The 2023 Shanghai Motor Show is expected to debut some very exciting cars relevant to Malaysia.
The Chinese market is opening up to the world again and it looks like next week’s Shanghai Motor Show will be very exciting indeed. DSF.my will be at the event and we’ve been doing some research as to what vehicles to expect.
The most relevant models to the Malaysian market are all pretty premium and exotic, to be honest.
Porsche Cayenne
First off, there’s the facelifted 3rd generation Porsche Cayenne. The current Cayenne is locally-assembled at the Inokom facility in Kulim, and is Porsche’s first car assembly project in South East Asia. It’s quite likely this extensive facelift will also be made available in Malaysia. Whether Sime Darby Auto Performance decides to bring it in as a CBU model first before switching to CKD units is still up for debate. This is usually how BMW Malaysia and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia introduce popular CKD models to our market, but Porsche might take a different route with this new Cayenne. Anyway, we can expect a full reveal of this new Cayenne at the auto show next week.
smart #3
The smart brand has been confirmed for Malaysia and will be distributed by Pro-Net – an off-shoot of Proton Edar. At the Shanghai Motor Show 2023, we’ll have our first look at the smart #3, which is a larger and more functional all-electric SUV measuring 4440mm long and 1800 wide. Will Pro-Net delay the Malaysian launch of the smart #1 for something more substantial and practical?
BYD F SUV
The BYD F SUV is a boxy petrol-hybrid SUV that aims to give the G-Class a run for its money. Right now, BYD is probably selling more electric vehicles in Malaysian than any other brand. Will they take the opportunity to introduce a non-electric flagship model to our market? Maybe. In any case, we’ll have a look at their F SUV and see what it has to offer.
Lexus LM
The first Lexus LM was launched in Malaysia for a cool RM1.15M. This ultra-luxurious people carrier has yet to find a proper rival on the global stage. Despite the lack of competition, Lexus has plans to unveil an all-new LM next week, possibly previewing the chassis and fundamentals of the next generation Toyota Alphard and Vellfire in the process.
Polestar 4
Besides the gift to Tun M, Polestar has yet to properly arrive in Malaysia but we know there is strong interest to bring the Sino-Swedish performance electric brand to our market. The Polestar 2 is like the first model to come here, but there’s also a Polestar 3 that will rival the Volvo EX90 in the pipeline. What’s more, Polestar will be showing an all-new Polestar 4 model next week. The Polestar 4 will be the company’s most performance-focused product yet and will take the form of an SUV coupé with Polestar 3 fundamentals.
