This is an edited version of a story that appeared in magazine Wired. The rush to electric vehicles (EVs) is creating bottlenecks in the manufacturing of raw materials for the batteries that help power them. Global production of EVs is predicted to top 4 million cars this year, rising to 12 million in 2025. In Europe alone, 540,000 electric cars will be sold in 2020, up … [Read more...] about Cobalt crisis could put brakes on the sale of electric cars
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Brand Holden to close down: this is official GM press release
UPDATE: General Motors is to stop building right-hand-drive vehicles for the global market, except for selected models like the Chevrolet Camaro and Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck. They will be converted for New Zealand and Australia by Holden Special Vehicles in Melbourne. GM has been slowly pulling out of RHD markets like the UK, Japan, India and South Africa. Now it’s … [Read more...] about Brand Holden to close down: this is official GM press release
Ford-owned Troller TX4 is another boys’ toy from Brazil
The last time Ford imported Brazilian-made models to New Zealand was in 2002, in the form of the F250 and F350 pick-up trucks from the company’s South American right-hand drive assembly line. Ford’s marketing people reckoned they’d be the bee’s knees for New Zealand’s ‘Southern man’, the mythical tough guy around which advertising agencies at the time built campaigns. The … [Read more...] about Ford-owned Troller TX4 is another boys’ toy from Brazil
Economist: go beyond blaming fossil fuels for climate change
Canadian economist Marc Jaccard has been an advisor to his country’s governments on ways to cut carbon emissions – but he doesn’t believe the quest begins and ends with fossil fuels. Jaccard, above, who lectures at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, has written a new book, The Citizen's Guide to Climate Success: Overcoming Myths that Hinder Progress. In it he argues … [Read more...] about Economist: go beyond blaming fossil fuels for climate change
Kia Seltos leads new SUV sales assault on traditional passenger cars
The success of the new Kia Seltos in the past three months clearly shows how sales of SUVs in New Zealand are starting to take even bigger chunks out of those of passenger cars. SUVs accounted for 50 per cent of the 13,078 new vehicle registrations in January, the first time that one out of every two vehicles registered in a single month has been an SUV. In January 2019, … [Read more...] about Kia Seltos leads new SUV sales assault on traditional passenger cars