JLR electric commitment excites NZ operation

All Land and Range Rovers, Jaguars set to adopt battery-fed drivetrains.

 JAGUAR and Land Rover intent to undertake a full-strength switch to electric powertrains has left the New Zealand distributor eager to learn more.

Steve Kenchington, Jaguar Land Rover New Zealand’s general manager, agrees the customer base – particularly on the Land Rover side – will need time to digest the implication of today’s announcement from the United Kingdom, but personally it’s exciting news.

“This has come as quite a big surprise to us – a pleasant surprise – in what it might it look like and what they are planning. There is much we don’t know.

“What is most exciting for us is that JLR has now defined the future direction for the brands and that this is happening on the back of a significant turnaround for them.”

The strategy unrolled today is for Land Rover to launch six pure electric models within the next five years while its sister brand is to be reimagined as an all-electric luxury marque by 2025.

How that impacts on the makes’ individual model has yet to be spelled out.

Jaguar Land Rover NZ boss Steve Kenchington is excited by today’s news.

Jaguar is already of course engaging in the EV-sphere with its iPace sports utility, a New Zealand Car of the Year winner that accounts for 10 percent of local Jaguar volume.

Yet it still produces its other cars – the E Pace and F Pace SUVs, the F-Type sports cars and XE and XF sedans – in conventional fossil fuelled form.

Today Jaguar also confirmed the replacement XJ large sedan, which had been destined to come out later this year as an electric product, has been abandoned.

The transition period for Land Rover seems to be longer, but the end game will be even more dramatic. The green badge division has some plug-in hybrids and is about to release an update of the Range Rover Sport locally with a new six-cylinder petrol that could, Kenchington agrees, become the last orthodox conventional fossil-fuelled drivetrain it delivers to market.

Next year it will bring out a new Range Rover and beyond that the next Range Rover Sport, both expected to have a mix of mild and plug-in hybrid drivetrains. 

The prospect of diesel models continuing for much longer seems unlikely, the local man suspects – “I think the latest Ingenium engines we are now bringing out will be the last” - even though this has been a preferred choice in the current Defender – which is about to go to a plug-in hybrid petrol choice – and the Discovery, which could yet be the first Land Rover to deliver the wholly electric promise as a new one is on the drawing board for release within three years.

Alternately, the Evoque and Defender Sport might become early adopters of a battery-pure approach. It’s all speculation at the moment. 

He thinks Land Rover’s petrol engines have a future, but in hybrid formats. “They have certainly put a lot of work into making them more eco-friendly and I suspect we will continue to see the benefit of that in the short to medium term.”

He reminds that the off-road specialist is continuing research into hydrogen fuel cell as well. Last week JLR confirmed that fuel cell powertrain development forms a core part of its ‘Reimagine’ strategy and said it will begin road testing prototypes within the next 12 months. 

Last year, the company detailed its Project Zeus initiative: a serious hydrogen power research project with the aim of developing fuel cell-powered versions of its larger vehicles. It has now reinforced that ambition to prepare itself for "the expected adoption of clean fuel-cell power in line with a maturing of the hydrogen economy". 

For its part, Jaguar Land Rover nonetheless says that all of its brands’ nameplates will be available with an all-electric variant by 2030.

Land Rover should be selling around 60 percent of its cars in pure-electric form by the end of the decade. However, it has stated that its first pure-electric model will be in production in 2024.

Land Rover’s latest model here, Defender, is already being built in a PHEV format.

A company release stated, “In the next five years, Land Rover will welcome six pure-electric variants as it continues to be the world leader of luxury SUVs through its three families of Range Rover, Discovery and Defender. The first all-electric variant will arrive in 2024.”

Kenchington says it is clear that customers have a lot to take onboard and will be asked to alter their preferences: Ironically, he muses, the five-litre supercharged V8 that is the antitheses of automotive Green intent is “selling like hot cakes for us at the moment.”

If a pure electric large Land or Range Rover were magicked into sales-ready form right now, it might still be a hard sell to many brand fans. Many probably just aren’t comfortable with electric.

He says it will therefore be crucial for the brand to mount an effective campaign to convert supporters to the new direction. He thinks it will be achievable, particularly once Land Rover can show that all the historic benefits that associate with its off-roaders will be maintained, if not enhanced, by having a battery-drawn drivetrain. 

“At the moment there’s never been so much demand for big ICE engines; we’ve probably never previously sold as many V8 supercharged as we at the moment.

The successful of EV transition will “come down to how good it is, how efficient it is, what the range is ….

“But if it is going to continue to be a Land Rover in its DNA, then I think people will embrace it. There is no reason not to. We have all driven electric and we know how good it is. If it can still submerge to 900mm in a river crossing and do all the other things our vehicles are really good at then there’s no reason why anyone wouldn’t want to go there.” 

“It is all very exciting.”

The plans for Jaguar are more complex, simply because while it was heading toward electric anyway, much has changed with the XJ limousine being scrapped.

In respect to this, the statement from Jaguar headquarters said it is still possible the XJ nameplate might be retained.

The makes’ supercharged 5.0-litre V8 petrol, used in the Jaguar F-Pace SVR as well as by Range Rover, has been a big seller lately.

 “By the middle of the decade, Jaguar will have undergone a renaissance to emerge as a pure-electric luxury brand with a dramatically beautiful new portfolio of emotionally engaging designs and pioneering next-generation technologies. Jaguar will exist to make life extraordinary by creating dramatically beautiful automotive experiences that leave its customers feeling unique and rewarded.”

Overseas commentators say the XE, XF, E-Pace, F-Pace and F-Type would now appear to have a finite lifespan, with all-electric replacements due by around 2025.

Kenchington says those products present interesting potentials. As much as iPace has found a place in the local market, Jaguar really needs other electric products in more convenient price zones than the $150,000-plus SV has nestled into.

Jaguar is likely to unroll its model specific strategies in coming months, he believes. “But clearly F-Type and F-Pace will go all-electric and you would expect E-Pace to do so as well.”

The $80,000 to $100,000 zone where XE and XF mainly position is an area that he is keen to exploit.

“At the (iPace) price point there is a limited audience but I think there is an appetite for electric and we just have to get to the point where we can produce these vehicles a bit cheaper.” 

Jaguar’s sedans have struggled in fossil fuel formats and yet as much market shift to SUVs suggests orthodox four-door booted cars are a dying breed, he looks to how well Tesla has done with the Model 3 and Model S. 

“From my perspective I’m keen to understand what they will do with the sedan market. It looks like XJ will not go ahead, but what they are going to do with XE and XF is interesting – do they keep both, do they keep one, do they have an XF and a long-wheelbase XF to create an XJ alternate? I just don’t know.

 How important could electric Jaguar sedans be in NZ, given we are so SUV-centric? Conceivably, they shouldn’t be, and yet … 

The iPACE accounts for 10 percent of Jaguar volume in NZ.

“If you look at the performance of Tesla, you’d say ‘quite important.’ Model 3 and Model S have been very successful. It feels to me that electric (in a sedan format) seems to attract.”

“In saying that, it could be that this is because there has not been much to offer in the way of SUVs. Tesla were first into the market, there was nothing else to buy … and you buy what you can. It’s very clear that the SUV segments continue to grow and the sedan segments continue to decline.”

His gut feeling is that Jaguar is probably considering E-Pace, F-Pace and another ‘Pace’ model as yet undisclosed being core to the electric drive. But maybe the sedans could survive. “I don’t know.”

The decisions lading to today’s announcement come after Jaguar Land Rover appointed ex-Renault executive Thierry Bollore to replace former CEO Dr Ralf Speth. The Frenchman started his new post last September but has kept a determinedly low profile as he undertook a full review of JLR’s business, current model line-up and future launch plans.

Today’s new has affirmed that JLR is able to retain all of its current production facilities, thereby quashing rumours that one of its UK factories might have been under threat of closure. 

Ioniq 5 interior previewed

Teaser campaign continues for model also caught testing in Australia.

FRESH images – official and otherwise – are emerging of the Ioniq 5, first of a dedicated all-electric series from Hyundai under the Ioniq name.

As part of a planned teaser build-up to a global reveal of the whole car, set to occur on February 23, the Hyundai has sent out an image giving a peek of the five-door model’s interior.

Meantime, a charging network provider in Australia has also pitched in, by sharing images (below) of a disguised Ioniq 5 replenishing. 

Tritium says the car was hooked up to its new 75kW RTM75 charger at its headquarters in Brisbane. 

It’s just the latest image of the Ioniq 5 being caught undergoing pre-release trials in Australia by its maker. Others emerged last month.

Hyundai itself has only sent out darkened teaser images revealing the car’s general shape, and the head and tail-light designs.

Even that has been enough to fuel speculation that the production model is set to be all but a dead-ringer for the South Korean carmaker’s “45” concept that was shown off to the world several years ago, not just in shape but also jacked-up general quasi-sports utility stance.

Hyundai New Zealand has indicated the Ioniq 5 will be on sale here, but has stopped short of fuelling thought that it might land around July or August, to join the Hyundai Kona and Hyundai Ioniq electric cars.

There will be more Ioniq models to follow under the new 'sub brand' that sits alongside Hyundai’s N-badged models as being more special than the make’s standard fare. 

In 2022, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 electric sedan will make its world debut, based on another Hyundai concept, the Prophecy. Further out there will be a Ioniq 7 electric large SUV. And then? Mystery, but the company says will usher in 23 battery-electric vehicles by 2025. 

All next-generation Ioniq models ride on a new Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), setting them apart from Kona EV and the current Ioniq hatch that provisions in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric forms.

That architecture will allow for high-speed charging capability and "plentiful" driving range – although neither of Hyundai's existing EVs disappoint in that respect.

When Hyundai revealed the ‘45’, it talked up the concept’s cabin as being a "smart living space.” That descriptive was used again in conjunction with today’s official image.

The design study was innovative, with highly adjustable seats, wireless connectivity – and a glove box space designed as a set of drawers.

Hyundai Motor Group – which encompasses the Hyundai and Kia brands, plus the upmarket Genesis marque that is not represented here, aims to sell 560,000 battery electric vehicles in 2025 – with its eyes set on becoming the world's third-largest maker of "eco-friendly vehicles". That count will also include hydrogen fuel cell cars.

Boardwalk for seaside jaunts

MINI feels the sand between its toes with a special edition.

AN assault has left the latest from MINI looking black and blue, but no need to involve authorities.  

We’re talking about another style assault from BMW’s Brit brand.

Black highlights and blue paintwork is a hero look defining the Boardwalk, a special edition with specific styling cues and specification that applies to a limited run the Countryman small sports utility.  

Ten Cooper and 20 Cooper S petrol variants are scheduled for New Zealand, respectively priced from $56,990 and $64,600. The cheap is powered by a 100kW/220Nm 1.5-litre turbo three-cylinder while the other a 141kW/280Nm 2.0-litre turbo four.

Both models are front-wheel-drive and feature seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions.

Standard equipment includes Deep Laguna Metallic exterior paint, Boardwalk-specific side scuttles and decals, black roof rails, Piano Black mirror caps, roof, grille and badges, 18-inch black alloy wheels, and LED headlights, tail-lights and fog lights.

Inside, standard features include Mini Yours black leatherette trim, Boardwalk Edition dashboard trim and door sills, Piano Black trim accents, anthracite headlining, a 5.0-inch digital instrument cluster, an 8.8-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and a reversing camera, a Harmon/Kardon 12-speaker sound system, and Mini Connected services.

There's also keyless entry, push-button start, front and rear parking sensors, heated sports seats, a panoramic sunroof, autonomous emergency braking and the Picnic Bench, a small cushion allowing the boot to be used safely as a seating area during a picnic.

The Countryman Cooper S Boardwalk adds a black honeycomb pattern for the front grille, a JCW Sport steering wheels, black leather-trimmed 'Cross Punch' seats with electric adjustment and memory, and adaptive cruise control.

And if you think you might have seen the paint colour before? Correct: The same hue offered on last year’s MINI Convertible Sidewalk edition.

MINI says the Boardwalk is intended to “combines signature traits of the iconic British brand like precision engineering and beautiful craftsmanship in a handsome package, celebrating a universal love for the seaside.”

Refreshed Citroen crossover for NZ

Distributor assures C3 Aircross unveiled internationally today is a starter.

ARRIVAL in the third quarter of this year is envisaged for the updated Citroen C3 Aircross, revealed internationally overnight.

A restyling, new infotainment and more versatile interior storage are among alterations for the compact crossover. It’s the five-seater model’s first major update since it released in 2017.

The design changes mainly occur at the front. New chrome chevron shapes extend out to restyled LED headlights and a new geometric-pattern grille, while a skid plate with coloured inserts also features. The lower lights move from the rounded squares of the old model to thinner rectangular units. Citroën says it gives “greater structure with the impression of a higher-set bonnet”.

A new diamond cut and gloss black alloy wheel design also arrives, available in 16 and 17-inch sizes. 

On the inside, the basic design and layout of the dashboard remains, but Citroen has introduced new trim options and it also adopts front seats shared with the next-size-up C5 Aircross.

New Zealand pricing and final specifications are as yet unresolved, but on strength of past preferences it seems likely rights’ holder Autodistributors NZ will adopt the upmarket trim that includes a larger and sharper nine-inch central touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. There’s also a new, larger central console with more storage space. 

Driver assistance technologies such as speed sign recognition, automatic emergency braking and automatic high-beam control feature, plus a head-up-display and a top-down style 360-degree parking camera will likely arrive here. Off-road functions such as hill-descent control and a grip control selection feature can be optioned. 

Electrified powertrains don’t figure in this car. The engine line-up for right-hand-drive starts with a PureTech 110 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine developing 80kW and sending drive to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox, but more likely for here is the PureTech 130 option, developing 95kW, which is also offered with the choice of a six-speed automatic gearbox. Citroen has diesel options as well. 

The Camel’s back

Famous Trophy model reinterpreted by Land Rover.

THE classic that Land Rover had to leave behind in order to move forward has risen from the grave – in its most famous guise.

The British brand has announced the Defender Works V8 Trophy, a modified version of the previous generation version of the company’s iconic four-wheel-drive, which stopped fullscale production in 2016 and was replaced last year by a far more modern model.

The ‘new-old’ edition is built by Land Rover Classic and designed to pay homage to the brand’s Camel Trophy-winning off-road racer from 1989, now a highly sought-after collectible. 

Prices start from over $300,000 for the short wheelbase 90 model – and production will be limited to just 25 examples. It is not known if any will go to customers outside of the United Kingdom.

The original Camel Trophy-winning 1989 was powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. This new homage features Jaguar Land Rover’s 5.0-litre V8, which outputs 297kW and 515Nm of torque. The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and sends drive to all four wheels via a two-speed transfer box.

Land Rover has added uprated suspension, new anti-roll bars, improved disc brakes with four-piston calipers and heavy-duty 16-inch steel wheels wrapped in mud-terrain tyres.

Buyers also get a range of functional and cosmetic exterior revisions, including a front winch, a roof rack, a snorkel intake and LED spot lamps. There’s also some extra safety equipment, such as underbody protection panels and an externally mounted multi-point roll cage. 

The car’s bodywork is also finished in a similar shade of yellow as the original Camel racer, while its wheel arches, bonnet and rear door are finished in contrasting Narvik Black. LED headlamps also come as standard, along with a heritage radiator grille and special edition “Land Rover Trophy” badging.

The Defender Works V8 Trophy gets a unique clock for the dashboard and an infotainment system designed to look like the original car’s stereo. Land Rover has also added a pair of Recaro seats, trimmed in black leather upholstery and contrasting yellow stitching.

Purchasers also get to compete in an exclusive three-day challenge at Land Rover’s legendary test centre at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, England. The event will be the first time customers will drive their new cars and each buyer will receive tuition from a team of seasoned drivers.

Tucson recall pending, Hyundai NZ says

One of the Korean make’s best-sellers has a fault that could cause a fire – it’s been recalled elsewhere; NZ is awaiting information from Seoul.

 NEW Zealand’s Hyundai distributor will involve in a recall of a popular model to address a possible fire risk due to a manufacturing error - just as soon as head office in South Korea identifies how many cars are affected. 

Hyundai New Zealand has given this explanation after being asked why is has yet to publicise a remedial action for the Tucson compact sports utility highly-favoured by Kiwis. 

The car has been subject to a recall elsewhere and it has become big news. The brand in Australia is advising owners to park the vehicles in an open space away from garages and flammable materials due to fears of the car's engine catching fire, even when the vehicle is turned off.

 The fault is with current generation cars built from November 2014 to November 2020.

It has been traced to a potential issue in the electronic circuit board in the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) module. This may short circuit when the components are exposed to moisture. This can occur even when the engine is switched off because there is constant power supply to the component. As a remedy, Hyundai has developed a relay kit to prevent a power surge.

The make issued its bulletin, initially in the United States – where a dozen cars have caught fire – and most recently in Australia, where 93,000 vehicles are involved. Our neighbour announced its recall last week.

Hyundai NZ says it is aware of the issue and the sales network has been given a heads-up; but that’s it so far.

“Whilst we are aware of this recall, we have not yet received official communication from Hyundai Motor Company regarding the vehicles affected in New Zealand,” explained Kimberley Waters, the Auckland-based brand’s spokeswoman, in an email yesterday responding to questions sent on Monday about an apparent lack of action.

“Customer safety is paramount. We have already taken steps to communicate this expected recall with our dealer network, update our website and brief in our Customer Experience team should our customers have queries.

“As soon as we receive official notification of the vehicles affected in New Zealand we will initiate our recall process and contact those customers affected to arrange for their vehicle to be booked in and repaired.”

“We have had no reports of any incidents related to this recall issue. Whilst customers are able to continue driving their vehicle we will be advising them if their Tucson displays any warning lamp on the cluster, to stop driving and contact Hyundai Roadside Assistance on 0800 498 632.” 

The issue has been sensationalised in some overseas media, with reports the fault will cause the cars to "explode".

The remedial action might take some time to process; Hyundai in Australia has said it expects the replacement part required for its cars to start arriving in late February but has warned all 93,000 replacement components won't arrive at once as it takes time to produce them.

 The fix itself is straightforward – it’s fitting a fuse repair kit – and quick. Hyundai Australia cites the job taking about 40 minutes.

Hyundai Korea’s advice says it is safe to continue driving the vehicles and that the brakes will still work as normal.

Meantime, it is set to release a new generation Tucson here soon.

Honda NZ refines sales pitch

The brand that rocked the industry with its ‘Price Promise’ strategy has now gone further still.

WANT to buy a new Honda but not via a dealer?

 From May 1, Kiwis won’t have to. Instead, they can buy the car they want  directly from the manufacturer, from their computer.

The brand that has operated a distinct Price Promise sales model since 2000 has today announced intent to further refine that process.

From the start of next month customers will be able to purchase Honda passenger models directly from Honda, either in a traditional store or via a new e-Commerce platform. 

Any benefits that might arrive from this have yet to be spelled out by the brand. It is also not clear if the Price Promise name will be kept 

“Our independent Honda agents have served the Honda brand incredibly well over many years, and we have greatly valued these relationships during this era,” said Nobuya Sonoda, Honda New Zealand’s managing director.

“The changes we are embarking on in 2021 are about actively managing our operations to ensure they are fit for the future and are reflective of Honda’s long-term commitment to continue investing in our people, operations and our communities.

“By making these changes we are placing our customers at the heart of everything we do, and importantly, putting the purchasing power where it belongs — in the hands of our customers.”

The Honda national dealer network comprises seven Honda-owned branches, plus 17 independently owned agents.  

In its statement, Honda NZ says those independent agents will now be converted either into fully fledged Honda stores, Honda Service Stores, or Authorised Service Stores.

The changes are set to streamline the sales experience across the board, while also decreasing independent involvement in stores outside of major centres.

The strategy is in keeping with what is known as an agency sales model. With this in its purest form, retailers/distributors shift their allegiance with a manufacturer.

Instead of buying a vehicle from the maker for a price usually well below list and so with a built-in margin, they simply accept a fee for each car sold.

It’s a fundamental shift. An agency model means a maker – or in this instance, the distributor - controls car pricing, instead of dealers, giving them a better chance of achieving haggle-free pricing.

Honda NZ took steps toward an agency model 21 years ago with its Price Promise policy, which ensured new-car buyers got the same price on a new Honda no matter who they were, where they lived, and what day of the month they purchased.

 Honda NZ said then that special offers, run-out deals, discounts and end-of-the-month sales all lowered resale values, which in turn affected a vehicle’s depreciation rate.

Back then, the price of a new Honda was also different around the country based on the individual dealer and the customer.

The company argued this led to an inequality. If one buyer received a five percent discount and another a 15 percent discount, the first buyer’s car would have depreciated by an extra 10 percent.

The NZ Price Promise changed that, so the only factors affecting the resale value of a Honda became vehicle age, mileage and condition. The system was designed to make Honda’s vehicles depreciate slower than those of rival brands.

For the dealer, it also meant lower operating costs. It meant dealers could sell any vehicle on order nationally, not just the ones allocated to them, with access to the full Honda range without incurring floorplan costs.

Honda NZ owned all demonstration stock at the dealerships and all the new-car stock.

Toyota New Zealand also has an agency model and other brands are looking at it.

E-Tron GT and RS racing to NZ

The sporty electric that represents the ultimate Audi brand statement and the start of a new era could well be just four months away.

UNVEILED fully today in all its four door coupe glory and potentially on sale here as early as June – Audi’s near-twin to the Porsche Taycan electric car is wasting no time making its big trip to New Zealand.

As previously reported the new all-electric four-door will be offered in two configurations – an entry-level Quattro variant, the grey car pictured, and top-spec RS, seen in a dark hue.

Local pricing and our market’s specifications have yet to be shared by Audi NZ, but at technical level the variants roughly align with the Taycan 4S and Turbo respectively.

Porsche’s cars cost from $203,900 and $289,900 but there’s nothing to suggest the Audi’s will be lineball – quite potentially, there could considerable air between them.

The GT is Audi’s fastest car since the combustion-engined R8 and the flagship is the first electric car from Ingolstadt’s famous RS division. 

Both versions send power to all four wheels, thanks to an electric motor on each axle, and have plenty of spark. 

In normal driving mode the Quattro derives 350kW/630Nm from its dual axle-mounted motors, whereas the RS has a claimed output of 440kW/830Nm.

Engaging the launch control function lends both a brief but significant power bump off the line – the Quattro has 390kW for up to 2.5 seconds, while the RS achieves 475kW for the same duration.

This feature allows the Quattro variant to accelerate from 0–100kmh in a claimed 4.1 seconds on the way to a top speed of 245kmh, Audi’s media information says. 

The RS completes the sprint in a claimed 3.3 seconds and tops out at 250kmh.

Both models run with an 85kWh lithium-ion battery, with an estimated real world range of 488km.

Keeping the performance in check is a comprehensive suite of chassis technology.

The GT gets adaptive damping as standard, while the RS model adds air suspension and an active rear differential.  

All-wheel steering is optional on both, as are carbon ceramic brake discs. The RS version does get tungsten carbide coated discs by default. Under braking, the electric motors provide approximately 0.3 g of regenerative deceleration, which Audi says can achieve a maximum recuperation of 265kW.

 The GT offers with 19-inch rims, but can be optioned to adopt the 21 inchers the RS runs with.

The car is 4990mm long but also low, with a height of just 1410mm. The body is 1960mm wide (not including mirrors), and Audi says the overall shape has a drag coefficient of just 0.24.

The standard cabin features leather-free "sustainable" upholstery, while a leather package can also be optioned.  The cabin uses some of the current Audi switchgear and detailing, but it debuts a lovely new steering wheel and has a simpler centre stack than some models in the range.

A stepped battery layout under the floor has been designed to maximise cabin space, while boot capacity sits at 405 litres. 

The Pre Sense Front and Pre Sense Basic safety systems are fitted as standard on both models, as is lane departure warning. Three optional safety packages are on offer, these being “Tour,” “City,” and “Park.”

Matrix LED headlights are fitted as standard on the RS E-Tron GT and offered as an option on the E-Tron GT Quattro, while Audi’s laser light high beam feature can also be specified on either model. It’s not clear if the camera rear vision mirrors that debuted on the e-tron SUV as an option carry to the GT.

In a brief comment, Audi NZ described the GT as being “a demonstration of how fascinating and exciting electric mobility is – the start of a new era, the Gran Turismo of the future.” It says the car will be here mid-year.

With coronavirus making the usual glam international media launch impossible, Audi ran its launch as a video presentation. That’s included here. There’s a fair bit of chat, but also some interesting video of the cars in action, including a sprint between a Formula E racing car and the RS GT, the latter driven by Nico Rosberg.

BMW’s revived electric onslaught starts this year

Kiwi interest in the iX3 and iX, potentially arriving around October, is ramping up.

The new iX is the most important car BMW will release here in 2021 …. and other all-new EVs are on the way.

 TWO car brands last year took pride in having achieved putting 500,000 electric models into the market.

One was Tesla, the other BMW Group.

 The difference was in the time taken to get there. Twenty-20 was a year when Elon Musk’s crew achieved producing half a million cars in a year.

BMW Group took a longer route to achieve the same figure, and did so with battery-involved product beyond its sole fully electric car.

The i3, whose production dates back to 2013 and which broke the mould when it came on sale here in 2015, has actually recently clocked up 200,000 units.

No, the jelly and icecream ‘half-a-mill’ moment was for the entire BMW Group and reflected it having sold more than 500,000 electrified models – a descriptive that, of course, covers its plug-in hybrids as well as fully electrics - across the BMW and MINI brands.

That this has taken years is nothing to worry about. The pace has stepped up - by the end of 2021, BMW Group is confident it will have doubled its penetration – and so too the level of commitment.

Twenty-five electrified vehicles on the road by 2023 is one ambition; another is to build “a quarter of a million more electric cars than originally planned” between now and then. A target that’ll allow it to more than double the share of electrified vehicles in its sales from around eight percent last year to around 20 percent. Beyond that? It’s to sell 4.6 million fully electric vehicles and almost as many plug-in hybrids within the next 10 years.

The i3 as we know it now will continue to contribute. Plans to kill it off last year were rescinded. It’s hard to say how long the stay of execution will last; some suggest it will continue to be manufactured until 2024.

This is ‘Power of Choice’; a strategy that BMW New Zealand is very energetic about. In a briefing today, managing director Karol Abrasowicz-Madej, and product manager Tim Michaelson, have made clear NZ will benefit from the global roll-out.

The ‘Power of Choice’ push also puts PHEV to the fore.

‘Electrified’ means more than full-out electric. ‘Power of Choice’ calls for up to four different powertrain variants – petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and pure-electric – in each of its main model lines to be built on the same production line.

Even so, it’s a big move for a make whose electrification plans – and the pace surrounding the subject - has varied wildly, between pioneering and glacial, over the last decade.

Cars like the i3 and i8 sports car were way ahead of their time when new but they were hugely costly for Munich to develop and sell. What’s followed has been a series of plug-in hybrids and arguably little else.

Kiwis have already experienced all of the above (in X3, X5, 3, 5 and 7 Series), and notwithstanding BMW NZ having achieved success with some, activity – and consumer interest – will surely ramp up all the more with two additional products arriving around the third, potentially fourth, quarters.

The iX3 and iX have both been subject of extensive coverage already.

The i3 put BMW on the electric drive route in 2015 here and is set to stay on sale for a while yet.

The first is as the name says, a wholly electric version of BMW’s second-smallest crossover. It provisions in pure rear-drive form and is the make’s first product for us out of China. BMW NZ originally expected it at mid-year, but has held off to achieve a 2022 edition that takes some enhancements not meted early build cars. Michaelson says the tech doesn’t change; it’s all about extra specification and additional paint choices.

The iX, meantime, is BMW'S first electric SUV built from the ground up on a new EV platform.

BMW NZ has already begun an on-line campaign and it appears orders have been placed, regardless that pricing has not been announced.

In respect to that, and also in regard to potential allocations, Abrasowicz-Madej doesn’t want to give too much away.

However, he says there’ll be enough allocation to meet market demand and suggests it might feasible to imagine an iX3 could cost similarly, or perhaps a touch more, than the X3 30e plug-in hybrid that is a $120,000 ask here.

As to who is expected to buy-in? His hope is that both cars will attract conquest customers as well as existing brand loyalists. “It’s going to be interesting to see how that eventuates.”

He doesn’t expect these to erode the sales performances of the X3 and X5, his two best-selling models, though in terms of flavour the newcomers are probably not going to be entirely different to those orthodox SAVs.

“But (with iX) we are still talking about differences in size, in design and in many other factors.”

Abrasowicz-Madej says the local interest is a positive; notwithstanding BMW’s deep dive into EV-dom, many customers are still coming to grips with understanding the technology. “It is an education process. They are still learning about the technology, recharging, the driving.” However, he agrees it is easier to talk about the benefits of electric driving now than perhaps has been in the past.

Michaelson, meantime, is calling iX an especially exciting product.

It shares exterior dimensions of an X5, is as tall as an X6 and has the wheelbase of an X7, with very high specification and plush appointments in two levels of bodywork, a standard look and a sport enhancement with more rakish styling elements.

The iX3 is likely to settle in nicely, but it will be no surprise if it is utterly overshadowed by iX; the latter will be a far pricier proposition, but it will also be more premium and reaches further in design and technology.

BMW NZ is especially excited about the potential presented by the iX.

The car’s bold roadside impression carries into a cockpit that uses a lot of inspiration from the iNext, a concept car that has become important to the whole BMW electric strategy. The iX takes the design study’s hexagonal steering wheel and vast curved digital displays for the driver and front passenger.  

It also features BMW's new ‘fifth-generation’ electric powertrain tech. We are told that the car will be powered by two electric motors (with no rare earth elements), producing 'more than' 370kW, which comprehensively beats the 300kW Mercedes EQC and Audi e-tron 50 and 55 (respectively 230kW and 300kW).

Apparently the iX will do 0-100kmh in under five seconds, but of greater importance is the efficiency and range between charges. BMW expects the car will average 21kWh per 100km on the WLTP cycle, resulting in a range of more than 600km from its 100kWh battery pack.

Recharging times are also impressive … when the right hardware is in place. The iX can be DC fast-charged at up to 200kW, allowing 10-80 percent charging in under 40 minutes, or 120km range for 10 minutes of charge.

The car premieres a new aluminium space frame that supports an inner carbon cage fabricated from CFRP – for composite plastic and carbon-fibre-reinforced-plastic – covered with a body made out of a combination of aluminium and CFRP. The latter is a material BMW has become accustomed to working with as it features intensively in the i3 and now discontinued i8.

For the first time in a modern-day BMW model, the iX will feature a fixed clamshell style bonnet. A series of aerodynamic developments, including the blanked-off grille, minimal air ducting within the front bumper, flat underbody panelling, integrated door handles with an electronic opening mechanism and the tapered glasshouse, contribute to a claimed drag coefficient of 0.25.

Full LED main beams are standard, though buyers will also be able to specify BMW’s Laser lights as an option. At the rear, the iX’s narrow tail lamps receive LED functionality as standard.

The iX3 will sit alongside conventional and PHEV versions of the popular compact SAV.

The iX3 obviously takes a different approach; for a start everything about how it looks is very familiar, of course.

Yet it nonetheless represents an important step. It’s not just BMW’s first electric SUV, but also the first BMW to be available with either pure combustion, plug-in hybrid or pure electric power. 

The X3’s platform has been adapted with a new rear sub-frame that houses a single electric motor and an 80Wh battery pack that, BMW says, is 20 percent more energy dense than any battery it has used before.

Output is to the tune of 210kW and 400Nm and a 6.8-second 0-100kmh sprint is claimed. BMW says it’ll provide an impressive 460km range, as determined on a WLTP test cycle. Using fast-charging, the iX3 is capable of receiving 80 percent charge in 34 minutes. 

BMW is talking up the car’s adaptive energy recuperation system, which it claims automatically enhances efficiency on longer drives. Using location data from BMW’s latest cloud-based navigation system, the iX3 can autonomously change the level of braking recuperation on the move and according to the road ahead. For instance, if the car recognises that a stop sign is ahead, full recuperation will be deployed without any need for the driver to select it. 

Alternately, the driver can take manual control of the regenerative braking, with three levels of resistance availed. A ‘B’ position on the Drive selector enables high enough energy recovery for one-pedal driving around town, a trick the brand appears to have nabbed from Toyota/Lexus. 

The iX3 gets a unique tune for its standard adaptive suspension system with electronically controlled dampers. Alternately, buyers will be able to specify a sportier Adaptive M suspension setup. 

The front grilles are closed off for aerodynamic purposes and the bumpers have been reprofiled and it gets set of aerodynamic wheels styled to reduce the drag coefficient by around five percent compared with regular X3 wheels. 

So, these are the 2021 entries. What’s next? Perhaps understandably, that’s a subject BMW’s national representatives were reluctant to talk about, though that is hardly an inhibitor.

There’s been plenty said overseas, none of which has been denied by the parent brand, to cement the road map’s course. The following is based on what’s being said overseas.

Plug-in hybrids are set to be ubiquitous in Munich’s line-up. The X3 will be first to tick off the ‘diesel, petrol, phev and electric’ remit; others will follow.

Internationally, if not here, there will be multiple plug-in hybrids within different families to choose from; for the 5-Series, as example, BMW has revealed a 545e hybrid as well as a 530e hybrid.

As for the electrics?

The i3 as we know it now achieves another facelift and larger battery, but it’s just a see-me-out strategy with a new i3 to take its place – only this one will be an all-electric version of the familiar-looking 3-Series.

Meantime, an as yet unseen i1 model - an electric extension to the new 1 Series lineup - will take the current i3’s place. There’ll also be an iX1 crossover, with a raised seating position and relatively compact dimensions.

Still getting your head around the next car to bear the ‘i3’ badge being so different? Well, an all-electric 3-series is also a big change up, too. In addition to the sedan, there’ll be a four-door fastback called … you got it, the i4. It’s been seen in concept form and testing and the production edition is to be unveiled later this year.

BMW has sent out images of the i4 during its development and says the production model will be revealed later this year.

Both run the vastly improved eDrive tech in the iX3 and the iNext. The new tech is around 30 percent power denser than the powertrain shown in the i3 we know now.

BMW talk specific to i4 has been to expect a range of 600km (WLTP), 390kW and a top speed of 200kmh. It’s gunning for the Tesla Model 3; the cited 0-100kmh sprint time of around 4.0 seconds is on pace with Beemer’s own V8-powered cars. 

Also en route are the i5, an electric version of the eighth-generation 5 Series, due in 2023. It will initially be a sedan, but a station wagon version could be offered in some markets.

The most famous Five will continue to be the M5. The next, arriving in 2024, will be a dramatic change from the current F90. Why? Because it’s expected to be the first M car to be exclusively electrified – either as a ‘Power PHEV’ or full-electric car. There’s that philosophy of powertrain choice.

BMW is openly working on the ‘power BEV’, using a 5-series mule. That model has three e-motors borrowed from the iNext/i4 powertrain. One drives the front axle while the rear wheels get a motor each. Numbers? 530kW and sub-3.0s 0-100kmh. 

The BMW iX5 is already in pilot-production at BMW’s Dingolfing factory. This is the SUV iNext truly points to. It offers a base range of 547km, rising to 740km with an optional 110kWh battery. It’s also planned to support level-three autonomous technology.

Its powertrain will be similar to that of the i4, so is promising a rough 600km range and all-wheel drive.

More? There’s strong talk of the i7; an EV flagship based on the next 7 Series sedan which is due next year. Suggestion it will share much of its mechanicals with the i5 and iX5 and achieve a range of up to 740km. Prototypes have been seen.

Also, an iX7. Overseas’ media say design proposals for a seven-seat sister to the iX5 have been pitched, with intent for release in 2025.

 And what about another i8? BMW teased with the Vision M Next Concept (below) in 2019. Back then it looked set to be a huge milestone for M division, ultimately paving the way for a full-electric M car. But it’s been cancelled. 

All the dirt on a cleaner future

Today, a big read assessment of the full ramifications of Government’s push for a low emission light vehicle standard – and promise of penalties for those who cannot make the cut.

Geographic isolation is among factors that have kept New Zealand from poor air quality being a regular experience in our big cities, however motor vehicles are a major contributor, hence why CO2 count enforcement is important.

 WE’VE been tardy about creating an emissions standard, but finally something is being done. 

The clean car import standard laid out on January 28 sets an average emissions target of 105 grams per kilometre and follows a swift timeline; legislation will be progressed this year and a standard will be in place in 2022.

Next year the only onus is on distributors of new vehicles and importers of ex-overseas’ used (and parallel imported new) cars is to report CO2 data. From 2023, penalty will begin to apply to any player who fails to meet targets.

These will start at $50 for every exceeded gram, rising to $75 per gram in 2025. Used car importers will be charged half this amount.  In 2025 there’ll be a review. An even lower emissions target could very well result. The European Union already has a target of 95g/km.

It’s a grand plan, and perhaps you’re still struggling with understanding how it might affect you. Certainly, the industry has views, too, and today’s piece results from discussion with numerous figures within that business, to get a handle on what they are thinking.

And one point before going further. Though it has cautioned this is an especially steep challenge to meet Government’s expectation within the cited timeframe, the Motor Industry Association, which speaks for distributors, is supportive of Green motoring initiatives.

 This, after all, is why all the key makers have already committed to electric and, in some cases, hydrogen fuel cell. It’s their future. The biggest concern is the timeframe: We’re not necessarily taking on too much, but the rollout might be too fast.

Why the standard?

The Government cites the average vehicle in New Zealand as having CO2 emissions of around 171 grams per kilometre (g/km). It says our cars and SUVs alone average 161 g/km, compared to 105 g/km in Europe.

 It suggests that, in 2017, the most efficient vehicle models on our market had, on average, 21 percent higher emissions than their counterpart models in the United Kingdom.

The industry involvers spoken to generally opined that the comparison that created this data was overly simplistic, but they all agreed the sentiment is correct. There’s concession, too, that NZ likely has less fuel-efficient cars than many markets, mainly because fuel is cheap and we don’t tend to like driving under-powered cars.

Emissions testing is serious business in many countries. We’ve not bothered.

In respect to the national output, NZ is slightly ahead of Australia, primarily due to our higher electric vehicle uptake per head of population. There’s reminder that NZ regulations insist on all new passenger product meeting at least the Euro 5 emissions standard, which dates back to 2009 and focuses mainly on reducing CO2 emissions, and some now meet Euro 6 (which dates to 2014), which reduces some pollutants by 96 percent compared to 1990s’ limits but primarily focuses on cutting diesel-associated nitrogen oxide emissions.  

Commented one contributor: “Our emissions are not bad; we have better standards (Euro 5) than the likes of India and we have some Euro 6 cars here because our fuel quality is so good, unlike Australia. Our vehicles aren’t necessarily all that dirty, just thirsty.” 

How strong is the argument for change?

 According to the Government, the light vehicles coming into the country are among the most fuel inefficient, and emission intensive, of any OECD country.

The Government consistently cites New Zealand as being only one of two countries in the OECD without a vehicle CO2 standard. The other nation it cites is Russia. That’s not a good example. Last time we checked, Russia is not, and has never been, in the OECD.

The Government also says the target set for 2025 was already achieved by Japan in 2014 and by Europe in 2020.

The industry reminds that the latter is a bit disingenuous; it says the vehicle industry performers in Europe have not actually hit the mark; the average for 2020 has not been published yet, but in 2018 and 2019 it was 121 and 122 (yes, it went up) grams per kilometre. There is expectation that it won’t be unanimously achieved. Same goes for this year; some brands are steeling for being hit big in the pocket.  

Makers are trying. The production and availability of low-CO2 product, particularly electrics, has rocketed – and they are popular, take-up being fuelled by incentives. Most countries in Europe also have fuel economy standards and high-emitting vehicles are subject to higher tax loading. 

Is this just some Government plot to force us into hybrids, mains-replenished plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicles?

The Government says on average, New Zealanders pay 65 percent more in annual vehicle fuel costs than people in the European Union, even though Europe’s petrol prices are higher.

Reality is that Government hardly needs to force change; it’s coming ready or not.

Most car makers have decided to wean out of wholly fossil fuelled products and some have made quite radical commitments.

General Motors, perhaps not the best example with Holden now defunct, has decided to phase out vehicles using combustion engines by 2035. It’s pinning hope on electric (and will have 30 pure battery models out by 2025) and fuel cells. On February 7, Ford announced intent to commit $US29 billion to electric and self-driving cars. Toyota, already the world’s top gun by far in the hybrid sector, also sees itself heading in the same route; again, it sees big merit with hydrogen, but alongside electric solutions. Stellantis, the new co-op between France’s PSA and Fiat-Chrysler, is the same. Mercedes, BMW, Audi – in fact all of VW Group – Nissan and so on. And so on. All are looking to battery-enabled motoring.

However, the Government is jumping the gun if it imagines all brands have non-fossil fuelled solutions for all situations right now. This decade is very much a period of transition.

Toyota is the world’s biggest producer of hybrid cars, has the world’s biggest selection and the Prius is the world’s most popular petrol electric. However, hybrids still account for just of the make’s production.

EV production is ramping up and will continue to do so annually. Production of PHEVs is also increasing and it’s the same with hybrids. Yet overall, these do not account for a huge percentage of annual global vehicle manufacture. As much as Tesla is leading the way, it still only produced 500,000 vehicles last year. That didn’t even get it into the top 10 of global light car manufacturers.

Toyota and premium affiliate Lexus have hybrid in most of their models now; those brands have together put 15 million cars with this tech on the road since the original Prius emerged in 1997. The technology has reduced CO2 emissions by more than 120 million tonnes worldwide to date compared to sales of equivalent petrol vehicles. Great work, but hybrids still only account for 52 percent of total Toyota annual production. 

The EU gave car makers 10 years’ prior warning of its expectation and, even so, that was barely enough time to develop and produce the right kind of cars. Remember, in 2011, electrics were still a novelty, there was barely any infrastructure to support them and range was poor. All that’s changed.

Europe is a core car market; because of that, and because of the CO2 penalties, it’s become a priority market for EV suppliers.

At present, most Euro EV action is contained to the premium market. The challenges are at the affordable end. Before Government’s intent was clarified, the Euro with potential to best shake up our mainstream EV choices, Volkswagen Group, was also putting us low on the shipping list.

At one time, the new-generation VW, Skoda, SEAT and Audi products on the electric-dedicated MEB platform were set to roll in from this year; now entry in late 2022 seems a best – and even that’s optimistic.

Says one involver whose brand sells fully electric and electric-assisted product. “It’s all about getting the right cars … at the moment, Europe is accounting for most (of his brand’s) production. Supply for us is not as good as we want; we take everything we can get – and can sell it – but we cannot get enough and that’s unlikely to change for years.”

FYI: The Climate Change Commission report proposing future trends reckons just 40 percent of our fleet will have electric assist by 2035.

Okay, so how will this scheme work? 

ANSWER: Each supplier will have a different target to meet, reflecting its fleet of vehicles. Across the vehicles it brings in it has to ensure the average CO2 emissions are equal to, or less than, the target for its vehicles.

As it works by averaging, vehicles exceeding the CO2 target can continue to be brought in so long as they are offset by enough zero and low emission vehicles.

The 2025 target will be phased in through annual targets that get progressively lower. This gives vehicle suppliers time to adjust and source enough clean vehicles to meet the targets and to encourage buyers to opt for low emission vehicles. 

These penalties – won’t they just be passed onto the consumer; meaning cars will get more expensive?

No-one’s offering any comment on this, though several people spoken to reminded that, at present, the average CO2 count is 65g/km above target. Translate that into initial penalty dollars and it represents as an average $3500 impost on stickers. 

Will distributors have any support?

ANSWER: Waka Kotahi will develop an online tracking and forecasting tool to allow importers to see how their CO2 accounts would be affected if they purchase particular vehicles in international auctions. It would also help importers complying on a fleet-basis by easily allowing them to monitor how their actual average fleet CO2 emissions are tracking, against their fleet targets. 

Flexibility will be given for the industry by allowing them to bank, borrow and transfer. Banking will allow suppliers to carry over any overachievement of their CO2 targets to offset the following three years.

Borrowing allows suppliers to miss their targets for one year as long as they make it up the following year.

Transferring allows suppliers to transfer overachievement of their CO2 target to one or more other suppliers operating within the same compliance regime.

That’s all well and good, says one commentator, but he remains convinced that the best incentive is … well, incentives.  

That’s been proven time again overseas. More than 30 countries have EV incentives and these commonly take form of comprehensive electrification strategies, not just handouts.

“Our products are popular, but they aren’t the most popular vehicles we sell. We always ask ‘will customers automatically want to buy them’. You have to pay more for electric, that’s just an unavoidable. Some people are keen, not everyone is. The economies (of widespread acceptance) won’t work without support.”

How easy will it be for all distributors to meet the new standard – might we see some brands or vehicles, even vehicle types, simply disappear?

The Government does not address this but some in the industry would not be surprised if this scenario plays out.

Kiwis love their diesel utilities - but the type are high CO2 emitters. That’s a factor brands that do well with those models will have to consider now.

The easiest way to get the make-wide average CO2 down is to slot in an electric-assisted model into the range. EVs are of course best, because it’s only CO2 out from the vehicle: For those cars, that count is ‘zero.’

All well and good, but some makes simply do not have that luxury. The idea is for them to buy credits from those do, and have some to spare. Tesla has effectively come into profit on Fiat-Chrysler payments.

It’s not fair to name names, but it’s easy enough to find out which brands have EV strategies and which do not. Those without will be hurt.

One comment: “It’s not just the obvious gas guzzlers that are impacted by this. The requirement is for even small cars to improve and that’s a much harder ask for them than it is with big ones.” 

The impact on the current fleet will be interesting, we were told. “More consumers will start to look at fuel economy.”

If this all about improving our environment, why aren’t used importers having to follow the same regime as new vehicle distributors? After all, we’re all breathing the same air. Also, there’s no mention of importers of effectively brand-new cars from overseas – what’s their responsibility?

The average ago of used imports is 10 years. The effective requirement is for these to meet Euro 5; a standard implemented 12 years ago.  

So, theoretically, imports will be within this mandate. All the same, the used importers’ association, which was not approached for comment, has already expressed distaste for the requirement.

The feeling, from the new car industry, seems to be that everyone should do their share. Thought that importers of as-new product might only have to pay half the penalty the same vehicle, if over the limit, would be hit with is not welcomed. On the other hand, there’s also sentiment that those operators shouldn’t achieve any incentives, should these materialise, for favoured models. The reason? Those operators have not invested in the infrastructure required to support those cars.

Are the penalties stiff enough?

The reason why brands selling in the EU are so compelled to meet the target there is that the penalty is much steeper than it will be here; $160 per gram exceeded.

The Government says this will impact on vehicles being delivered from a certain date – it won’t be retrospective, so what we are driving now won’t be affected. Or will it? What impacts could this have on, say, on residual values – will some cars become unsaleable and, if so, what types might raise a red flag?

It’s too soon to tell. However, the potential for this legislation to change vehicle buying seems obvious.

Said one respondent: “Our cars are heavier on average than those sold in Europe. This has a massive impact on fuel economy. The best way to get average economy counts down is to drive more efficient cars.”

At the moment, some said, we have cheap fuel and use too much of it. “We love powerful and large vehicles, and 23 percent of new vehicles sold are utes, which on average are all emitting more than 200 grams of CO2. 

“That factor alone makes us very different to Europe. Utes aren’t at all popular over there. 

What drives that interest? Perceived superior versatility (which is often not realised in reality – many vans are better choices), opportunity to circumvent Fringe Benefit Tax and our love of towing.  

The whole swing to utes has rankled some. One thought expressed: “The high level of ute uptake by businesses is a direct result of the Inland Revenue Department’s failure to police their FBT rules.

“Check out your local boat ramp and I bet you’ll see plenty of sign-written utes and just know their owners aren’t paying FBT, though they should be.”

Electric car uptake is set to rise, but no simply because of political will. Fact is, most carmakers now see this technology being their future.

Beyond that? “The older and thirstier – and that’s not necessarily the same thing – vehicles will become less popular,” one involver suggested.

“If the cost of carbon continues to rise, and we can expect this, fuel will get more expensive and interest in thirsty cars will continue to decline … hopefully this will be supported by a scrappage scheme.” 

And potential red flags? A hard one, but potentially ultimately anything with a six or eight-cylinder petrol engine that isn’t considered a classic. Perhaps some turbocharged four-cylinder mainstream cars.

Are there any circumstances where vehicles might be subject to dispensation; we hear that in the EU, all the really exotic stuff – you, know, your Ferraris, McLarens and Rolls-Royces and so on – are exempt because their production runs are so low. Will that happen here, do we know if there is a registration count cut-off for what excludes and what doesn’t?

The exemptions so far explained are for: vehicles intended primarily for military operational purposes; agricultural vehicles/equipment that are primarily driven on farms, such as tractors, harvesters, mowers, toppers, bailers; vehicles with historic value, or vehicles such as classic cars; motor vehicles constructed before 1 January 1919; motor vehicles constructed on or after 1 January 1919 and are at least 40 years old on the date that they were registered, reregistered, or licensed and scratch-built vehicles and modified vehicles certified by the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association.

It’s still unclear if that same leniencies that have allowed the high-end exotic brands to keep selling in the EU will impact here. However, it is worth noting that many are intensifying the electric efforts nonetheless. Though, in the case of Rolls-Royce, the potential of a fully electric car before too long has nothing to do with consumer demand. It’s more because big cities around the world are increasingly deciding to shut themselves off the high-emissions traffic.

Anything else we need to know?

Australia.

We historically often collude with our neighbour on common market selections. Car makers love volume. NZ doesn’t buy many new cars but, if we take the same stock as our neighbour, then often it’s enough to win a production priority and a stronger negotiating status. 

Our tastes were already distancing but the new legislation might lead to a complete divorce. Our respective national visions are far from alike.

 Australia has no mandated CO2 regulation now and, more disturbingly, is disinclined to adopt one; a situation that in itself has so alarmed the car industry they’ve rolled out a voluntary code. 

Even then, they face a different core challenge. A catalyst for our neighbour’s relatively lax emissions regs is that the fuel sold there is of lower quality than we receive. This means Australia’s fuel and Euro 5-based noxious emissions standards are lax by global standard; to the point where they act as an impediment to introduction there of internal combustion engines that can be sold here. The standards are being tightened. But not until 2027. 

Like us, they’ve ruled out EV subsidies in favour of encouraging companies to electrify their vehicle fleets. We aim to make EV owners pay Road User Taxes (though when is still unclear). Over there, some states are pushing for EV road taxes to compensate for lost fuel excise earnings; Victoria is considering fiting EVs with GPS trackers for per kilometre charging. Why would anyone keen to kick the oil habit been keen on that?

Beyond that, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s administration seems largely indifferent to the matters we are aiming to address. 

The Federal Government seems to be happy with indulging in what a senior writer with Wheels magazine has called an “embarrassing fossil fuel addiction while the rest of the world joins the e-volution.”

Daniel Gardner, who said his views about electric cars and the positives of their involvement in any roadscape came from (pre-Covid) visits to Europe, particularly time spent in Germany, says he is embarrassed that the Australian Federal Government's 2020/2021 Federal Budget included money to upgrade a coal-fired power station in New South Wales, and $A52.9 million expanding Australia’s gas industry “while allocating a measly A$5 million for electric vehicles.”

He added: “Get chatting to a German and, regardless of their political inclination, they simply won’t believe why we are so opposed to electric vehicles and gorging ourselves on fossil fuels. And when you see just how feasible Germany makes the transition to electric cars appear, you probably wouldn’t either.”

Australia’s determination to keep mining and burning coal relates so much about our neighbour’s attitude toward clean air concern, critics say. EV producers’ making Australia a low-priority market might not do un any favours.

He wrote of exasperation that “Australia has a government that sees absolutely nothing wrong with digging millions of tons of filthy brown coal out of the ground and burning it to power the nation. A government that not only refuses to invest in renewable energy despite being one of the most suitable countries in the world, and instead favours more coal mines. 

Australia’s indifference has also fired up the country’s peak electric vehicle lobby, which says the latest future fuels strategy, which released in draft form late last year, as “yet another flaccid, do-nothing document that will prevent Australians getting access to the world’s best electric vehicles”.

They’re right. Limited electrified vehicle production is being allocated to places where incentives are greatest and/or restrictions on CO2 are the most painful. Australia? Said Wheels magazine last month: “As the Federal Government’s ideological constraints and contradictions extend its environmental and electric vehicle policy vacuum, Australia is slipping down the shipping list.”

NZ distributors are finding themselves having to negotiate directly with makers to achieve any kind of product and often there’s a cost – which has to ultimately be passed on – and, in many cases, acceptance of compromise (so, a car might arrive in another right-drive country’s spec: Latterly, it’s been Ireland).

Having a neighbour we can’t live with, but cannot live without is hardly helpful.

Audi’s hot electric uncovered

Spanish website gives preview ahead of official reveal.

SCHEDULED for an unofficial global unwrap tomorrow, Audi’s much anticipated rival to the Tesla Model S has surfaced online ahead of that timeline.

The E-Tron GT electric sedan surfaced on social media with images of what appears to be the completely showroom-ready example published on Spanish car enthusiast community Cochespias.

The GT has been seen camouflaged form under testing, and a concept was displayed by the Volkswagen Group brand in 2018, but this might well be the first look of the car as it will avail to buyers.

Kiwis might have particular excitement, as New Zealand seems set to be an early adopter of the performance-focused four-door coupé, which combines enough rapid performance with rapid charging to match the platform-sharing Porsche Taycan, whose supercar-slaying stomp has won global acclaim.

Audi NZ has signalled the first electric out of Audi that’s been purpose-designed to specifically appeal to the marque’s petrolhead audience, especially fervent in this country, will come here from mid-year.

 It is set to present in the guise seen here and also as a full-blown RS model, the latter being the first electric car from Ingolstadt’s performance tuning operation. Audi appears to have successfully kept the production look of that flagship, seen below during testing, under wraps.

Last October Audi NZ boss Dean Sheed explained to MotoringNZ why he’s comfortable promoting these cars to revheads presently driving fossil-fuelled S and RS models.  

“We’ll definitely be talking to them because they are right in the sweet spot. The reason I say that is because this is the first complete car from Audi Sport … it has a huge credibility and it just happens to also be electric.”

Will the old-school buy into the new way? Sheed reckons he can talk most around to at least thinking about it.

“When people see it, when they understand the technology and when they find out how it drives .. well, they’re going to want it.”

The hero variant is powered by a 440kW/830Nm electric system that will power it to 100kmh in less than 3.5 seconds – thanks to a 475kW output in overboost mode. 

Media says this pales in comparison to the new ‘Plaid’ variants in the most recently updated Tesla Model S, however, which promise 0-100km/h times from 3.2 seconds and right down to “less than 2.0 seconds”. 

Driving range for the E-Tron – at least in RS form – is expected to come in at around 400 kilometres on the WLTP measure, thanks to an 83.7kWh (93kWh gross) battery pack. 

Quick drive, longer wait for record sign-off?

The bid to enter the Guinness Book of Records went well – now ratification is awaited.

 RATIFYING the successful record-bid electric car drive from the top to the bottom of mainland New Zealand completed by John Fitness could take much longer than that two day feat of endurance – weeks, perhaps months. 

The Auckland man registered with the Guinness World Records to set a record for travelling the length of the country in the fewest number of charging stops in an EV.

He set off from Cape Reinga in his Tesla Model 3 at 5.37am on Thursday, February 4, arriving in Bluff at 9.34pm on the next night, where he subsequently quipped to a television news crew that he didn’t imagine the drive “could've done it much faster in a petrol car, if at all, actually."

Fitness did the drive to prove to Kiwis perhaps sceptical about the merits of electric cars that they actually had the range and performance to match fossil-fuelled equivalents for long distance driving – but at much lower running cost. 

He says the combined cost of the electricity drawn by his car from the six fast-charging stations he replenished at en route came to $117.69.

In subsequent Facebook posts, Fitness acknowledged two other aspects.

His allocation of ‘free’ charging that attaches with Tesla ownership for a set duration has now almost exhausted – he now has enough for perhaps one more trip.

Also, the process of confirming his effort meets the status required to become an official record, recognised by the Guinness Book of Records, will likely take some time – perhaps up 18 weeks.

Fitness had to keep a careful record and also arrange official witnesses, accepted by Guinness, to vouch for him along the way. They included Invercargill’s mayor, media and public identity Tim Shadbolt, who greeted the car when it reached Bluff. 

At his six stops along the way - three in the North Island, three in the South Island - he was greeted by supporters.

Among those seeing Fitness off at the start of his journey were Northland iwi Ngāti Kuri, something the EV enthusiast told TVNZ "kicked off the trip with the right tone".

Each of the charging stops ended up being the "perfect break" through the trip, Fitness says.

They were spaced out around three-and-a-half to four hours apart and last around 35 minutes each.

Fitness told TVNZ it was a good way to break up fatigue.

"It's time to get some food or a coffee as you go for a bit of a walk about. It was actually a perfect break."

The car ran seamlessly, he said, though the driving schedule was disrupted by the Cook Strait ferry he took running slightly late, but he made up time on the road.

Teslas have featured in previous distance driving record pitches for electric cars, including a feat in Europe in 2017 that saw a car clock 1078 kilometres on a single charge. This asked for a team of drivers as it involved hypermiling – a technique of careful driving often at well below posted open road limits. A marked difference to Fitness’ run, which was at everyday pace.

Toyota’s autonomous Supra drift car

When an American university teams up with Toyota’s Research Institute, the outcome is … well, smokin’!

IT’S one of those things every ‘driver’ will claim is dead-easy to do … until they try.

When it comes down to it, achieving a decent drift ain’t half as easy as it looks.

That is, when a human is at the wheel.

When a car is left to do its own thing, turns out big controlled skid action is an utter cinch.

WTF?

Okay, so the car in question isn’t exactly as it departed the production line.

Creating a Toyota Supra that can quite literally drift itself took quite a bit of after-market finetuning. But, wow, as the video shows: Totally worth it!

The prototype, built by engineers from the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) and Stanford University’s ‘Dynamic Design Lab’, is supposed to help the carmaker “develop sophisticated control algorithms that amplify human driving abilities and keep people safe”.

The TRI points out that “while most crashes occur in mundane situations, in other situations drivers may need to make manoeuvres that take their vehicle close to and, at times, exceed normal limits of handling”.

A car that can catch a slide with little to no human intervention would help when drivers “need to make manoeuvres that are beyond their abilities” in order to avoid a collision. In this case, catching a slide brought about by, for example, a driver taking evasive action, their own over-exuberance or poor road conditions.

When it’s up and running, the system will be another tool in the automotive industry’s ever-expanding armoury of driver-assistance systems. Toyota says its active safety technologies will be shared broadly “so that Toyota and other auto manufacturers can deploy it on the road”.

Strong January, but chips are down for car makers

 A shortage of semiconductors is significantly impacting the world’s car makers.

Toyota Hilux enjoyed another strong month, though overshadowed - yet again - by Ford’s Ranger.

 NEW vehicle sellers made a strong start to the year – but some in the industry wonder if troubles lay ahead.

The Motor Industry Association, which represents distributors, is positive about last month’s tally of 13,893 new passenger vehicle registrations – citing it as being up 6.2 percent on the same month of 2019 and the third most successful January for car purchases. 

Individual brands are celebrating bonanza returns, most particularly Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand which cites the sale of 1403 of its vehicles – 1002 being passenger models and the remainder Express vans and Triton utilities – as being a 30-year peak.

 MIA chief executive David Crawford says the overall industry count suggests huge promise after more than six months of speculation about whether the local motoring industry has ‘turned a corner’ since its big losses during the Covid-19 pandemic’s numerous lockdowns.

He concedes, though, that January’s result was buoyed by “comfortable amounts” of supply arriving, much of which comprised backorders from previous months. 

One industry involver, who declined to be identified, believes January, this month and perhaps March might be the best months of the year.

From there on, he believes, most if not all distributors might start to feel the impact of a global issue for car makers around the world – the shortage of vital computer chips, particular semiconductors.

The factories making these items are now snowed under – and car assembly lines are slowing because products cannot be finished.

A global semiconductor shortage is hurting the world’s car makers.

The local commentator says car makers all around the world have been impacted.

That view is supported by overseas reports that have termed the shortage a “crisis within a crisis.”

Audi is among victims. According to media reports from Europe, it is resigned to 10,000 fewer cars in the first quarter of the year and putting more than 10,000 workers on furlough because it cannot finish cars. 

Its parent company, Volkswagen, announced its own go-slow due to a lack of chips last week, alongside rivals such as Honda.

The issue pre-dates the global Covid crisis; 2020 started poorly for new car sales, particularly in Europe, so brands believed fewer components were required.

Once plants and the countries they locate in were hit, often hard, by Covid-19, many manufacturers cut their orders from the Chinese factories making computer chips. 

The market has since rebounded but now the components are no longer so readily available, as suppliers switched their attention to other sectors, most notably gaming and home electronics.

Ordering new chips has proven to be a challenge. 

As one overseas’ analyst explained: "Semiconductors have a broad range of applications but a very limited pool of companies capable of manufacturing the silicon. 

"Demand is high, and supply is tight" and any sudden needs "can prove very difficult to accommodate". 

"Modern cars are becoming computers on wheels, with an abundance of silicon required to control everything from the infotainment system to camera, radar and lidar," he said. 

The demand from carmakers "competes for manufacturing capacity with smartphones, servers and a host of other segments".

And a boom in the market for devices such as PCs and new game consoles was making it doubly difficult to book manufacturing time. 

Numerous brands have had to suspend production, some for days, some for weeks.

The shortages have seen Mercedes-Benz, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota all reportedly suspend production for days or weeks at a time.

The MIA has yet to address this matter.

In comment pertaining to last month, it says most of the growth was in the passenger vehicle and SUV sector, which saw a 6.7 percent rise year on year. Commercial vehicles (a sector driven largely by utes) also increased, but by a lesser 5.1 percent. 

The Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux were the country;s most popular vehicles, respectively with 948 and 750  registrations in January.

Toyota maintained its spot as market leader, with 17 percent market share. Mitsubishi, Ford, and Kia were all trailing, on 10 per cent market share a piece.

It was also a strong month for electrified vehicles, with 1073 hybrids, 93 PHEVs and 244 pure electric vehicles sold. The strongest-selling EV was the Hyundai Kona, with 56 sales, followed by the MG ZS EV, with 49.

New Pathfinder smartens up

New tech and fresh styling, plus a return to an automatic transmission, with current underpinning and engine retained.

NISSAN has revealed the next generation of its Pathfinder sports utility, but has yet to make clear if it will be available in New Zealand.

Designed and built in its primary market, North America, the new model presents a new styling on top of a current platform that has been extensively re-engineered.

The sole engine being discussed for now is a 3.5-litre petrol V6 that’s been a Nissan stalwart though it has slightly more power and torque, with an uplift to 212kW and 351Nm, but a hybrid featuring a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol is said to be in the wings.

Plus, the transmission is new, Nissan having divorced the current model’s constantly variable unit for a nine-speed orthodox automatic. The model avails in front as well as four-wheel-drive.

Other news is that it seats eight, over three rows, and loads up on latest Nissan technology, including a swish infotainment suite.

Much of the old car remains under the new model's skin, with the new SUV sharing the previous model's 2900mm wheelbase. Overall length has shrunk by 38mm to 5003mm, while the car's width and height have grown by around 19mm and 12mm to 1979mm and 1778mm respectively.

The body styling rework delivers the company's new design language, expressed particularly strongly up front with C-shaped LED headlights and signature daytime-running lights, plus Nissan's 'V-motion' grille.

The eight-seat layout is standard, but a seven-seat configuration is an option, the latter taking individual chairs in the second row separated by a removable centre console.

Comfort levels step up. The driver and front passenger enjoy climate-controlled seats and even the third row seats can be heated. The interior is dressed in semi-aniline leather.

The new infotainment provisions with a 9.0-inch touchscreen running a 'NissanConnect' system, including wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto capability and a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The driver gets a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel with a 10.8-inch head-up display, while other interior featured include wireless smartphone charging, satellite navigation, a 360-degree camera, and a Bose premium audio system with 13 speakers.

Nissan's release today speaks of an onboard 'ProPilot Assist' system with adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist, to offer semi-autonomous speed control on highways. The brand's 'Safety Shield 360' safety suite offers front and rear autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning and high-beam assist.

Tesla recall unseen by NZ?

It’s unclear if a worrisome Telsa infotainment glitch will become a problem for NZ owners.

THE national car safety recall database appears yet to note an action affecting two Tesla models.

NZTA’s vehicle safety recalls page does not signal an infotainment system recall, that seems to be slowly spreading into the cars’ international markets.

The United Kingdom is the latest place where  regulators have pushed for action to remedy a problem that prevents drivers from using certain safety features.

The most recent Tesla recall on the NZTA site is for Model S cars, built in the period 2014 to 2016, to address a potential airbag fault.

This latest action is of significant scale in the United States, where it triggered.

Tesla there is chasing up almost 135,000 Model S sedans and Model X there following disclosure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that infotainment displays are at risk of failing. 

Originally, the recall only affected US cars built before 2018 – but Tesla has since expanded the programme’s reach to UK cars of the same age.  

The firm says the recall is voluntary and is only required if the owner’s infotainment system is exhibiting signs of failure. The number of affected cars in the UK is unknown.

Teslas are reliant on their infotainment systems for key vehicle functions – and the faulty units in these earlier cars have reportedly prevented owners from using safety features such as the car’s rear view camera, and essentials like the indicators. A failure also means that drivers cannot access the windscreen defrost function, which the NHTSA said could pose a significant safety concern in adverse weather. 

The inquiry has been ongoing since June of last year, and initially, 

Tesla to remedy the issue with over-the-air software updates and targeted repairs. However, NHTSA wasn’t satisfied with the quick fix and has requested an organised recall.

NHTSA has narrowed the issue down to a memory device. The infotainment hardware is only rated for 3000 programme-erase cycles before wearing out – after which it struggles to prevent the data it stores from becoming corrupted.

This means the infotainment screen doesn’t have access to all of its software, which causes the loss of functions. 

Tesla says it will upgrade its old 8GB memory device with a new 64GB unit as part of the recall.

However, Al Prescot, Vice President of Tesla’s legal department, said the hardware troubles demonstrated the problem of “electronic components becoming increasingly more complex, while the expected useful life of vehicles has grown substantially.” 

Prescot also said that Tesla’s first-generation infotainment system was only expected to last between five and six years under average daily usage conditions, due to the finite capacity of the unit’s storage hardware. 

 Tesla is keen to stress that it was aware of the problem and has already updated the storage devices in some of its older cars. However, the affected owners paid to have the issue resolved – and, in the places where the problem has been flagged as an official recall, Tesla says it will refund the relevant customers.

Electric car enduro under way

Auckland enthusiast running Cape Reinga to Bluff to prove EVs aren’t just for short trips.

 CALL it a true a test of Fitness, his car and Tesla’s national electric vehicle recharging infrastructure.

Anyone travelling the major North-South route today and tomorrow should keep an eye out for Auckland’s John Fitness, who has hit the road in his distinctive Tesla Model 3 to prove a point and hopefully set a world record while he does it.

The Cape Reinga to Bluff roadie is a 2068km, 29-hour marathon roadie which Fitness wants to complete with as few stops as possible.

He departed Cape Reinga this morning on what is planned out as a two-day drive that he aims to complete with just six charging stops — three for each island. This means on average, he will have to travel 300km from stop to stop.

The trip has interest from the Guinness Book of World Records – Fitness aims to reset the record for travelling from the top to the bottom of a country with the least amount of stops.

To ensure the record is recognised as legit by Guinness, he has numerous witnesses lined up across the journey.

Today’s stops are in Whangarei, Hamilton, and Mangaweka then he hopes on a ferry to cross Cook Strait.

Tomorrow begins with a 74km run to a charger in Ward, with other stops in Christchurch and Palmerston before finishing in Bluff. 

Fitness says he’s inspired by a recent Tesla Supercharger launch in Whangarei. It was then that he realised the brand’s recharging network was in place to make a world record run possible.

“I thought, 'Look, we've actually got the infrastructure now to do a full run through the country, essentially to emulate that great Kiwi road trip from the Cape to the Bluff,’” he said.

“Having been involved with having an electric car for such a long time, even my closest friends go, 'Oh you can't go far out of Auckland, you can't drive that far,' and it's just about dispelling some of those myths.

“I think my longest drive is just under four hours. Because I've got those six evenly spaced stops, each stop will be between 30 to maybe 55 minutes roughly.

“The battery technology has improved so quickly in the last three years I've been driving electric, inevitably it'll come down super quick and I think that when you look at your next car, it's starting to become more realistic to go electric or partial electric — hybrid or plug-in hybrid, for example.

“What I want to show with this trip is that, granted, the price might be too high at this point, but very soon — maybe this year or the year after next — you're looking at factory electric cars that can do everything you need it to, including the great Kiwi road trip. It shows feasibility.”

It's not clear how of much the run will be conducted solo, though he does have a friend joining as a navigator for a South Island section while local enthusiasts will help as guides to ensure he gets a smooth run through unfamiliar city routes.

E push restricts to Jazz, but initiatives are not being ignored

Government’s push to promote electric cars could be music to the local Honda distributor’s ears.

Honda’s push with the fourth-generation Jazz (seen here in Japan, as a Fit) will centre on the hybrid, arriving in May.

NO thought yet about whether Honda’s cute ‘E’ electric car could end up on the same play list as the new Jazz incoming soon, but the brand’s local agent says the Government’s clean car initiatives that give clear support to pure battery models are being followed with interest. 

For now, though, the only model being locally represented with any level of ohm drive ability will be a hybrid, landing in May, that seems set to be sold under a ‘Honda e technology’ push.

It’s a tag with potential to cause some confusion about the potential official availability of the retro-styled ‘Honda E’ electric car that, while not represented by the distributor, is nonetheless starting to proliferate as a grey import, in used and as-new parallel product.

Matt Woodburn, marketing and product manager at Honda New Zealand, says his Auckland-domiciled operation is excited to have the hybrid Jazz as a choice within the 2021 line-up that appears set to include several wholly fossil-fuelled variants.

Clarity about this will only avail when details about the range, pricing and specification relating to the fourth-generation model are released.

Honda NZ likely has plenty of options; the car avails in Japan in five different versions. The entry car is the Basic, there's a Home for urban use, a more vibrant Ness (as in Fit Ness), a crossover version called Crosstar and a leather-trimmed Luxe flagship. 

No official availability in New Zealand has not kept the Honda E from arriving.

How those trims correlate to the hybrid drivetrain availability is not clear. 

Jazz is the first Honda to get the new e:Technology branding that will eventually feature on all the firm’s electrified products. 

The Jazz system employs a system similar to the ‘intelligent Multi-Mode Drive’ (i-MMD) set-up used by the CR-V in other markets.

In typical driving situations, rather than driving the wheels directly, the engine acts a generator, sending charge to an electric motor, which tops up a small battery. When more performance is needed, the 1.5-litre petrol engine can drive the wheels directly via a fixed-ratio gearbox. 

While stopping short of expressing exact volume hopes, Woodburn has made clear that he believes the hybrid model will be a winner and “a strong seller”.

“We are excited to be introducing Honda e: Technology … we are sure Kiwis across the country will be impressed by the new model. It’s the biggest change to the Jazz since the first generation launched in 2002,” he asserted.

As for potential to see proper representation of the Honda ‘E’? The model which operates with a rear-mounted electric motor making 315Nm of torque, and up to 113kW, with a claimed range from the 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack of 220km – so, the same as the MINI Cooper SE electric – is definitely a head-turner and has become a highly-talked about brand icon.

Woodburn agrees is “a very exciting and interesting product.”

However, it seems the pathway that have allowed its introduction by independent distributors is a much easier route than the brand’s actual representative must follow.

Head office insistence expressed when the production E first showed, in October 2019, that this model is just for Europe (including the United Kingdom) and Japan seems still to be firm policy.

Woodburn hasn’t shared how his own operation feels about seeing the car here nonetheless and has been guarded in relating, when pressed, what the situation is in respect to it having any involvement should there be servicing or warranty issues with those privately-delivered examples.

“Regarding support for grey imported models, there are many challenges in this space,” he acknowledged. “… but, as with all customers, we strive to support them as best we can.”

In respect to whether last week’s Government announcements might help Honda NZ make a case for including a fully electric product, he offered: “We are closely following the Clean Car announcements and are communicating with Honda Motors to discuss the future.”

Meantime, Honda NZ has also released a heavily revised version of the Odyssey people carrier, in eight-seater Touring and seven chair Premium, respectively priced at $49,990 and $59,990.

The car is based on the same underpinnings as the outgoing version, but takes a comprehensive exterior and interior redesign and new technology, spanning from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto audio integration to dual one-touch power sliding doors, walk away automatic locking, and the Honda Sensing Advanced Safety suite — which avails blind-spot monitoring, cross traffic warning, radar cruise control.

The Premium delivers with leather trim and features additional to those on the Touring include a hands-free kick-to-open power tailgate, gesture control for the sliding doors, memory seating, a climate control screen for second-row passengers, increased interior lighting.

The powertrain for both continues to be a 2.4-litre i-VTEC four cylinder, producing an unchanged 129kW of power and 225Nm of torque and paired to a paddle-shift CVT. There is no talk of the hybrid that sells in Japan being availed for export.

Reprofiled Rhino ute revealed

An image of the model’s update has surfaced as a major South Korean news agency reports on the latest about the brand’s fight for survival.

LEAKED images of an update for the Ssangyong ute we know as the Rhino have surfaced on the internet.

The beavily facelifted one-tonne ute – which most of the world knows as the Musso (a name it once had here, before it then rebadged as the Actyon Sport, before becoming Rhino on local release in 2019) - has been spotted and reported on by Mocar, a YouTube commentator popular in South Korea.

It’s badged as the Khan ute in its home country – yes, if only these people could decide on one name and stick to it, right?

The new look is bolder and brings a strong, blunt nose with larger headlights flanking a tall grille.

The model’s unexpected unveiling sends a strong signal to though wondering about what SsangYong has been up to while weathering troubles in its home market in the face of bankruptcy. An issue that has not affected operations in New Zealand; it’s business as usual for the independent distributor.

Today a major South Korean news agency, Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, reported that the make’s main creditor as saying it has yet to decide on the cash-strapped automaker's push for a speedier bankruptcy procedure.

This comment comes in the wake of SsangYong having failed to receive approval from its potential buyer, according to the agency.

SsangYong, the smallest of South Korea’s five car makers, has been under court receivership there since December, as it defaulted on loan payment of about $NZ199 million.

the Rhino ute in current form.

India’s Mahindra and Mahindra, which holds a 74.5 percent stake in SsangYong, has been in talks with HAAH Automotive Holdings, a United States vehicle distributor, to sell its majority stake, but they have not yet reached an agreement. 

HAAH is a California-based business that also acts for a newcomer brand, Vantas, which has developed a medium sports utility similar in size and look to a Toyota Highlander. Described on the HAAH website as being a ‘near-premium’ product, the vehicle is produced in North America and set to go on sale in the US later this year, as 2022 model.

 Choi Dae-hyun, vice president of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), said the potential buyer did not make a final decision on the pre-packaged plan due to SsangYong's delayed document submission.

The pre-packaged plan is a combination of workout and court protection under which a restructuring plan is agreed upon prior to the filing of the bankruptcy case to streamline the bankruptcy process. It starts with the approval of creditors who hold more than half of a company's debts.

If SsangYong fails to draw fresh investment or submits an unfeasible plan, its liquidation may be unavoidable, Yonhap quotes Choi as saying.

The agency says industry sources have related that HAAH Automotive proposed acquiring a 51 percent stake in SsangYong, but wanted the bank to partner.

The KDB has been under pressure to inject additional funds into SsangYong to avoid job losses and bankruptcy of its contractors.

SsangYong has faced difficulty at production lines in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometres south of Seoul, as some of its contractors refused to supply parts on delayed payments for their goods, Yonhap says

IS, EV important to Lexus NZ's 'grand' plan

It’s niche, yet it’s still necessary – Lexus NZ’s boss explains why his operation retains faith in the IS sedan despite a tough couple of years. Andrew Davis also talks about the brand’s performance and electric future.

The fourth generation IS is really a big refresh of the old car, but Lexus NZ is confident the update will appeal more to Kiwis and lead to a sales resurgence.

HOW much challenge awaits a highly-rated performance-themed sedan when it delivers with fresh pizzazz – a host of styling and technology tweaks abetting the outgoing model’s well-regarded underpinnings?

Market trend suggests it will still be considerable, the local boss of Lexus concurs, in discussion about the IS.

The consumer rush to crossovers and sports utilities has lifted Lexus but not without loss; that shift is fuelled by sedan abdication. It’s why the GS has been pulled, the ES and LS are down to a sales crawl.

And IS? The past two years’ NZTA registrations relate that the BMW 3-Series fighter has also taken a pummelling; 40 national registrations last year after 63 in 2019.

Not a good graph, you’d think.

And, yet, while IS is down, it isn’t out. There’s confidence it can climb back – potentially into a three-figure sales result this year, Lexus NZ general manager Andrew Davis vouches.

New styling is just part of the IS’s makeover. It also picks up additional technology. The drivetrains and chassis are carried over, though.

Hence why it has unleashed seven derivatives of its smallest rear-drive product, including a new hybrid variant, in a performance theme.

What’s being described as the fourth-generation model is more accurately a big makeover. A number of fresh technologies, improved dynamics and a complete overhaul of its dramatic styling place atop an existing platform, with carryover hybrid and pure petrol powertrains, albeit with a few unique mapping tweaks to increase responsiveness.

Davis sees it as a fresh start car and is confident the 2021 count will be at least double last year’s – perhaps even hitting three figures. However, he concedes the decision to keep the car in circulation was no given.  

Could it have been dropped? Simply, yes. Global and local trends could hardly be ignored.

“Consideration for us came into quite a few factors,” Davis says on explaining why it ultimately received a green light, rather than a red.

One was not having a GS. Thought was IS could successfully span into the bigger car’s zone. Also, Lexus took another look at how certain European models were bucking the trend. Specifically? Mercedes C-Class.

“We thought ‘some competitors, particularly Mercedes, are still going quite well with sedans’. We realised that the car the size of IS therefore still has a place. We had also had reasonable success, albeit low volume, with ES. So we thought we still should keep it in the market.”

Still, some will say Lexus NZ is being extraordinarily bold in launching with seven IS derivatives; going by the registrations counts for the past two years, there surely has to be a strong likelihood some of these might represent in availability only and never in true ownership?

Andrew Davis, who now heads Lexus NZ in addition to being head of marketing for Toyota NZ, says the aim this year is to achieve 1000 sales - or more - for the premium marque.

Davis says it’s an interesting question. “We’ve added in an F-Sport hybrid and hybrid is becoming a bigger proportion of our sales … and the technology has gotten better and better.  I think people still want the hybrid benefit, but they also want the look, so we’ve added that to our range.” The initial order of six base cars, 13 F-Sport and 16 Limited hybrid models suggests the demand is there and also supports in-house thought that hybrid F-Sport and Limited will be the lead sellers. Ultimately, the market will decide what’s hot and what’s not, yet he’s confident nothing will be left on the shelf.

AS for volumes? Davis asserts there’s every likelihood the bottom of the curve has been reached; from now on, the graph line is ascending. He thinks this year’s IS tally will be at least double the 2020 result, if not exceed 100 units. Which, if achieved, means the car will contribute to 10 percent of the brand’s overall expected volume for this year.

“We definitely expect growth. You do with every new model coming in. I think the styling is more appealing to New Zealanders … the spindle grille is a little more subtle.”

Last year Lexus NZ achieved 818 registrations, with its SUV stock accounting for more than 70 percent of that volume. Davis expects that dominance to ramp up to almost a 75 percent split in 2021, where the target is 1000 units. Or more.

“We are expecting good growth. When Covid was hitting hard – we’re talking July-August – we reduced our (2020) forecast to 650 units. So we are looking at quite a turn.” Last month produced a good start; 131 cars sold. “If you’re looking at 1000, 131 is a good start.” All the same, Lexus is no more immune to any other brand when it comes to sourcing stock. The market is running strong, but fulfilling that demand could well be challenging.

Could you see this car being the basis of another IS-F? The thought intrigues Davis, and there has been scuttlebutt, but nothing concrete.

Now that Toyota has Gazoo Racing, is there latitude for Lexus to revive the full-blown IS-F performance car? Indeed, is there latitude for Lexus – the make that brought the world the astounding V10 LF-A, which Toyota boss Akio Toyoda raced in several Nurburgring 24-Hours, including when the rocketship coupe was still under development - to have anything like Gazoo?

That one raises a reflective laugh from Davis. “There’s nothing on the horizon that I’m aware of. There is speculation on IS-F and I think this speculation just shows there is still market interest in those sorts of cars.”

Lexus has had RC-F and GS-F, so there’s logic to think there might still be space for another IS-F. That the old model has established a cult following also weighs into it.

Still, as much as indications are that if another generation of the V8 monster sedan entered the fray, it might still have a good reception. At same token, though, the realities of modern motoring also cannot be ignored. Emissions, economy … even halo cars don’t get to escape those realities, all the moreso now Government has clarified its clean car intentions.”

The Lexus ‘performance into passion’ credo resonates strongly with him. “You’ve got to have cars that inspire emotions … we need cars that perform really strongly.”

Yes, Lexus held the performance mantle pre-Gazoo, but there’s no sense that the premium brand has been robbed by Toyota’s new motorsport-inspired energy.

“Yes, Gazoo is where the Toyota product is going, but Lexus will still lead, I believe, with performance. It’s just that whether that performance takes a different shape and perhaps with a different powertrain. 

“I think what we see is that the motorsport-related performance cars will be Toyota rather than necessarily Lexus, and there is logic in that when you consider where the GR brand is going.

At same token, there’s clear recognition that “consumers connect luxury and performance together. Which is why I say Lexus still needs some element of performance to continue to a leading luxury brand. That’s a challenge we will face.

“When you look future powertrains, Lexus will likely lead with some of that activity. So then it’s what sort of performance does that take.”

UX is already well-received by Lexus buyers and hybrid drivetrains are favoured, so potentially the next-step UX300e full electric should find easy acceptance with customers.

Speaking of … Lexus is very strongly established as a hybrid marque now and soon it will have a full electric car, with the UX300e, arriving later this year (final confirmation pending). What kind of preparation is being considered for that model’s release and marketing?

There’s a challenge in establishing a support infrastructure; Lexus has of course studied how some competitors already operating in the EV-sphere have achieved this. Toyota’s experience with Prius Prime hsd also been invaluable.

“What is going to interest me is the adopters of hybrid - once they have an electric option, will they move, and how quickly will they move. I think they will have good trust in the technologies, because they have already adopted hybrid.”

Price remains an unknown, but it’s the right kind of car for a battery charge, not least given it packages in a bodystyle brand fans are familiar and comfortable with.

“If the model already suits them and it’s just a matter of a different powertrain, then I think they’ll go (EV). It’ll just be in what volumes.

“UX has been a big seller for us and customer feedback is great … it’s the right size for Kiwis, so I cannot see why people wouldn’t go to it.”