BACK tracking on an initial boldness – to retire the traditional V6 from the new Highlander and lay all bets on a hybrid drivetrain – appears to have become an unnecessary safeguard, going by how consumer preference is trending.
Read MoreM POWER will come to a BMW electric car here from early next year, the brand has arrived.
Read MoreCOUNTDOWN to the full unveiling of the next-generation Kia Sportage has reached the obligatory ‘sneak peek’ phase, with the brand today releasing three images that give just a hint of what we’re in for.
Read MoreMIGHT admission from Nissan in Australia that it’s not set to take the brand’s next generation electric car due to the lack of incentives be bad news for Kiwis awaiting that vehicle?
In relating to our neighbour’s national media at the weekend that Australia is "missing out" on newer, cheaper electric vehicles, Nissan offered as a specific example the new Ariya crossover – and it’s bad news.
Read MoreTHE old is running out here, the new is about to run in ‘there’ – that’s the status of the one version of the D-Max that Mazda cannot take advantage of.
Read MoreCupra’s snazzy electric performance hatch is on the same slow boat as all other MEB platform cars.
Read MoreTalk is that Government might be considering accelerating electric vehicle ownership by directly involving in their sale, potentially in partnership with a Chinese brand. Three names are being bandied around – here’s what each is about.
Read MoreTHOUGHT Government might be considering accelerating electric vehicle ownership by directly involving in their sale, potentially in partnership with a budget brand, has triggered alarm within the new vehicle industry.
Read MoreEXPECTED volume for the plug-in hybrid version of the Eclipse Cross might at least equal counts being achieved by a well-received big brother whose petrol-electric drivetrain it adopts.
That view is expressed by Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand’s head of marketing, Reece Congdon, who anticipates seeing the new 2.4-litre version of the brand’s compact crossover to achieve up to 50 sales a month.
Read MoreDOMESTIC demand for a Mahindra four-wheel-drive in the spotlight in Australia for looking too much like a famous Jeep is such it cannot be delivered to New Zealand regardless of whether introduction triggered a fight.
Read MoreWITH exception of the 911, it seems every car Porsche produces is set to wean off hydrocarbons and embrace electrification.
At same token, it seems the largest in the family isn’t set to go quietly.
Read MoreTHE only big American pick-up that benefits from electric impetus that Kiwis can definitely lay hands on has started to release in New Zealand.
The new DT series RAM 1500, which has just landed in $137,990 Laramie and $159,990 Limited crew cab formats, certainly doesn’t commit anything like as completely to battery-enhanced driving as the Lightning version of its long-standing Ford rival, the F-150, which unveiled to the world last week.
Read MoreINITIATIVES for cleaner vehicles announced in today’s Budget have been welcomed by two prominent industry-aligned organisations, especially a funding that potentially points to an incentive scheme to help car buyers into electric product.
The Motor Industry Association, which acts on behalf of new vehicle distributors, and DriveElectric, a pressure organisation for adoption of electric cars, have spoken positively about provisions in respect to motoring.
Read MoreThree heavyweight champs of the US pickup scene are in the news. But only one has immediate relevance to Kiwis.
Read MoreTHE Hyundai equivalent of a popular Kia sports utility, now pulling mainstream media interest as result of its recall, is also at risk of catching fire due to an electronic fault in the engine bay.
A remedial action for the current generation Hyundai Tucson sold here posted nationally in early April, so almost five weeks ago, though the brand was taking questions about it much earlier – MotoringNZ.com first publicised the matter in a story on February 11.
Read MorePOPULARITY has apparently proven the undoing of the top-selling Kia in New Zealand last year, the Sportage.
That’s the gist of explanation from Kia New Zealand in respect to why it has determined to stop selling the current generation of medium SUV, which achieved 36 percent of Kia NZ volume last year, with immediate effect.
Read MoreAN update for the Toyota Camry hitting soon has refined the range to hybrid-only, in three trim levels, across a $8500 span, and given the brand opportunity to offer some mild criticism of a recent fleet announcement.
Read MoreAN Australian team has, by driving a Hyundai Nexo fuel cell electric vehicle somewhat conservatively, broken the world record for the longest distance travelled in a hydrogen-powered vehicle on a single tank.
Brendan Reeves, an Australian rally driver, drove a production specification Nexo for a claimed distance of 887.5km, exceeding the previous world record of 778km set by a Frenchman, Bertrand Piccard, also at the wheel of a Nexo, and the manufacturer-claimed range of 666km (measured on the WLTP scale).
Read MoreLATEST editions of an iconic French performance car just becoming available in New Zealand now seem set to be the last of an illustrious line.
Renault’s announcement of having officially dissolved its Renault Sport line, in favour of making a fresh start with electric cars with the Alpine badge, is hardly a hot timing for the make’s national distributor.
Read MoreHAVING established the ‘regular’ updated Tiguan in markets including New Zealand, Volkswagen has now allowed a first proper look at the ‘plus-sized’ seven-seater edition set to arrive locally later this year.
The refreshed Allspace which starts local roll-out in the third quarter unsurprisingly achieves the same suite of updates applied to the regular five-chair variants earlier this year, including tweaks to the styling and cabin, a rejigging of the line-up and engines and more connected and safety technology.
Read MoreMotoringNZ reviews new cars and keeps readers up-to-date with the latest developments on the auto industry. All the major brands are represented. The site is owned and edited by New Zealand motoring journalist Richard Bosselman.
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