Articles by Anthony Gough

New car sales may be going in reverse but it is pedal to the metal for the luxury SUV sector, with industry leaders saying there's plenty of fuel still left in the tank.The battle for the top end of town is well and truly on, with Audi, BMW, Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz all fighting to capture the luxury dollar of high rolling motorists."All I can say is the 'bubble' hasn't burst," Martin Roller, dealer principal at BMW Brisbane, said.Mr Roller said sales of the BMW X-series of sports activity vehicles have risen 15 per cent from last year, boosted on the back of the enduring popularity of the X5 and the new X4's release."Forty-five per cent of our total BMW volume in Brisbane are X-cars," he said. "Just over 10 years ago we didn't have an X model in our range at all. Given the size and the capability and the value for money (luxury SUVs) represent, they are taking away from small to medium prestige cars."Rebecca Frizelle, from Audi Centre Springwood, said the dealership was doing "exceptional" sales in the brand's Q-series of luxury SUVs."Overall, 60 per cent of all our Audis sold are SUVs. That's massive," she said.Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries chief executive Tony Weber said after two record years of growth in the Australian vehicle market, sales in 2014 had been down around 2 per cent overall.But he said sports utility vehicles had been bucking the trend. "This is a long-term trend over the last decade, of a movement towards SUVs, and you see that in the streets," Mr Weber said.

Hyundai has apologised to a customer who took them to task on social media after receiving a service quote that included hundreds of dollars in unnecessary recommendations.A photograph of a quote from Bartons Hyundai in Wynnum, posted by Mali Hannun on the company Facebook page, has gone viral and racked up almost 17,500 shares, 10,000 comments and more than 37,000 "likes" since it was uploaded on Friday.In her post, Ms Hannun accused the service centre of attempting "deliberate fraud", quoting around $700 of unnecessary repairs, including replacement tyres, a brake fluid flush and a power steering flush, which she only discovered after going to two other mechanics for a second opinion.Ms Hannun was also told that her model, a Hyundai i30, uses electronic power steering and so does not ever require a power steering flush.Hyundai chief operating officer John Elsworth said in a statement that the company had initiated an investigation into the dealership, and it appeared there had been a "breakdown in staff communication'' at the service centre.He said the service items were recommendations and the customer had received a full refund. Bartons Hyundai principal dealer Mark Beitz has admitted the power steering gaffe was the fault of one of his staff, but staunchly denied the quote was a case of  "deliberate fraud''.read more herewww.couriermail.com.au

The leading automotive group, which employs about 3000 people in dealerships across the country, plans to run the advertisements for female sales and service staff -- in an effort to draw more women to their male-dominated workforce -- with a disclaimer declaring it an “equal opportunity measure” after it was knocked back in its bid for a formal exemption from anti-discrimination laws in October. A.P. Eagers group human resources manager Michael Raywood said the company wanted to even out the gender imbalance in their workforce at a time when more women were in the market for a car. “In our business we have 80 per cent male and 20 per cent female staff so we're trying to take some positive measures to redress the balance,” he said. Mr Raywood said the company was not trying to be controversial, but just to make their workforce more representative of their customers. “It's not about whether women are better than men or men are better than women,” he said. “If we had a 50/50 split of male and female then we wouldn't have to do this sort of thing.” Mr Raywood said the ads would run only where they were deemed necessary, and the company would talk to general managers about where the need was greatest. In dismissing the company's application for exemption under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal member Susan Gardiner said while an increase in female employees at the company was desirable and “good for business”, it was not essential. “Here, Eagers staff is of both genders and both can fulfil the roles in the sales and service area,” she said. But she said an advertisement targeting female applicants would not be unlawful if the company could establish it would promote equal opportunity for women. University of South Australia anti-discrimination law expert Associate Professor Sara Charlesworth said formal exemptions from anti-discrimination law were usually given to help disadvantaged groups rather than for business reasons. “Exemptions are regularly given where maybe a women's refuge or a domestic violence service specifically says they want to have women,” she said.