01-08-2025
Fast Lane: World's first Corvette showroom in Singapore, facelifted Toyota Corolla Cross arrives
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His Royal Highness Jefri Ibrahim (left) and His Royal Highness Abu Bakar, who are Johor princes, at the standalone Corvette showroom in Commonwealth Lane.
World's first Corvette showroom opens in Singapore
Singapore now has the world's first dedicated Corvette showroom. In other countries, the supercar is presented as part of the Chevrolet brand. Both Chevrolet and Corvette are owned by American car manufacturer General Motors (GM).
Speaking to The Straits Times on July 29 at the showroom at 1 Commonwealth Lane, Mr Hector Villarreal, president and managing director of GM's Asia-Pacific office, said the company is looking to build on the heritage and positioning of Corvette as a high-end sports car.
He declined to confirm if other GM brands or products will be heading to Singapore's shores.
When asked about the company's electrification plans, Mr Villarreal echoed the message that GM's chief executive Mary Barra gave to shareholders in July. She had said that the company will adjust its pace of the transition to suit customers' preference.
On the same day, His Royal Highness Jefri Ibrahim and His Royal Highness Abu Bakar from the Johor royal family visited the showroom.
They are part of the Johor Motorsports Racing (JMR), which has been competing in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R since April.
JMR is the only South-east Asian team to use the Corvette, and the team is eyeing participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future. Prince Jefri said: 'Corvette is a multiple Le Mans winner. It is a no-brainer to be with them.'
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At launch, the road-going 6.2-litre V8 powered two-seater is priced at $628,000 without certificate of entitlement (COE).
Updated Toyota Corolla Cross arrives
The updated Toyota Corolla Cross has a revised front bumper design.
PHOTO: BORNEO MOTORS SINGAPORE
The facelifted Toyota Corolla Cross has arrived in Singapore. Tweaks to the exterior are limited to the revised front bumper design that does without the distinctive border around the grille and the detailing of the headlight clusters. Changes to the interior are similarly mild, with a redesigned centre console being the most obvious update.
Mechanically, the crossover continues to be powered by a 195hp, 2-litre petrol-hybrid engine which is paired to a continuously variable transmission to drive the front wheels.
The Corolla Cross is priced at $225,888 with COE.
Geely's electric cars ace crash test
The Zeekr 7X scored well in the Euro NCAP test.
PHOTO: EURO NCAP
Independent vehicle assessment programme Euro NCAP published the test results of eight cars in July, with three models from Geely-owned brands receiving the maximum five-star rating. These are the Zeekr 7X, Polestar 4 and Lynk & Co 02.
The Zeekr 7X is slightly larger than the Tesla Model Y and will likely be launched in Singapore soon. The Polestar 4 has been sold here since late 2024, but there are no signs of the Lynk & Co brand being introduced here.
The strong showing from Chinese automotive group Geely is a far cry from the days when Chinese cars were panned for poor safety performance.
Most notably, the 2005 JMC Landwind, one of the first Chinese cars to be exported to Europe, is remembered for having one of the worst results in Euro NCAP's history.
While the Zeekr 7X has yet to be approved for sale here, it is on display at the brand's roadshow at VivoCity Central Court until Aug 3.
One more EV brand in town
The Jmev Elight is an electric five-seater saloon that has a range of up to 600km on a single charge, if used exclusively in the city.
PHOTO: JMEV
The Elight is a four-door, five-seater electric saloon from Jmev, a Chinese brand new to Singapore.
Launched at Jmev's showroom at 237 Telok Kurau Road on July 29 , the Elight is slightly longer than the Honda Civic.
Its 108kW motor qualifies the electric vehicle for a Category A COE. The 63kWh battery gives it a range of up to 460km, or 600km under urban traffic conditions, according to Jmev.
Comfort features include a panoramic moon roof and electric six-way adjustment for both front seats, wireless charging and leather upholstery.
The car costs $216,888 with COE before applicable discounts, which bring the price down to $156,888 with COE.
Home-grown electric motorcycles rev up
The Zion Mobility Z-One will be on sale in Singapore by the end of 2025.
PHOTO: HONG SEH GROUP
Zion Mobility, a Singapore-founded company, will start offering its electric motorcycles here by the end of 2025. Sold through Hong Seh Group, the brand has two models, Z-One and Z-Max. Both use a two-battery set-up, which gives a maximum range of 140km.
Hong Seh expects the majority of the electric motorcycles in 2026 to be sold to private individuals and 40 per cent of sales attributed to dealers and fleet users.
Zion Mobility is its first foray into electric motorcycles, although it had briefly represented MV Agusta, an Italian high-performance motorcycle brand. More recently, H ong Seh moved to dealing in electric commercial vehicles.
The Scorpio Lambda Scorpii, which is developed in Singapore, has received approval for sale in the European Union.
PHOTO: SCORPIO ELECTRIC
Scorpio Electric, another Singapore-based company, announced on July 30 that its Lambda Scorpii, an electric scooter that has an operating range of 96km from a 5kWh battery pack, has been approved for sale in the European Union.
In 2024, Scorpio announced it had appointed distributors in Japan, the Philippines, Portugal and Spain. The company did not confirm if the motorcycle will be offered in Singapore.
Founded in 2017, Scorpio Electric is part of EuroSports Global, known for distributing luxury car brands such as Lamborghini in Singapore and Indonesia.
