Expect Mercedes-Benz to use the Snow Farm testing ground near Wanaka for winter trials of the new light truck it is developing to challenge Down Under commercial segment leaders like the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger. The carmaker has confirmed it will test prototypes in Australia and New Zealand before the production model breaks cover around 2018. The pick-up will be the … [Read more...] about Mercedes-Benz to test its new ute on NZ Snow Farm’s winter wonderland
Holden
Holden’s future large car will carry on the Commodore nameplate
The next Holden large car will be drawn from parent General Motors’ global portfolio and named the Commodore. The nameplate will live on after the carmaker closes its manufacturing operations in Australia in 2017, GM has confirmed. What will wear the Commodore badge is not known, although the smart money is on the next-generation Opel Insignia, the styling of which was … [Read more...] about Holden’s future large car will carry on the Commodore nameplate
New vehicle sales set to break record that has stood for 30 years
• Above, motorsport fan and former Prime Minister David Lange A month from now the new vehicle industry in New Zealand will look back on 2014 as the best sales year since 1984, when the David Lange-led Labour Party won a snap election and soon after changed forever the way this country does business. Back then, 117,075 new vehicles were sold in the 11 months till December … [Read more...] about New vehicle sales set to break record that has stood for 30 years
Mitsubishi sales up 20 per cent as market heads for record year
Three results from October sales stand out in what is shaping as a record year for new vehicles: Mitsubishi numbers are running around 20 per cent up on last year and 42 per cent on 2010; Hyundai will finish in the top three for passenger cars for the second year running; and the Ford Ranger will unseat the Toyota Hilux as the country’s long-standing workhorse of … [Read more...] about Mitsubishi sales up 20 per cent as market heads for record year
New Holden coupe would be spiritual successor to the Calibra of the ‘90s
Will Holden move upmarket and take on cars like the two-door Audi A5 and BMW 4-Series with a coupe of its own, a spiritual successor to the Opel Calibra that sold in New Zealand and Australia in the 1990s? That was the buzz at the Paris motor show after the General Motors-owned German carmaker confirmed it would fill about one third of Holden’s future line-up of models, … [Read more...] about New Holden coupe would be spiritual successor to the Calibra of the ‘90s