The new vehicle industry in New Zealand is heading for its first annual sales slump since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) bit deep 10 years ago. Registrations of new cars and commercials at the end of August were down 5.1% on the same eight-month period last year, the first sign in a decade that the car market – long this country’s economic barometer – is feeling some … [Read more...] about Slump in car sales takes $20m a month out of industry pockets
Volkswagen's Piech
Love affair with Land Rover ends with cold shoulder …
My love affair with Land Rovers began as a boy on the family farm in the 1950s. Sixty-plus years later the relationship had neared breaking point. I fear it is beyond reconciliation. Maybe, just maybe, the new Defender can salvage it. Back on the farm all those years ago, my dad used the power takeoff (PTO) on an early Series 1 Land Rover to run a sawbench to cut fence posts … [Read more...] about Love affair with Land Rover ends with cold shoulder …
Kia plots compact SUV growth as ideal for its new Seltos
South Korean carmaker Kia is telling its global distributors that sales of compact SUVs will grow a further 20 per cent over the next three years, from 6.5 million in 2018 to more than 8.2 million in 2022. It’s a forecast that falls in line with the segment’s growth in New Zealand. At the end of June, 10,551 compact SUVs were registered with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), … [Read more...] about Kia plots compact SUV growth as ideal for its new Seltos
GM boss identified right-hook Chevrolet Corvette back in 2014
The president of General Motors, Mark Reuss, gave the strongest hint five-and-a-half years ago that a right-hand-drive Chevrolet Corvette was in the production pipeline. It was at the Detroit motor show, in January 2014. Reuss was then GM’s product development chief and had just told reporters that the US carmaker would for the first time develop cars and pick-up trucks with … [Read more...] about GM boss identified right-hook Chevrolet Corvette back in 2014
Hydrogen highway: Toyota, Hyundai go in one direction, Mazda the other
Toyota New Zealand (TNZ) is planning to show off its hydrogen-powered Marai sedan. “We’re looking at options for it,” said Morgan Dilks, the carmaker’s communications man. The options include doing what rival Hyundai is about to do with its zero-emissions Nexo SUV – take it on a road trip around the country. But first both companies have to organise a regular supply of … [Read more...] about Hydrogen highway: Toyota, Hyundai go in one direction, Mazda the other