Part of it's ongoing BMW Safety 360° initiative, BMW Group Malaysia is contributing 90 child car seats fully subsidised for families in the B40 community with funds raised by BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia last year.
Expecting parents and families with children weighing up to 36kg, and with a monthly household income below RM 3,500, were eligible to apply for a fully subsidised child car seat under the NEXTStep Subsidy Programme. Over 900 registrations were received throughout the application period, affirming the need for greater accessibility to child car seats amongst lower income families.
“The overwhelming response we have received for this subsidy programme highlights the crucial need for us to make child car seats more accessible to the public, especially to lower income families," said Hans de Visser, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia.
"We hope to continue advocating for the uptake of child car seats amongst families in Malaysia, while also raising awareness and encouraging more parents to act independently in ensuring the highest level of safety for their children while on the road."
The NEXTStep Subsidy Programme concluded with a special handover event organised in collaboration with Safe ‘n Sound to present the fully subsidised child car seats to selected parents in the Klang Valley. The event served to provide the recipients with knowledge on how to install and use their new child car seats effectively.
The NEXTStep Subsidy Programme was introduced in May 2022, and aims to promote road safety for children by making child car seats more accessible to lower income households. The first subsidy programme in 2019 had an overwhelming response of over 25,000 applicants. To date, more than 400 families have received subsidised child car seats, including recipients of the NEXTStep Subsidy Programme.