South Korea’s Kia is expected to sign off 2016 in New Zealand with sales of around 5150 new vehicles – that’s a 56.5 per cent hike on the 3290 it did last year. The result will leave Kia the No. 1 performer for the year in terms of percentage gains. Others have recorded big sales jumps on individual models – Ford Ranger ute is up more than 40 per cent, Isuzu D-Max up 30 per … [Read more...] about Kia the high flyer – year-on-year sales up 56.5 per cent
Subaru’s EyeSight safety system in more than one million cars
Subaru has sold more than one million cars with its much-praised EyeSight safety system, a suite of driver-assist aids endorsed by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for its effectiveness. The milestone came eight years and seven months after Subaru first launched it in Japan. EyeSight is available in New Zealand on Legacy, Outback, Levorg, premium … [Read more...] about Subaru’s EyeSight safety system in more than one million cars
Toyota’s 50 years in NZ: A trip down memory lane
Back in March, Toyota NZ planted a Puriri tree at its headquarters in Palmerston North to mark its 50th year in New Zealand. As 2016 comes to a close, and Toyota celebrates what it calls “50 amazing years”, Alastair Sloane looks back at some of the stuff he wrote about Toyota for the NZ Herald: 2000, the launch of the Echo/Yaris; 2001, the ninth-generation Corolla; 2006, how … [Read more...] about Toyota’s 50 years in NZ: A trip down memory lane
Name-change Escape SUV drops into the Ford pop-up shop
The pop-up shop that Ford opened last month in Auckland’s Sylvia Park shopping mall gets up to 500 people a day popping into it. Ford has been keeping track of the comings and goings. Some of the 200 or so shops in the mall that aren’t pop-ups don’t get that many coming into their joints. A woman on the phone from the Sunglass Hut reckons around 300 shoppers every day … [Read more...] about Name-change Escape SUV drops into the Ford pop-up shop
Ford reveals first road-ready GT – order book bumped out to four years
The first road-going version of the all-new 2017 Ford GT has rolled off the line, marking the beginning of a four-year extended production run. Originally, the supercar Ford GT was going to be limited to 500 examples over two years, but demand has been such that Ford is expected to double production to 1000 units. The decision to do so comes on the back of the … [Read more...] about Ford reveals first road-ready GT – order book bumped out to four years