"The Born Electric: BMW iRoadshow" will take place at selected shopping centres in the Klang Valley, Johor, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan. The announcement came as BMW is set to roll out the refreshed mid-engine i8 coupe in Malaysia tomorrow. Looking very similar to the first i8 that made its world debut in 2014, this one is a minor facelift with a tweaked powertrain. It's a mid-cycle facelift or what BMW calls a "Life Cycle Impulse" (LCI).
Since introducing the BMW i sub brand in 2013, the group has delivered over 100,000 electrified vehicles globally last year and is poised to deliver another 140,000 vehicles in 2018.
BMW Malaysia is also contributing to the numbers with electrified vehicles comprising 55% of its deliveries in the country.
It has also been promoting innovation, upgrading its local assembly operations, and educating the public (and potential BMW customers) about its efforts in clean technology for the automotive industry as well as changing the local infrastructure for premium vehicles.
BMW is doing all these with an end goal in mind: Malaysia is a lucrative market for its hybrids.
In October last year, it revealed that Malaysia was the leading market in Asean and the fifth largest market in the world for BMW hybrids. Malaysia is also the second largest market in the world for the X5 xDrive 40e plug-in hybrid, it added.
As part of its efforts to sell more electrified cars, it had given away BMW i Wallbox Plus and BMW i AC fast charging cable to customers buying its hybrids in last year's promotion. Its dealerships are helping to spread the green message by installing chargers at public venues. BMW Group Malaysia is also working with GreenTech Malaysia to tap its ChargEV charging stations that are found in shopping centres and other commercial sites.
"The Born Electric: BMW iRoadshow will demonstrate our progress with the Mobility of the Future here in Malaysia and will introduce new models to our portfolio of premium vehicles,” said BMW Group Malaysia managing director and CEO Harald Hoelzl.
