Articles by Spencer Leech

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia was quick to defend its new-generation Jeep Wrangler after it scored a lowly one-star safety rating in a test conducted by European crash testing authority Euro NCAP.

Aussie vehicle sales have now weakened for eight consecutive months, culminating in a 7.4 per cent drop in November compared with the same month last year.

Toyota has revealed its updated Prius hybrid range, which has been confirmed for an April 2019 launch in Australia with revised styling and upgraded equipment inside and out.On the outside, the update brings enhanced styling at the front and rear of the car, with the upper front bumper now given a more flowing silhouette.Slimmer 'bi-beam' LED headlights are fitted as well as new tail-lights, and restyled 17-inch alloy wheels, 15-inch wheel caps, and new red and blue paint schemes will be offered.Inside, Toyota designers have used new upholstery, and revised the centre console and some of the controls on the instrument panel.Toyota Australia will release the updated front-driven Prius hybrid in April of next year, which gains an upgraded 7.0-inch multimedia display accepting ‘smartphone style’ gestures.In overseas markets the new Prius will be offered for the first time with an all-wheel drive (AWD) system which employs an electric motor at the rear axle and kicks in on take-off or when improved traction is required.However, the brand’s local wing has no plans to introduce an AWD system for the Prius in Australia.The Japanese hybrid vehicle will carry over its 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, two electric motors and continuously variable transmission (CVT) for a combined output of 90kW/142Nm.Standard safety kit includes seven airbags, reversing camera, vehicle stability and traction control, ABS, emergency brake signal, hill-start assist and smart entry/start.Although pricing for the new Prius is yet to be revealed, the current hybrid small car kicks off at $36,440 before on-road costs, while the more specification heavy i-Tech variant is $43,900.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued its latest round of safety recalls, led by American Special Vehicle’s converted Ram 2500 and 3500 pick-ups.

Nissan Motor Company has revealed it is studying the business case for a performance-focused Navara to rival the likes of the Ford Ranger Raptor, but will likely opt for enhanced off-road capabilities

Toyota has revealed a pre-production version of its next-generation Corolla sedan at the Auto Guangzhou motor show in China this week.

BMW Group Australia has released a unique Shadow Edition grade for its 1 Series 118i and 125i variants.

Aston Martin has confirmed the ‘DBX’ nameplate for its first SUV, which has been revealed in prototype form in heavy camouflage.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation chief operating officer Trevor Mann suggested that despite the growing uptake of SUVs, its passenger vehicles will play an important role in the company's future.“We are in the process of developing what we call our long-range product plan. What we are doing there is just studying the market and trying to decide where we should go,” he said.“If you look at the car parc today, there are many small hatches, there are many medium-sized sedans, particularly in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) and to some extent Oceania, China and the US. In Europe, sedans have been dominated by the premiums I guess over recent years.“But the general trend is to move towards SUVs, so at the moment the profitability on sedan and small-to-medium sedan vehicles is squeezed because people are trying to justify their existing capacity.“Obviously as a brand you need entry vehicles, you need to ideally bring somebody into your brand and then walk through the brand as their lifestyle changes, be it financial or family-driven.“We are reviewing our long-range product plan – we’re not saying yes, we’re not saying no – but obviously we’ve got some ideas in the pipeline.”According to Mitsubishi's corporate vice-president of product strategy Vincent Cobee, passenger vehicles still take up a lot of its total sales internationally, and so a new-generation Lancer small car or Mirage light car could be on the cards.“If we project ourselves five years, the total global market will be 110-115 million cars and the passenger cars will still represent 40-50 million,” he said.“I know all of you guys write about the growth and emergence of SUVs, and it’s correct; it’s 35-37 per cent of the total market today and it’s still growing. But that doesn’t eradicate the fact that there will be 40-50 million cars that will be traditional passenger cars.“It is very clear … the strong (progress) of the Mitsubishi brand is four-wheel drive, SUV, ASEAN and all of that is supporting the development of those cars and the development of the Pajero Sport and the trilogy of Outlander, Eclipse Cross and ASX.“What we have said is that as a complementary offer to enable customers to enter the franchise, and to also satisfy the CO2 regulations, and to cater to those 40 million customers, we will investigate the possibility to look at passenger cars – so we have in our wish list, some intention to do passenger cars.“We are contemplating which kinds of segments, which kinds of destinations, while acknowledging the slowly downward trend of that segment, but for sure not a disappearance.”In Australia, the Lancer and Mirage account for 8.9 per cent of Mitsubishi's sales in the first 10 months of this year, at 6289 units from a total of 70,685.Mitsubishi ended Lancer production late last year, and so the Mirage is the brand's sole passenger car nameplate – for now.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is expected to release a top-of-the-range Triton ute variant in the near future, following the reveal of the facelifted range in Thailand this week.