Today’s launch of the Volvo ES90 also served as the reveal of ‘Selamat’. Volvo Car Malaysia’s teaser campaign for the all-new electric sedan centred on a ‘new car brand’ called Selamat. We saw that word displayed on a camouflaged mule running around KL last week, and Selamat was also seen on cryptic outdoor ads and an online campaign.
VCM explains that in Malaysia, Selamat has a double meaning. Spoken every day, most often used to wish each other well (as in selamat pagi or selamat jalan), the word also means safety. And Volvo is safety. We know that, you know that, and everyone who’s not a car person also knows that – doubling down on their USP, that’s what the inventor of the three-point safety belt is doing here.
“The EV landscape in Malaysia is growing fast. New brands are entering the market, many of which assert their own claim towards advanced technology and safety. In a world where everyone says they are safe, safety risks becoming just another feature, something spoken about, but rarely felt,” explains Patricia Yaw, VCM’s sales and marketing director.
“For Volvo, safety has never been a claim. Selamat reflects our belief that true progress lies in giving drivers confidence, foresight, and peace of mind on every journey. As mobility continues to evolve, Selamat ensures that human life remains at the centre of everything we do,” she added.
VCM says that Selamat is thematic campaign running throughout 2026, designed to transform road safety from a regulatory mandate into a shared culture. Expect to see a series of on-ground activations and educational initiatives to reassert the importance of safety in cars. It will all build towards the Selamat Drive event – slated for Q2 2026, the ‘flagship driving event’ will allow Malaysians to experience the synergy between safe driving habits and Volvo’s safety technologies in a real-world environment.
According to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), 4,428 transport-related fatalities were recorded in Malaysia in 2024. Let’s go for the safest cars we can afford (don’t forget good tyres and car maintenance), but perhaps more importantly, Malaysians need to drive better and be more calm behind the wheel. Selamat jalan.
More on the new Volvo ES90 with 651 km WLTP range here – the CKD EV goes for RM340k.
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lets not forget its a massively overpriced ev
Name Selamat. If you dont show me the car I would think it would look like Naza Citra, Sutera or some other 3rd world country car…
Selamat Jalan
chery has lepas. volvo has selamat. next mercedes with bintang, ferrari with kuda, lamborghini with lembu and perodua with laju (myvi).
Perodua should be sampan, isn’t it?
Mas Selamat is a Singaporean.
My X30 pun still tak resolved. Bagi notice charge up to 70% saja. Lepas tu senyap. Brand promise was 100% charge for 300km. Now maximum 70% . So bad
how to make your car sound cheap 101
so you mean our BM language is cheap?
Bahasa Melayu is a very beautiful language but since sometime back, this beautiful language has been contaminated by too many bastardised English words, to the extent that now Bahasa Melayu has become a language that looks like English, sounds like English but is not English!
why want to cheapen the car sound by using bahasa. should use scandinavian language to uphold brand image. understand that your target market is T20 not B40 .
Aiyo! don’t used such word lah… we already china made like “Lepas” which they claim should sound like “Lipas”… why all these chinese made brand have weird naming.. volvo will always be volvo lah..aiyo
Am I the only one that will not consider this car at all due to its cheap name?
i would rather have my volvo 244GL
back.. ultimate safe vehical..