(From left) Azhar, Dr Wong, Belson and Todt.
KUALA LUMPUR: An online car-selling company today launched its Motorist Super App in Malaysia to help car users in the country conveniently manage all aspects of vehicle ownership via their smartphone through a single app.In conjunction with the launch, Motorist.my also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) to include a feature within the app that provides information on the safety rating of vehicles according to the New Car Assessment Program for South-East Asian Countries (Asean NCAP).
Set up in Malaysia in 2018 as an expansion from Motorist in Singapore, where it claimed to be the leading automotive concierge platform, Motorist is said to be one of the biggest such players in the region with over 2,100 certified automotive partners including Malaysia’s AXA Affin General Insurance, Etiqa Takaful and Liberty Insurance.
Here's what the Motorist Super App’s smart tools and services promise car users in Malaysia:
> Receive notifications and reminders for road tax expiry, car insurance renewal, servicing, and more.
> Receive alerts on summons, and traffic fines and make payment directly through the app.
> Save time by receiving competitive quotes within 24 hours for motor insurance or cars they want to sell.
> Receive invitations to join community chat groups of users with the same car model.
Among the more attractive features of the Motorist Super App is one that promotes safe driving.
Motorist said with one tap on the app, car users can access the live feed of traffic cameras on all major highways, so they can check if there are traffic jams, roadblocks, floods, or car breakdowns before they start their journey.
With the app’s "Co-Driver" feature, car users will receive real-time audio alerts when approaching police enforcement camera zones, as well as reminders to drive more responsibly, it said. In addition, the M Witness feature allows users to identify hot spots to be shared with the Motorist community.
Motorist Malaysia general manager Martin Belson said the app is expected to attract over 100,000 new users in Malaysia over the next year.
He said Motorist would also continue to leverage on close partnerships and wider collaborations with relevant organisations in Malaysia to provide value-added services for its users. It has recently partnered with Etiqa Takaful to provide a more competitive motor insurance quote to users as a key addition to its service offering.
Present at the launch of the app and the MoU signing were UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt, Miros chairman Prof Dr Wong Shaw Voon and Miros acting director-general Azhar Hamzah.
“With an average of 18 people killed in road crashes every day, road and vehicle safety remains a major concern in Malaysia and it is vital that local authorities and automotive players work collaboratively towards a common goal of ensuring better safety for vehicle owners and other road users." said Azhar.
"The safe driving features in the Motorist Super App are definitely a step towards that and we are delighted that we could work together with Motorist.my to incorporate information of the Asean NCAP rating of vehicle safety within the app”.
Asean NCAP has been around since 2011. It produced its first set of results on seven car models in 2013. To date, 115 models have been assessed and 140 ratings have been made, representing about 80% of cars sold in South-East Asia.
In a Q&A session, Belson said car recall data are taken from both global and local data sources.
Asked what were the popular features Singaporeans used, he said they were the Co-Driver and M Witness features.
Dr Wong acknowledged that most accident victims in Malaysia are motorcyclists and said safety ratings for motorcycles have been instituted since last year. He also said Miros, an agency under the Transport Ministry, is looking to advocate for anti-lock braking system to be made mandatory on motorcycles. He said additional safety features such as airbags are being studied.
Todt pointed out that road safety has to be tackled in a comprehensive way.
"Addressing road safety requires a holistic approach that targets various aspects of the road transport system," he said.
"Education and enforcement are effective measures. Ensuring road infrastructure and vehicle safety also have proven to provide positive outcomes in preventing serious crashes."
A marketing campaign is currently running from now until Jan 30, 2023, whereby car users who download the Motorist Super App can stand to win prizes such as Apple products like iPhone 14, AirPods 3, Apple Watch SE, and more.
They also stand a chance to win RM2,000 weekly from a vehicle plate draw, simply by adding their vehicle details in the app. More details of the campaign can be found here.
The Motorist automotive platform was launched in Malaysia in 2018. Founded in Singapore in 2015, it has since expanded to Malaysia and Thailand.
To date, Motorist said it has served over 661,000 motorists and facilitated over RM2.9 billion worth of vehicle transactions. The company’s mission is to simplify car ownership by creating an ecosystem of smart tools and services.
For more information, go to www.motorist.my.
> Motorist Super App Highlights (pdf)
