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John Mellor's Australia’s Number One Automotive Industry Journal
SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net
GoAuto News
ADVERTISE: Steve Butcher Ph: 0419 562 110 [email protected]
August 5, 2009 60,000 READERS WEEKLY No. 494
By JAMES STANFORDHOLDEN’S new direct-injection 3.0-litre V6
will match the performance of the current 3.6-
litre Alloytec V6 while delivering improved
driveability, more refi nement and fuel
savings of up to 12 per cent, the Australian
manufacturer’s lead powertrain executive
told GoAuto at yesterday’s announcement of
the new Commodore V6 range.
Production of the lean 3.0-litre engine,
which will make the VE Commodore the
most fuel-effi cient six-cylinder car made in
Australia, has already begun, with cars to
arrive in showrooms next month.
Combined with a standard GM-sourced
six-speed automatic transmission and new
low-rolling-resistance tyres, the engine will
help the Commodore Omega and Berlina
achieve an offi cial fuel economy average of
9.3 litres per 100km, undercutting the Ford
Falcon and Toyota Aurion by 0.6L/100km.
Holden announced yesterday that it would
introduce two new Melbourne-made V6
engines using Spark Ignition Direct Injection
(SIDI) technology – the entry-level 3.0-litre
and a new premium 3.6-litre V6. Both run on
regular 91 RON unleaded petrol.
GM Holden chairman and managing
director Mark Reuss emphasised that Holden’s
smaller engine was arriving now and not in
two years’ time – an apparent reference to
Ford Australia’s announcement last month of a
four-cylinder Falcon to be introduced in 2011.
“We heard what the Australian car-buying
public has said to us, we heard what the
government wanted – cleaner, more effi cient
vehicles,” he said. “We invested in our
future and delivered that fantastic news that
we have today – not two years from now,
not six months – (but) next month.”
It is the Commodore’s fi rst 3.0-litre
engine since the Nissan-sourced inline six
of the VL series in the 1980s.
The new V6 is 10kg lighter than the 3.6
it replaces, and was developed by General
Motors in the US where it is already serving in
the Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet Equinox.
The new Euro IV emissions-compliant
3.0-litre Commodore engine produces
190kW at 6700rpm and 290Nm of torque
from 2900rpm. Previously, the base 3.6-litre
Commodore engine produced 180kW and
330Nm. This compares to the Ford Falcon’s
195kW/391Nm and the Toyota Aurion’s
200kW/336Nm.
The 3.0 V6 will be fi tted to the entry-level
Omega and Berlina sedan and Sportwagon,
while the base Holden Ute and LPG models
will continue to run the non-direct-injection
Alloytec V6 and ageing four-speed automatic.
Prices for the Omega and Berlina will rise
$700, pushing the entry-level Omega sedan
within a whisker of the $40,000 mark with
an offi cial sticker price of $39,990, plus
dealer delivery and statutory charges.Continued next page
Holden’s new 3.0 SIDI V6 is lean on fuel and makes Commodore ‘better to drive’
Green BeretGreen Beret
NISSAN TURNS OVER NEW LEAF- page 5
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Mark Reuss (left) with industry minister Kim Carr
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 2
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Green BeretGreen Beret
SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net
PUBLISHER: John MellorEDITOR: Terry Martin MANAGING EDITOR: Marton PettendyJOURNALISTS: David Hassall, Philip Lord, Byron Mathioudakis, James StanfordPRODUCTION AND GRAPHICS: Chris Harris, Luc BrittenSUB-EDITOR: Ron HammertonNEW MODEL DIARY: Lou PaolinoProduced by GoAutoMedia: Ph: (03) 9598 6477 [email protected]
John Mellor's
GoAuto News
ADVERTISE: Steve Butcher Ph: 0419 562 110 [email protected]
+61 3 9349 [email protected] | www.auto-it.com.au
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Anna Kurz – IT Administrator, Coastline BMW
Continued from previous pageHolden’s new direct-injection 3.6-litre V6
is the most powerful naturally aspirated six-
cylinder to be fi tted to an Australian-made
car with 210kW of power at 6400rpm. The
torque rating of 350Nm outguns the Aurion
but falls 41Nm short of the Falcon’s 391Nm.
The 3.6-litre SIDI V6 was introduced for
the Cadillac CTS in 2007, and has since
been fi tted to a range of vehicles, including
the Cadillac STS and Camaro coupe.
Standard fi t to SV6 sedan, wagon and
ute, Calais sedan and wagon, Statesman
and Caprice, the 3.6 SIDI engine delivers
vastly improved performance as well as fuel
economy gains ranging from seven per cent
to 13 per cent. Prices will remain the same.
The SV6 sedan will achieve an offi cial fuel
consumption fi gure of 10.2L/100km, down
from 11L/100km, while SV6 Ute consumption
drops from 11.6L/100km to 10.1L/100km.
Impressively, long-wheelbase Statesman
and Caprice V6 variants now achieve
10.3L/100km, down from 11.5L/100km.
None of the Holden models that benefi t
from the mechanical upgrade will be given
any form of exterior facelift at this stage,
although Mr Reuss said one was in the
pipeline for the Commodore. He would not
be drawn on a timeframe.
“This car needs to be freshened on a cycle
that our market and our customers tell us it
needs to be,” he said. “The next design you
see won’t be that far off. It will be very, very
nice. I’m excited about it.”
While Mr Reuss previously said the
fuel economy of the Commodore could be
improved with a range of measures including
some aluminium panels, which he claimed
were affordable, no such changes have
been made to the car at this stage. GoAuto
understands these changes are likely when
the car is given the exterior facelift.
Mr Reuss said Holden would heavily
promote the effi ciency of its new 3.0-litre
V6 entry-level engine and was confi dent it
would be able to win over fl eets, including
those of business and government that have
introduced ‘no six-cylinder’ policies.
“We are blowing those (existing)
paradigms away,” he said. “We are changing
all those paradigms. We are going to educate
everyone on how we are doing that, whether
it is real fuel economy, CO2 and operating
costs or alternative fuels.”
Mr Reuss even went so far as to suggest
he would personally contact fl eet managers
to have them reconsider bans on six-cylinder
engines. “Because of those policies that are
based on the past versus real fuel economy
and running costs, we have got a very
aggressive marketing strategy including
myself personally visiting the fl eet managers
and all of our senior staff at Holden sitting
down with each of the major fl eets across the
country with our sales and service staff to go
through the real operating costs of what our
new V6s are going to have,” he said.
Mr Reuss said Holden was not currently
interested in following Ford Australia’s
example by introducing a four-cylinder
engine for its large car, but said the company
would do so if customers wanted it. “The
market would tell us that, but at this time our
plans are built around this plant,” he said.
Mr Reuss said Holden was aiming to
“out-engineer the competition”.
“Dropping cylinders would be the last
resort because people still like the power,
the performance, the towing – all of those
things that we get in Australia with this
engine and this car,” he said.
Mr Reuss said the fl exibility of Holden’s
Port Melbourne engine plant, which produces
a 2.8-litre turbo V6, as well as naturally
aspirated 3.0, 3.2 and 3.6-litre V6 engines for
export to South America, Sweden, Germany,
South Korea and Germany, meant the company
could respond quickly to customer needs.
He said the new 3.0-litre V6 would provide
the answer for Australian families who
wanted a six-cylinder car but shied away
from the fuel costs associated with them.
“Families are not getting any smaller. This
country is not getting any smaller. People
want the freedom to travel in comfort.
However, they need the fuel effi ciency of a
much smaller vehicle,” he said.
GM Holden powertrain lead executive
Martyn Cray described the direct-injection
engines as “the single most important engine
change in the history of Australia’s favourite
car”. Mr Cray told GoAuto the engine’s
performance would not disappoint customers.
“With acceleration, it is a match with
the current car,” he said. “In terms of
driveability, I have driven the car and I think
it is a better car to drive.”
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
Omega 3.0
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 3
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GM names Holden’s Mark Reuss as the new head of global vehicle engineering
GM’s new chief engineerGM’s new chief engineer
By TERRY MARTINGM HOLDEN has received another
signifi cant boost in the restructured General
Motors with the announcement that outgoing
chairman and managing director Mark Reuss
will become vice-president of global vehicle
engineering.
Credited with securing Holden’s
manufacturing operations and maintaining
its status as an integral member of GM as it
sells off non-essential brands and downsizes
its global operations, Mr Reuss will now
return to Detroit as the architect and overseer
of the US auto giant’s vehicle engineering
programs worldwide.
As announced late last month, GM
Holden’s executive director of sales,
marketing and aftersales Alan Batey
will replace Mr Reuss at the helm of the
Australian operations.
In Detroit, Mr Reuss will replace group
vice-president of global engineering Jim
Queen, as well as GM North America vice-
president of engineering Ed Koerner, both
of whom will retire on October 1.
Another former GM Holden chairman,
Denny Mooney, who returned to the US in
2007 to become vice-president of global
vehicle systems and integration, has also
“elected to retire” in October.
Nonetheless, Australia remains well
represented at the highest levels of GM
with Mr Reuss working alongside another
champion of the Holden brand, Bob Luz,
who is now vice-president of marketing and
communications in the new organisation.
International operations president Nick
Reilly, who, along with Mr Lutz, is a member
of GM’s executive committee and in recent
weeks has reshaped the leadership team
outside North America, also said Mr Reuss
would remain “a strong friend” of Holden.
“At a time when the industry has been
in crisis and where the parent company
has been through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy
process, Mark has championed the interests
of Holden at every turn,” Mr Reilly said.
“He has played a pivotal role in ensuring it
is an important part of the ‘New GM’. He
achieved a great deal in a relatively short
time and returns to a key role in GM where
he will remain a strong friend of Holden.”
GM president and chief executive
Fritz Henderson made the announcement
last week, along with a number of other
appointments and retirements that create a
“simplifi ed” leadership team.
“Our goal was to streamline our leadership
team and put some of our best executives in
positions where they can use their diverse
perspectives and extensive global experience
to create the new GM,” Mr Henderson said.
“The new GM leadership team includes
people who have excelled in every area of
the auto business, in every region of the
world. This new GM team’s experience
is unmatched, and it will be invaluable as
we renew our commitment to building and
selling great cars and trucks and serving the
needs of customers around the globe.”
Mr Reuss, 45, who is the son of former
GM president Lloyd Reuss, has worked for
GM since 1983 in a number of senior vehicle
development positions. He joined Holden
18 months ago from his role as executive
director of global vehicle integration, safety
and virtual development, a position which
made him responsible for all areas of vehicle
integration and performance, safety and
mathematical design/analysis application
for GM product programs worldwide.
Prior to that, he was executive director
of North American vehicle systems and
architecture.
Having risen through GM’s engineering
ranks earlier in his career, Mr Reuss also
started the GM Performance division in
2001 and was responsible for all associated
production and racing cars. This was in
addition to his role as executive director of
architecture engineering.
Echoing Mr Reilly’s comments, federal
industry minister Kim Carr said late last month
that he was confi dent Mr Reuss’ appointment
would be “a very good thing” for Australia.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
Mark Reuss
Denny Mooney
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 4
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Ford Performance Vehicles turns its luxurious turbo F6 E concept into reality
FPV’s executive sweetFPV’s executive sweet
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By MARTON PETTENDYALMOST six months after revealing it in
concept guise at the Melbourne motor show
in February, Ford Performance Vehicles
(FPV) has released the production version
of its turbocharged F6 E luxury sedan.
Extending the appeal of its single
turbo-six sedan model, the F6, as well as
increasing the number of models in its range
from seven to eight, FPV said this week that
the F6 E’s existence is a direct response to
customer demand.
“We launched this car at the Melbourne
motor show as a concept vehicle and the
expressions of interest in it have been enough
to warrant us to go into a production run of the
vehicle as a full-time addition to the range,”
said FPV general manager Rod Barrett.
“The F6 E will cater for the corner of the
market – in particular executives – that want
the performance and dynamics of the F6
with some added luxury appointments and
subdued styling.
“Feedback from our customers leaves us
confi dent that the F6 E will be a hit with
those looking for something more from their
performance vehicle.”
While the V8-powered GT E arrived
as a new luxury fl agship at the top of the
redesigned FG Falcon-based FPV line-up
launched last year, the F6 E now combines
the turbocharged performance of the F6
sedan (and ute) with the same luxurious
accoutrements as found in the GT E.
The F6 E’s $79,740 pricetag matches
that of the GT E, making it $1000 more
expensive than the GT-P sedan ($78,740).
FPV’s move echoes that of Ford, whose
G6E replaced the Fairmont Ghia in the
new Falcon range, and whose G6E Turbo
replaced the Fairmont Ghia V8 as a luxury
version of the XR6 Turbo sedan.
Speculation and even grainy brochure
images of a seemingly production-ready
‘GS’-badged FPV sedan have also emerged
across various online media outlets
recently, suggesting Ford’s performance
division is planning to release a lower-
output entry-level V8 that, if its rear
spoiler decals are anything to go by, will
produce 302kW.
However, suggestions that the additional
FPV model will effectively replace Ford’s
long-serving XR8 when strict new Euro
IV emissions regulations come into force
next July appear wide of the mark.
While an all-new 5.0-litre aluminium V8
dubbed ‘Coyote’ is expected to debut in
various states of tune in 12 months under
the bonnets of both Ford and FPV models,
GoAuto sources indicate the new 302kW GS
will soon slot in between the $47,990 XR8
sedan and FPV’s base F6 and GT sedans,
which are both priced almost $20,000 higher
at $67,890.
FPV has previously committed to
releasing two additional models this year,
including the top-shelf-turbo F6 E, and the
new entry-level GS is clearly designed to fi ll
a similar performance disparity between the
XR8, which is powered by a 290kW/520Nm
5.4-litre V8, and FPV’s F6 and now F6 E,
which deliver 315kW and 551Nm.
For the moment, the F6 E comes fi tted with
the same turbocharged 4.0-litre inline six as
the F6, which offers 310kW at 5500rpm and
a tyre-shredding 565Nm of torque between
just 1950rpm and 5200rpm. That is up from
270kW/533Nm in Ford’s XR6T and G6ET.
Combined with a six-speed ZF automatic
transmission as standard, the F6 E’s offi cial
ADR 81/02 fuel consumption is rated at
12.1L/100km.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
F6 E
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 5
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Nissan’s new LeafNissan’s new Leaf
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By MARTON PETTENDYDO NOT let its garden-variety looks – or
its even more ordinary name – deceive you,
because Nissan’s all-new Leaf will be one of
the most signifi cant models ever produced
by the Japanese car-maker, as well as the
automotive industry as a whole.
Launched as promised in Japan this week,
the Leaf is expected to become the world’s
fi rst volume-selling all-electric vehicle
when it goes on sale globally in 2010 and in
Australia in 2012.
The ground-breaking small fi ve-door
hatchback, which Nissan claims seats fi ve
adults in comfort and has a real-world
driving range of up to 160km, is offi cially
described at the world’s fi rst affordable,
zero-emissions car.
Of course, that overlooks the CO2 and
other emissions produced during the car’s
manufacture and eventual disposal or
recycling (as with every vehicle), and the
fact that as a pure electric vehicle (EV) the
Leaf shifts CO2 emissions from its exhaust
outlet to power stations, which in Australia
continue to be fi red predominantly by coal.
But the production-ready Leaf marks
a signifi cant new direction from Toyota’s
hybrid icon, the Prius, as well as General
Motors’ Chevrolet Volt, which is also due
on sale in the US in late 2010 and has
been committed for sale – as a Holden – in
Australia from 2012.
While the Volt features plug-in recharging
technology, it is effectively a petrol-electric
hybrid like the Prius, which has a token EV-
only driving range and relies primarily on its
battery-assisted petrol engine.
Described by GM as a range-extending
EV, the Volt is driven exclusively by battery
power, but incorporates a conventional
CO2-emitting internal combustion engine to
recharge its battery. Like the Leaf, the Volt
has a claimed EV-only range of 160km.
While both the fuel-effi cient Prius and Volt
can be driven indefi nitely as long as they have
fuel in their tanks, the Leaf relies entirely
on battery power and therefore a network of
proposed recharging and battery-swap stations,
which is yet to be established in Australia.
However, while the third-generation Prius
has just been released in Australia priced
from about $40,000 and the forthcoming
Volt is expected to cost at least that much,
Nissan Australia has previously targeted a
sub-$30,000 starting price for its fi rst EV.
This week, Nissan said the Leaf would
come to market with a price that is
competitive with a well-equipped C-segment
(small) vehicle, making it signifi cantly
cheaper than both the similarly sized Prius
and (four-seat) Volt fi ve-door hatchbacks.
However, that price does not include the
battery, which Nissan proposes will be leased
to customers and has an anticipated life of
just fi ve years – less if it is not maintained at
near full capacity (above 80 per cent) during
that period.Continued next page
Nissan’s all-electric Leaf looks set to spearhead the mass-market EV revolution
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 6
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Toyota aims for 2010 iQ-based EV launch
Nissan’s new LeafNissan’s new Leaf
By TERRY MARTINDETERMINED not to lose the limelight to
its Japanese and international competitors
when it comes to all-electric vehicles,
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has
fast-tracked its iQ-based electric car
development program and is now preparing
to hit the market in 2010.
The global market leader in petrol-electric
hybrid cars, TMC took the covers off a concept
version of its fully electric IQ, dubbed the
FT-EV, at the North American International
Auto Show in Detroit in January. However,
management told GoAuto at the unveiling
that the vehicle – known internally as the
BEV (battery electric vehicle) – was not due
for release in the US until 2012.
Reports from the UK last week revealed
the rescheduled launch date and confi rmed
details of the new EV, which, according to
the iQ’s chief engineer Hiroki Nakajima,
will “get its own bodywork” and will be
positioned as a stand-alone model in an
affordable, mass-market segment.
He also confi rmed that it would feature
in-wheel electric motors in conjunction with
lithium-ion batteries – the fi rst application
of lithium-ion, as well as in-wheel motors,
in a mass-production vehicle from TMC.
“We wanted to position the iQ as
premium, but not so the BEV,” Mr
Nakajima told Autocar, adding that the
design needed to suit the requirement for
in-wheel motors. “In every wheel we had
to be able to fi t an electric motor.”
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
FT-EV
Continued from previous pageDespite this, Nissan president and CEO
Carlos Ghosn said the Leaf would be more
affordable to own that an equivalent internal
combustion vehicle, because the power that
is required to recharge it will cost less than
the petrol to fuel a conventional small car.
For some time now, US sportscar-maker
Tesla has produced all-electric plug-in vehicles
with lithium-ion batteries, while Mitsubishi’s
i-MiEV is the fi rst EV to receive offi cial
Australian Design Rule approval. However,
when supply frees up from the Japanese
factory that produces the electric i-car, it is
expected to cost about $50,000 here.
At the heart of the Leaf lies what will
be one of the world’s fi rst mass-produced
lithium-ion batteries. Similar to what will
be employed by the Volt and also used in
trials of a plug-in Prius, the Leaf’s 24kWh
laminated Li-Ion battery pack is more
powerful than a similarly sized battery using
traditional nickel-metal hydride technology,
as in the production Prius.
As with the Volt, the Leaf’s 48-module Li-
Ion battery pack is integrated into the vehicle’s
fl oorpan (in this case under it, in a separate
frame), which Nissan says avoids cabin
intrusion by the battery and reduces drag by
contributing to smoother underfl oor airfl ow.
The Leaf is built on a dedicated new EV
platform that is claimed to be exceptionally
quiet. It has a “highly rigid” body and an
electric motor that is rated at a competitive
80kW/280Nm.
Nissan says the Leaf can be charged from
empty to 80 per cent of its full capacity in
less than 30 minutes with a 50kW “quick
charger” or in less than eight hours at home
using a 200-volt AC charger.
That should be enough charge for 100km
of travel, which it claims is enough to satisfy
the requirements of most (presumably urban)
drivers. According to Nissan, research shows
the car’s total range of 160km meets the daily
driving requirements of more than 70 per cent
of the world’s consumers who drive cars.
FULL STORY: CLICK HEREEV grid alliance – next page
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 7
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Energetique teams up with Ergon to test integration of EVs with electricity grid
EV grid allianceEV grid alliance
By TERRY MARTINNICHE Australian electric vehicle (EV)
outfi t Energetique has announced a joint-
venture project with Queensland’s Ergon
Energy, and is in negotiation with a number
of other power companies, to develop
and test the integration of EVs with the
electricity grid.
As a working group within the Federal
Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI)
mulls the ramifi cations of mass-market plug-
in hybrid and full-electric car launches from
2012, the fl edgling independent Energetique
– which has the Mazda2-based evMe EV on
sale now – is forging alliances to assess a
range of infrastructure issues, including the
benefi ts and drawbacks of vehicle-to-grid
(V2G) integration.
Energetique chief executive Phil Coop
told GoAuto it was crucial that
electricity companies were prepared
for an infl ux of vehicles drawing on
their networks, and understood how
to manage the integration “because
they’re the ones that are going to
bear the brunt of providing the ‘fuel’
for these cars”.
He said that if integration was
not well managed, EVs had the potential to
exacerbate peak electricity demand, which
could in turn force unforseen investments
via network upgrades.
On the other hand, Dr Coop said EVs
offered opportunities to mitigate peak
demand, with car owners feeding electricity
back to the grid from their vehicles – a bonus
for the electricity utilities, as well as a means
for motorists to reduce their running costs.
For that to occur, however, the vehicles
will need to be compatible with so-called
“smart grid” digital technology that utilities
are beginning to roll out across the world,
including in Australia.
“What they (the utilities) all want to do is
to make sure that the electric vehicle industry
comes up and has smart grid technology,
which they can use in their grid fi ltering and
their grid maintenance,” said Dr Coop.
“It would be ridiculous to put a whole
stack of cars on the charge at a peak energy
load time, because that would fi nish them
off – it’d be like putting 20,000 new air-
conditioning systems on a network that was
already suffering.
“So the fi rst issue is to mitigate the
charging load.”
Using smart grid technology,
electricity companies can control the
fl ow of energy between the vehicle
and grid, enabling the fl ow to be
slowed, delayed or even reversed.
The network managers will be able
to determine the optimal charging
time, and the charge itself might
come in bursts.
“The really positive side is that that energy
in the car is actually available to be put back
on to the grid through V2G technology,”
said Dr Coop. “In this way, the vehicle can
deliver power when the utility requires it
while still meeting the customers’ driving
needs.”
The Energetique chief said this sort of
collaboration between the consumer and
power retailer would allow households
to reduce their energy costs and provide a
valuable tool for the electricity provider
to manage the network. It could also see
electricity supply costs come down.
“It sounds a bit blue sky, but the whole
notion of community transport will change,”
he said. “The car is going to be the next wave
of technology to be integrated, just like the
mobile phone and the palm pilot and the
computer and the TV are all integrating.”
For ‘smart charging’ to occur at all, the
vehicle must be equipped with software to
interact with the smart grid when it is available.
The evMe has it onboard, as does the recently
launched plug-in version of Toyota’s Prius –
dubbed Switch – developed by the University
of Technology Sydney, which is conducting
a V2G assessment program in collaboration
with EnergyAustralia.
GoAuto understands that most of the
forthcoming EVs, including now the Chevrolet
Volt, will also be compatible. However, Dr
Coop said some car manufacturers were
struggling with technology as they race to
market with EVs.
“We are in dialogue with a few of them,
and we’re fi nding that they’re not coping
that well,” he said. “It’s not entirely their
fault – they are very large bureaucracies that
manage to manufacture a car with a global
logistics network so that you and I can buy
one for $14,990 or something, which is a
huge achievement.
“But I think that they are still struggling
with technology – they still need to prove
the technology. Once they start going into
production, they don’t want anything to
start going wrong when they’ve got 100,000
vehicles in the marketplace.”
FULL STORY: CLICK HEREGoAuto Green – page 19
Phil Coop
evMe
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 8
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Reborn Brisbane show tokick off 2010 calendar as AIMS returns in October
Motor show revivalMotor show revival
NOT your average car site...
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By MARTON PETTENDYTHE Australian motor show season –
slashed to just one show this year after the
cancellation of four of the fi ve traditional
events – will be boosted next year by the
return of a new-look Brisbane show alongside
a full-strength Australian International
Motor Show (AIMS) in Sydney.
The Brisbane event, which will be the
nation’s fi rst new-car exhibition since
the Melbourne International Motor Show
(MIMS) last February, will kick off the year
on February 3, 2010, while AIMS is all but
locked in to return to Sydney from October
14, following a two-year hiatus.
However, while Brisbane’s born-again
automotive expo has been locked in for 10
years under a new arrangement between event
owner MTAQ and a Sydney-
based promoter, a deal is yet
to be inked between the AIMS
and MIMS promoters to jointly
stage an annual international-
standard Australian motor show
that alternates between Sydney
and Melbourne.
A car company-led boycott of last
October’s Sydney event resulted in poor
crowd attendances and a joint-venture to
host a single rotating annual event between
Sydney show organiser, the Federal
Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI),
and MIMS promoter, the new-car division
of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of
Commerce (VACC).
The FCAI says negotiations for the Motor
Show Joint Venture announced in February
are close to being fi nalised and that a fi rm
booking for the Sydney Convention and
Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour
remains in place for October 14-24, 2010.
However, GoAuto understands that sticking
points continue to exist between the FCAI
and VACC concerning questions of event
ownership, organisation and profi t sharing.
“The proposed dates for Sydney for
next year are October 14-24,” FCAI chief
executive Andrew McKellar said this week.
“Those are the proposed dates and the
proposal is the joint-venture takes over that
date from the FCAI.
“Negotiations to fi nalise the contract are
still underway. At this stage the joint-venture
has had a number of meetings in recent
months and is progressing well. What we
will be doing is coming out in the near term
with a more detailed plan in terms of the
arrangements and, if you like, a
relaunch of the whole event.
“That will be forthcoming
shortly, but at this stage the
planning is proceeding well
and the arrangements for the
organiser roles and other key
appointments are being put in
place. I think we’re quite satisfi ed that it’s
on track and that we’ll be in a position to
provide a lot more detail on the proposed
scope of the event in the near future.
“There’s a sequence of steps that will be
gone through with the JV, pinning down
the organiser arrangements, so stand by for
more details about the event itself and the
future direction of the JV.
“There are still some important contractual
details that need to be fi nalised with the venue,
which will be resolved as soon as possible.”
While the 2011 AIMS in Melbourne
may be shifted closer to a mid-year date,
it could be up to fi ve years before AIMS
in Sydney moves from its October date,
delaying the establishment of a single mid-
year AIMS that switches between Sydney
and Melbourne, which was a key demand of
some car companies.
“The plan all along is that it will be badged
as the Australian International Motor Show
and that will be case for both the Sydney
event and the Melbourne event,” said Mr
McKellar.
“That (a mid-year Melbourne date) is
under discussion with the venue, so I don’t
have anything to report on that at this point.
But I guess we’ll hopefully have some
progress on that in the near future. At this
stage I won’t go into the detail of that.
“Our preferred timing for both Sydney and
Melbourne is to try and get to a stage where
they are broadly 12 months apart. There has
been an indication from discussions we’ve
had with a number of brands that a timing
that’s somewhere closer to mid-year would
be desirable.
“But I guess we’ve got to work with the
venues in two cities to resolve that sort of
outcome.”
Meantime, the organiser of the former
Brisbane International Motor Show
(BIMS), the AADA division of the MTAQ,
has signed a 10-year contract with Sydney-
based promoter Expertise Events to revive
the event at the Brisbane Convention and
Exhibition Centre from February 3-7, 2010.
Closer in concept to last year’s successful
Top Gear Live show in Sydney than a
traditional motor show, the shortened fi ve-
day event – simply dubbed The Motor Show
– promises more than 21 special features
and precincts, including three car arenas,
education rooms and feature displays.
Continued next page
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 9
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Brisbane to host a motor show in February 2010, with Sydney to follow in October
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OR
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Analysing or Agonising
Continued from previous pageExpertise Events chief Gary Fitz-Roy
confi rmed his company would hold the
revised Brisbane show under a profi t-
sharing arrangement with the MTAQ,
which is understood to have heavily relied
on the BIMS for its income. Through its
new-car division, the AADA, the MTAQ
has guaranteed to attract the support of its
dealers should interest not be forthcoming
at manufacturer/distributor/importer level.
However, Mr Fitz-Roy said interest
from car companies canvassed so far was
positive.
“We’re right in the middle of meetings at
the moment with all of the car companies
and the response has been overwhelmingly
positive,” he said.
“We launched very quickly so we’re now
in the fantastic position of getting all our
plans in train fairly quickly.
“We had a very clear strategy that we
had to announce it through the MTAQ
and then we wanted to meet with all the
manufacturers face to face. We started
talking with brands last week in Sydney and
Melbourne and that process will happen for
another week or so.”
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
AADA president targetsnew deal on franchise tenure with car-makers
Call for franchise fi xCall for franchise fi x
By PHILIP LORDTHE new president of the Australian
Automobile Dealers Association (AADA),
Michael Tynan, wants to improve dealers’
security of tenure in franchise contracts.
He has also identifi ed lifting the public
image of dealerships and defi ning the role
of independent service centres as issues he
will address during his presidency.
Mr Tynan, who is the managing director
of Sydney’s Tynan Motor Group and a
director of Mahindra Automotive Australia,
told GoAuto late last month that a key issue
he wanted to tackle was dealers’ franchise
agreements, as some manufacturers were
extremely demanding.
“It’s very expensive to set up as a
franchise with their demands, and the
biggest complaint for dealers is if they
make the wrong decisions – if the product
is wrong, the pricing is wrong – the dealers
have no comeback,” he said.
“I’m not suggesting that dealers should
have comeback. What we’re saying is we
want to be recognised as (taking a fi nancial
risk). We just can’t be there to fl og their
motor cars.”
Set to preside over his fi rst AADA
national dealer convention at Melbourne’s
Grand Hyatt later this week, Mr Tynan
said dealers were concerned because many
franchise contracts were for short periods,
meaning they potentially could not recoup
their investment in a brand.
“I think the big thing that worries dealers
is that they’ve only got a one-year contract
– some are three – but with no right to
renewal,” he said. “So consequently you
go into this enormous capital expenditure
and then you could lose the franchise at the
whim of some person who really in fact has
no personal money in the industry.
“It’s big money today – you don’t get
much for two or three million (dollars, to
establish a dealership franchise).”
Mr Tynan said wholesale changes
were not necessary – but consistency in
franchise agreements was. “The majority of
franchisors are very good people,” he said.
“They work very well with the dealers. Then
we’ve got a few that are probably not as
dealer-conscious as we’d like them to be.
“Hopefully we can work with FCAI and
build mutual respect, acknowledging that
they’ve sometimes got different agendas to
what dealers have got.”
Independent service centres are also
on Mr Tynan’s agenda, and while he said
independent workshops had a place in
the industry, he does not believe they can
offer the level of service of an authorised
franchise, as they simply do not have the
required investment in tools.
“No one seems to realise that when a
new model comes out, it’s about a $100,000
investment, to make sure we’ve got all the
right computer gear, all the training and
so on,” he said. “It’s impossible with the
modern motor car to just take it in and get it
serviced – unless we’ve got all the gear.”
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
The 2009 AADA National Dealer Convention opens this Thursday, August 6.www.AADAconvention.com.au
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 10
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Toyota luxury brand to double retail network in time for 2011 small car
Lexus growth chartLexus growth chart
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New &Im
proved
By MARTON PETTENDYLEXUS Australia plans to double the size of
its national dealer network to cope with an
infl ux of new products starting this year, but
has put on hold its retail expansion program
for two years due to the global economic
downturn.
The recommencement of the Toyota
luxury brand’s ambitious plan to increase
the number of its outlets from 23 to 48 will
now coincide with the Australian release of
the fi rst Lexus small car in 2011.
As GoAuto revealed last week, the
front-drive Corolla-based fi ve-
door, codenamed C-Premium and
due to make its global premiere
at the Frankfurt motor show in
September, has been confi rmed for
sale in Australia in 2011, when it
should become the Japanese car-
maker’s volume-selling model.
“Audi has moved ahead on the
back of product,” Lexus Australia
chief executive John Roca told
GoAuto last week. “Look at the A3 – that’s
where we need to be. We recognised those
segments were growing years ago but
the problem is it takes years to produce
something to compete, which is where
(C-Premium) will play a big part.
“If you look at the market today, they’re
the areas that are growing.”
Lexus Australia sales were down by one-
third year-on-year to June 2009, due largely
to the changeover of its RX350 luxury SUV,
which accounts for half of all sales.
But the company expects a stronger
second half led by another boom month in
July, when 250 orders were carried over
from June. Lexus has presold its fi rst two
months’ supply of both the RX450h hybrid
and IS250C, both of which arrive from
August.
The IS F super-sedan continues to attract
a two-month waiting list, with four to fi ve
examples sold in Queensland, where the LS
and LX are also popular, every month from
a nationwide allocation of just eight cars –
down from an initial 12.
“This is traditionally the quiet quarter, but
June was that good some of that
spilled over into July,” said Mr
Roca. “So as much as we had pull-
forward, we also didn’t have the
supply and so we had carryover
like many of our competitors. July
will be good – the interesting one
will be August.
“I think what you’ll fi nd is the
market will recover in the second
half of the year.”
Mr Roca also admitted that sales came
before profi ts during the same period in
2008.
“Last year we were in run-out mode with
the RX, so while the volume was there the
profi tability wasn’t – we were just running
out cars we had too many of because we got
caught with supply. Now we have a full and
free supply of all RX models, so we expect
to do around the 160 mark with RX, which
will be consistent with last year in terms of
volume in the second half, but profi tability
will be up in a major way.
“Both the RX and IS volume cars are now
on song, so the timing couldn’t be better for
us. We’re very fortunate we have the cars
to take advantage of an improved second
half with new products, and our dealers are
crying out for stock,” he said.
Lexus has targeted at least 5500 sales in
Australia for this year, which is well down
on the 6700 vehicles it sold in 2008 (and
further behind its 8200 sales record, set in
2007), and plans on maintaining a 10 per
cent share of the luxury market.
“Our plan was 5500 and 10 per cent,” said
Mr Roca. “But the market is stronger than that
so I think we’ll get close to 6000 this year. We
turned the corner in May, when the RX350
came on and we cleared all 2008 stock.
“When you break it up into segments 15 per
cent is luxury. Our models are the top two or
three (sales) performers in each sub-segment,
but we only operate in six of those segments.”
Mr Roca said his company’s retail expansion
plans had been postponed until market
conditions improved, but that the Lexus dealer
network’s refurbishment and rebranding
program would continue as planned.
Using the new-look corporate image that
debuted in Japan two years ago as a blueprint,
the process started in Perth last year and
continued with the newest Lexus outlet, a
former BMW dealership in Wodonga, which
offi cially opens this month.
A new signage package will also be rolled
out in the interim.
“Our expansion plans are on hold for
another two years because of the market,”
said Mr Roca. “There will be no expansion
for a couple of years, which makes good
business sense because you want the
(dealers) to recover from the last 12 months
and put them in a position to reinvest.”
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
John Roca
Lexus of Perth
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 11
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Here comes Here comes KizashiKizashi
By MARTON PETTENDYSUZUKI has revealed the fi nal production
version of its fi rst mid-size sedan in the
United States, and the good news is it
will carry the nameplate – and most of
the striking new design elements – of the
acclaimed Kizashi concept.
Offi cially pictured in a range of shots
last Thursday after being leaked on to the
internet 24 hours earlier, the Kizashi ‘sport
sedan’ will go on sale in Australia during the
second quarter of 2010.
The fi ve-seater, three-box rival for
Toyota’s top-selling Camry will be the largest
Suzuki sold in Australia since the previous-
generation XL-7 SUV, which was replaced
by a model restricted to North America.
Bookending Suzuki Australia’s range
along with the all-new Alto sub-light hatch,
the Kizashi will follow Suzuki’s smallest
model into showrooms by less than 12
months.
As the fi rst production car images show,
the fi nal Kizashi design will feature larger
headlights and mirrors than the Kizashi 3
concept that fi rst appeared at the New York
motor show in April 2008. The concept’s
aggressive front bumper has also been toned
down a little, but the Kizashi’s distinctive
rear end, featuring a high-rise ‘Bangle-like’
bootlid and twin outboard exhaust outlets,
carries over with only subtle changes.
Few mechanical details have been revealed
for the Kizashi, which was previewed by a
series of three striking concepts over the
past two years, culminating in the Kizashi
3, which also made an appearance at the
Melbourne International Motor Show in
February.
However, an all-aluminium 2.4-litre
DOHC inline four-cylinder similar to the
J24B-codename unit found in the Grand
Vitara will be the exclusive Kizashi engine
from launch, driving the front wheels
through either a six-speed manual or
continuously variable transmission (CVT)
with paddle-shifters.
Australia is unlikely to receive the
“next-generation intelligent all-wheel drive
system” that will also be available in the
US and which is expected to come standard
with an eventual top-shelf V6 version,
which should be powered by a 3.6-litre alloy
V6 similar to the one in Holden’s current
Commodore.
Suzuki has also confi rmed it is developing
a petrol-electric hybrid version of the
Kizashi, which it has now confi rmed will
join the medium sedan range in the future.
A diesel version is also believed to be in
the plan – as is Kizashi production alongside
the Alto in India. As the fi rst market to
receive the Kizashi, the US is expected to
take the majority of initial production from
Japan.
The Kizashi’s chassis technology will
also be shared with General Motors, with its
platform being developed from GM’s new
Epsilon II mid-size platform, which also
underpins Opel/Vauxhall’s new Insignia and
Saab’s upcoming 9-5 replacement.
Chassis development testing is said to have
taken place on German autobahns, Swiss
mountain passes, English cobblestones and,
of course, the famed Nurburgring.
American Suzuki Motor Corp (ASMC)
expects the Kizashi’s combination of
“Japanese quality and European fl air” to
make it a contender for the 2010 North
American car of the year award.
It will play a pivotal role in Suzuki’s
plan to gain a four per cent share of the
Australian new-vehicle market, and will be
a “halo vehicle for the maturing Suzuki line-
up” in the US, where the Japanese small-
car manufacturer’s market penetration is
signifi cantly less.
According to ASMC, the Kizashi will
be Suzuki’s fi rst entry in North America’s
AWD sport sedan segment when it goes on
sale there as the brand’s fl agship model at
the end of 2009.
“In developing and naming our newest
automotive introduction, the Japanese word
Kizashi, which tells that something great is
coming, seemed appropriate for the vehicle,”
said ASMC president Kevin Saito.
“Now that the production model Kizashi
has arrived, we expect the name and the
product itself to clearly demonstrate the bold
statement this company knew it would
be making with the debut of this
vehicle – while also simultaneously
suggesting what will emerge in the
Suzuki line-up as we look ahead
to the future.”
Production version of Suzuki’s fi rst mid-size sedan
emerges ahead of 2010 Australian launch
FULL STORY: CLICK HERESplash ‘will come’ – page 13
blue-tongue.com.au
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Suzuki Australia still has Splash on its agenda, even with Alto on sale
Splash ‘will come’Splash ‘will come’
By MARTON PETTENDYSUZUKI’S groundbreaking new Alto city
car is now on sale in Australia, but it will not
be the only micro-hatch to join the Japanese
small-car manufacturer’s line-up here.
As Australia’s fi rst affordable sub-light
model and fi rst passenger car to emerge here
from India, the Alto was widely believed
to have been imported instead of the larger
and more expensive European-built Splash
hatch.
But it has emerged that the Splash, which
is also now produced in India, remains on
Suzuki Australia’s agenda and could be sold
here once production starts in Thailand.
“Suzuki is still a work in progress in
Australia,” Suzuki Australia managing
director Takeshi Hayasaki told GoAuto.
“Our sales are more than double that of
Mazda’s in Japan, yet in Australia Mazda’s
sales are more than double ours.
“My job is to ensure that situation
improves. The challenge is to make sure
that, in future, Australians get more benefi t
from the Suzuki brand, by getting access to
more cars like the Splash.
“I am requesting it (the Splash) and it
will come in the future, but right now the
problem is demand in Europe.”
Suzuki Motor Corporation was the third
best-selling brand in Japan last year with
669,000 sales – behind market leader Toyota
with 2.1 million sales and Nissan (678,000),
but ahead of Honda (624,000) and Mazda
(244,000).
So far this year in Australia, Suzuki has
sold 10,012 vehicles (down 17.5 per cent on
the fi rst half of 2008), placing well behind
the market-leading Toyota (94,233 sales,
down 26.1 per cent), Mazda (38,603, down
9.2 per cent), Mitsubishi (27,063, down 23.0
per cent), Nissan (26,954,
down 12.5 per cent),
Honda (22,350, down 25.9
per cent) and even Subaru
(19,009, down 8.6 per
cent).
The fi ve-seater Splash
is slightly longer, taller and wider than
the four-seater Alto, which is now on
sale with a benchmark-setting entry-level
manufacturer’s list price (plus statutory and
dealer delivery costs) of $12,490.
The Swift’s recent base price rise to $16,790
leaves a $4300 gap between Suzuki’s two
smallest models for the Splash, which would
also position a 1.2-litre model between the
1.0-litre Alto and 1.5-litre Swift.
The Splash was launched in May as the
Ritz in India – the only nation in which the
Splash is now produced outside Hungary,
where Suzuki’s Esztergom plant has
manufactured the Splash as a replacement
for the Wagon R+ in Europe since 2008.
Co-developed with GM from a shortened
version of the Swift platform, the Splash is
also available in Europe (where Opel and
Vauxhall versions are known as the Agila)
with 1.0-litre triple-cylinder petrol and
1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engines.
The front-drive fi ve-door hatch rides
on a 2360mm wheelbase (the same as the
Alto’s, but 30mm shorter than the Swift’s)
and measures 3715mm long, 1590mm wide
and 1680mm high, making it 215mm longer
than the Alto and actually
20mm longer than the
Swift.
The next-generation
Swift, however, is due to
emerge on a larger new
platform in 2011.
Established in 1983, Maruti Suzuki, which
is 54.2 per cent owned by Japan’s Suzuki
Motors Corporation, is India’s top-selling
car-maker and last year claimed a 54 per
cent share of the new-car market in India,
where the Splash name cannot be used.
Last year it sold more than 730,000
vehicles in India, and exported more than
50,000.
GoAuto understands that Suzuki will
establish a plant in Thailand within about
18 months, which could also produce the
Splash. Thailand has free-trade agreements
with many nations including Australia, and
a factory there would give Suzuki a deep-
sea port with direct shipping access to
markets including Australia. The Alto
is currently shipped from India via
Singapore.
If sold here, the Splash is unlikely to
arrive within two years, by which time
Suzuki Australia will have launched
a facelifted SX4 small car (in early
2010), the all-new Kizashi medium
sedan (in the second quarter of 2010),
the redesigned Swift (around mid-
2011) and a new seven-seat SUV, due
here in 2012.
Swift gets special – page 21
WHAT’S COMING:SX4 facelift Q1 2010
Kizashi Q2 2010
New Swift 2011
New seven-seat SUV 2012
Splash 2013
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GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 14
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Phone: (03) 9670 8308 Email: [email protected] www.crma.com.au
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By MARTON PETTENDYTHE replacement for Kia’s fl agship
Opirus sedan has emerged in South Korea,
brandishing a striking new design language
that previews the brand’s future styling
direction.
Previewed at the Seoul motor show earlier
this year as the Kia KND-5 concept and
now offi cially codenamed the VG, the all-
new premium sedan goes on sale in Korea
at the end of this year and will also replace
the Opirus in Europe and North America.
But Kia advises it will not be sold in
Australia, where the mid-size Magentis sedan
will continue to be Kia’s largest model.
“We have no plans to bring the Opirus
here, because we do not currently compete
in the large-car segment,” said Kia
Australia spokesman Jonathan Fletcher.
“For Australia, the Opirus is a strong
design story because many of its design
elements are evidence of the maturing of
Kia design, which began with the new
Sorento and continued with the Soul.
“So while it is the next step in the
development of Kia design, it is not a car
we will take.”
Offi cial renderings of Kia’s new top-
shelf sedan, which is based on the same
large front-wheel drive platform as parent
company Hyundai’s next-generation
Grandeur fl agship (known as the Azera in
the US), show a bold new front-end design
comprising Kia’s new corporate grille and
LED running lights.
LED technology extends to the tail-lights
and side mirrors of the VG, which rides
on 18-inch alloy wheels and should come
powered by 2.4-litre direct-injection GDI
four-cylinder and 3.5-litre Lambda V6 petrol
engine, and possibly a 2.7-litre LPI gas V6.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
Opirus previews Kia’s new design direction
Opirus
New-look Rio among a tidal wave of fresh models
Kia tide turnsKia tide turns
By MARTON PETTENDYKIA Motors has offi cially revealed the fi rst
facelift for its smallest but biggest-selling
model, the Rio, four years after the current
JB-series went on sale in Australia.
The new-look Rio, pictured here as a
sedan that clearly shows
Kia’s new H-shaped grille
design, will enter production
in fi ve-door hatch guise from
September before arriving
here in October.
It will be the most signifi cant
in a barrage of 2010 model
year updates from Kia this
year, starting this week with
an upgraded 10MY Sorento
2WD, and also including
minor tweaks for the small Cerato sedan,
mid-size Magentis sedan and Carnival and
Rondo7 people-movers.
The revised Rio’s local launch is likely to
be sandwiched by the arrival of the all-new
Cerato Koup (in September) and redesigned
XM Sorento SUV (in October), which
GoAuto drove in Korea in June, before all-
new replacements for the KM Sportage and
MG Magentis models arrive next year.
Badged as the Pride in South Korea,
where it goes on sale within weeks, the
Rio receives a bolder new front fascia with
larger lower air intake and altered foglights,
as well as an interior makeover comprising
a freshened centre stack, instruments and
steering wheel, plus Bluetooth connectivity.
The newer Rio will continue to be available
with a Euro IV emissions-compatible
82kW/145Nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol
engine, but the 70kW/125Nm 1.4-litre four
now available only in the
hatch should be offered in
the sedan, too – mated to
the same fi ve-speed manual
and four-speed automatic
transmissions.
The fl ood of 10 updated,
facelifted, new or additional
models over the next 18
months will mark a change
of pace for Kia Australia,
which launched the new TD
Cerato in January this year, followed by the
Grand Carnival CRDi diesel in March and
funky new Soul hatch in April.
While the latter has met its unambitious
sales target of 40-odd per month, the Cerato
has been the only shining light this year for
Kia, whose sales are down less than the
average industry decline at 10.2 per cent,
with Cerato sales up 21.5 per cent in the fi rst
half of 2009.
Expect the midlife makeover for the
Korean brand’s volume-selling Rio,
therefore, to come with pricing that does
not stray too far from the current model’s
$14,990 (1.4) and $16,840 (1.6) pricetags.
WHAT’S COMING: Sportage 2WD Aug
10MY Cerato Aug
10MY Carnival Aug
10MY Rondo7 Aug
10MY Magentis Aug
Cerato Koup Sept
Rio facelift Oct
New Sorento Oct
New Sportage 2010
New Magentis 2010
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 15
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Audi marches onAudi marches on
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKISAUDI will increase its model line-up by about
60 per cent as it strives to reach its 1.5 million
annual global sales target set for 2015.
Dubbed ‘Route 15’ internally, the volume
drive also includes a 15,000-vehicle sales
goal in Australia by the same year.
Of the planned 42 models on the product
planning drawing board, Audi is looking at
importing about 38 to Australia by 2015.
However, none of these are expected to be
the upcoming hybrid diesel-electric models
under development, as Audi has said it will
not market such vehicles until at least 2014.
Currently, Audi has about 26 distinct
models, including S versions of core series
such as the A3, A4, A6 and TT, as well as a
multiplying number of RS cars such as the
TT version arriving late this year.
Underpinning this growth more than ever
will be breakaway niche vehicles such as
the A5 Sportback revealed last month on the
company’s 100th anniversary.
Based on the A4 platform that has also
spawned the A5 Coupe and upcoming
Cabriolet (due in September), the A5
Sportback is expected in Australia during
the fi rst quarter of 2010.
This is to be followed
by myriad new models,
from the next-generation
A8 luxury limousine
slated for a November
unveiling, to the hotly
anticipated A1.
Pencilled in for
Australia in 2011 after
a probable Paris motor
show debut in September
2010, the diminutive
hatchback will be aimed
directly at BMW’s highly
successful Mini.
Also in the pipeline, and due over the
next two-and-a-half years, is the A7 ‘coupe
sedan’ shown at this year’s North American
International Auto Show as the Sportback
Concept, as well as the next-generation C7-
series A6 that sires the A7.
Reports out of Europe claim Audi is also
devising an A7 Cabriolet, although the many
engineering challenges involved in creating
an open-top version of a four-door sedan
may ultimately scupper such a project.
Following on from the A6/7 fraternal twins
will be the ultra-compact Q3 SUV derived
from the forthcoming third-generation A3.
As usual, the latter will
share its underpinnings
with the Volkswagen Golf,
but it is thought that a four-
door sedan will join the
next A3 three-door hatch,
fi ve-door A3 Sportback
and A3 Cabrio.
The sedan will take on
the long-rumoured BMW
1 Series sedan that the
Bavarians are believed to
be brewing when that car
has a generational change
in two years’ time. Slotting
under the increasingly larger A4 sedan, and
sharing some mechanical components with
the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf-
based Jetta sedan expected in about 2012
or 2013, the A3 sedan might wear the now-
defunct A2 badge.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERENo ‘e’ push – page 19
German marque continues on quest for 15,000 annual sales in Australia by 2015
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WHAT’S COMING: A5/S5 Cabriolet Sept
Q7 TDI V12 Q4 2009
TT RS Q4 2009
A5 Sportback Q1 2010
A8 Mk4 Nov 2010
A1 Q1 2011
A7 2011
A6 Mk7 2011/2012
Q3 SUV 2012
A3 Mk3 2012/2013
Q7 Mk2 2013/2014
A2 2014
TT Mk3 2015
Audi teases with shots of its all-new A8 limoAUDI used the opportunity presented by its
recent centenary celebrations in Germany
to issue teaser images of its next-generation
A8 limousine, which is due to make its
global debut in November before going on
sale in Australia in the second half of next
year.
The radical new proportions of the fourth-
generation Audi luxury fl agship are partly
revealed in a shot that shows technical
development board member Michael Dick
with the new A8, which is draped in a semi-
transparent car cover.
An accompanying sketch shows the next
A8’s edgy new front-end design, which
comprises a squared-off teardrop-style
headlight with single gas-discharge beam
and a row of bright LED daytime running
lights underneath, framed by a heavily
fl ared wheel-arch, a muscular bonnet crease
and prominent full-frame grille.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
blue-tongue.com.au
Are you attracting the Right Candidates?
Assing About!
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BMW pulls the pin on Formula One to fund new fuel-friendly family
‘CO2 champion’ focus‘CO2 champion’ focus
By MARTON PETTENDYTHE new 7 Series M Sports Package has
been confi rmed for release in Australia later
this year, but it will be as close as BMW’s
biggest sedan gets to being a bona-fi de M7
model from Bavaria’s M division.
BMW’s newest, but unfortunately
largely cosmetic, M Sports pack will be
available in Australia right across the top-
shelf limousine line-up from September
production.
To cost an extra $11,600 for the entry-
level 730d, falling to $10,600 for the
740i and 740Li, and $4000 for the 750i
and 750Li, the Seven’s M treatment is
headlined by an M Aerodynamics package
(read: sports bodykit) with extra chrome
apron trims at both ends.
The 7 Series M kit, which is priced
roughly in line with last October’s M
Sports pack for the X5, also comes with
BMW’s Dynamic Drive variable chassis
system, which is standard on the 750i but
usually costs an extra $5249 on the 730d
and 740i variants.
Of course, there is also a set of staggered-
width 19-inch M light-alloy wheels in a
double-spoke design (245/45 R19 front,
275/40 R19 rear), along with the further
option of double-spoke 20-inch alloys.
M Sports 7 Series models also come with
the choice of an exclusive Carbon Black
Metallic exterior paint colour.
Interior additions extend to leather
sports seats and illuminated M-badged
scuff plates, a multi-function M leather
steering wheel, M footrest, BMW
Individual anthracite roof lining and fi ne-
grain aluminium cabin trim.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
BMW to offer 7 Series M Sports pack in lieu of M7
By RON HAMMERTONMOTORSPORT’S loss will be
environmentally conscious motorists’ gain
as BMW withdraws from Formula One
to divert vast sums of money into new
technologies, including development of its
‘Project i’ family of fuel-friendly vehicles.
The German car-maker announced its
departure from motor racing’s premier arena
last week, making good on its promise of
last year to put sustainable motoring fi rst.
Announcing the decision, BMW chairman
Norbert Reithofer confi rmed that BMW
would unveil a “CO2 champion” concept
car at this year’s Frankfurt motor show.
This vehicle is expected to be the prototype
for BMW’s fi rst “near-zero” emissions car,
dubbed the Megacity Vehicle.
While it is not expected to hit the roads of
Europe until the fi rst half of next decade, the
micro Megacity will offer a choice between
fully electric drive and a high-effi ciency
combustion engine.
This urban vehicle – the fi rst fruits of the
so-called Project i skunkworks established
within BMW by Dr Reithofer – is expected
to be based on a new micro-car platform
developed by Fiat and sold under the Isetta
brand taken from BMW’s 1955 city car.
Other vehicles using Project i technologies
will follow, now propelled through the
development process by extra budget
diverted from the Formula One campaign.
Dr Reithofer said the decision to withdraw
from F1 had been a diffi cult one personally.
He said the program had come under scrutiny
from BMW’s Strategy Number One – an
internal review of BMW projects to check
them for future viability and sustainability.
“I have always been clear about my
position on making tough decisions that
will help BMW Group’s success over the
long run,” he said. “As our company places
stronger focus on sustainable initiatives, our
participation in Formula One becomes less a
key promoter of this engagement.”
BMW’s latest, 10-year stint in Formula
One – fi rst with Williams and then Sauber –
earned 11 grand prix wins, 10 of them as an
engine supplier to Williams between 2000
and 2005. In the middle of 2005, BMW
bought Sauber to race under its own fl ag
from 2006. While it was regarded as one of
the top three teams until this season when
Brawn and Red Bull exerted their muscle,
BMW Sauber could not crack a constructor’s
championship, coming second in 2007.
This season it has slid back to eighth in the
standings. It is a fair way short of BMW’s
glory days in its fi rst seven-year stint in the
1980s, as an engine supplier. That turbo-era
partnership with the Brabham and Benetton
teams resulted in BMW’s only driver’s
championship, to Brabham’s Nelson Piquet
in 1983.
In all, BMW scored 20 grand prix victories,
the last coming to BMW Sauber driver Robert
Kubica in Canada in June last year. Now
BMW joins Honda on the F1 sidelines at the
end of this season, another consequence of
the global economic downturn that has forced
car companies to refocus resources.
The question now is whether any other
companies, including Toyota, Mercedes-
Benz and Renault, will follow.
DIG
ITA
L IM
AG
E: C
hris
Har
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Artist’s impression of the Megacity Vehicle
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 17
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AUSTRALIA’S “MUST ATTEND” AUTO INDUSTRY EVENT
Nissan, Honda crossover SUVs will not be sold here, despite BMW X6 success
At the crossroadsAt the crossroads
By MARTON PETTENDYBMW’S SUV-on-steroids X6 has been
a smash-hit in Australia, where 639 have
been sold in the 12 months since its July
2008 launch, but two similar new luxury
crossovers from Honda and Nissan will not
follow in its footsteps here.
While the X6 has attracted more than
35,000 buyers globally, falling short of
the original sales forecast of 40,000 set by
BMW at its US launch in April, the oddball
super-SUV has outsold a host of luxury
challengers here, including Porsche’s
Cayenne, the Lexus LX, Volkswagen’s
Touareg, Volvo’s XC70, Jeep’s Grand
Cherokee and, as BMW is keen to point out,
the entire Maserati range.
Now two fresh luxury SUV-coupe
entrants released overseas in the past couple
of weeks will attempt to emulate the X6’s
sales success, if not its polarising styling.
Honda’s X6 look-alike will go on sale in
the US later this year in the shape of the Acura
ZDX. As GoAuto reported when the vehicle
was previewed by a concept of the same
name at the New York motor show in April,
neither the ZDX nor Honda’s luxury brand
will be sold in Australia any time soon.
Like the smaller but almost identically
styled Accord Crosstour, the MDX-based
ZDX is a left-hand drive model to be sold
only in North America. Like the EX35/
Skyline, it is powered by a 3.7-litre petrol
V6, this time offering 221kW and allied to
a six-speed automatic with paddle-shifters,
driving all four wheels.
Confi rmed last month for production, the
Acura ZDX will come standard in the US
with 19-inch alloy wheels, a hand-stitched
leather interior, panoramic glass sunroof and
adaptive cruise control. It will be positioned
above the MDX in Acura’s US range.
Honda will also release the Accord-based
Crosstour soft-roader in the US this year.
Priced above the CR-V in Honda’s SUV
line-up, it is expected to be powered by a
2.4-litre four-cylinder, a 3.5-litre V6 and,
possibly, the Acura RDX’s turbocharged
2.3-litre four.
Meanwhile, the Nissan Skyline Crossover,
which is Japan’s version of the Infi niti EX35
luxury SUV released in the US in late 2007,
has just gone on sale after being announced
earlier this year.
Nissan’s luxury brand is not sold in Japan
or Australia, where Infi niti was on the verge
of being launched before the global
economic downturn emerged last
year. Japan continues to be the only
nation in the Nissan world that has
special dispensation to sell Infi niti
models as Nissans, and the Skyline
Crossover is the latest example of
this. Australia will not follow suit,
however, ruling out a local launch of
the Skyline Crossover – for now.
Whether the EX35 – or other
Infi niti models including the new G35 coupe
and convertible – go on sale in Australia
depends on when Infi niti launches as a
brand here, and how old those models are
at that stage.
“Infi niti will come here – the question
is when,” said Nissan Australia corporate
communications manager Jeff Fisher.
“When, not if, Infi niti arrives here it (the
EX35) may or may not be part of the range.
“Our Infi niti plans were relatively well
advanced in the middle of last year but
everything’s now on the backburner. We’re
waiting on market conditions to improve
before committing to Infi niti.
“The question is, do we want to go to
market with those current cars or wait for
their replacements. It is a product timing
issue now,” said Mr Fisher, who added that
the redesigned 370Z roadster was still on
target for an early 2010 launch in Australia.
The Skyline Crossover has gone on sale
in Japan priced from $A54,390, and is
expected to attract 200 buyers a month. It is
powered by Nissan’s new 243kW 3.7-litre
VQ37VHR engine, mated to a seven-speed
automatic transmission.
The Skyline coupe-SUV features the
latest Nissan technologies, headlined by the
‘Around View Monitor with Parking Guide’
and also including a lane-departure warning
system, active Xenon headlights, LED
tail-lights, active head restraints, a Bose
audio system and a ‘Carwings’ hard-drive/
navigation system. Nissan Skyline Crossover
Acura ZDX
GoAuto August 5, 2009 Page 18
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Market Insight
GoAuto Market Insight is brought to you by Dealer Solutions
By JAMES STANFORDMOST Australians regard Thailand as a
destination for cheap holidays and spicy
food, but our Asian neighbour is growing
into a regional automotive superpower.
Australian manufacturers are coming
under pressure from cheap products
imported without the usual duty thanks to a
free-trade agreement struck in 2005.
And, sometimes, Australian car-makers
come under pressure from the Thai divisions
of their own global organisation. For example,
Toyota Australia is locked in negotiations to
build the next-generation Kluger and must
beat Toyota Thailand to win the project.
Meanwhile, Ford Australia has just
binned its Focus production plan because
it cannot compete with a “low-cost source”
in Asia. It has not named the production
location, but it is most likely Ford’s plant
in Thailand, which will begin producing the
Fiesta from next year.
With minimal shipping costs, low labour
costs and zero import duty, it comes as no
surprise that imports of Thai-built vehicles
to Australia have almost doubled since
2005. In that year, 84,831 Thai-sourced
cars were sold in Australia, compared with
78,719 vehicles from South Korea.
In 2008, Australians bought 154,607
Thai-made cars and 96,437 cars built in
South Korea.
Of course, Japan is still the number-one
source of cars sold in Australia with 378,437
of its vehicles sold here last year, about the
same amount that came here in 2005.
Thailand has picked a winner by producing
mainly commercial vehicles. All of the top-
selling ladder-frame workhorse utilities,
including the Toyota HiLux, Mitsubishi
Triton, most Nissan Navaras, the Holden
Colorado, Isuzu D-Max, Ford Ranger and
Mazda BT-50, come from the kingdom.
The 4x4 versions of these vehicles are
rapidly growing in popularity in Australia,
now representing about 8.2 per cent of the
total new-vehicle market compared with
6.3 per cent in 2005.
Thai operations also make most of the
high-volume vehicles in Honda’s Australian
range, while other brands are planning to
source cars from there in future. GoAuto
understands that Toyota Australia is set
to take the next-generation Yaris light car
from Thailand, and Nissan could take the
new Micra from there in 2010. Suzuki is
also looking to source vehicles from there.
The Thai government introduced new
incentives for domestic car-makers to
produce fuel-effi cient cars that use less than
5L/100km, and has also slashed the import
tariffs on hi-tech green components for
locally produced cars that are not currently
made in Thailand.
Honda is also looking to use a new
free-trade agreement with India to source
cheaper steel and some components from
the emerging economy to drive down
production costs in Thailand even further.
With Thai imports to Australia increasing
dramatically, it is worthwhile looking at
how many cars Australia has exported to
Thailand in the last few years. Unfortunately,
that number is zero.
Ford Australia looked at taking advantage
of the new free-trade agreement to export the
Territory, while Holden investigated shipping
the Commodore, but the Thai government
legislated for a 50 per cent excise on cars
with an engine size of 3.0 litres or more,
pricing them out of the market.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
www.dealersolutions.com.au 1300 66 11 33
Want to jump start your website sales?
Let us hook up the lead generators.
Jessica White Mark Butler
I NVENTORYDISTRIBUTION
Thailand makes its mark on our market, but foils Australian export hopes
Thai the knotThai the knotThai, South Korean cars sold in Australia
Sal
es
70,000
100,000
110,000
140,000
150,000
160,000
120,000
130,000
80,000
90,000
2005 2006 2007 2008
Source: VFACTSSourSou ce: ce: VFACVFACTSTS
South Korea
Thailand
GoAuto August 5, 2009 Page 19
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Green issues in the auto world
GoAuto Green is brought to you by Custom Fleet
Green
Audi decides not to launch a ‘green’ sub-brand here
No ‘e’ pushNo ‘e’ push
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKISAUDI has announced that, for the time
being, it will not release ‘e’ eco-branded
models in Australia beyond the A3
Sportback 1.9 TDIe that has been on sale
since early last year.
This puts the next car in line for ‘e’
branding, the A4 TDIe sedan, in doubt,
although it is “still under consideration
for Australia”, according to Audi
Australia product planning manager Immo
Buschmann.
“We are discussing (the ‘e’ strategy)
internally at the moment,” he told GoAuto
at the recent TT TDI quattro diesel launch.
“And there is no confusion with the issue
– we feel that the product we currently
offer is adequate and good for the market.
It is exactly what the customer is currently
looking for.
“If you look at the facts, we currently have
21 models offering less than 7.0L/100km …
so we are not looking currently at launching
the sub-brand ‘e’.”
Mr Buschmann indicated that Audi
would observe how well the A3 Sportback
1.9 TDIe model sold in Australia before
committing to other models, adding that
there were other priorities for the brand
beyond eco branding.
“We are investigating it, we would like to
have it here, we have the 1.9 TDIe (in the
A3 Sportback) and that is already tracking
well as far as how it is performing,” he said.
“And as soon as we see that demand for the
‘e’ strategy allows us to bring in the A4
TDIe, we will have it in the market.
“We are still interested in the technology
and we can still make a big story out of
that, but we want to concentrate for now
with the cars that we currently have in the
marketplace.”
Audi believes that Australian buyers
will respond better to the ‘Vorsprung
Durch Technik’ (Advancement Through
Technology) branding that applies to all its
models, even though this tagline has been
used in its advertising campaigns since the
1980s.
Furthermore, the 21 Audi models
returning less than 7.0L/100k are almost 2.5
times the number offered by BMW (eight)
and three times as many as Mercedes-Benz
(seven).
Vehicles that achieve less than
7.0L/100km are exempt from luxury car
tax in Australia.
“Audi will be introducing TDI (turbo-
diesel) technology in every single segment
we are operating in,” Mr Buschmann said.
Asked if this would include the on-again/
off-again Audi R8 TDI supercar, he
quipped: “The R8 TDI is not dead!”
Taking a clear swipe at Toyota’s petrol-
electric hybrid models such as the Lexus
GS450h, Mr Buschmann said he was
confi dent that Australian luxury car buyers
would appreciate Audi’s diesel stance.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
By TERRY MARTINNORWEGIAN electric vehicle (EV)
manufacturer Think Global and US-based
battery supplier EnerDel claim to have
developed the world’s fi rst “off-the-
shelf” electric drivetrain that can convert
conventional-engine vehicles into plug-in
electric hybrids or full-blown EVs.
Announcing a trial program last week with
the Japan Postal Service, Think and EnerDel
said the drivetrain was designed for large
vehicle manufacturers and international fl eet
companies, which stood to avoid massive
development or purchasing costs with a
“road ready” system that offers made-to-
order performance in a wide variety of
plug-in hybrid and EV applications.
With the aid of conversion partner Zero
Sports, Japan Post has two test vehicles
on the road in the Kanagawa and Tokyo
prefectures and, if the program proves
successful, initially plans to convert 25 per
cent of its fl eet of 22,000 petrol-powered
light-commercial vehicles. The aim is
to ultimately convert the entire fl eet to
electric drive. Test data will be shared with
other prospective customers, including
postal fl eets in Europe and the Americas.
The drivetrain is based on the one used
in Think’s City EV, which uses a 26kWh
lithium-ion battery supplied by EnerDel
subsidiary Ener1. This combines with
a 30kW electric motor to offer a driving
range of up to 180km per charge and a top
speed of 100km/h.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
Electric alliance develops ‘road ready’ EV drivetrain
Japan Post EV
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GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 20
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If you have any car industry personnel announcements, please email them to
Terry Martin at [email protected]
Ford Fusion
By TERRY MARTINHINO Motor Sales Australia (HMSA)
has ushered in a new chairman and chief
executive, Kenichi Sekine, and named
chief operating offi cer Steve Lotter as its
president.
While Mr Sekine has arrived from
the Toyota truck
division’s Japanese
headquarters, where
he has held a range
of senior management
positions, Mr Lotter’s
appointment marks
the fi rst time a local
executive has become
president of a global
affi liate company of Hino.
Mr Lotter will continue as COO, a role
he has held with HMSA for the past three
years after a long career with Toyota Motor
Sales Australia.
Mr Sekine is a former president of
Hino Diesel Trucks in Canada, and has
worked for Hino in the US and the Middle
East. The outgoing HMSA chairman is
John Conomos, who, along with former
Victorian premier Steve Bracks, was last
month named as an envoy for the Australian
automotive industry.
HMCA’s outgoing president and CEO
Junsuke Ando has returned to a senior
position in Japan after a fi ve-and-a-half-
year stint in Australia.
The appointments
were announced last
week by the global
president of Hino
Motors Limited, Yoshio
Shirai, who paid tribute
to the contributions
Mr Conomos and Mr
Ando had made to the
development of Hino
Australia, which is the second-largest
commercial vehicle distributor and number-
two in light-truck sales (behind Isuzu).
SEKINE AND LOTTER TAKE THE HELM AT HINO AUSTRALIA
Steve Curran George Hennessy
Sharon Hunter
Anne Taylor
Suzi Kyratzis Doug Tame
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Are you ready for the Recovery?
Steve Lotter
Kenichi Sekine
Ford increases sales as GM ramps up production
US back in businessUS back in business
By RON HAMMERTONTHE fragile green shoots of auto industry
recovery were evident in the United States
last month as Ford managed a rare sales gain
and arch-rival General Motors announced
plans to ramp up production by 35 per cent
in the third quarter.
Fuelled by the new “cash-for-clunkers”
incentive scheme introduced by the US
government in the last week of July, the US
new-vehicle sales slide eased as the industry
recorded a 12 per cent decline on July last
year – the lowest fall since May 2008.
The fi gures raised hopes that the industry
might have seen the worst of the 27-year
lows experienced this year.
Ford – the only “big three” US car-maker
not to fi le for Chapter 11 bankruptcy –
welcomed back buyers into its showrooms
in increasing numbers, lifting sales by 2.4
per cent in July to 164,795 units – more than
4000 vehicles above last year’s levels.
By contrast, GM sales declined 19.4
per cent, Chrysler was down 9.4 per cent,
Toyota slipped 11.4 per cent and Honda slid
17.3 per cent.
Despite its sales hit, GM remained the
market leader on 188,156 units, ahead of
Toyota (174,872, including Lexus) and Ford.
Ford’s July sales increase was driven
by the strength of its smaller vehicles,
especially the Focus (up 44 per cent on July
2008) and Fusion (up 66 per cent).
These vehicles tapped into the low-end
sales explosion triggered by government
sales incentives of up to $4500 for buyers
trading in gas-guzzlers on more fuel-effi cient
car and trucks.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
VW DEFIES TRENDEUROPE’S biggest car-maker, Volkswagen
Group, managed to hold its head above
fi nancial water in the fi rst half of this year
as many of its fellow European motor
companies fl oundered in red ink in the wake
of the global economic downturn.
While French rivals Renault and PSA
Peugeot-Citroen both recorded large
earnings slumps into negative territory
in the fi rst six months this year, VW
bettered fi nancial analysts’ expectations
by recording a fi rst-half operating profi t of
€1.24 billion ($A2.1 billion).
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
GoAuto News August 5, 2009 Page 21
John Mellor's SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.mellor.net
GoAuto’s latest car review www.GoAuto.com.au
Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe SportsMAZDA not only provides the only truly affordable two-seater open sportscar, but also offers a range of variants to suit differing needs as well as budgets. Case in point is the fl agship Roadster Coupe Sports Activematic, combining the security of a retractable hard-top with the ease of an automatic gearbox. But the big question is, can a folding-roof automatic MX-5 stay true to the hallowed lightweight roadster philosophy of the others? We test the Series II facelift to fi nd out.
AUGUST:Audi A5 CabrioletAudi R8 V10Ford Mondeo faceliftFord Mondeo wagonLand Rover Freelander 2 TD4_eNissan Dualis 4x2Nissan Navara Titanium EditionNissan X-Trail Adventure EditionSkoda Octavia RS faceliftSuzuki Swift RE4 LESuzuki Swift Safety PackToyota Aurion faceliftToyota Camry faceliftToyota Corolla Edge SEToyota RAV4 Edge SEToyota Yaris Edge SE
New model diary: CLICK HERE
Launch Padbrought to you by
Australia’s No.1 because it works!
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Yaris Edge
CAR REVIEW: CLICK HEREEE
LIFELINE FOR JLRBRITAIN is reportedly set to throw a
government lifeline to Jaguar Land Rover
after the struggling prestige car-maker lost
₤673 million ($A1.33 billion) in its fi rst full
fi nancial year under Indian rule.
The Financial Times has reported that the
UK government is now prepared to guarantee
a ₤175 million ($A348 million) short-term
bridging loan offered by the European
Development Bank. The bank gave the
green light for ₤340 million ($A676 million)
in loans for the company two months ago,
but the deal was forced into limbo by UK
government reluctance to agree to repay
the loan if JLR went under. Since then, the
company and the UK government have been
locked in talks about conditions for the aid.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
SWIFT GETS SPECIALTWO new special-edition Swifts are now
available from Suzuki, offering the choice
of either extra safety or style.
Hot on the heels of the all-new Alto sub-light
hatchback, which sets a new Australian price
benchmark with a manufacturer’s list price
of just $12,490 and is fi tted standard with six
airbags, comes a safety pack for the light-sized
Swift that also includes six airbags.
Available for an extra $700 over the
entry-level Swift’s $16,790 pricetag (plus
statutory and dealer delivery costs), the
Swift Safety Pack adds front-side and side
curtain airbags to the base model’s standard
twin front airbags.
The second Swift special edition available
from August 1 is the Swift RE4, which is
claimed to offer $5500 of extra features for
$18,290 (plus $2000 for the auto) – $1500
more than the base Swift’s price.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
ADVENTUROUS X-TRAILNISSAN Australia has released a limited-
edition Adventure version of its X-Trail
compact SUV, sales of which are almost 25
per cent down so far in 2009. Limited to 600
examples, the X-Trail Adventure Edition is
based on the entry-level X-Trail ST ($32,990,
or $35,490 as an auto) and is priced $1000
higher at $33,990 ($36,490 auto), yet brings a
claimed $2000-plus of additional features.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
NAVARA WITH THE LOTNISSAN has launched a special-edition
Navara 4x4 Dual Cab to maintain momentum
against the market-leading Toyota HiLux,
while also acting as an antidote to any sales
hangover from June’s tax-break-inspired
rush for business workhorses.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
FOCUS X-ROAD BLOCKA CROSSOVER Ford Focus wagon,
dubbed the X-Road, has gone on sale in
the Netherlands – but do not expect it in
Australian showrooms.
Ford has ruled out any chance of the
X-Road being sold in Australia because it
is a limited-edition (300-unit) model for the
Dutch market only.
FULL STORY: CLICK HERE
BIG ONLINE PROFITCARSALES.COM Ltd has recorded a
massive increase in profi t for the fi nancial
year to June 30, 2009, as the board of
directors hunkers down to decide if the time
is now ripe to fi nally list the company on the
Australian Stock Exchange.
The latest results show revenue is now
approaching the $100 million mark, with a
profi t margin (EBITDA) on sales of 45.4 per
cent – a return on sales regarded in broking
circles as “near the top of the tree”.
Revenue rose from $72.5 million in the
2008 year to $96.3 million in the 2009 year,
taking profi t (EBITDA) from $28.3 million
to $43.7 million. Net profi t after tax increased
63.8 per cent from $18.7 million to $30.7
million. Final dividend is up 64 per cent to
7.8 cents a share fully franked.
Carsales dividends so far have totalled
32.8 cents per share – 12.8 cents more than
the original share price of 20 cents a share
paid by foundation investors from across the
car industry.
Chairman Wal Pisciotta said the decision
to trade the unlisted public company on the
ASX would be made “as soon as possible”.
- JOHN MELLOR
Disclosure: The writer holds shares in
Carsales.com Ltd.
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R8 V10
Mondeo
Octavia RS