We publish a ton of automobile information tales through the working week (70-odd as a rule), and it may be robust to maintain up with every part – which is the rationale behind this weekend record.
Briefly, listed below are some key articles from our information desk since Monday of this week summarised, simply in case you missed them on the time.
Tortuous Toyota wait instances stay
Toyota has simply celebrated one other dominant yr in Australia, recording its best variety of deliveries in 14 years and experiencing all-time excessive demand ranges.
Nevertheless, it additionally stays a sufferer of its personal success, with stated demand and ongoing manufacturing complications yielding years-long wait instances on a few of its hottest nameplates.
Other than the LandCruiser 70, orders for which stay closed, the worst affected fashions stay the RAV4 and Camry (hybrids particularly), and the LandCruiser 300 Sequence.
FULL STORY: Toyota RAV4, LandCruiser and Camry – newest wait instances
BMW to distance itself from distractions
The proliferation of minimalist automobile interiors with key features buried in touchscreen menus has lengthy been a little bit of a bugbear of ours at CarExpert.
It seems the boss of BMW, Oliver Zipse, agrees.
“Driver distraction is the primary supply of accidents, not quick driving,” Mr Zipse was reported as saying at a media briefing throughout CES 2023. “… If it’s important to look right down to function your automobile, we predict it’s a giant mistake.”
FULL STORY: BMW to banish huge, distracting inside screens?
Volvo’s EV-only future taking form already
Volvo Australia hit one thing of a tipping level in December 2022, promoting extra pure EVs than inner combustion automobiles for the month.
That is within the context of a model that plans to be all-electric in Australia from 2026.
Of the 980 automobiles Volvo offered in December, 536 have been BEV, which is the same as about 55 per cent of the overall. These gross sales comprised 327 models of the XC40 Recharge and 209 of the C40.
FULL STORY: Volvo offered extra EVs than ICE automobiles in Australia final month
Longer… in relative phrases
Suzuki has used the Delhi motor present to disclose the long-anticipated Jimny 5-Door, a extra sensible model of its iconic mountain goat 4×4.
At 3985mm lengthy, the Jimny 5-Door is 340mm longer than the common mannequin, whereas the 2590mm wheelbase on the ladder body grows by the identical. Floor clearance is a claimed 210mm.
There are not any modifications to the drivetrain to deal with the added bulk, with the present 1.5-litre petrol carrying over – mated to a part-time 4×4 system with low-range, and accessible with five-speed handbook or four-speed computerized transmission decisions.
FULL STORY: Suzuki Jimny 5-Door revealed, confirmed for Australia – UPDATE
Nice Wall sprawl past China
Nice Wall Motor (GWM) offered a million-plus automobiles in 2022 – its seventh yr in a row to take action – however not like earlier years its quantity exterior of China accounted for nearly 20 per cent of its whole.
The quickly proliferating carmaker from Baoding offered a claimed 173,180 automobiles final yr in “abroad markets”, from its GWM Pickup, Haval, Ora, Tank and Wey manufacturers. That’s up 21 per cent year-on-year.
Cumulative exports exterior of China have now topped a million models, the corporate claims.
FULL STORY: GWM offered one other million automobiles final yr, 170,000 exterior China
Citroen goes in opposition to widespread knowledge once more
Citroen’s CEO thinks SUVs are on the way in which out as electrical automobiles proliferate by automakers’ line-ups.
Vincent Cobée’s remarks to Auto Categorical include a few disclaimers, nonetheless: one, he concedes that for the time being the “numbers are usually not telling me I’m proper”, and two, he envisages a market the place there are extra automobiles marketed as SUVs, however which resemble high-riding sedans.
Citroen has a restricted variety of SUVs, providing solely the C3 Aircross and C5 Aircross, with the new C4 and its booted C4 X counterpart additionally marketed as SUVs. Cobée expects extra rakish, fastback-style SUVs to turn into extra widespread because of the aerodynamic advantages they carry – one thing notably essential for electrical automobiles.
FULL STORY: Citroen CEO says “the world of SUVs is completed”
Nissan sticks with the outdated
Nissan Australia has shut down prospects of the Patrol 4×4 receiving a raft of inside and tech enhancements seen in left-hand drive markets, as an alternative “specializing in enhanced functionality”.
Talking with CarExpert, Nissan Australia’s managing director Adam Paterson indicated the following huge factor for the Patrol nameplate is the upcoming Warrior – a domestically developed off-road efficiency variant it’s engaged on with Premcar, due earlier than yr’s finish on the earliest.
“We had an replace to the present Patrol with some exterior modifications in model-year 2021. Our subsequent huge information with Patrol is the Warrior which can launch within the again finish of the second half [of 2023],” Mr Paterson stated.
FULL STORY: Nissan Patrol’s upgraded inside nonetheless not for RHD
Polestar defends leather-based’s inexperienced credentials
Leather-based has lengthy been thought of an expensive appointment for automobile inside supplies, however in current instances there’s been one thing of a push in direction of extra “sustainable” approaches to trim decisions in automobiles.
Some automobile manufacturers have been advertising and marketing pretend leather-based, or leather-like vinyl trim choices, as “vegan” leather-based in a push to attraction to those that would possibly really feel as if their automobile ought to do its bit for the setting or local weather change, or possibly simply because the client themselves is probably not into consuming meat, or supporting the farming of animals to be killed for supplies.
Nevertheless, in accordance with electrical automobile model Polestar, leather-based is extra sustainable than you would possibly suppose.
FULL STORY: Why leather-based is extra sustainable for automobile interiors than you would possibly suppose
Luxurious bragging rights decided
The world’s three greatest luxurious automobile manufacturers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – had comparable leads to 2022, recording small drops in deliveries however huge progress from electrical automobiles.
Moreover all three reported huge good points from their most costly and high-performance choices – every prioritising restricted semiconductors for his or her most worthwhile merchandise.
By way of bragging rights, Munich-based BMW edged out its rivals from Stuttgart and Ingolstadt when it got here to general volumes.
FULL STORY: BMW v Mercedes v Audi: 2022 international luxurious gross sales breakdowns
In style PHEV’s replace pending
Australia’s biggest-selling plug-in hybrid of 2022, the MG HS Plus EV mid-sized SUV, will obtain some updates through the second half of 2023, the model has confirmed.
With 1554 gross sales in 2022, the HS Plus EV by-product accounted for some 14 per cent of general MG HS gross sales final yr. Its subsequent closest competitor was the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross on 926.
You possibly can count on the upgraded HS Plus EV to be kind of the identical because the facelifted automobile already offered within the Thai market, which launched in March 2022.
FULL STORY: Australia’s best-selling PHEV will likely be up to date in 2023
Stellantis Dodges tuners
Ever since Dodge unveiled the Charger Daytona SRT idea, fanatics have been questioning if the corporate will enable aftermarket tuning of its EVs.
Nicely, now we all know the reply, and you may want to sit down and have a heat cuppa prepared.
Speaking to Muscle Automobiles and Vehicles, Tim Kuniskis, Dodge’s CEO, stated: “We don’t wish to lock the automobiles and say you possibly can’t modify them. We simply wish to lock them and say modify them by us in order that we all know that it’s completed proper.”
FULL STORY: Dodge will lock out aftermarket tuners from EV
MG going again to its roots
MG’s first electrical sports activities automobile has been spied testing forward of an anticipated reveal this yr.
Spy photographs revealed by Xcar and Weibo person EnricGu present the MG Cyberster’s slinky physique, tight overhangs and material roof.
Leaked patent photographs of the manufacturing mannequin appeared early in 2022 although, notably, the entrance overhang of the spied instance seems shorter than in these photographs and nearer to the preliminary idea.
FULL STORY: MG Cyberster electrical roadster spied
