7th Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2010 - Press Day, 1 Dec (II)

At the other end of the scale, Ferrari and Maserati provided a strong dose of glamour, especially as a number of traditional "prestige" brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz had skipped making an appearance. Maranello showed off the dramatic 458 Italia sports car in public in Malaysia for the first time: the ground-breaking V8-engined machine, which replaced the F430, hit the local market just a month ago. This was the first example in the country. Next door (both these brands are managed by Naza Group) the Trident gave a local debut to the luxurious GranCabrio, which, like the 458 Italia, comes from the fruitful drawing boards of Turin's Pininfarina.

The Koreans are making a splash across the world now and it's the same case in Malaysia. Kia and Hyundai both rolled out new models and announced ambitious targets to raise their respective market shares. For Kia, managed by Naza Group, their highlight was the new Sorento (SUV) which will arrive CBU in January with a target of 100-150 units a month. It's order book had hit the 250 mark by the time of the show. Kia plans to add "four or five new models" during the first half of 2011 as it starts a drive towards building up to a 5 percent market share. Hyundai meanwhile unveiled the neat-and-tidy, fifth-generation Avante, the first time this car has been seen outside it's native south Korea. Also attracting much attention on the Hyundai stand was the well received Sonata, which has achieved a first for the Korean firm in the U.S. in developing a waiting list.

Elsewhere Peugeot had plenty of news to announce: it plans to make Malaysia its ASEAN production hub and with the French carmaker on course for a record year globally it is looking to ramp up operations further in Asia. Peugeot had several new reveals at KLIMS10 including the 3008, 5008 and the 207 in sedan format. Also on the "Pug" stand was Le Mans Series 908 HDi racing sports car which was fresh from winning the Intercontinental Cup's most recent round which was held at Zuhai in China, while the team's star driver, Frenchman Stéphane Sarrazin, was also on hand. Yet another Naza division is Chevrolet and as well as previewing the new Cruze sedan, which will arrive in just under a year's time, it also gave pride of place to an immaculate 1957 Bel-Air -- the same lavishly-styled vehicle that was used by Tunku Abdul Rahman to travel to Merdeka Stadium on August 31, 1957, to declare independence from British colonial rule. Chevrolet also showed off an eye-catching "bumblebee yellow" 2010 Model Year Camaro and its FIA World Touring Car Championship-winning Lacetti.

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