Mercedes-Benz Furthers Its Commitment To Malaysia

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) is enhancing its presence in the country to support the government’s ambition of becoming an Energy Efficient Vehicle hub, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), represented by its CEO Dato’ Madani Sahari, on sustainable talent development.

The MOU between these 2 parties is aimed at getting MAI accreditation for the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Modern Apprenticeship Program (AMA) and to provide accelerated application of MAI graduates into the AMA. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is also offering its world-class training facility in Wisma Mercedes-Benz to MAI for related training sessions.

At the same time, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is training 40 Bomba (Fire & Rescue) personnel at the MBM Training Academy to safely deal with high-voltage hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in electric vehicles (PHEV). Since its introduction of the E300 BTH, the first Mercedes-Benz luxury diesel hybrid vehicle, MBM has sold over 6,700 hybrid vehicles. The high number of HEVs and PHEVs on our roads warrants technical training and hands-on experience for first responders to properly handle these vehicles in case of an accident.

These vehicles are generally safe to handle as the circuitry automatically shuts off in an accident but it always pays to take precaution. Most of the complexity in rescue actually lies in the extrication of accident victims from such vehicles especially when it’s necessary to cut the roof.

Thus the Bomba personnel are trained on using the Mercedes-Benz Rescue Assist app which scans the QR code of the affected vehicle and details the vehicle information and safety handling procedures of that model. For example, the rescue personnel need to know which parts of the car they can cut to not engage undeployed airbags which might cause further harm or hinder rescue.

The QR code is placed on the front passenger door frame, as well as the fuel flap in case the door can’t be opened. These locations are standard across all models to ease rescue efforts. This is a global app that is regularly updated when new models are available and the QR codes are market and model-specific.

“Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has been, and continues to be, a strong supporter of the nation’s ambitions of becoming an EEV hub. Today is another example of our commitment in action. We are very happy for this opportunity to work with our national heroes from Bomba to put in place a crucial support system, thus creative a conducive ecosystem for EEVs and drivers,” said MBM President & CEO, Dr Claus Weidner.

To that, MBM Vice President, After Sales, Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mr Heinrich Schromm added “Our pride is in our brand promise of delivering the Best Products and the Best Customer Experience. Taking this a step further, we uphold the highest regard for safety in every aspect. It goes hand-in-hand with our footprint in the EEV sphere, and that is why it is important to be well prepared in handling unforeseen emergencies efficiently, thus minimizing the risk of damage or injury.”