DVG co-founder steps down
DVG Automotive Group co-founder and chief executive Lou Divirgilio is stepping down as managing director of his family’s dealership business. Japanese owner IDOM president Takayoshi Udagawa will take over from March 1, while Divirgilio remains Read More
DVG Automotive Group co-founder and chief executive Lou Divirgilio is ...
Mercedes X-Class sets ute safety benchmark
Mercedes-Benz is the first manufacturer in Australia to make autonomous emergency braking standard on its entire range of X-Class ute, earning a five-star ANCAP safety rating. Australasian New Car Assessment Program has given the imminent-to-market Read More
Mercedes-Benz is the first manufacturer in Australia to make autonomou ...
Industry News: AutoTalk magazine is available for download now!
Welcome to the first edition of AutoTalk for 2018. Last year was a massive one for Australia’s auto industry, with some of the most contentious issues faced in the last decade boiling over into 2018.
We talk to industry advocates, the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA), Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Australian Automobile Association (AAA) which all agree – it’s time for Luxury Car Tax to be euthanised and consigned to history.
The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) and franchised dealers under the AADA are at loggerheads over the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) new car retail market study final report which enters its next phase. Read the full story »
Welcome to the first edition of AutoTalk for 2018. Last year was a mas ...
Industry News: Big insurers stung for add-on products
Allianz and Suncorp have been penalised by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for selling low-value add-on insurance products in dealerships.
As part of t
he watchdog’s $120 million blitz on vehicle financing, ASIC has handed down the decision forcing a combined return to customers of $63 million.
Suncorp has been slugged by $17.2 million for its add-on premiums sold to 41,428 customers with next-to-zero value, provided through MTA Insurance from 2009 to 2017. Read the full story »
Allianz and Suncorp have been penalised by the Australian Securities a ...
Industry News: Adelaide Holden dealership merger gives a staff lifeline
Peter Page Holden in South Australia has bought across-town Metro Holden’s parts business in a move that will keep 15 staff employed.
Metro Holden was given a month’s notice in early December that it would not have its franchise agreement renewed for 2018, casting shadows over the future of its 15 staff in the lead-up to Christmas.
However, within three days of owner Jack Torcaso and dealer principal Gino Raschella receiving the news, Page Holden dealer principal Paul Page and his general manager brother Luke Page agreed to purchase the business. Read the full story »
Peter Page Holden in South Australia has bought across-town Metro Hold ...
Industry News: Dealer study tour closes soon
The Australian Automotive Dealer Association’s (AADA) 2018 Las Vegas study tour is about to close for registrations.
The March 21-25 tour will include the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) 2018 convention, an international industry relations dinner, dealership tours, and even a spot of casino hopping.
The 2018 NADA convention and expo in Las Vegas will host more than 100 workshops and education sessions, offering a huge opportunity to expand one’s horizons. Read the full story »
The Australian Automotive Dealer Association's (AADA) 2018 Las Vegas s ...
Industry News: Toyota gives all clear following Kobe Steel investigation
No Toyota products have been affected by the Kobe Steel scandal, the company has revealed.
Toyota initiated an investigation in October last year after Kobe Steel admitted falsifying quality data on some of its products.
The investigation looked at a variety of products including aluminium plates, steel powder and copper tubes. Read the full story »
No Toyota products have been affected by the Kobe Steel scandal, the c ...
Industry News: Calling out minister on EV “boom”
Economics expert and business professor Craig Emerson has called out energy and environment minster Josh Frydenberg who claims the “electric car revolution is nigh”.
In an opinion piece for Fairfax Media, Emerson rebuts the minster’s January 13 Fairfax column depicting the rise of EVs as akin to the iPhone, cloud-based data storage and renewable energy storage.
Emerson says Frydenberg’s citation of other nations’ efforts to improve uptake on low or zero-emission vehicles does not benefit ours. Read the full story »
Economics expert and business professor Craig Emerson has called out e ...
Industry News: Subaru Australia open to Ascent
Subaru Australia has admitted it’s “open” to the idea of seeing the new-to-North-America Ascent seven-seat SUV come to Australia.
Subaru Australia’s national corporate affairs manager David Rowley told AutoTalk there could be a case for the US-built family hauler to come here.
“Ascent is currently only planned for North America, where it’s going to be made at the Subaru of Indiana factory in left hand drive-only form,” Rowley says. Read the full story »
Subaru Australia has admitted it's “open” to the idea of seeing the ne ...
Industry News: Ford plugs into electric future
Ford Motor Company has thrown US$11 billion (A$13.9 billion) at electric vehicles and an inventory of hybrids it claims will be on-road by 2022.
The company says it will have 40 hybrids and EVs in showrooms in the next five years, with at least 16 set to be fully electric, executive chairman Bill Ford told the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).
The renewed monetary pledge squashes the previous US$4.5 billion (A$5.7 billion) the company previously promised by 2020, with Ford’s engineering, research and development expansion in 2016 racking up US$7.3 billion alone – some $600 million more than 2015. Read the full story »
Ford Motor Company has thrown US$11 billion (A$13.9 billion) at electr ...
Industry News: Stakeholders be heard on standards act
The Australian Imported Motor Vehicles Industry Association (AIMVIA) is calling out the federal government for failure to communicate its public consultation on draft Road Vehicle Standards legislation.
Aa a result AIMVIA is letting members know about a series of free capital city public consultation sessions being held starting January 29 on the Road Vehicle Standards legislation changes, based on the exposure draft from last year.
The Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities is holding the consultation sessions in Adelaide (Jan 30), Perth (Jan 31), Brisbane (Feb 9), Sydney (Feb 6), finishing in Canberra (Feb 9). Read the full story »
The Australian Imported Motor Vehicles Industry Association (AIMVIA) i ...
Industry News: Toyota adds enormous list to Takata recall
Toyota Motor Corporation of North America has added a further 600,000 vehicles to its gargantuan Takata airbag recall list, and it’s not alone.
Ford in the US has also added the 2006 Ranger pick-up for the same Takata airbag recall issue, including 2700 Rangers in the US and 200 in Canada. Subsequently, Mazda, which shared the same platform like the current generation, has told US media its B-Series pick-up is likely to be added.
The list of Toyotas affected is substantial, including 2009-2010 and 2013 Corollas, 2009-2010 Yaris, 2010 and 2013 4Runner, and Lexus IS250/350, IS-F, and ES350 from 2009-2019 and 2013, plus GX460 in 2010 and 2013.
Toyota Motor Corporation of North America has added a further 600,000 ...
