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Plenty of Automotive Joint Ventures and Deals
Lots of things are happening in the automotive world. Exciting new deals and ventures continue to be made between big auto giants, and it’s mind-blowing how many joint ventures there actually are in car-manufacturing circles.
Only this week Ford Motors and Volkswagen Group sealed the deal to combine forces and make up to 8 million units of commercial vans and medium pickup trucks. These two automotive giants will collaborate on a city van which is to be built-up by Volkswagen. It’s a 1-ton cargo van developed by Ford. Then a Volkswagen medium pickup, the VW Amarok, will be built on the Ford Ranger platform – soon to start in 2022. Ford will also make a new electric vehicle for Europe by 2023, and it will be built on Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive system.
But this isn’t all. Automotive manufacturers around the world are joining forces to invest in electric and self-driving technology to help save billions of dollars.
Here are a few other interesting combos:
Did you know that Chinese big gun Geely holds a 23% stake in London Taxis, and they also have an 8.3% stake, as well as a 15.9% voting rights, in Volvo?
How about knowing that Indian’s Mahindra holds a 70 % stake in Ssangyong Motors?
Did you know that Porsche has a 50.74% voting sway on VW? However, the Porsche automotive business is fully owned by the Volkswagen Group.
A more commonly known joint force is that of the Renault – Nissan Alliance. Renault holds 43.4% of Nissan shares, and Nissan holds 15% of (non-voting) Renault shares.
Toyota holds 100 % stakes in Daihatsu, 50.1% stakes in Hino, 5.9% stakes in Isuzu, 5.05% stakes in Mazda, 16.7% stakes in Subaru and 4.94 % stakes in Suzuki.
VW also has a 99.5 % stake in Audi, a 33.73% stake in Scania and a 53.7% stake in MAN SE.
Daimler and the Beijing Automotive Group have a 50:50 stake joint venture.
Hyundai has a 50:50 stake with the Beijing Automotive Group.
BMW and Brilliance (a Chinese automotive manufacturer) have a 50% and 40.5% joint venture, respectively.
Changan Automobile (a Chinese automobile manufacturer) has large stakes in PSA (Peugeot/Citroen), Suzuki, Mazda and Ford.
Chery has big stakes in a Chery, Tata, Jaguar and Land Rover joint venture.
Dongfeng (a Chinese automobile manufacturer) has big stakes in Peugeot/Citroen, Honda, Nissan, Volvo and Renault.
FAW (a Chinese automobile manufacturer) has stakes in GM, VW and Toyota.
Toyota has a joint (50:50) venture with Peugeot and Citroen.
Sollers (a Russian automobile manufacturer) has stakes in Ford and Mazda for producing vehicles.
Eicher Motors (an Indian automotive manufacture) has stakes in Volvo (50:50).
One gets the feeling that China has a lot of say on things automotive!
Great EVs Available in Australia
Ever wanted to bite the bullet and go over to electric? Driving electric is getting a little more popular, particularly as EV technology has moved on since the electric postie mobile, electric milk float or electric ice cream van. EVs are appealing in that they offer zero emissions (once built) and offer much lower running costs. The other thing about EVs is that they are rather fast; delivering a strong surge of power that is immediate – and the acceleration is unlike anything seen in the present and past world of combustion engines.
Here are some EVs you can buy in Australia:
Audi e-Tron
Audi e-Tron (approx $120k at least)
The e-tron is a high-end EV with Audi’s enviable build quality and interior finish being part of the e-tron lifestyle. This is a nice German EV which uses a dual-motor setup with a choice of two battery sizes and power outputs: the e-tron 50 with a 71 kWh battery and 225 kW, or the e-tron 55 with its 95 kWh battery and 300 kW output. The driving range is between 300 and 480 km, all of which are refined and relaxed.
If you are doing bigger mileage and longer stints behind the wheel, then the e-tron is a great place to spend time. Passenger and luggage space are excellent, and this is a fine EV from Audi.
BMW i3
BMW i3 (approx $70k)
The BMW i3 was BMW’s first electric car, and it brought a quality edge to the compact EV world. The car is efficient and even uses recycled materials inside the cabin. There’s lots of space in the front seats.
A new i3 is made from carbon-fibre, boasts a 42.2 kWh lithium-ion battery, and has a 300 km range. The more powerful i3 gets a 134 kW motor that can send this little car from 0 – 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds.
Hyundai Ioniq Electric
Hyundai Ioniq Electric (approx $50k)
The Hyundai Ioniq EV had a facelift last year which gave the car a new lease of life in the form of a 100 kW motor linked to a 38 kWh battery, which has upped the car’s official driving range to over 300 km.You also get a 50 kW fast-charger that will replenish a flat battery to 80% in less than an hour. At home on the standard 7 kW wallbox you can fully charge the Ioniq in just over six hours.
Hyundai Ioniq cars boast a decent boot size and excellent infotainment systems.
Hyundai Kona Electric
Hyundai Kona Electric (approx $60k)
Hyundai’s electric SUV is going to be a good choice for those wanting EV in SUV styling. This small electric SUV comes with a 64 kWh battery and has a range of over 400 km on a full charge. With its 150 kW motor the Hyundai Kona scampers from a standstill to 100 km/h in around 7.6 seconds, which is very smart – quicker than most small SUVs. It comes with an instant hit of power when you push the accelerator. The interior is roomy, the infotainment excellent, and there’s a 332-litre boot space. It’s got to be liked.
Jaguar i-Pace
Jaguar I-Pace (approx $123k)
This all-electric SUV is incredibly impressive. It combines a 90 kWh battery with an AWD electric motor that delivers close to 225 kW. Even though heavy, it’s still incredibly rapid, managing the 0-100 km/h sprint in just 4.5 seconds. A 350 km driving range is very achievable in the real world. The new I-Pace is luxurious, comfortable, roomy, and delivers on boot space, too.
On the road, the car deliver’s razor-sharp handling and rides smoothly. The Jaguar I-Pace is an award winner, too: It was crowned 2019 World Car of the Year at the New York Motor Show.
Kia e-Niro
Kia e-Niro (approx $60k)
A new Kia e-Niro has a great driving range, with as much as 450 km available on a full charge. This compact SUV is comfortable, practical and great value for money, making it one of the best all-round packages on the electric car market today. The car features a 64 kWh battery and a 150 kW electric motor. Boasting plenty of decent features, the e-Niro is a well-equipped small SUV with an 8-inch touchscreen, sat nav, heated leather seats, adaptive cruise control, a reversing camera and many other goodies besides. You also get the use of 451-litres of boot space and a 7-year/160,000 km warranty. The buy new price is very competitive, and it’s little wonder that it is one of the best on the market and liked by many.
Nissan Leaf
Nissan Leaf (approx $50k)
A new Nissan Leaf looks cool and is available in two forms: one version has a 40 kWh battery that gives an official range of 270 km, while the top-of-the-range new Leaf e+ features a larger 62 kWh battery returning up to 380 km travel range. Real world range will likely be less, but still this is very good for the most part and many will be very happy with it. You’ll be able to recharge that battery to 80% in 40 minutes from a rapid charger, and in 7.5 hours from a home wallbox.
A 0-100 km/h sprint takes 8 seconds. A roomy, stylish interior is a Nissan Leaf strong point. They drive very nicely and offer 435-litres of boot space. Safety is very strong, especially with features like the advanced semi-autonomous Pro Pilot driving technology available on higher spec models. The car’s infotainment system is good and it boasts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Renault ZOE
Renault Zoe (approx $50k)
The Renault ZOE is one of the best electric cars on sale in Australia right now. The car has had a recent facelift in 2019 that gave it more range, more power and faster charging at home and abroad. The new Renault ZOE contains a 52 kWh battery that returns a close to 300 km range on a full charge. Two power ratings are available: you can opt for either the 80 kW or 100 kW motor, with the 0-100 km/h sprint times being 11.4 and 9.6 seconds respectively. These motors are both nippy, particularly about town and city environments.
Plug your little ZOE into a home wallbox delivering 7 kW of power, and the it will be fully charged from flat in under nine hours, while a 50kW fast-charger will see a 20-80% charge in less than an hour. The new Renault ZOE, though small, is also good value for money and it’s a great way to get into EV travel.
Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S (approx $150k)
The US firm Tesla created its premium electric car in the form of the Tesla Model S saloon. Packing over 380 kW from a pair of electric motors (one driving the front wheels and one driving the rear wheels), the Tesla Model S is quick, dynamic and capable of seeing off the 0-100 km/h sprint in 4.1 seconds. A higher performance model is available that will do the same dash in just 2.4 seconds!
The premium Tesla Model S is a premium car with loads of nice features – including a whopping 17-inch infotainment screen that can be split-screened accordingly for various functions.
You may also want to look at the cheaper Tesla Model 3 (from approx $74k), and the SUV version Tesla Model X (from approx$165k).
New Protocols for Euro NCAP Crash Testing
Moving Barrier in new Euro NCAP tests.
‘Euro NCAP’; so what do all these letters mean? Euro, obviously, means ‘European’, and NCAP means ‘New Car Assessment Programme’. So what this team at Euro NCAP does is test out new cars by putting put them through a stringent crash test to see how they perform. New cars need to meet a set of standards in order to get marked as having a certain level of crash safety. This is really handy for the likes of you and me because it provides new car, and second-hand car, buyers a good informative test standard whereby we can satisfy ourselves that a car we’re about to buy meets levels of crash-test safety that we’re happy with.
This crash test safety rating, given by authorities like Euro NCAP and ANCAP (but not restricted to), stands up well in the real world, where cars involved in a crash keep the occupants safe according to the rating given in tests. When a car is involved in a severe crash, the higher the car’s safety rating (approved through testing) is seen to offer a better chance of survival for its occupants. The opposite is also true, where the lower the safety rating the higher the chance of severe injury to the car’s occupants.
Every two years, Euro NCAP updates and toughens its test protocols. Recently, the crash testing bar at Euro NCAP headquarters has been raised for any new cars that get tested. This is always a good thing because it drives new car manufacturers to improve their cars safety capability. This year sees Euro NCAP addressing some issues in occupant protection, providing an improved post-crash protection test and delivering a push for the new cars to have the latest advanced driver assistance technology.
Leading the new protocols is one major change in the offset crash test; and that is the introduction of a new moving barrier to moving car frontal crash test. This replaces the current moderate offset-deformable barrier test, which has been used by Euro NCAP for the last twenty three years. The barrier will now move at around 50 km/h toward the car to better replicate what happens in the real world. Even the thought of it suggests that manufacturers will have to strengthen their car’s safety cell to score highly!
This new crash test will evaluate the protection of the car’s occupants in the crash, as well as assessing how the cars’ front-end structures contribute, or not, to occupant injury in the collision. The new regulations also include the world’s most advanced mid-sized male crash test dummy called “THOR”. Thor will provide lots of extra information on how well ‘he’ has been protected during the new crash testing regime.
Side impacts are never pretty, and they account for the second highest frequency of death or serious injuries. New adjustments to the near-side barrier test’s speed and mass has resulted in an increase in the severity of the test. Strengthening protection down the sides of new cars will have to be on the agenda if manufacturers want to score well in this side impact test.
Also, Euro NCAP will begin evaluating far-side impact protection that focuses on driver protection and the potential interaction between the driver and front-seat passenger during the collision. New protection offered by new-to-market countermeasures such as centre airbags between driver and passenger will be adequately scrutinised.
New driver-assist technologies will be looked at, and to score highly new cars will need to use competent accident emergency braking technology in the cars to protect vulnerable road users. These would include road users behind the car in a reversing-back-over situation, as well as road users in the path of the car turning at a crossing. Also, evaluations on Driver Status Monitoring systems, designed to detect driver fatigue and distraction, will be part of the Safety Assist assessment run by Euro NCAP.
Manufacturers will be rewarded when any rescue information is accurate after a crash which has happened in the real world becomes easily available for scrutiny. Euro NCAP also checks ease of rescue after an accident has occurred, electric door handles, softness of materials in the cabin etc. and will endorse any technology that calls for help in an emergency situation.
These are some of the major changes we’ll see employed by Euro NCAP’s new 2020 protocols. Our local ANCAP testing will be sure to follow similar protocols so as to give the best information for us lot – the car buyers.
Even More Motoring Matchmaking…
Matchmaking is addictive, so we’re going to keep going with our series where we match people up to the vehicles that suit them and their lifestyles best. This week’s theme is… well, see if you can figure it out!
Kia Carnival
The Modern-Day Clan: When Xavier and Elizabeth are asked about the number of children they have, the eyebrows inevitably go up and the question “Are you Catholic or something?” turns up – to which the answer is “Yes.” This is because there are at least five children in the family last time we counted. Or maybe six. Elizabeth was considering homeschooling the clan like some of their friends with equally large families but not always the same religious preferences do. However, St Patrick’s school ten minutes’ drive away (on a good day) does a good job. It may take ten minutes to drive there, but it takes at least an equal amount of time to round everybody up, make a general issue of schoolbags and lunches, make sure that they’re all strapped in properly and defuse any fights about who’s got the best seat in the vehicle. Needless to say, people-carrying capacity is the first concern of Xavier and Elizabeth when they go down to the nearest car sales yard (hang on a minute, I think Francis has headed over to drool at the sports cars – he’d better not scratch anything – and I’ll give you something to eat in a minute, Veronica; Bernadette, can you hold her for a bit while Mummy talks to the nice car salesman?).
Suggested vehicle for Xavier and Elizabeth (and the clan!): Mercedes Benz V-Class, Kia Carnival, Honda Odyssey, Hyundai iMax, Renault Trafic Passenger, Toyota Granvia, VW Transporter, LDV G10 People Mover
Fiat Ducato
Mr Fix It Professionally: Doug finished his apprenticeship way back. When and what he doesn’t know about plumbing could be written on the head of a plunger. He’s been in the plumbing business for many years now and it’s getting a bit harder to squeeze under a house to deal with a leaky pipe now that he’s traded his six-pack for a keg, but he manages. Doug is anything but squeamish and has seen the weirdest things flushed down toilets. He knows all too well that what sounds like a simple blocked pipe or burst water main may turn into a long and complicated job. This means that his everyday vehicle has to be able to take it all, from a selection of washers and screws through to lengths of pipe in all sorts of widths – and don’t forget the overalls, rubber gloves, gumboots and copious amounts of hand sanitiser and soap. Doug knows the value of word of mouth advertising and being seen to do a good job, so he has to have a vehicle that has room to slap on some signage with his business name (Dirty Doug’s Drains & Plumbing) and contact details in nice clear lettering.
Suggested vehicle for Doug: LDV G10, Ford Transit, Mercedes Benz Sprinter, Toyota Hiace, VW Transporter, Renault Trafic, Hyundai iLoad, Renault Master, LDV V80, Fiat Ducato, VW Crafter
Suzuki APV
Miss Daisy Drives: Jessica is a romantic at heart. This is why she started her floristry business. She’s doing quite well and the delivery service is always much appreciated, especially now that she has added soaps and chocolates and other gifts into the mix of things she offers. Jessica may have started out with just a little hatchback but now that she has managed to land a few bigger clients and is building something of a name for herself, she needs something larger – something that can deliver the more extensive arrangements for weddings and big dos with ease. However, a big lumbering thing just won’t look right and anyway, some of those flowers are fragile and delicate when they come from the market first thing in the morning, so her vehicle has to be fairly agile as well as having good load space… and it has to be easy to park in a residential street for when she does door to door deliveries (that’s her favourite sort of delivery job). It’s got to have good air conditioning as well. Jessica would adore it if she could find a suitable vehicle in her company’s signature colour of sparkly lilac but anything that looks cute, does the job and can fit a nice picture of flowers along with the contact details will do.
Suggested vehicle for Jessica: Fiat Ducato, Renault Kangoo, VW Caddy, VW Multivan, Toyota Hiace, VW Transporter, Ford Transit, Fiat Doblo, Citroen Berlingo, Suzuki APV
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