangdong, China. 

“Since joining C&C, Thomas has professionalised the sales management operation system across our network and grew our downstream business strongly by leading new business concepts. His familiarity with the company and experiences in the industry is well suited to ensure the stability and continuation of the company’s strategies under his leadership. I am excited to pass the baton over to him and I believe that he will bring Cycle & Carriage to greater heights in years to come,” shared Foo.

Meanwhile, Tok himself commented, “I am excited to take on the Chief Executive role in C&C, an organisation that stands for the hallmark of exceptional service and quality. Mr. Wilfrid Foo has inspired our team here and set an impressive momentum of modernising the retail experience for our customers. I look forward to serving the community with continuous support from our Cycle & Carriage family.”

Mumbai, India – As ŠKODA AUTO India marks its 20th anniversary, the automotive brand has launched a new activation which creates one of the highest 3D projections in the country on the sheer rock-face of the Rohtang-La at 10,942 feet above sea level. 

Titled ‘Conquering the Unconquerable’, the activation takes the concept of experiential marketing, and its installation establishes its stronghold in the country by literally establishing its presence on the mighty canvas of Rohtang-La. Through this, the automotive brand is creating a legacy in India that rests on 20 years of innovation by using mesmerizing art projected on a mountain face at an altitude that almost reaches the sky. 

Zac Hollis, ŠKODA AUTO’s brand director, shared that they wanted to set a benchmark and push the boundaries to achieve something beyond imagination. 

“Conquering the Unconquerable is a campaign that is an ode to the brand’s journey and potential. A tribute to ŠKODA being a fun, dynamic, creative, and passion-driven brand,” said Hollis.

Meanwhile, Tarun Jha, ŠKODA AUTO’s head of marketing, commented that the idea of ‘Conquering the unconquerable’ was to create history by taking on the mightiest and craft a story on achieving the unimaginable. 

“With this campaign, we are truly conquering the unconquerable, alongside our partners, who have been a constant source of support and inspiration. We are confident that the beauty of this activation will touch hearts and minds across our consumer base,” said Jha.

The activation’s communications, strategy, and creatives were spearheaded by PHD Media India and Omnicom Media Group India’s content arm, OMG Content.

Monaz Todywalla, PHD Media’s chief executive officer, shared that the campaign is defined by superlative thought and augmented by superlative action that has been conceptualized on the back of the power of imagination. 

“It’s a pleasure for Team PHD to be involved in achieving a feat of this magnitude; partnering with ŠKODA AUTO India to help them Make The Leap with innovation, and we’re excited to witness the response to the eminence of creativity in play at such an impressive scale,” said Todywalla. 

Shailja Saraswati, OMG’s chief content officer, believes that great concepts spark great content, and when those concepts are translated into reality, they know that there is potential for true impact. 

“It has been an incomparable experience working on this unique activation, and we are certain that together as partners we have all conquered the unconquerable in more ways than one,” said Saraswati.