It’s being called Volkswagen’s new affordable ‘people’s car’. But unlike the original ‘Beetle’, it’s a battery-electric model aimed at putting the mockers on China’s plans to flood Europe with low-cost, Beijing-backed rivals. The German carmaker has teased an image of the EV, a likely hatchback set for production in 2027 and priced at 20,000 euros, or $NZ36,000. A … [Read more...] about Volkswagen tackles Chinese with new ‘people’s car’
Featured
EV sales collapse: What now for Luxon’s $257m buy-in?
That $257 million Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said National would spend over the next four years to build 10,000 chargers for electric vehicles? What happens to it now that sales of EVs have collapsed? Sales went through the roof with the taxpayer-funded Clean Car Discount (CCD). Now, three months into 2024, they’ve fallen through the floor without it. Any effect the … [Read more...] about EV sales collapse: What now for Luxon’s $257m buy-in?
Will EVs go the way of the Concorde passenger plane?
Electric vehicles (EVs) could turn out to be a technology too far, just as the supersonic Concorde passenger aircraft proved to be, writes a New Zealand Cambridge University professor. Concorde was “soon recognised as a beautiful piece of engineering that could never be a commercial success,” says Michael Kelly, Emeritus Professor of Engineering at the UK institution. “The … [Read more...] about Will EVs go the way of the Concorde passenger plane?
Just Stop Oil? Yeah, right!
Six billion people would perish inside 12 months if energy from fossil fuels was suddenly switched off all around the world. That’s the nightmare scenario author and former Bank of England economist Neil Record pictures for the planet if overnight the Just Stop Oil protestors got their way. “I am going to assume the ‘oil’ in Just Stop Oil means fossil fuels – so oil, gas … [Read more...] about Just Stop Oil? Yeah, right!
Toyota Prado gets ‘shave and a clean shirt’
It’s pretty much a sure bet that New Zealand won’t get the ‘greenest’ powertrain in the new Toyota LandCruiser Prado 4x4 range. It’s a petrol-electric hybrid that, had it been available, would have made more palatable Toyota NZ’s frequent references to cutting exhaust emissions. Instead, the 2024 Prado – the first all-new Prado in 14 years – gets the same turbocharged … [Read more...] about Toyota Prado gets ‘shave and a clean shirt’