The Toyota Corolla takes a swipe back at last month’s leader, the Mazda 3 as every showroom sale counts in the quest to be Australia’s Number-One selling car
THE sales pendulum has swung back in the direction of the Toyota Corolla as it takes victory in Round 2, February 2015, from January’s leader, the Mazda 3.
The Mazda 3 still holds on to a narrow lead year-to-date over its strong-selling Toyota rival as the new car market bounces into record territory in February.
After a flat start to the year, February’s record sales tally of 90,424 is a 4.2 percent jump over the same month last year, and has helped push the market into positive territory after months of stagnating results.
In the race to dominate the Australian sales charts, the Mazda 3 small car range (3598 sales) holds a narrow 90 sales lead over the Corolla (3939) as fleet and rental buyers restock after the Christmas break.
Toyota’s Hilux trade ute featured strongly on the charts, grabbing the number four spot (2861) behind top 10 stalwart, the Holden Commodore (2517), and Hyundai’s i30 small car (2126) making up the top five.
A surprise placing in the top 10 is Mitsubishi’s Triton trade ute, pushing ahead of the traditionally strong-selling Ford Ranger to take seventh spot in the charts. The Triton is in run-out mode ahead of the introduction of an all-new model later this year.
Surprisingly, all passenger vehicle segments apart from the light-car class – the playground of the Mazda 2, Toyota Yaris and Hyundai i20 – fell in February as the national obsession with high-riding SUVs fuelled every part of that segment except for the big, heavy, bowser-addicted models.
Hardest hit in the passenger segment were the superminis – think Fiat 500 and Mitsubishi Mirage – which melted like chocolate in the midday sun, falling 54.4 percent for the month.
The impending demise of Australian manufacturing has made itself felt in the showrooms of Ford, Holden and Toyota, with the market share of Aussie-fettled metal declining a further 10 percent in February compared to the same month last year.
Aussies only bought 7598 cars wearing a “Made in Australia” stamp compared with 82,826 imports.
Holden’s Commodore and Cruze had mixed fortunes, the locally made large car falling 16.3 percent, in line with the general decline for large cars, but Cruze copped an almighty 32.1 percent showroom wallop compared with the same month last year.
The Ford Falcon had a relatively positive month after a run of plumbing fresh lows, selling 501 units – still 12.7 percent down on the same month last year, but at least higher than January.
Ford’s local manufacturing arm continues to show the strength of the Territory SUV, which still managed 783 sales – down just 3.3 percent – despite having to soldier on with only a minor facelift that will carry it through to next year’s curtain call.
The Altona-made Camry and Camry Hybrid, meanwhile, are still attracting buyers ahead of a significant mid-life makeover due in a few months. Camry sold 1767 units, 6.6 percent fewer than February last year, but it was enough to put the ledger slightly into positive territory year-to-date.
In the battle for luxury car buyers’ wallets, everyone – including minnow Infiniti with 57 sales – was a winner.
Mercedes-Benz led the way with 2744 sales (up 1.5 percent on February 2014) while BMW gained 14.8 percent to 1812 sales and Audi was up 9.4 percent to 1699.
And who were February’s big losers?
Malaysian marque Proton was down 73 percent on the same month last year with only 28 sales – one a day – while Chinese brand Chery, which is believed to be withdrawing from the Australian market after attempting to bottom-feed on price, was down almost 60 percent.
Spare a thought for Chinese ute and SUV maker Great Wall, though, down 92.9 percent with just 21 sales for the month. To put it in perspective, Freightliner sold more trucks than that.Click here to read the full range review of the 2014-15 Toyota Corolla
TOP 10 VEHICLES FEBRUARY 2015 1. Toyota Corolla (3939 sales) +18.2%* 2. Mazda 3 (3598) -9.3% 3. Toyota Hilux (2861) -14.5% 4. Holden Commodore (2517) -9.4% 5. Hyundai i30 (2126) -10.4% 6. Mazda CX-5 (2085) +19.0% 7. Mitsubishi Triton (1988) +62.0% 8. Ford Ranger (1953) +2.7% 9. Hyundai ix35 (1856) +24.5% 10. Toyota Camry (1767) -6.6% *Loss/gain compared with February 2014
TOP 10 BRANDS FEBRUARY 2015 1. Toyota (16,243 sales) 18.0%* 2. Mazda (9057) 10.0% 3. Hyundai (8003) 8.9% 4. Holden (7809) 8.6% 5. Mitsubishi (6242) 6.9% 6. Nissan (5984) 6.6% 7. Ford (5022) 5.6% 8. Volkswagen (4889) 5.4% 9. Subaru (3223) 3.6% 10. Honda (2901) 3.2% *Market share
The next version of the Nissan Leaf electric car will be capable of travelling 400km-plus on a single charge – twice as far as the current model
A SENIOR Nissan executive has revealed that the company’s second-generation Leaf electric car will be capable of travelling more than 400 kilometres on a charge.
Speaking at the 2015 Geneva motor show, Nissan senior vice-president and chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura told journalists the new Leaf, expected in 2016, would more than double the driving range of the current version.
“Our target is double – more than 400km,” said Nakamura, who confirmed the Leaf was being readied for production and was “not too far” away.
He said work had been done on the batteries to extend the range, as well as the all-new body, which is expected to look more conventional than the current car’s distinctive lines.
Nissan Australia general manager of corporate communications Peter Fadeyev said he was unaware of details of a next-generation Leaf but reiterated the importance of the electric car to Nissan’s Australian model range.
Nakamura also revealed that the Nismo high-performance range would expand globally, giving Australia more models to choose from as it establishes the sub-brand here.
“We have plans – we are expanding [with Nismo],” said Nakamura. “Most of the products [in the Nissan range] we are expecting to have [a] Nismo [model].
Nissan Australia is yet to announce when (or if) Nismo models will be sold here, but there is a strong desire and work is in progress at the company’s Melbourne-based headquarters.
“The project to introduce Nismo Australia has advanced significantly in the last couple of years, but we aren’t in a position to confirm it at this time,” Fadeyev said.
Nissan used the Geneva show to reveal the Sway concept car, which has been confirmed for production and will sit at the lower end of the brand’s price range.
Many have speculated it will be the replacement for Nissan’s Micra city hatch, but Nakamura did not rule out selling two baby hatchbacks.
“We don’t say this is a Micra replacement,” he said. “When it comes to the market, you will see.”
There is a chance the production Sway could be positioned above Micra, with more attention to detail and more adventurous styling, catering to markets that are prepared to pay a premium for a city hatchback.
Micra could be more basic with a focus on lower prices.
Audi has disclosed details on its second-gen R8 unveiled yesterday at the Geneva show.
As previously reported on, there will be two versions of the coupe powered by 5.2-litre V10s as well as a fully electrified e-tron version, together with a revamped gen-two LMS racecar.
Here are 10 facts on the new R8 we’ve learned so far.
1. The flagship petrol model is the V10 Plus, producing 449kW and 560Nm and capable of sprinting to 100km/h in 3.2sec, to 200km/h in 9.9sec and has an official v-max of 330km/h. It is three-tenths quicker to 100km/h than the outgoing gen-one V10 Plus.
2. The regular V10 model produces 397kW and 540Nm and, with its claimed 3.5sec 0-100km/h performance, is as quick in a straight line as the old range-topping Plus version.
3. Both engines feature dual (direct and indirect) fuel injection and dry sump lubrication, while also new is a ‘coasting’ function that disengages drive off throttle and above 55km/h as a fuel conservation measure.
4. As predicted, both versions will be seven-speed twin-clutch only and fitted with new Quattro drive system capable of transmitting up to 100 per cent of torque to either axle.
5. Official stats confirm that at 1454kg dry weight for the V10 Plus, the new breed is lighter than the outgoing range, with savings of up to 50kg depending on the variant.
6. Perhaps the biggest R8 news is that the electric e-tron version has been given a green light for series production.
After a false start with a first-generation R8 e-tron, engineers have overcome the primary issues of battery range and weight to put the fully electrified supercar into series production.
Crucially, the e-tron brings with it proper high-performance credentials: 340kW and a whopping 920Nm, with an acceleration claim of 3.9sec for the 0-100km/h sprint.
7. The e-tron will also be Audi’s only road-going rear-drive production car.
8. Recent advances in lithium ion technology for its load-bearing battery assembly effectively doubled the maximum range of the stillborn prototypes, with the R8 e-tron offering up to 450km between charges.
The capacity of the battery has blossomed from 49kWh to 92kWh while energy density has also doubled to 154Wh/kg. Using e-tron’s onboard Combined Charging System, which allows charging with direct and alternating current, Audi claims that the battery can be fully charged in “significantly less than two hours”.
9. Other e-tron engineering features include an electromechanical braking system that provides high-energy recuperation and a ‘targeted’ torque vectoring system to govern output across the rear axle.
While it’s yet to be confirmed if the R8 e-tron will be sold locally, it’s available for order to European customers this year.
10. Audi has also updated its R8 LMS racecar in preparation for 2016 competition, which shares around 50 percent of its parts with the road-going R8, produces 430kW from a V10 engine that’s “virtually identical to the series-production engine” and weigh in at 1225kg.
All four second-gen R8s are due to hit the Audi show stand in Geneva next week.
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Audi TT Q crossover could go into production, says Audi board member
THE model most likely to be added to Audi’s TT family is an SUV, according to the company’s technical chief, Ulrich Hackenberg.
The straight-talking board member of eager-to-grow Audi believes a production version of the TT Offroad concept – presented at Auto China in Beijing last year – could be approved for production.
It was one of three TT-themed concepts the company revealed at major motor shows in 2014, but it’s not Hackenberg’s personal pick. He prefers the five-door TT concept show at the Paris show.
“I think the best was the last one, the Sportback,” Hackenberg told us at the Geneva show today. “It was very perfect from a design side, but if you look to our model range then you see there is a similar car, the A3 sedan for example, and they are too close together.”
This isn’t a problem for a TT SUV, he explains, and the potential for profit is greater.
“The strongest segment from the growth side is the SUV, and in the SUV segment I think we have some space for additional models.”
When it comes to choosing which one to build, the choice is clear, Hackenberg says: “The TT Q car is the favourite.”
The executive declined to say if Audi’s board has approved the TT Q for production, but admitted it could be ready as early as 2017.
“For realising such a car, it is possible to do it within a little bit longer than two years.”
Audi began exploring possible directions for expansion of the TT line-up with the Allroad Shooting Brake concept, presented at the Detroit show early in 2014.
There were two reasons for rolling out the three-car series of concepts over the course of a year: “One is that we want to grow and we want to increase our volume, and to do that we need additional model lines.”
Hackenberg said there was also a need to push forward with design.
“We gave the opportunity to our designers to make a further development of the Audi design language, especially the TT design language, which is a little bit different from the other cars.”
Honey, I shrunk the Lexus, but it’s a tough little crossover aimed at the mega-cities of the future
THE Lexus LF-SA is the smallest Lexus you’ve ever seen. The pint-sized hatch looks rugged, tough and is hell-bent on carving out a niche for Lexus.
The LF-SA is the result of Lexus unleashing its European design office on a B-segment 2+2.
Its 3.4-metre length makes it shorter than the smallest Toyota on sale in Australia, the 3905mm-long Yaris, and not even as long as the smaller-still European-market Toyota Aygo, which is 3555mm long.
That makes it considerably smaller than the Prius-based Lexus CT200h, the current baby of the Lexus range.
The Lexus show car sports a version of the company’s trapezoidal grille, with a 3D angular pattern within it, a trend seen in Mercedes models such as the A-Class.
Its stance is upright, athletic yet solid, with a sweeping coupe-like roof and jagged, sharp edges we’ve seen in Lexus models such as the IS sedan and NX SUV.
There are L-shaped signatures in the rear lights, with a ‘flying buttress’ C-pillar leading to a high rump.
The LF-SA reflects the global trend towards urban living, with populations centred around ‘mega-cities’ with populations of 10 million or more.
That calls for smaller city cars, such as the BMW i3 electric vehicle, that are easy to manoeuvre and are often occupied by the driver only.
Unusually, the driver’s seat is fixed, instead having more adjustment in the steering column and the pedals to bring “the vehicle to the driver rather than vice-versa”.
The front passenger seat does slide to allow access to the rear seat.
The cabin offers an infotainment system with a holographic-display, a wide instrument binnacle and head-up display.
Lexus boss Alain Uyttenhoven told the Geneva motor show press audience that Lexus isn’t chasing the volumes of its predominantly German opposition, and is in a clear fourth place in terms of premium brands – ahead of Jaguar and well ahead of embattled Infiniti.
“We don’t want to please everybody,” he said, echoing the sentiments of Australian Lexus CEO Sean Hanley in an interview with Wheels that will appear in the April 2015 issue (on sale March 19).
Sway baby hatch concept previews a possible Nissan Micra replacement with more European style
A SERIOUSLY sculpted Nissan Sway has previewed the Japanese carmaker’s future Micra replacement, but wrought to appeal to European tastes as it chases the VW Polo and Renault Clio.
Unveiled at the Geneva motor show overnight, the 4010mm-long, 1780mm-wide and 1385mm-high Sway is longer, wider and not quite as tall as the Micra on sale in Australia, which is soon due for a long-delayed facelift that adopts a very small part of the Sway’s design.
Sway borrows its grille design from the likes of the Juke compact SUV and its slightly larger sibling, the Qashqai, while other styling elements such as the floating roof and the kick in the C-pillar are borrowed from the Lannia concept unveiled in China last year.
Sway’s deep V-shaped grille is framed by big air intakes and distinctive swept headlights framed in a long, flowing crease running down the side.
The windscreen blends into a panoramic sunroof that extends as far as the boot space – great in concept form, but potentially transforming the interior into a hothouse in the height of an Australian summer.
Inside, Sway takes a step forward from the IDx concept unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo motor show, featuring a clean-looking, functional design.
Nissan hinted that the future Micra could potentially head down the path of customisation specialist Mini, with contrasting orange highlights offsetting the blue-grey hue of the show car that could be swapped for another colour.
Inside, the dark blue theme is highlighted with contrasting ivory and orange colours to match the Sway’s exterior.
In an effort to cut weight, the front seat frames are made of exposed aluminium.
Sway also borrows an element of its design from the BMW i3 electric car, featuring rearward-opening coach doors that remove the need for a B-pillar.
The dash uses a “gliding wing” design, with the instruments in front of the driver limited to a pair of three-dimensional gauges for speed and engine revs.
Use of a large touchscreen tablet on the console between the front seats allows Nissan to limit the number of buttons.
Going on past performance, don’t expect any future Micra based on the Sway concept to hurry to Australia because Nissan is building a reputation for denying us the best of its latest.
We’re receiving the fresh-faced Micra almost two years after it hit other markets worldwide, and while Europe receives a major update to the lacklustre Pulsar, we’re sticking with the old model.
Stunning Kia Sportspace concept points the way to the Korean brand’s next-generation Optima wagon
THE Sportspace is the star of Kia’s Geneva Motor Show stand, and previews the next-generation Optima wagon, sister car to the Hyundai Sonata, that will arrive in showrooms in late 2016 to take on the Ford Mondeo and Mazda 6.
The concept car debuts an evolution of Kia’s trademark ‘tiger nose’ grille, with a more slimline appearance.
Senior Kia designer Alex Daniel told Wheels the Sportspace was more like an extended hatchback than a wagon.
“The main objective was to create a D-segment concept, an everyday car for the family with extra space and a car you can escape to the mountains in with your skis,” he told us.
“But it is not like a typical wagon, it is less bulky. We have a lot of plan shape on the rear of the vehicle, and the corners are pushed in, which pushes the D-pillar forward.”
“The rear is more horizontal than a shooting brake [wagon], so you don’t get the same trade-off in space as the roof tapers; it is more of a practical vehicle, but still with a very streamlined look.
“Currently we have two versions of the tiger nose on our production cars. On the Rio and Optima, for instance, it is more like a mask, but the Soul is more central and open. With this concept, we wanted to develop the mask theme.”
All of the exterior design apart from some small details – the LED headlights would require additional functionality to be road-legal – are viable for production, the radical four-seat interior less so, as is typical with concept cars.
Mirroring the current Optima, a range of transversely mounted four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines will be offered when the production car debuts, driving the front wheels alone.
However, both hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants will join the range at a later date.
Insiders would not be drawn on whether this might also lead to the introduction of all-wheel-drive to a Kia sedan.
The next-generation Optima will debut as a sedan at next month’s New York motor show.
The production version of the Sportspace will be launched at the Geneva show in 2016 and go on sale about six months later.
Aston Martin DBX ‘posh-roader’ reveals surprise future for British sports-car brand
ASTON Martin has dropped a huge surprise on the Geneva Motor Show, unveiling a sharp looking battery-powered mash-up between a grand tourer and high-riding SUV it calls the DBX Concept.
Created by the British marque to “defy conventional thinking about the luxury GT segment”, Aston is now pitching for the same breed of cashed-up buyers wanting rugged off-road looks wrapped in a luxury package – the new breed of posh-roaders, as evidenced by Bentley’s in-development Bentayga and the recently announced Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
“This is, clearly, not a production-ready sports GT car, but it is a piece of fresh, bold thinking about what Aston Martin GT customers around the world could request of us in the future,” Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer said.
“The DBX Concept is more than a thought starter for us and for our customers, though.
“We will, in due course, be entering a car into the new DBX space.”
The brief for Aston’s designers when creating the DBX started with thinking how the future of GT motoring would look in the years ahead.
Penned by a team led by chief creative officer Marek Reichman, the all-electric DBX Concept features all-wheel drive and four seats.
Because it is electric, and has no need of a conventional engine, the design features a decent-sized boot as well as a ‘frunk’, the name given to storage space under the long bonnet.
Even the concept’s black paintwork is special, including a micro-fine layer of chrome to mimic the look of a black pearl.
The concept uses lightweight lithium-sulphur batteries to store its energy – they’re tipped to one day replace the expensive lithium-ion units used in most of today’s hybrid and plug-in cars – which is then fed to electric motors tucked into the hubs of each wheel.
Other highlights include drive-by-wire electric steering, glass that includes an auto-dimming layer, and bespoke driver and passenger head-up displays.
The DBX also has active LED headlights, carbon-ceramic brakes with a Formula One-style kinetic energy recovery system, and cameras instead of conventional mirrors.
The DBX is a big change of direction for Aston Martin’s design under the stewardship of Palmer, appointed to head up the 102-year-old brand late last year after a long career at Nissan and its luxury offshoot, Infiniti.
Palmer has to steer the company through difficult times, with sales of the marque’s limited range slumping over the last 12 months and the company’s level of debt, believed to be around $800 million, threatening to crush it.
Unlike rivals including Fiat-owned Ferrari, Mahindra-owned Jaguar, and VW-owned Bentley and Lamborghini, standalone Aston Martin does not have a cashed-up patron to support it, apart from a small investment from Mercedes-Benz.
The equally surprising reveal this week of the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept – a car that the maker says it would be mad not to push into production – shows that Aston’s rivals are arming themselves to move in and cut its traditional two-seater sports coupe grass.
Hot Honda steals RenaultSport’s thunder as the battle for bragging rights escalates into full-scale warefare
THE Honda Civic Type R is the fastest front-wheel drive vehicle around Germany’s Nurburgring race circuit. The 228kW hatch, shown in production form at the 2015 Geneva show, has taken the crown from the RenaultSport Megane RS Trophy-R by almost four seconds, with a lap time of 7:50.63sec around the 20.8km Nordschleife circuit in the Ardennes.
The hot Honda sees the return of the Type R badge, which hasn’t been seen in Australia since the previous model went off sale in 2012, ahead of the arrival of the US-built Honda NSX supercar and as Honda re-enters Formula One. The Civic is the most potent Honda model to wear the badge, and is likely to arrive Down Under despite the fact that Honda Australia is not officially confirmed its place in showrooms.
Precisely 12 months ago at the Geneva show, it was VW Group-owned SEAT crowing about a new Nurburgring lap record with its then-new Leon Cupra 280, with a time of “7:58”. The Seat had barely held the record sixty days before Renault lowered this to 7:54.36, all while Honda was readying the Civic Type-R having already publically declared its intentions to claim the record for front-wheel drive cars.
While the lap times may be a moot point, one thing’s certain: we’re in a golden era of hot hatches, with the Ford Focus RS also wheeled out for its European debut at Geneva, and with the Audi RS3 finally coming to Australia by the end of 2015 – a hatch that clocks 0-100km/h in 4.3sec.
Classic straight-six engine set to return in next-generation Mercedes E-Class
MERCEDES-Benz is set to reintroduce inline six-cylinder engines as part of a simplified modular engine strategy.
The head of Mercedes-Benz research and development, Thomas Weber, said the new engine family would reduce costs and production complexity while reintroducing a long-running engine configuration to the German brand.
Weber stopped short of confirming the new engine, but went into detail justifying such a move and why it would make sense financially and from a historical perspective.
He even suggested it could appear in the next-generation E-Class, which is due within two years.
“Of course we are doing something to prepare our engine line-up for the future,” Weber said at the 2015 Geneva motor show.
“We are a company coming from the inline six (cylinder). That was a successful factor for decades in the past.”
Weber said the shift to an inline six-cylinder would allow it to use the basic architecture of the four-cylinder engine – in a similar way that two four-cylinders were used to create the latest AMG V8.
“Looking forward, it’s now clear we are back to the situation that, should we stay with a V6 family only or is there opportunity to do something in combination four and six?” he said.
The creation of an inline six-cylinder would also allow Mercedes-Benz to easily create a V12 using the same architecture across the engine family of four, six and eight-cylinder engines.
Weber confirmed there would be two basic engine families – “big and small displacement; 2.0-litre and above for big ones (and) 1.5, 1.4 for the small ones”.
“Such a strategy is perfect for our brand.
“When we have such a small engine … the step to three-cylinder you are playing a different league … for Smart and [small Mercedes-Benz models].”
Inline six-cylinder engines have been a dying breed, with carmakers switching to more compact V6 configurations.
Only BMW, Ford and Volvo still produce an inline-six. But Volvo is gradually replacing its engine with four-cylinder units, while Ford’s remaining inline six – the Falcon – will be killed off by October 2016.
BMW has stuck with what it considers a superior configuration.
