THE VEHICLE DEALER’S NEWS SOURCE VOLUMEVOLUME 4 ISSUE 4 ISSUE 6 JANUARY 9 MAY 2018

FCA wins against Consignment dealers former boss iat Chrysler Australia has won a on notice out west case against former boss Clyde FCampbell who received $2.5 mil- ealerships which offer con- Newcastle St, West Perth. lion in ‘bribes’ to procure a contract for signment deals to consumers “Fourteen consumers who have con- its dealer websites. Dhave been brought under the tacted us claim to be owed significant The London High Court judge’s microscope of Consumer Protection in amounts of money by the company,” decision follows website supplier Western Australia. Hillyard explains. Motortrak taking FCA to court over A spate of deceitful conduct regard- “In most cases their cars were sold unpaid invoices relating to the contract ing consignment dealers not passing on but they didn’t re- for services. It lost, with Justice Clare sale profits to consumers has brought ceive the proceeds Moulder finding the firm had been dealership practices under scrutiny in and, in one case, a overcharged by $9.6 million – and the west as consumers protest. consumer paid for a ordering it could be recovered. FCA’s Consumer Protection has been vehicle upfront but experts have suggested the overcharg- looking into several cases, including didn’t receive it and ing could be for as much as $27 million. one couple who lost $100,000 trying to we believe the ve- Campbell himself was not involved sell their Mercedes ML63 AMG through David Hillyard, hicle has now been in the action – he settled with FCA in Luxuride director Nicolas Ngo late last Consumer Protection on sold to another 2016. year, while another victim Paul Denne buyer,” he says. According to the Sydney Morning lost over $37,000 in April. The dealership raid uncovered con- Herald, the court reported Motortrak Denne’s vehicle even has an online tact details of 48 owners whose cars paid Campbell over $2.5 million in 14 advertisement showing it as sold, but were still for sale in the yard. instalments between September 2010 has not received a cent. “All but two of those vehicles have and December 2013 – for much of this According to Consumer Protection, now been returned,” Hillyard says, how- time he was FCA’s managing director. Ngo fled the country in the last fortnight ever, 15 sellers/owners remain out of Motortrak director Gary Pask after being charged with allegedly failing to pocket, with another customer coming claimed the payments were under comply with consignment sales laws and forward overnight. a separate agreement to buy out a allegedly making false or misleading repre- Lanie Chopping, director of retail licensing deal. However, the judge said sentations to vehicle owners/consumers. and services, says Consumer Protection he failed to “give a satisfactory expla- WA Consumer Protection commission- will continue to investigate the issue. nation of events” and “has in my view er David Hillyard says consumer reports of “The business has been prosecuted damaged his overall credibility as a failure to pay up led to automotive branch by the commissioner for a range of witness”. officers attending the Luxuride premises in Continued on page 8 Justice Moulder also noted Motor- trak had given cars to celebrities, in- INSIDE cluding Shane Warne and Liz Hurley – Light vehicles cause truck carnage P5 at Campbell’s request. In an email it was Car-buying method hasn’t changed. Yet P7 indicated Pask said this could be done, Dust settles on D’Alberto auction P9 and then Motortrak would invoice FCA Blackhall warns of wading with imports P15 5 9 Continued on page 4 FOUNDATION SPONSORS

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2 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 NEWSTALK

ANCAP backed for the future

nfrastructure and transport minister “While safety standards have im- small-medium enterprises to large Michael McCormack has promised proved over the past 20 years, our sup- companies, fleet policies will continue Ito continue supporting the Austral- port for ANCAP will keep ensuring Aus- to require more collision avoidance asian New Car Assessment Program tralians get the right information about technology in their fleets to prevent until at least 2023. their vehicle’s safety before purchase workplace disasters. The deputy prime minister has and independent testing of vehicles will “Employers must remember that the pledged $6.64 million in funding to continue to provide consumers with vehicle is a workplace, support ANCAP as is continues crash that information,” Fletcher says. and just as we provide testing and critically assessing new ANCAP chief executive James Good- our employees with vehicle safety on behalf of consumers. win says having the federal government a safe workspace in The announcement came on day continue its support will pay dividends the office, worksite or two of National Road Safety Week for the consumer public. factory, we must also which McCormack says is important to “All Australian road users will see the provide our employ- reducing the country’s road trauma. benefits of this contribution, with the ees with a safe vehi- “The work of the Australasian New new funding commitment announced ANCAP CEO James cle,” Goodwin says. Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) is today enabling ANCAP to further Goodwin says fleets “A large number of vital to improving the safety of vehicles broaden its range of tests, and expand and car brands organisations require need to raise the on Australian roads and it is crucial we its advocacy and community education safety standards of the purchase of five- provide assistance at a Federal level to activities,” Goodwin explains. light commercials. star fleet vehicles, help it continue,” he says. “Continued emphasis to elevate the and increasingly, they “The Government is working as best safety of new vehicles – as well as to are now also requiring safety assistance it can with State and Territory Gov- reduce the overall age of the nation’s technologies like autonomous emer- ernments, road safety advocates and registered vehicle fleet – are critical to gency braking.” organisations, such as ANCAP, to head reducing the number of deaths and inju- “Vehicle brands need to improve towards zero road fatalities in Australia,” ries caused by serious crashes,” he adds. their offerings across their model McCormack explains. ANCAP’s 22 other supporting mem- ranges if they want to stay on fleet bers include Australian and New Zea- managers’ shopping lists.” land state and territory motoring clubs, Trade-based vehicles, especially the state and federal governments, as well popular dual-cab ute segment which as New Zealand’s Ardern government. is increasing in private and ABN/busi- ANCAP has recently said it is looking ness and fleet sales every year, continue into the crash testing of heavy vehicles to lag behind the passenger and SUV and light trucks, as well as continuing segments in terms of crash-prevention its push toward the safety assessment features offered as standard. of autonomous vehicles in the future. “Light commercial vehicles, espe- There is also a warning from ANCAP cially the increasingly popular dual-cab toward manufacturers to lift their game utes, continue to lag the passenger regarding safety assist or collision avoid- and SUV segments in terms of crash- Deputy PM Michael McCormack with ANCAP’s James Goodwin. ance features on light commercial vehicles prevention features offered as standard,” such as single-cab and dual-cab utes, and Goodwin explains. “We are investing in making roads light commercial vans. “Vans are also lagging – not only in safer around Australia – especially in the ANCAP says fleet sales could be lost the fitment of safety assistance tech- regions – which helps drivers, but this is by OEMs if they don’t improve their of- nologies, but still in the more basic just one piece of the puzzle,” he says. ferings to align with modern fleet poli- structural performance area. Fleets are Urban infrastructure and cities cies which are increasingly updated to crying out for utes and vans which offer minister Paul Fletcher, also present at stipulate more than just five-star ratings five-star safety with advanced safety as- ANCAP’s Fairbairn facility, says the work for procured vehicles. sist features, and we’re putting pressure ANCAP does cannot be overestimated. Chief executive Goodwin says from Continued on page 4

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 3 NEWSTALK

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ONLINE EDITOR Continued from page 3 Geoff Dobson on the brands to see the safety standard of against which a model was tested,” he details. [email protected] this segment raised, and raised quickly.” “Fleets and commercial buyers should look +64 21 881 823 Goodwin is urging manufacturers to help to purchase a five-star vehicle with a date raise the bar in the light commercial market stamp no more than three years old. For ex- GROUP EDITOR while advising fleets to be diligent in select- ample, when buying a vehicle in 2018, look for Scott Morgan ing their company’s mobile workplace. a model which has either a 2018, 2017 or 2016 [email protected] “Our advice to fleets and commercial date stamp. This will ensure safety currency.” +61 212 402 402 buyers is to choose vehicles which hold the James Goodwin will be presenting at the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, but 2018 fleet conference which runs from May MANAGING EDITOR in addition, look for the Rating Year “date 17-18. Richard Edwards stamp” which identifies the year requirements [email protected] +64 21 556 655

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Auto Media Group Limited makes every endeavour to ensure information contained in this FCA wins against former boss publication is accurate, however we are not liable for any losses Continued from page 1 or issues resulting from its use. for “IT”. Pask suggested the capitals were a the evidence and on the balance of probabili- mistake, and the invoices were to be for “it”, ties is that [the payments to Campbell] were which the judge says was “patently false”. bribes,” Moulder said. “The invoices suggest that at best Mr Pask “FCA is pleased with the court’s decision,” autotalk.com.au saw no difficulty in submitting invoices which an FCA spokesperson reportedly told The did not reflect the reality of what was hap- Sydney Morning Herald. autotalk.co.nz pening,” she said. A Motortrak spokesperson told the SMH the dieseltalk.com.au Moulder said that without the payments company is “extremely disappointed” by the dieseltalk.co.nz made to and on behalf of Campbell, the soft- outcome of aspects of this case and is consid- evtalk.com.au ware deal would have been at a lower rate. ering its options, including an appeal. evtalk.co.nz “The only conclusion open to the court on

4 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 NEWSTALK

Light vehicles causing truck carnage

he majority of road crashes vestigated by police Despite 30,000 people seeing the involving heavy vehicles on and/or the coronial Volvo Safety Truck program covering TAustralian roads are caused by system, “ she begins. some 60,000 kilometres every year, anxious young light vehicle drivers, “Whilst this system Weller admits the ATA needs to push for new industry research reveals. may meet the needs greater awareness. Some 80-90% of all truck and heavy of the legal and insur- “Engaging with young people isn’t vehicle crashes are caused by passen- ance systems, it is not enough,” she explains, “We’re not sav- ger vehicles according to the Austral- achieving the reduc- ing lives with this educational resource ian Trucking Association (ATA), and one Melissa Weller, ATA tion in road crashes and we need to do better.” in four occupants in crashes involving safety and skills that Governments “We need to target urban and rural trucks are 26 or younger. adviser should be seeking.” young drivers. We’re off our target,” In 2017, 185 people died in truck Weller acknowledges. crashes, from 168 heavy vehicle crash- “It is hard to get hold of statistics “Current research tells us that light es, according to the Department of that actually give you more information vehicle driver education that includes Infrastructure a Regional Development about what happened in the crashes content about sharing the road safely (DIRD) data. There were 95 fatal crashes with young people specifically,” she with heavy vehicles may reduce crash- involving articulated trucks, 79 involving laments, saying how the industry is held es, and that a hands-on, face-to-face heavy rigid trucks, and 30 people died in back by the current system. experience and communication can 26 bus crashes. “Twenty-five per cent of light ve- make the difference,” she says. The Trucking Australia conference in hicle occupants involved in a casualty “The Volvo Safety Truck is our public Canberra last month has highlighted the crash are 26-years or younger,” she response to safety concerns, we want immensely destructive consequences says, “But young drivers are only 10- to make sure it’s targeted and gets for families affected by the national road 15% of the licensed driver population.” cut-through which saves lives,” Weller toll which saw over 1200 people killed Weller says heavy vehicles account continues. in the last year to March 2018. for 2.4% of registered vehicles but are She says millennials who want to According to the ATA’s safety and involved in 16% of fatal crashes, another be interreacted with, who want to be skills adviser Melissa Weller, young driv- over-representation. entertained and share things with their ers are dangerously over-represented Weller says most crashes are oc- friends, requires messaging on their in truck crashes, and she wants to see curring on regional roads with higher level, referencing the New Zealand more transparency in the relaying of speeds and lower quality roads. “Bloody Legend” drink driving ad from crash data to the automotive and trans- “We also have less-experienced 2010-2011 which reached virtually the port industries. urban drivers coming into those rural entire population. “Presently road accidents are in- areas and crashing.” Continued on page 6

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AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 5 NEWSTALK

Continued from page 5 “Humour is one of the most effective “We build monuments and tributes An ATA public awareness campaign ways to target a disengaged audience,” to road trauma victims, but this is about called Re:Act, established in partnership Carl says. the individuals to carry it forward and with Swinburne University and market- “The imagery is intentional be- let the transport industry know they ing agency Hard Edge, presented three cause it has cut-through to reach the can change something,” he says. finalist candidates at the ATA confer- 18-25-year-old audience. We want to Frazer thinks the ence, one of which conducted a survey emphasise the real-world sheer size and complacency of state of young people to understand how poor visibility truck drivers have.” government jurisdic- they felt sharing the road with trucks. Peter Frazer, whose then-23-year- tions is one of the Entrant Charlotte found that over old daughter Sarah was killed in a major flaws in tangibly 70% of her target-audience peers in horrific collision on the Hume Highway reducing road trauma. the 18-25-year-old range felt “nervous, when struck by a car while hers was “The way we’ve anxious, scared and fearful driving next being rescued by a tow truck, spoke at setup Australia, we’re to a truck.” the Trucking Australia conference in the individual coun- “We found that a lot of these trucks lead up to National Road Safety Week Peter Frazer turns tries – why do our his heartache into crashes were not caused by the truck (April 30-May 4). powerful messag- road rules change driver,” Charlotte says, with her cam- He started the SARAH foundation in ing around road from one location to paign’s message telling young drivers, memory of his daughter killed by the safety. another?” “Don’t truck around” and asking, “Are roadside by a young driver not paying “Why does the NHVR apply in some you ready to give a truck?” attention as she was stranded and bro- states but not others? Borders continue “There are also lot of uninformed ken down on a section of the Hume with to impede progress in making our roads stereotypes about truck drivers which barely half a metre of emergency lane to and regulations safer for motorist and our campaign aims to re-educate.” remove her stricken car from one of the truck drivers,” Frazer says. Third finalist Caitlin surveyed univer- busiest highways in the country. “Imagine if a state could exemplify sity students and found the majority of “My background is policy, law-en- itself from standards in the aviation participants ‘don’t feel comfortable’ shar- forcement and intelligence over the last industry or the housing sector. Why is it ing the road with trucks (100%), are not 40 years and we’ve been able to bring average speed cameras are only applied aware of heavy vehicle blindspots (90%) that to state and federal governments. to truck drivers and not motorists?” and are not aware trucks require longer The trucking industry are leaders in road This year’s National Road Safety stopping distances than cars (85%). safety,” he says. Week began with the 2018 road toll The winning Re:Act campaign winner “When we think about what hap- down 20% on 2017, at 67 deaths as of was Carl, whose “Size Matters” slogan pens in road safety, the equivalent of April 29 – the lowest in five years. was voted the most effective by not a 98-seater jet crashes every month While this might be optimistic news, only linking to the old phallic adage, but – 35,000 Australians were injured from for families like those of Peter Frazer also concisely showing the dangerous road crashes last year - now imagine if who are forced to carry on without proportions of a truck compared with that happened in aviation every month,” their precious someone, 67 is an ap- regular passenger cars. Frazer stresses to the industry. palling, shameful figure. The key is clearly to get motorists re- membering to ‘Drive So Others Survive’ every day, and every week, in all condi- tions, no matter who’s texting or drunk too much, no matter how tired they are; and not just for five days in autumn.

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Swinburne student Carl hit the nail on the head.

6 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 NEWSTALK

Try before buying

e’re constantly being told the ready getting on board with his company. quiries with several brands in Australia, way we buy cars is changing, He describes the Schaefer’s team found a concerning Wbut is it? concept as “lead lack of interest to give customers even Remember the image of former US nurturing”, acting as an overnight test drive, which he says is president Barack Obama, with his shiny a dealer’s consumer bewildering. shoes up on the Oval Office desk? The concierge by taking “Carmakers need to understand the soles were worn out, symbolising the a certain, requested consumer is no longer a sheep that exhausting work happening behind the vehicle to the pros- follows the flock – consumers today pinstripe suit and the groomed White pecting consumer be aren’t idle in their purchase decisions, House lawns. it at home, at their they’re active, informed and ready to It’s been said there are fewer heads Christian Schaefer, workplace or a pre- walk away when they’re not being The Car Test coming through dealership doors, and founder determined meeting taken seriously,” he says. despite the constantly evolving modern point. “Our exercise found that out of six decor to suit lounging families and cof- The consumer then test drives the car brands, only three replied to our enquir- fee connoisseurs on a Saturday morn- for anywhere up to a few days, allow- ies, and some didn’t even send a confir- ing, it seems there will come a point ing for a thorough vehicle assessment. mation email. How much do carmakers where the old ways change for good. When they find the vehicle they like, spend on advertising per conversion?” But as Australian Automotive Dealer the consumer receives a manufacturer As some carmakers battle for market Association chief executive David Black- discount rate based on the number of relevance while others fight to stay hall has said in the recent past, cus- days they test for, and then proceeds to ahead of the competition – and several tomers still rely on and expect a tactile the dealer to close-out the deal. try to remain buoyant – it’s a wonder connection with the vehicle they might “With 430 models on sale in the Aus- why nobody besides dealers are being want to own and shell out tens of thou- tralian market, how can anybody pos- incentivised to help carmakers connect sands of dollars for – no surprise there. sibly understand a vehicle fully before with potential customers in a market Except the way the world works they sign and hand over their account sitting on record annual sales. today, with our lives spilling over with details?” Schaefer asks. “Dealers say ‘come back when you’re commitments, appointments and “When was the last time you bought ready to buy’ but people won’t chase things to remember, it’s impossible to a pair of shoes without walking around you to buy something. properly try the car before you buy. in them first? “It’s effectively gambling with a Not to mention, the sampling cus- “We want to work with dealers to potential sale and whether they find an tomers do get, is never long enough, foster those consumer intentions and identical car at another dealership for a substantial enough, and nor can a actually get them engaged with the marginally better price,” Schaefer says. customer ever properly understand vehicle they’re interested in buying.” “It’s not a power play like it once how truly fit-for-purpose that car will Schaefer says his brainchild is not was, where it waivered between the be once they get it home. It’s virtually as much about disruption as it is an sales person and the buyer. Consum- impossible to test whether that high- evolution of how people have bought ers always have the dollar power, but if riding “family” SUV can actually accom- cars for decades. they’re not getting the treatment they modate your family, plus their sports “Manufacturers are spending millions want, they’ll go elsewhere.” bags, prams and a dog. Or is the wagon on advertising, on brand awareness, on He shares his thoughts with dealers or people-mover a better alternative? having their name and badge and their and OEMs about how real-world cus- There is a new idea which promises car’s shape in the front of a customer’s tomers actually feel about the current, customers a more informed choice, mind then they come to buy in the next somewhat old-hat way customers have one that can take out all the inconven- three to five years,” he explains. to buy their next mode of transport. ience of those exhausting Saturday new “What The Car Test does is actually “Everyone says they hate the car car test drives, and effectively deliver deliver that class-leading SUV or that buying process, the system’s not as dealerships a ready-to-buy consumer most-popular small car straight to the effective as it could be,” he says. on a silver platter. potential customer on the customer’s “No third party, besides dealers, has The Car Test is aptly named. Founder terms – in their driveway, at their office been paid to provide test drives – why not? Christian Schaefer is a highly motivated – on the customer’s time,” he says. “Give customers something expe- guy, which bodes well for the brands al- Conducting a series of test drive en- Continued on page 8

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 7 NEWSTALK

Continued from page 7 sway or pique their interest riential, something that’s desperately in something different. lacking even in 2018.” “It means the dealer One of the more arduous legs of any principal isn’t wasting car buying journey today is having to resources on hesitant shop around at different dealers, which customers because we’ve Schaefer says means competition, or increased the likelihood even cannibalism. This is another pain- they want to buy your car.” point he says The Car Test can remove. “We’re the visibility “We’re basically a marketing cam- of the offline buyer who The way we buy cars hasn’t really changed. Or has it? paign for a customer’s local dealership wants to try your car, but because when they’re happy with the can’t when you’re closed after hours With Volvo Australia and MG Motors car they test drive, they’ll take their busi- or on Sundays. already on board and backing this ambi- ness to the nearest dealer,” he explains. “OEMs should be driving this as a tious but clever idea, it seems the ques- “This means dealers avoid self- brand activation that doesn’t clock-off, tion is not if but when will it catch on. destructive sales tactics and conversion just like Coles and Woolworths delivering In the same way GoGet has changed efforts, and it increases their volume fresh food straight to you, or the massive the way people can quickly rent some which of course is what the manufac- chef-prepared food delivery industry like wheels for the weekend without having turer wants to see. Uber Eats or Menulog.” to actually own or get to their nearest “One poor experience at a dealer is “We capture the consumer at the Avis, Hertz or Budget, The Car Test could all it takes to make easy pickings for the beginning, offer a great personal expe- be the disruption dealers are looking for. same-brand dealership next suburb over, rience on their terms, and deliver them As millennials increasingly question or for the rival brand which might be right to the dealership to collect the sale.” the need for a car at all, it’s up to deal- across the road,” Schaefer points out. The word “potential” gets thrown ers and manufacturers to decide if they He also mentions the opportunity his around whenever people talk about start- want to gently shoe-horn consumers business could be for provincial or rural ups and their entrepreneurs constantly into their next new car and the local dealerships, which often rely on repeat seeking capital investments in a market dealership – or continue wearing the customer loyalty, providing a chance to hungry for whatever they’re pedalling. same busted old tyre-kickers. Consignment dealers on notice out west Continued from page 1 “The motor vehicle dealer industry Chopping advises consumers when consignment sales offenses trading is licensed and heavily regulated so it’s a consignment transaction goes luxury cars from Newcastle Street.” unusual to see this kind of circumstance wrong they “can take their own civil “We’ve had complaints in the last occurring, and it is significant,” she says. legal action if able to.” couple of weeks and have undertaken Chopping says Ngo’s exact location “However, it’s important people know an investigation very quickly to find or intent to return to Australia are un- the commissioner takes this issue very many are in the same circumstances confirmed, but the department is ready seriously and will leave no stone unturned with the director’s whereabouts un- to pounce. to recover compensation to victims,” she known,” she explains. “If they (Ngo) returns to Australia we’ll warns, adding that this isn’t a once-off. “We’ve got grow- be ready to greet them and talk about “Luxuride are not the only company ing numbers of exactly what’s happened,” she says firmly. to be pulled up on compliance problems consumers making Ngo was formally charged in February relating to consignment sales,” she says. reports and many out for what was only the tip of the iceberg. “Whether those consignment sales there may be una- “The February charges related to are allowed to continue the commis- ware they’re victims.” strict conditions on selling vehicles on sioner will be looking at. “Of the 48 vehicles consignment,” Chopping recaps. “Generally speaking, you can trust a still on the property, “The legislation requires dealers pro- licensed motor car dealer, and the ma- Lanie Chopping, Consumer Protec- 46 will be returned, vide paperwork in a set time, they must jority of traders are doing the right thing.” tion director of our guys got onto this put funds into a trust account and pay it She advises consumers to keep sales and retail. early and prevented out in a certain time, we had a range of making themselves aware of consumer further losses. We’re reasonably confi- offences detected we can prove in court.” rights and information, especially dent this is it for affected victims.” “In addition, we had charges relating regarding consignment sales. Chopping says one person has to allegations of misleading misconduct “Know what their rights are and raise even bought through Luxuride and not by manipulating the circumstance so they alarm bells when paperwork isn’t right, received the vehicle, however, says the would make profit and the seller would timing isn’t right, and get ahead before standards of most dealers remain high. make significantly less than it was sold for.” problems occur.”

8 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 NEWSTALK

The way we buy cars hasn’t really changed. Or has it?

Dust settles on D’Alberto Ashley Burns, principal auctioneer dealership dynasty

ast month’s record-breaking “We’ve created a lot of equity for D’Alberto auction is still be- people and I said that during the Ling talked about in sheds, pubs course of the auction,” Burns explains. and social media, after an immacu- “These prices will be referred to late 1987 Walkinshaw Group A VL as the benchmark going forward for Commodore made headlines with a many years. Now it’ll be the D’Alberto $340,000 sale price. sale that people will remember.” It’s the single biggest figure ever Burns held an auction in 2016 which publicly put on the table for such a he says people were and still are refer- Ezio D’Alberto plans to wet a line. Holden at auction, in private sale or ring to the prices of until last month, retail, and comes in second behind the but the D’Albertos have got the market first-ever A9X Torana which achieved excited on a new level. $365K in March. “What’s happened now is people are Over 2500 lots were up for grabs coming out of the woodwork wanting as the D’Alberto family dealerships, to sell their cars, in the last 48 hours formerly Kyabram, Deniliquin and I’ve had a lot of contact from others Echuca Holden, boxed up tools, du- wanting to sell. When it comes to get- plicate vehicle manuals dating back ting top price, Burns says that buzz is 30-40 years, signage, spare parts the single most important aspect to get galore. But the stars of the show were right,” Burns says.. the four brothers’ car collection. “You’ve got to be in that emotional, Doing a roll call is like naming the time-pressure zone to get top price on cast of an Expendables action movie. a sale.” There’s all the expected muscle, most “You’ve got the Group As making with “run-in” mileage on them. Think more money than a new Ferrari which Brock VK and VL Group A SS Commo- is hard to get your head around, but dores, think Monaros CV8Z, HSV GTS they were a rare thing.” and 186S, think Toranas with all the right Burns says it’s a privilege selling “giant killer” connotations. Even a W427. such iconic pieces of motoring histo- It was a full house on auction day, ry, because despite the mind-blowing with 500 seats filled and standing room figures people are prepared to bid, it’s only, plus a list of 1900 registrations, not always about the money. which had auctioneers on their toes, “It’s good because you’re dealing with eyes peeled and hearts fluttering with people who have a smile on their for 10 hours as Frank, Ezio, Ferdie and face, buying something they want, not Al (father of Supercar and Australian GT something they need. It’s an interesting driver Tony D’Alberto) watched on. industry and you get to enjoy it seeing The prices set at this historic auction people in a relaxed mood, who are have raised the bar on Australian classic there because they want to buy some- cars, a legacy which auctioneer Ashley thing,” he says. Burns from Burns & Co auctions says will “As an auctioneer you also have echo through the market for a long time. to treat each lot with respect; just

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 9 NEWSTALK

because you don’t like it doesn’t mean the Echuca Hospital, which reminds someone else won’t. We sold a pair of Ezio of the way the dealership game number plates, “JP-460” or something, changed in recent years. most people would walk past them “It’s certainly not what it used to but they made 36 or 38 grand,” Burns be,” he admits. highlights. “It used to be a partnership “The guy who bought them is going between the dealership and the to have new sets made up and put on franchise. But now, you’re just a his Holden and donate a set to the number, and if you don’t get your Holden museum.” volume number they wrap you over “You’re in the moment so you’re the knuckles.” pumped up, you’ve got the emotion, His spirits lift, however, when we and there’s the buyer’s emotion too.” start talking about the good times – It’s the same with signs and post- the cars. ers, petrol pumps, and all the Holden “The auction was really good, lots memorabilia any Bathurst pilgrim could of bargains which plenty of people ever dream of lavishing their shed with. got, but we were also pretty happy Burns tells of a Golden Fleece petrol with it too.” bowser which sold for “six or seven “I was shocked what we got for the We jested with the D’Albertos to turn thousand”, while a framed, signed pic- CV8Z, it was exactly as it was driven off their next chapter toward a winery, but ture of Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes the truck. Even an original HQ States- unable to help himself, Ezio says he’s went for $300. man with 300,000 kms on it, which got unfinished business. The auction wasn’t all smiles and needed a bit of work on it, we couldn’t “I’ll still tinker with a few cars, I’ve polite clapping. It was also a day of mixed believe what it got,” he chimes. just bought an FE Holden to keep my- emotions for the D’Alberto family, who’ve “The GTR Torana we thought would self busy,” he says. spent their lives growing up, as Burns make $60-70,000 or something like “We’re also going to take a few trips. describes, “very passionate car people and that, it got $165,000!” And next week I’m headed for Wal- very passionate Holden people.” It’s clear how thick the enthusiasm laroo in South Australia to catch some Lot 136 sold for $2400, a 50 Year runs in the Italian migrant family who whiting.” GMH Dealership Award, which clearly have been mucking around with cars That’s right, Ezio D’Alberto has gone sat in someone’s office, on a wall all their lives, evidenced by D’Alberto’s fishing. somewhere or in a glass cabinet along pride seeing his family’s legacy passed with 18 or so other dealership awards. to a younger generation. The D’Alberto family didn’t just sell “Most of the cars that got bought cars, they lived for selling Holdens. will be kept by their new 30-40 year- “The auction cleared most of old owners, which is good to see they’ll THE VEHICLE DEALER’S NEWS SOURCE everything out, now I’m in the mid- be looked after,” he says. dle of cleaning up at the moment,” a “There were a few older people buy- despondent Ezio D’Alberto says over ing up the old Buicks and vintage cars the phone. because that was their era, but most Register for The D’Alberto name was the one buyers were still relatively young.” passionate Holden fans in the Riverina Despite the need to move on to region turned to for decades and they greener pastures, Ezio admits it did FREE certainly won’t be forgotten. cross his mind to not let go completely “The community have been really of all the cars. news updates good, told me I’ve experienced some- “I had second thoughts about selling thing I’ll never experience again, lots of the Walkinshaw, but we had to let it go to people came to have a look and show another home. I’ve not seen a car buried Receive their support,” D’Alberto says. with you when you’re dead,” he laughs. thrice-weekly But the brand the family spent its “We’re really happy with what we’ve sweat, time and money supporting done and glad that they’re all going to news alerts to through thick and thin hasn’t done good homes.” much in return. There will of course be things Ezio your email “The only thing Holden did was pull misses about the world inside the the sign down,” D’Alberto says disap- dealership, making sure not to lose his pointed again, “It’s real cold.” sense of humour. The family made sure when they “It’s the start of a new chapter, auctioned two large ‘D’Alberto’ signs but the one thing I will miss is having autotalk.com.au for close to $6000 they donated to someone to wash the cars!” He jokes.

10 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 NEWSTALK

Eastern Honda stands tall

ast month Eastern Honda in Mel- another eight years, another three years, a dedicated team member at head bourne’s busy Doncaster dealer we all help each other and work hard.” office making calls after purchase and Lstrip won the inaugural Honda In 2016, Eastern Honda made a special after they’ve taken delivery to ensure National Dream Awards title of Nation- effort to acknowledge and recognise six customers are always happy, we make al Dealer of the Year. of its loyal young service team who had sure we’re getting any feedback, try- The dealership, owned by the Jowett achieved three years. ing to fix anything we can,” Ghazavi Motor Group and managing director Ghazavi says the whole business continues. Tony Jowett, is smaller than most deal- holds its reputation to a high standard “We also have salespeople like David erships in the area, and only a fraction and continuously checks itself for holes. Shaw and Chris Lau keeping track, the size of most. “Jowett Motor Group has been around who follow up with customers and are But it’s not size that matters for a while now, became best dealer of the constantly in touch with them every Eastern Honda, nestled between year for customer satisfaction 2013-14, two weeks.” German giant Volkswagen uphill and but this year was Honda’s first major Shaw and Lau won the 2014 sales- Subaru Doncaster a few doors down, award and it wasn’t just based on cars person of the year award from Honda, and the formidable Lance Dixon Land sold,” he reveals. and Ghazavi says the team knows the Rover Jaguar and Alfa Romeo, plus “It’s also based on customer responses best way to retain customers is to stick three-story Silverstone Volvo directly to surveys in both the new car depart- to the basics. across the road. ment and service department. With new “I personally try to have a chat with New car sales manager Ali Ghazavi cars the awards are based on customer every customer, give them my own busi- says light-weight Eastern Honda also satisfaction, quantity of sales based on ness card and tell them they can contact holds its own against the bigger sites targets and what’s called the ‘mystery me at any time for anything. It’s a working of Suttons Homebush and Suttons City shop’, which we achieved our award relationship and we want customers Honda in Sydney. from.” happy at all times,” he says. “We’re not a big dealership here, but Honda’s “mystery shop” is a constant “You have to do the right thing it’s not the space that works for us,” additional layer of self-evaluation based by the customer because they’re the Ghazavi says. purely on feedback from customers who ones making this happen - so you “We’re the second volume seller in are contacted directly. Continued on page 17 Australia after Suttons in Sydney, but “The mystery the competition and location is dif- shop is held ferent there. It’s so hard to maintain three times a both high volume and high customer month, based on satisfaction and by far we’re the best at phone, email and the latter,” he says. walk-in survey- For the whole team, Ghazavi says ing of customer success in his dealership is about giv- satisfaction,” ing equal importance to both areas of Ghazavi says, but the business. that’s not where “You do have to maintain both volume it stops. and customer satisfaction; you can’t only He says good care about one or the other, you have to customer service find a good balance,” he explains. is about dedi- “It’s our sales team who are our biggest cating effort to asset, they have been here a long time ensuring the con- with a lot of experience with Honda. By sumer is never far I think we have the best team in the left in the cold. country. One person’s been here 12 years, “We also have

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 11 DIARYTALK

AUTOTALK DIARY (CARRS-Q) in consultation its European-cousin Opel, is with the state’s taxi coun- about to face a massive re- Autotalk Australia editor cil and the Motor Accident duction in its dealer network. Scott Murray looks at the month Insurance Commission, the The brands were acquired gone by on www.autotalk.com.au taxi road safety manual aims from General Motors by to explain driver distrac- Peugeot-parent PSA last year tion and fatigue as primary and were sisters to Australa- contributors to crashes and sia’s Holden – sharing many carries MG market near-misses. of the same products. Opel April 3 push It also includes compo- still builds the Astra, Cascada nents which look at technol- and Commodore for Holden. RAA fined for MG Motor Australia has signed up with the John Hughes ogy as a means to reduce Jobs have already been cut insurance ads Group as the Chinese brand injuries involving taxis. at the firm’s United Kingdom The Royal Automobile Asso- expands its dealer network. production plants, while the ciation’s Insurance Limited of The new dealership will latest announcement is ex- South Australia has been fined open in Perth’s Victoria Park, April 13 pected to see dealer numbers for a misleading advertising exclusively for the MG Motor drop from 326 – the second campaign last year. brand, making it the 15th Perth auto finance most in the UK behind ford – The Australian Securities showroom in Australia and the broker shut down to around 200. That is similar to the number of dealers and Investments Commission 14th dealer to sell the brand. Get Approved Finance broker Volkswagen has. (ASIC) has imposed a $43,200 Peter McDonald is charged penalty for its lifetime vehicle with seven counts of submit- replacement commercials April 11 ting false information and which lasted 15 to 30 sec- one for fraud under an ASIC April 19 onds and aired from Decem- Trucking safety investigation. ber 2016 to June 2017. Carsales gives campaign ‘speaks’ to McDonald fronted Perth Magistrates Court today for al- employee benefits young drivers legedly providing lending firm Three third-year Swinburne another boost April 4 Esanda, then-owned by ANZ students have won the Aus- Carsales has made revisions Bank, false information about tralian Trucking Association’s to its employee leave policy Haval investing clients when brokering four 2018 road safety campaign to improve work-life balance in robots for new finance contracts for vehicles. competition. flexibility. factory Caitlin Preyser, Charlotte The dealer and private The yet-to be-released Haval Hicks and Grace Kirby won vehicle sales organisation H9 and 4×4 ute will be built out of 30 communication de- April 16 says it wants to make it as by the latest robotic technol- easy to work for Carsales as sign undergraduate students, New luxury ogy in a new Chinese factory in the ATA’s Re:act behav- it is to buy and sell a car by that is currently under con- ioural change campaign dealership for implementing six new leave struction. to address 18-25 year-olds Ipswich options for staff. New leave options mean The Yangchuan-based sharing Australia’s roads with Keema Automotive Group 16 weeks of paid parental plant will be operational by heavy vehicles. is in the midst of franchise leave for mums and dads (or late 2019 and produce up to In concert with creative negotiations for a new luxury primary caregivers) increased 250,000 vehicles using the agency Hard Edge, ‘Don’t dealership site in Springfield, from 12, plus another five newest of ABB’s industrial Truck Around’ will be the Queensland. days of leave for primary car- robots. theme for a $6000 awareness Over 100 staff are egivers returning to work after exercise across Swinburne’s expected to be employed US EPA report a home commitments. Hawthorn campus during across two showrooms, with warning for Australia semester two’s orientation 12 service bays repairing and Rocklea used-car The Australian Automobile week. maintaining vehicles in the Association urges the federal Augustine Heights area, The dealer caught in government to take note of a Queensland Times reports. meth ring relaxation in emissions stand- April 12 Keema chief executive Ted Bankrupt second-hand car ards in the United States. Van Riel says the Springfield dealer Hai Than Phan has The US Environmental New taxi operations and Augustine Heights region appeared before the Ipswich Protection Agency (EPA) has guide to improve is not currently served by a District Court on allegations vowed to ease its national fuel safety new or used vehicle business. of supplying drug production efficiency standards imposed chemicals. Queensland University of Tech- by the Obama presidency. Phan, from Calamvale, nology has produced a road pleaded guilty to unlaw- safety manual for the state’s April 18 fully supplying a relevant taxi owners and operators. April 10 Vauxhall in massive substance, 1kg of ephedrine Developed by the Centre at Ripley to be used in the Perth dealer legend for Accident Research and dealer cull The Vauxhall brand, alongside Road Safety – Queensland Continued on page 13

12 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 DIARYTALK

Continued from page 12 RACT the most The commission’s findings vehicle drivers commission of a drug of- could impact in New Zealand, fence between August 22, satisfying general with all of its major banks be- overrepresented in 2013 and September 23 2014; insurer ing Australian-owned. truck crashes and two charges of supplying The Royal Automobile Club of The majority of road crashes Schedule 1 dangerous drugs- Tasmania has been named the Dealer association involving heavy vehicles on methamphetamine at Ripley most satisfying general insur- urges caution Australian roads are caused in August 2014 and Septem- ance brand in Australia. by anxious young light vehicle ber 2014. RACT outdid Defence opening import drivers, new industry research Phan’s barrister Craig Service Homes Insurance, floodgates reveals. Eberhardt says the used car AMP, Elders, Shannons, RAA The Australian Automotive Some 80-90% of all truck business went bankrupt after (South Australia), Bupa and Dealer Association says sena- and heavy vehicle crashes are devastating 2011, 2015 and RAC (Western Australia), tor David Leyonhjelm needs caused by passenger vehicles 2017 floods, which caused his with 93.5% of their respec- to remain focused on lower- according to the Australian business to collapse. tive customers “very or fairly ing crippling new car taxes, Trucking Association (ATA), satisfied”. and not allowing counterpro- and one in four occupants in Syrian conflict could This is the third consecu- ductive used imports. crashes involving trucks are starve fuel supply tive Customer Satisfaction Leyonhjelm’s Austral- 26 or younger. Liberal senator Jim Molan Award RACT has won, ac- ian Financial Review article The Trucking Australia con- continues to warn Australia cording to research company last week shows unwavering ference in Canberra last week that its fuel energy reserves Roy Morgan. support for the removal of has highlighted the immensely remain at a troublesome 43 vehicle tariffs and Luxury Car destructive consequences days of supply. Tow truck driver Tax (LCT) from new cars to not for families affected by the The conflict in Syria has praised for selfless only raise the national fleet national road toll which saw seen oil prices increased to age, but also make it safer, less over 1200 people killed in the quick-thinking pollutant and more affordable. last year to March 2018. a near three-year high of North Coast Towing driver However, the AADA opposes roughly $66.75 per barrel, Deon Atkins has been recog- the Leyonhjelm’s views on Isuzu dealers play according to CommSec, with nised by the transport industry opening up late-model used our energy security reliant on for rushing to help a car crash major role in D-Max vehicle imports, similar to New 91% of oil coming from the victim. Zealand’s policy implemented revisions Middle East. He received the Bandag Isuzu Ute’s 138 dealers have in the 1980s which drove down According to the former Highway Guardian Award played a crucial role in the re- the price of new cars. Australian Army major general from the Australian Truck- vised D-Max and MU-X range. reported by NewsCorp and ing Assocaiton after saving a The refreshed range will The New Daily, Australia only 58-year-old woman driving continue to sell strongly has fuel stock to last three an Astra, which was crashed April 24 against rivals like Toyota weeks, despite being a mem- into by a Nissan Navara tow- Automotive thanks to “constant” and ber of the International Energy ing an empty horse float in “substantial” feedback from Agency which mandates the January. marketing gets a customers relayed through equivalent of 90 days’ reserves. Atkins, a former fire- shake-up Isuzu Ute’s dealer network. fighter and trained in first aid, Carmakers are ramping up Isuzu Ute Australia tells reached through the broken their advertising efforts in AutoTalk the “no-frills” D-Max April 23 window, immediately clearing what is typically one of the and MU-X has received sev- the unconscious woman’s slowest months for new car eral plush revisions as a result Eastern Honda wins airway, while giving informa- sales. of direct customer and dealer top Dream award tion to triple-zero operators Several brands have feedback which asked for Eastern Honda in Melbourne’s relayed through a bystander pushed new advertising increased comfort and towing Doncaster dealer strip has on the phone. into the media in the last enhancements. won the manufacturer’s few weeks, including the National Dealer of the Year NZ carefully Mercedes-Benz X-Class, Ford Ex-AHG boss takes award. watching Australian Ranger FX4 and the Holden major stake in WA The inaugural Honda financial inquiry Colorado utes. Audi dealership National Dream Awards pro- New Zealand regulators are Some brands like Ford, Former Automotive Holdings gramme recognised the deal- keeping a close eye on the Holden and Volkswagen have Group boss Bronte Howson ership owned by the Jowett outcome of an inquiry into been shuffling their advertis- has taken a majority stake in Motor Group and managing Australia’s banking and finan- ing accounts or opening them Western Australia’s sole Audi director Tony Jowett. cial services industries. up, as every dollar spent be- dealership. The dealership opened The Royal Commission comes increasingly important The deal follows Howson in 2001 and was awarded into Misconduct in the Bank- to get cut-through. finishing a non-compete Honda’s national dealer of the ing, Superannuation and period after ending 17 years year award in 2005, and has a Financial Services Industry is as AHG’s managing director, sister Yarra Honda dealership looking into issues across the April 26 The West Australian reports. in Collingwood. sectors including car finance and insurance. Young light Continued on page 14

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 13 DIARYTALK

Continued from page 13 Concept”, or NRC. Ford Australia Fiesta, Focus and EcoSport Nissan to expand The new concept aims PowerShift transmission to improve all aspects of slammed for failures. dealership concept the customer experience at PowerShift conduct The six-speed dual-clutch worldwide Nissan dealerships, including Ford Australia has been hit automatics in more than Nissan has announced plans facility design, service process with the maximum penalty 75,000 cars were widely to encourage all of its 9,000 and digital environment. More under Australian Consumer complained about for noise, dealers worldwide to shift to a than 400 dealerships in 30 Law for its handling of the shuddering, jerking and shut- new look and retail system. countries have already made PowerShift transmission fault. ting down completely. All Nissan-brand dealer- the change. Ford must pay A$10 mil- ships will be encouraged to lion for “unconscionable align with the “Nissan Retail conduct” in handling 10,500 April 27 customer complaints about

THE DIARY AutoTalk’s group editor Japan heat Major opportunities exist for Scott Morgan looks at the month Taiwanese companies in the treatment system gone by on AutoTalk.co.nz New Zealand auto aftermarket. operational This is the opinion of Da- JEVIC’s heat treatment system The dealership picked up vid Vinsen, CEO of VIA who to kill bugs in vehicles and April 4 the Provenance Dealer of the is leading a delegation of 12 machinery is operational in Year Award, which recognised NZ companies to the annual Japan and has been approved Compulsory recall impressive sales of the brand’s Taipei AutoTronics exhibition by the New Zealand Ministry of for Takata airbags used approved vehicles. this week. Primary Industries (MPI). “The purpose of imple- More than 50,000 vehicles menting the heat treatment with faulty alpha-type Takata chamber is to treat vehicles airbags are being recalled by April 10 April 16 in Japan found with live in- the Government. sects,” JEVIC NZ chief execu- And that could be fol- Holden NZ boss EV selection set to tive Euan Philpot says. lowed by another 257,000 recalled to Australia soar vehicles, consumer affair Holden New Zealand manag- New electric vehicles will hit minister Kris Faafoi says. ing director Kristian Aquilina the market at a rapid pace over has been called home to take the next two years, non-profit April 26 over the brand’s Australian group Drive Electric says. Nissan to expand April 5 marketing efforts. That is because the push The brand is reeling across towards electrifying the dealership concept Top awards for Rolls the Tasman after March sales world’s vehicle fleet is gather- worldwide Royce Auckland results that were the worst ing momentum, with many Nissan has announced plans countries setting deadlines of Rolls Royce Motor Cars Auck- it has experienced since it to encourage all of its 9000 between 2030 and 2040 to land managing director Ian began selling cars in 1948. dealers worldwide to shift to a end the sale of new internal Gibson had to buy an extra new look and retail system. combustion engine (ICE) cars. luggage bag after his dealer- All Nissan-brand dealerships ship won two trophies at the April 13 will be encouraged to align brand’s Global Dealer Awards with the “Nissan Retail Con- in London. Taiwanese firms eye April 19 cept”, or NRC. NZ aftermarket

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14 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 PEOPLEEVTALKTALK EVTALK.COM.AU

Remove taxes on new vehicles ...and keep the door closed to used imports enator David Leyonhjelm recently etal benefits as they are safer, more to the Competition Policy Review and weighed into the debate on motor- environmentally friendly and more fuel decided not to allow for the widespread Sing affordability on the opinion efficient. importation of second-hand cars. pages of the Australian Financial Review Improving road safety, reducing The Government’s justification cited with an article; “Cars are a top tax grab vehicle emissions and bringing down two factors - concerns over consumer for government”. energy costs for consumers are all protection and community safety. While Senator Leyonhjelm made a Government priorities and making On consumer protection, an ACCC number of compelling arguments on new vehicles more affordable will as- report into new car retailing released in the inadequacies of the taxation regime sist in achieving these goals. December 2017 found that consum- on new passenger vehicles, he misses Renewal of Australia’s vehicle fleet is ers struggle to enforce their Australian the mark in calling for an opening of the Consumer Law rights in relation to cars floodgates for used car imports as part of they have purchased. It’s unclear how al- the solution. David Blackhall, lowing second-hand cars with no prov- When the Federal Budget is handed AADA chief enance would improve this situation. down next month, it will likely show executive On community safety, Australia more than $1.1 billion of revenue raised should be striving for newer vehicles from two taxes on new vehicles - the on our roads, not more second-hand passenger vehicle tariff and the luxury a worthy pursuit, a point recently made vehicles, and one need only look at the car tax. by ANCAP, Australia’s leading vehicle current Takata airbag recall to grasp the The absurdity of these taxes has been safety advocate, in its recommendation importance of vehicle regulators having laid bare by a number of independent to a national road safety inquiry. detailed knowledge of the origins of Government reviews, such as the Henry ANCAP urged the Government to vehicles entering the Australian market. Review and the Productivity Commission. “Review options to encourage fleet Senator Leyonhjelm is also off the It is telling that consumer groups renewal including a review of Austral- mark in stating that the Government and the automotive industry are singing ian Government tariffs and charges to is now threatening to make used from the same song sheet in calling for reduce the cost of new vehicles”. car import arrangements even more the abolition of these taxes. While we are at one with Senator restrictive. In October 2017, the last locally Leyonhjelm on the need to reduce tax- What the Government is doing is manufactured vehicle rolled off the pro- es on new cars and bring down the age making changes to the Specialist and duction line and with it disappeared the of the fleet, we simply cannot agree Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme which will rationale for the passenger vehicle tariff. with his proposed solution to allow for deliver a number of benefits for the A tax designed to protect an industry the unrestricted import of used cars. importers and workshops which profit should be removed once that industry The Senator calls the New Zealand from this scheme. ceases to exist. example of allowing second-hand However, the intent of this scheme The luxury car tax is similarly illogical as imports as a “great success”. The aver- is to provide concessions against our demonstrated by the fact that the vehicle age age of New Zealand’s vehicle fleet vehicle standards to allow for vehicles most frequently subject to this tax is the is more than 14 years compared to which are truly specialist and enthusi- Toyota Land Cruiser. Hardly a luxury car. Australia’s which is below 10 years. ast to be brought into Australia. These taxes merely make new cars In terms of road safety, New This scheme was never designed more expensive and discourage motor- Zealand has a rate of road deaths per to allow for the importation of main- ists from trading in their older cars for 100,000 population of 6.94 while in stream used vehicles – both the new cars. Australia its 5.05. Government and the Opposition have This is a shame because the sale The Government no doubt took this made it very clear that they are op- of new cars brings significant soci- into account when it issued its response posed to such a policy.

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 15 NEWSTALK

Auto parts and accessories show is vast

ith 1306 exhibitors and 3707 research and development of not booths, the annual Taipei only aftermarket auto parts, but also WAMPA show is mind-boggling. in original equipment for a number of Several Australian and New Zea- major vehicle manufacturers in Asia, land companies attended the event Japan and the USA. last month in Taiwan - including a The work being done in the Auto- journalist from the Australian Automo- motive Research and Testing Centre tive Aftermarket Magazine, Amanda (ARTC) is especially impressive. ARTC Jackson. develops new concepts to the proto- Covering two vast exhibition cen- type stage then hands the prototype tres, the Taipei show covered not only on to various member companies to parts and accessories, but also elec- develop further and take the finished tric vehicles, automobile electronics, article to market. intelligent transport, motorcycles, car For further info go to http://www. tuning and car care products. artc.org.tw With a population of 25.5 million, Taiwan punches above its weight in Drive-in electric scooter charger.

Demonstrating remote controls

A micro electric car. Demonstrating vehicle lights.

Lights for vehicles of all types.

The impressive opening ceremony. Pimping an off roader.

16 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 NEWSTALK

Eastern Honda stands tall

“Honda I think is also the right brand for the right area, and we get a lot of walk-in customers, which is quite rare these days,” Ghazavi notices. He also observes how other dealers could be falling behind in their self-pro- motion efforts. “We have a marketing team with Jowett Motor Group who obviously don’t just work with Eastern Honda, and their plan and strategy is very accurate - every month we know how much advertising we’re doing, what reach we’re getting,” he says. “We focus on our radio advertising, (L-R) Eastern Honda’s David Shaw (sales consultant), Ali Ghazavi (sales manager), Brett Davies (general we’re always on top of our social media manager), and Tony Jowett (dealer principal). Facebook page, and we’re always watch- around with the Civic and CR-V, espe- ing our Google Reviews too. Continued from page 11 cially this year where the product is so “I know some dealers are suffering from look after them.” strong,” Ghazavi says. not having a proper marketing team.” “That generates more leads and deals “We also have the Odyssey people Ghazavi looks quite proud to be rec- and positive service that people will rec- mover one of the top options in that ognised for his hard work and says work- ommend us for – we very much believe category, even if it’s not the most popular ing with a team that have the same ethic in word-of-mouth advertising,” he admits. category - when they do, we have a really makes for an enjoyable place to work. Ghazavi says anecdotal advertising desirable product there.” “Brett Davies and I have been at East- through friends and family of existing The Odyssey was the second high- ern Honda for about eight months now, customers is the best way to cost-effec- est-selling people mover last month where we were previously at Yarra Honda tively get repeat business while naturally (although a third of Kia Carnival sales), and did a switch with Tony Jowett, and inviting new people into showrooms. and with the reinvigorated Civic Type R both our dealerships made it in the top six “If you do your job brilliantly and pro- now the sporty offering enthusiasts have or seven dealers of the year, which says fessionally you will get third, fourth or fifth wanted for years, plus the HR-V and CR-V something.” leads from one customer. If you’re not family haulers also selling well, and Jazz “Tony also gives us all the right tools giving them the best experience possible, the third most popular light passenger and opportunities, and we’ll keep trying to it only takes one bad piece of news or car, Honda seems to be coming back make him proud.” experience, their friends or family will go from its Global Financial Crisis hardships. somewhere else.” “We’re proud to say we’re very good at word-of-mouth recommendation and we maintain it by having the right people and the right product.” Competing with the likes of Volk- swagen and Subaru, both with vehicles continuously nipping at the top 10 model sales month after month, Ghazavi says Honda’s new generation are good options especially against the XV and Impreza, and more expensive Tiguan. “We have Volvo across the road which doesn’t affect us too much, but Subaru is next door who are our main competi- tion, and Volkswagen next door too. And then there’s Hyundai and Holden, Audi and Mercedes now at the top of the hill (Doncaster East).” “I think Honda has come a long way and managed to turn their market

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 17 NEWSTALK STATSTALK

Small SUVs won’t be stopped in flat April

mall SUVs continue to chase down On the bright side, new homes were Top 10 Brands their medium-sized SUV counterparts found for 10,133 small SUVs last month. Sin dealerships across the country as Mitsubishi’s ASX continues to be the April sales stumble. seemingly unstoppable force, selling 1706 April has seen a massive increase in small cars for first place, over three times that of SUV popularity, jumping 33.3% in sales stablemate the new Eclipse Cross. compared with 2017 efforts, more than Lagging behind in second is the Mazda double the 12.8% improvement of medium CX-3 on 1172 units sold, and the Subaru SUVs this month compared to last year. XV third on 1139 sales assisting the brand’s While medium SUVs continue to carry 40th consecutive month of growth. the title of volume champion for April Hyundai’s new Kona has some work to do 2018 with 14,520 sales, a nose ahead by in fourth with 918 sales struggling to crack 61 units over small passenger cars, small four figures in the sub-$40,000 segment. SUVs showed the single biggest monthly In the luxury section, the top spot goes 1. Toyota 69,112 improvement. In spite of having an extra Monday to make sales, dealerships will be feeling a 0.2% slump over last year’s figures, accord- ing to VFACTS sales data, based on registra- tions, and supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). April saw only 82,930 new vehicle sales, a drop of 205 cars compared with April 2017’s efforts of 83,135. Nonetheless, Toyota has seized an Mercedes GLA wins for premium small SUVs. opportunity, getting four cars into the top to the Mercedes-Benz GLA on 297 sales – 2. Mazda 37,472 10 – Hilux in first (3596 sales), Corolla in better than cheaper rivals in Suzuki’s Vitara second (2979 sales), LandCruiser in fifth on 279, Jeep Compass on 113 and the up- (2,018 sales), and the new Prado made 10th start MG ZS which sold an impressive 112 selling 1699 cars. cars based on registrations. Filling the gaps were third-place Ranger Silver-earning BMW X1 sold 218 cars (2796 sales), fourth-placed Mazda 3 (2261 in the premium pack, while the Audi Q3 sales), sixth and seventh-placed Hyundai managed 177 units for April – a 50% slump i30 and Tuscon with 1903 and 1816 sales compared with its 2017 year-to-date efforts respectively, plus Mazda CX-5 in eighth with and 36.8% down on April 2017’s sales. 1725 sales and Mitsubishi ASX on 1706 sales. FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says Half our states and territories failed to despite April living up to the trend of one of see an April 2018 improvement over April the slowest sales months on the calendar, 3. Hyundai 30,700 2017, which contributed to that 0.2% drop. the industry is “tracking strongly”. Western Australia was best improved, up “The market dynamic has changed 7.3%, South Australia didn’t give up for a with the growth of SUVs but brands have 3.5% margin over last year, Victoria cut it adapted quickly to that change and the fine with a 2.1% gain, while Queensland new products coming into those growth rallied itself for a 1.9% hike. segments clearly have strong consumer New South Wales would argue it’s hard appeal,” Weber says in a statement. to improve when you’re at the top, drop- “There’s good reason to be confident ping 5.5% over last year’s April tally, the about how sales nationally are tracking Northern Territory bit the dust 2.7%, while given we are a third of the way through the Tassie fared similarly on a 2.1% drop and the calendar year. 4. Mitsubishi 26,723 ACT fell 1.8%.

18 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 Top 10 Brands continued NEWSTALK

5. Ford 23,213 Adopt or adapt?

t’s an interesting thing, the elec- P100D down the Hume makes you feel trification of the automobile. The alive like nothing else can. Idreamy utopia of emission-free, Despite making it to IKEA with so much clear-conscious motoring versus the ro- down-hill charging, there was ample to get mantic glory and ancestral enchantment home, this is not how the future of motor- of crackling exhausts in the concrete ing should be. I don’t care how much car jungle, or pounding pistons on a lost companies and EV advocates say it’s going 6. Holden 20,100 highway. to happen, the fact is nobody wants to buy Then BMW throws the i3s into the one having to think about this issue. mix, promising to pull the pants down And when there’s an emergency or of muscle cars and heart-pumping an urgency to get going that can’t wait iron-maidens and deliver us to a for your EV to finish charging – my squeaky-clean tomorrow. 10amp socket at home took 15.5 hours to For the first 200km of range, the i3s completely recharge after that IKEA stunt. gives anybody willing to pay for it, exactly There’s no recycled dashboard or carbon the driving pleasure they expect of a BMW. fibre chassis that offsets this problem. And it’s a brilliant device for what (probably) This isn’t on BMW to fix these problems 90% of metropolitan drivers are going to either. Our governments, developers, ar- do. That’s a fact. chitects, landscapers and visionaries need 7. Nissan 18,789 It drives like a slot car only without to do their part when it comes to splashing crashing across the lounge room floor for out money on projects. the dog to chew. You’ll find it’s a cinch to My electrician can install a powerpoint park thanks to side cameras and the tight- in less than 10 minutes. It’s fair to say the est rear-end than any Hollywood starlet hundreds of multi-million dollar budgets can boast. And you’ll easily fit all the shop- can afford to include charging stations in ping you’re realistically likely to buy. every IKEA, Wilson Security multi-story, Electric cars have an uncanny ability to and McDonald’s. turn the regular frustrating commute into I wanted to love the i3s and I do. It’s a something either end of regular internal very clever piece of design, it’s a spritely, combustion travel. It’s either relaxing, hilarious and wonderous thing to point soothing even. Or you squeeze the throttle at an apex like you’re 10 years old fang- 8. Kia 18,781 like the trigger on your Scalextric control ing around on a push bike. And 200km and you’re propelled down the road and is genuinely better range than it sounds. around the bend like the most agile of hot There should be more sold than the 48 hatches or sports cars – anybody a fan of VFACTS suggests sold this year. BMW’s Z-cars knows what I mean. But when I take my 70k EV to the Don- Then there’s the immediacy of only caster Westfield charging station inside the have a single reduction gear which acts as valet carpark, it’s completely unacceptable an instant brake when you ease off. to find the round male plug doesn’t fit the Rather than coasting and wasting all squared-off female receiver on the car. that precious energy, you brake sooner Mark Twain once famously wrote of which means no more panicking when you having to change trains in the frosty night need to find the fat pedal in a hurry. Instead as he crossed from NSW into Victoria at 9. Honda 18,146 energy is trickled back into the battery. Albury/Wodonga because of States’ differ- This means we successfully made it ing track gauges in the late 1800s: “Imagine from Olinda up in the Dandenongs down the paralysis of intellect that gave that idea to IKEA in Springvale and back to Don- birth.” caster, typically a 53km trip, despite only Ergonomics. It’s the difference be- having 30-something on the LCD display tween “clever’ and ‘genius”. The Model when we left. This is not the first time I’ve S is genius. And I see far more pricier deliberately tried to evoke “range anxi- Teslas on the road than i3. ety” in an EV; skipping Superchargers in a I know BMW can do better than this.

AUTOTALK.COM.AU10. Volkswagen | MAY 201817 | 19,705 STATSTALK

Top Sports car over-$80K

2018 sales in April 1. Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cpe/Conv Top 10 Large SUVs, sub-$70k 137

1. Toyota Prado 2. Mercedes-Benz 1,699 E-Class Cpe/Conv 62

2. Toyota Kluger 3. Audi A5 1,063 53

3. BMW 4 Series 3. Subaru Outback Coupe/Conv 862 53

4. Isuzu Ute MU-X 4. Lexus RC 557 30

5. Hyundai Santa Fe 5. Porsche Cayman 520 20

6. Mazda CX-9 6. Audi TT 493 14

7. Jeep Grand 7. Mercedes-Benz Cherokee SLC-Class 404 15

7. Kia Sorento 8. Lexus LC 404 11

8. Nissan Pathfinder 9. Porsche Boxster 336 10

9. Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 10. Infiniti Q60 332 5

10. Holden Captiva 10. Jaguar F-Type 521 5

20 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 AUSTRALIA’S NEWS SOURCE FOR ELECTRIC, INTELLIGENT AND AUTONOMOUS TRANSPORTATION

Great (electric) Air Race 2019

Great Air Race for electric aircraft Shiers and Jim Bennett, in a Vickers friendly flight. next year will celebrate 100 years Vimy G-EAOU which took off from The electric aircraft will have their Asince the first challenge to race West London and arrived at Fannie Bay batteries charged using renewable en- aircraft from Britain to Australia. in the Northern Territory on November ergy sources such as solar and wind, or Before 1919, no aircraft had crossed 12, 1919, taking 29 days. by hydrogen fuel cells - also produced the world. That helped spur the formation by renewable energy. In that year the Australian Govern- of Qantas by Hudson Fysh and Paul University of NSW emeritus professor ment invited leading aviators to fly from McGinness in 1920. of physics John Storey hopes the race Britain to Australia in under 30 days for a Challenges for the 2019 Great Air will encourage innovation in battery 10,000-pound winner’s purse. Race will be similar in that the test technology, Australian Aviation reports. Six teams entered – three crashed, will be whether electric aircraft can “The heart of the problem is to store two of them fatally, while a fourth team complete the same route in 30 days. enough energy in the batteries with- was jailed in Yugoslavia. Two teams Most passenger aircraft can do the trip out making the aircraft weigh like an made it. in 24 hours. elephant,” Storey says. The winning pilots were Ross and Another key aim is to showcase Visit greatairrace.com.au for more Keith Smith, plus mechanics Wally low emission, more environmentally information. EV uptake forecast doubled: AEMO lectric vehicles could make up Under the “strong” scenario, AEMO 30,000gWh suggests that AEMO is now half of Australia’s car fleet within was predicting 15,000gWh of consump- expecting 10 million EVs on the road by E20 years. tion from the grid from EVs just six 2037 – an average of 500,000 a year That’s the reasoning from the Austral- months ago. Now it is looking at nearly between now and then. That would rep- ian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) 30,000gWh. resent more than half the current fleet of which has effectively doubled its forecast That’s about 15% of total demand on 18.8 million vehicles. uptake for EVs here. the Australia grid, and to extrapolate The Beyond Zero Emissions Group A graph included in a presentation the significance of that number from repeated at the Smart Energy Confer- made to a key working recently high- previous predictions, it could mean that ence its forecast that the sector could lights the difference between forecasts AEMO is expecting half the cars on the go 100% EVs by 2030, once the transi- made at the time of AEMO’s annual Elec- road in 2037 will be electric. tion point on purchasing price had been tricity Statement of Opportunities last A report prepared by energy consul- passed, possibly within a few years. September, and its update last month, tancy Energeia last September put the RenewEconomy.com.au reports. AEMO’s neutral scenario at the equiva- The changes are reflected across lent of 7200gWh, which represented all three scenarios – weak, neutral 2.56 million EVs, or 13.2% vehicles. and strong. This latest update of nearly

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 21 EVTALK EVTALK.COM.AU

ACT to act on EVs

n ACT action air and noise pollution, have lower The NRMA last year put $10 million plan for mov- running costs, don’t incur stamp duty toward construction of a fast-charging Aing to zero and receive a 20% discount on registra- network along highways in the ACT emissions vehicles tion fees. Electric bikes also help make and NSW. has been released. it easier and cheaper for people to get NRMA local director Kate Lundy The Transition around our city while getting exercise at says the ACT’s plan should be standard to Zero Emissions the same time,” she says. across Australia, The Canberra Times Vehicles Action Plan “By 2020 the ACT will be powered reports. Megan Fitzharris. 2018-2021 includes by 100% renewable electricity, mean- “There is a global transition towards this incentives for using ing our biggest source of greenhouse technology and Australia is not immune. electric bikes and aims to have half of gas emissions – at over 60% – will “However, until now governments newly leased ACT Government fleet pas- come from transport. have failed to grasp the significance senger vehicles zero emissions by 2019- “We’re undertaking a trial of two of these changes and properly pre- 20 – with all zero emissions by 2020-21 battery electric buses and a hybrid bus pare Australia so that we can reap the (where fit for purpose). running on diesel, we have an e-bike economic, environmental and societal Electric vehicles and hybrids will be fleet for ACT public servants to use and benefits of an electric vehicle future.” allowed in transit lanes from later this we’re facilitating installation of charging A NRMA report found growth in the year until 2023, and all new multi-unit points across the city.” electric car market could add about and mixed-use developments in Can- Power company ActewAGL is also $3 billion to Australia’s GDP and create berra must install charging stations. installing two EV charging stations at more than 13,000 jobs by 2030. ACT transport minister Meegan Fitzhar- Cooma and Jindabyne. The power The Electric Vehicle Council of Aus- ris, who shared the announcement with company has 11 across the ACT, where tralia, which first launched in the ACT, climate change and sustainability minister under 300 EVs are registered. has also backed the scheme. Shane Rattenbury, says EV ownership in Chief executive Michael Costello Visit www.environment.act.gov.au for Canberra already has many benefits. says one of the main drivers behind EV more information. “Zero emissions vehicles cause less take-up is access to public stations. Tesla Model S recall

A potential steering rack issue has led to the Tesla Model S recall. motor to the gear housing may corrode and weaken,” the announcement on Product Safety Australia’s website says. “If these bolts fracture, the power steering gear assist motor may move, causing the transmission belt to slip and resulting in reduced or lost power steering assist.” Losing power steering assist would need greater steering effort, especially at lower speeds, potentially increasing the risk of an accident. recall has been placed on some 2012, and April 9, 2016. Parts to fix the problem should be Tesla Model S electric vehicles due “In some Model S vehicles when available by mid-2018, with Tesla set to Ato a potential steering rack issue. exposed to long-term, high-corrosion notify vehicle owners by mail request- It affects vehicles produced with environments, the aluminium bolts that ing them to make contact to schedule a Bosch steering racks between May 31, attach the power steering gear assist free repair.

22 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 EVTALK EVTALK EVTALK.COM.AU EVTALK.COM.AU

Mevo is on the move Mevo’s Erik Zydervelt, left, and Finn Lawrence.

ew Zealand electric car-sharing alternative to personal car ownership for can drive a new luxury electric car start-up Mevo is expanding into both urban residents and businesses. The without having to worry about parking, NAustralia. pair combined their talents to start Mevo. getting a warrant and registration, de- It’s not only increasing the number “Cars are a huge cost for businesses preciation and the other costs involved of EVs in its Audi A3 e-tron fleet, but and individuals,” Zydervelt says. in owning your own car. They don’t has set its sights on moving into five Carbon reduction is also a benefit. have to clean it either. cities across New Zealand and Australia Mevo offsets its “lifecycle” carbon emis- He says private car ownership within five years. sions from the vehicle manufacturing involves just having a car sit around for Founding director and chief ex- process, energy generation, and the small much of the time. ecutive officer Erik Zydervelt plans to amount of fuel used in its plug-hybrids by Eventually, Zydervelt hopes to see grow Mevo’s fleet to 50 EVs by the end 120%. Every car share takes about seven the fleet move into self-driving EVs, of the year, and 2000 within the five- to 11 private vehicles off the road, he says. when appropriate. year time frame. “We believe that business should be So how does Mevo work? “We’re on track,” he says. regenerative and also buy carbon credits Mevo membership starts at NZ$50 “In our first full year, we grew the fleet from Ekos’s project in the South Island.” annually. five-fold, starting with three cars and Mevo has received backing from sev- Using a smartphone app, members growing to 15.” eral quarters. can book, lock and unlock a Mevo EV and Conversations with stakeholders in The Wellington City Council, for drive the car from designated “pods”, usu- Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are con- instance, has allowed Mevo to use central ally with a charging station. tinuing apace, and Mevo hopes to soon business district car parks (mostly now Three tiers of membership are avail- establish in both Lower Hutt and Auck- allocated) and in the suburbs, many of able, for those intending to use a Mevo land in New Zealand where it is already which are combined with EV charging. car a few times a year to those who based in Wellington. Z Energy has invested $250,000 in use it weekly. Mevo – a play on the word “move” Mevo and The Energy Efficiency and Hourly rates vary between NZ$11 – was founded in December 2016 by Conservation Authority (EECA) has pro- and NZ$23, depending on the mem- Nelson New Zealand raised friends Zy- vided two matched grants through its low bership plan. dervelt and Finn Lawrence. emission vehicles contestable fund. One Electricity, any fuel needed for Zydervelt trained as an “urbanist” – a EECA grant of up to $500,000 provides longer trips, maintenance, insurance specialist in researching city systems. He for a fleet of 50 electric cars and 64 kerb- and mileage (up to 200km daily) are worked in urban research and systems side chargers to go with Mevo “pods” or all included in the price. before moving into corporate strategy. customer pick-up points. Most trips require the driver to bring the Lawrence studied mechatronics, That support helps show mobility-as- car back to the “pod” it was taken from. which combines electronics and me- a-service (MaaS) is quickly gaining support But Mevo is trialling a one-way service chanical engineering, and had worked in in cities worldwide. between central Wellington and the air- start-ups and business. “Car sharing services are growing in port, for example. One day, swapping travel stories, they popularity because they are cheaper As the service grows, other A to B found themselves on the topic of car than owning a vehicle and electrics points are likely to be introduced. sharing, which they had both seen work offer the other benefit of a green, low And with car sharing gaining popularity well abroad. emissions choice. it looks as if Mevo is in the driver’s seat. They saw an opportunity for electric “One member told us he spends less Visit www.mevo.co.nz for more infor- car sharing to create a more sustain- on a Mevo than he used to spend on mation. able, environmentally friendly transport parking alone,” Zydervelt says. network for Wellington, and offer an Zydervelt continues that members

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 23 EVTALK EVTALK EVTALK.COM.AU EVTALK.COM.AU

Emission-free hydrogen forklifts here Hyster-Yale has a hydrogen fuel cell forklift in partnership with Hyundai Australia.

ustralian warehouse and logis- The Hyster hydrogen forklifts will be Hydrogen Mobility Australia chief tics operators will soon be able available to committed customers who executive Claire Johnson says unveiling Ato shift, lift, rack and stack every are prepared to invest in hydrogen refuel- the new hydrogen-powered forklift is pallet in their yard without emitting ling infrastructure, with cost benefits to be another milestone toward the wide- a single gram of carbon dioxide or recouped by on-site production. spread adoption of zero-emission fuel monoxide. Big-brand international companies cell transport. Hyster-Yale in partnership with Hyun- Amazon, Walmart, Coca-Cola, Proctor & “There is something much bigger at dai Australia have developed a hydrogen Gamble and Ikea have begun integrating play here than simply selling product or fuel cell forklift for the Australian market, hydrogen fuel cell forklifts into their logis- equipment, the environment for future which is already populating numer- tics operations as they commit to a clean- generations is at stake and hydrogen can ous large-scale logistics operations like er footprint and take advantage of savings play an important role in mitigating this,” Amazon, Ikea and Walmart. to be made throughout the lifecycle. she says. Walmart invested in 1700 of the hydro- “This is one of the reasons for the gen forklifts in 2014 on top of 535 already establishment of Hydrogen Mobility procured, totalling 2235 vehicles in oper- Australia, to facilitate these collaborative ation. Eleven of Amazon’s US warehouses opportunities between our members, also now use a hydrogen forklift. broader industry and governments to In August last year, Victorian environ- advance the sector and address our en- ment minster Lily D’Ambrosio committed vironmental challenges by integrating the a $1 million support package to Moreland most abundant element in the universe City Council to develop its own on-site into the energy mix.” hydrogen refuelling and production facil- Hydrogen Mobility Australia is only ity using solar and wind-powered elec- months old and is the result of a joint trolysis to produce hydrogen to power its venture between fuel cell manufacturers fleet of fuel cell garbage trucks in the next Toyota Australia and Hyundai Australia, two years. which also has Siemens, BP Australia, Viva Refuelling a Hyster fuel cell forklift takes a few When compressed, hydrogen has Energy, Caltex, Coregas, ITM Power and minutes. greater energy density than conventional Woodside as members. Hyster is now the 11th member or- battery technology and ganisation of Hydrogen Mobility Australia, can be used for power for a joining of companies committed to the multiple levels of the exist- proliferation of hydrogen fuel cell tech- ing economy, according to nology as the viable, clean and sustain- HMA. It can also be stored able alternative to fossil fuels. and transported, often at The announcement comes just two around 700bar, takes 3-5 weeks after energy provider AGL an- minutes to refuel a conven- nounced it would work with Kawasaki tional fuel cell vehicle like Heavy Industries in hosting a $500 million the Toyota Mirai or Hyundai liquid hydrogen production facility. Nexo SUV, and is just as safe The hydrogen plant would be a direct – if not, safer – to use than redevelopment of the old brown coal conventional petroleum-

Loy Yang power station A in the Latrobe based fossil fuels like petrol, A Hyster fuel cell forklift demonstration at Hyundai, Macquarie Valley. diesel and LPG. Park, Sydney.

24 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 EVTALK EVTALK.COM.AU

EV TALK DIARY plans to grow Mevo’s fleet to 400,000 homes at one time, 50 EVs by the end of the year, while also placing second EVtalk Australia editor Geoff and 2000 within the five-year globally for energy capacity Dobson looks at the month gone time frame. (MWh). by on www.evtalk.com.au That should assist with Great (electric) Air electric vehicle uptake. Race 2019 Australians are more cautious EVS for mining worth April 3 about driverless cars than peo- A Great Air Race for electric ple in many other countries. US$9 billion in 10 aircraft next year will celebrate EV advances in That’s according to a new years 100 years since the first chal- poll showing one in six would range, price and lenge to race aircraft from never use one. Electric vehicles for mining Britain to Australia. charging An Ipsos survey covering will be a US$9 billion market Before 1919, no aircraft 28 countries found Austral- in 2028. had crossed the world. Electric vehicles used to have ians were less optimistic than Atlas Copco, Sandvik, BYD, In that year the Australian a set of different challenges for the international average Komatsu and Caterpillar are Government invited leading broad adoption by the public. about the perceived benefits among companies develop- aviators to fly from Britain to One of them was electric of driverless cars, The Sydney ing pure electric equipment Australia in under 30 days for a vehicle range, which trans- Morning Herald reports. lines to suit that purpose lates to what is known as 10,000-pound winner’s purse. As mines age and opera- range anxiety, this is the fear tions continue to extract low- of getting stranded with no April 11 April 13 er ore grades at deeper levels, battery juice in the middle of a focal shift to increased your trip. The second one is Global recognition Global giant to build productivity, efficiency and price and resale value. Finally, for Australian EV improved safety continues. the availability and conveni- solar farm Ventilation for diesel mobile ence of charging stations. battery repurposer equipment fleets becomes a Electric vehicle range is Global energy giant Accio- greater challenge, in addition Australian company Relectrify improving every year and the na Energy has been selected to emission particulate and has been recognised globally future promises even further to transform 1250 hectares of safety regulations tightening for repurposing old EV batter- improvement. Today non-pre- under-utilised state-owned in some jurisdictions. mium electric cars can achieve ies for household power. land at Aldoga near Gladstone, 400km in standard test condi- It was the only Australian Queensland, into a solar en- tions and at least 300km in company recognised as one ergy project. April 17 normal use conditions, like the of the top 15 global start-ups The signing of the agree- Renault Zoe ZE40. by energy technology accel- ment for lease signals the ACE plans electric erator Free Electrons, a group start of a project that will car making in linking utility companies with generate renewable energy April 6 new energy tech businesses, and boost the local economy, Australia The Sydney Morning Herald minister for state devel- Tesla limos do a reports. opment, manufacturing, ACE aims to release its first million kilometres Relectrify, based in Cre- infrastructure and planning Australian-made electric car morne, Victoria, evolved from Cameron Dick says. by the third quarter of the year. Two models are in the An Australian limousine service the University of Melbourne’s It could also aid electric pipeline - a ute dubbed the has become the first to record research arm and competed vehicle uptake. Yewt, and a cargo van. more than a million kilometres against more than 500 com- Australia has only about with a fleet of Tesla vehicles. panies from 65 countries in 4000 electric cars on the Starting with a Tesla sedan the programme. April 16 roads, and ACE would be the in 2015, Evoke now has eight first Australian-made battery- EVs which have done the Australia leads world April 12 powered car makers manufac- equivalent of more than 25 in energy storage turing in Australia. laps around the Earth. Mevo is on the move “A lot of people had miscon- Australia is leading the world ceptions about electric vehicles in energy storage, having New Zealand electric car-shar- April 19 … they were worried about installed the most storage ing start-up Mevo is expanding range and if they could book technology in the world dur- into Australia. ACT to act on EVs a long-distance trip with us,” ing 2017. It’s not only increasing says Pia Peterson, who left the Greentech Media’s Global the number of EVs in its Audi An ACT action plan for moving banking sector in 2015 to start Energy Storage: 2017 Year in A3 e-tron fleet, but has set to zero emissions vehicles has Evoke, news.com.au reports. Review and 2018-22 Outlook its sights on moving into five been released. shows Australia installed 246 cities across New Zealand and The Transition to Zero Aussies cautious megaWatts (mW) of en- Australia within five years. Emissions Vehicles Action ergy storage power capac- about autonomous Founding director and chief Plan 2018-2021 includes ity, enough to power almost vehicles executive officer Erik Zydervelt Continued on page 26

AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018 | 25 EVTALK EVTALK.COM.AU

Continued from page 25 officer Damien Meredith says, closer to fruition. developed a hydrogen fuel incentives for using electric news.com.au reports. The Imperium3 consortium cell forklift for the Austral- bikes and aims to have half Kia’s strategy contrasts with behind the proposed battery ian market, which is already of newly leased ACT Govern- sister brand Hyundai which is plant has brought global tech populating numerous large- ment fleet passenger vehicles providing its Ioniq in hybrid, giant Siemens in on its plans, scale logistics operations like zero emissions by 2019-20 plug-in hybrid and electric car RenewEconomy reports. Amazon, IKEA and Walmart. – with all zero emissions variants this year. An electric The Australian reports Hyster is now the 11th by 2020-21 (where fit for version of the Kona SUV will Siemens has signed a letter of member organisation of purpose). follow early in 2019. intent with Boston Energy and Hydrogen Mobility Australia, a Electric vehicles and hybrids Innovation, a company led by joining of companies com- will be allowed in transit lanes EV uptake forecast former Macquarie Bank senior mitted to the proliferation of from later this year until 2023, doubled: AEMO executive Bill Moss, alongside hydrogen fuel cell technol- and all new multi-unit and Eastman Kodak, Australian ogy as the viable, clean and mixed-use developments in Electric vehicles could make graphite producer Magnis Re- sustainable alternative to fossil Canberra must install charging up half of Australia’s car fleet sources, and US battery outfit fuels. stations. within 20 years. C4V and C&D Assembly. That’s the reasoning from the Australian Energy Market April 26 April 20 Operator (AEMO) which has April 25 effectively doubled its fore- Tesla Model S recall Affordable EVs here cast uptake for EVs here. Emission-free announced in three years: Kia hydrogen forklifts arrive A recall has been placed on Kia aims to have a range of April 24 some Tesla Model S electric affordable electric vehicles on Australian warehouse and vehicles due to a potential the Australian market within Townsville ‘giga- logistics operators will soon be steering rack issue. three years. factor’ a step closer able to shift, lift, rack and stack It affects vehicles pro- The company decided every pallet in their yard with- duced with Bosch steering against importing hybrid and A lithium-ion “giga-factory” in out emitting a single gram of racks between May 31, 2012 plug-in hybrid vehicles as an Townsville capable of produc- carbon dioxide or monoxide. and April 9, 2016. interim measure, the com- ing 250,000 electric vehicle Hyster-Yale in partnership pany’s local chief operating batteries annually is a step with Hyundai Australia have

EV TALK DIARY EVtalk New Zealand editor Geoff EVs hit 7233 in March – Dobson looks at the month gone 333 more than the previous NZ driverless vehicle by on www.evtalk.com.nz month. adoption requires law change in north and south April 17 April 3 this year Law changes are needed soon New Zealand to ensure driverless vehicles Men miss the vroom- Challenges to achieve the businesses preparing can be used legally on New vroom Zealand roads, a New Zealand government’s target of 64,000 for EVs electric vehicles (EVs) by 2021 Law Foundation study con- Buying an electric vehicle will be among topics at the cludes. New Zealand businesses are doesn’t seem to do much for upcoming EVworld Confer- Study author Michael increasingly embracing more some men’s macho image. ence. Cameron says a complete sustainable transport options The roar of an internal This year the conference overhaul of law and policy to get their employees from combustion engine (ICE) is is being held twice – first in around driverless vehicles is A to B. apparently more manly than the North Island on August required. Businesses are safeguard- the quiet, powerful serenity 10-11, followed by the South ing their future by adding of an electric engine which Island on November 23-24. Stop war – drive EVs appeals more to women. a small number of electric That was a common opin- vehicles (EVs) to their fleets – Driving an electric vehicle can ion in the latest poll from Flip April 9 preparing for when EVs could help the world avoid war. the Fleet. be the norm, says specialist That’s one unexpected EV numbers vehicle leasing and finance response to a Flip the Fleet company Driveline. continue climbing poll on reasons for people April 4 buying an EV. “Oil played a huge part in Like yeast, electric vehicle EVworld Conference April 19 almost all wars since WW2,” numbers in New Zealand the respondent says. continue to rise.

26 | AUTOTALK.COM.AU | MAY 2018