Articles by Stephen Ottley

Toyota is either two steps ahead of almost everyone else in the car industry - or is set to waste untold millions on an unpopular technology.Despite the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) as well as the surge of interest in plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) the Japanese brand remains committed to hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCEV) technology.Currently only Toyota and Hyundai are invested in the technology in Australia, which means not only are their limited models - the Toyota Mirai and the upcoming new Hyundai Nexo - but as even Toyota puts it almost “non-existent” refueling locations. In fact, Hyundai’s head office hydrogen station is the only refueler available in Sydney.But despite the lack of infrastructure for both refuelling and producing hydrogen fuel for vehicles, Toyota remains steadfast in its belief that its time will come. So much so it has committed to introduce the HiLux FCEV by 2028, which will join the diesel and EV variants of the popular ute.However, in order to ensure there is customer interest in the niche technology, Toyota is having to enter the fuel market and will produce its own hydrogen at its Centre of Excellence in Altona, Victoria. While Toyota has been a reluctant entrant into the EV market - with only the HiLux, bZ4X and bZ4X Touring offered locally - the company believes its investment in hydrogen will ultimately pay-off in the long-term. “ So we've been investing, like we were investing in hybrid technology development for quite a long time, we've been doing that with hydrogen as well, for a long time,” explained John Pappas, Toyota Australia’s head of sales and marketing.“We've had two generations of Mirai now in hydrogen - and we've learnt a lot. They've been lease programs with fleet customers. We understand exactly, to your point, that the infrastructure is pretty much non-existent. You can't get any scale. And that's been the big challenge, because the only way you can reduce the cost of hydrogen is by producing more and getting the scale.“So in order for us to do that, we've invested in Altona Centre of Excellence. We've invested in a hydrogen centre, and that is production storage of hydrogen. So we are now also investing in what we call relocatable refuelers, right?"So for example, when we bring the Hilux FCEV to market, we know that based on the infrastructure, like you're saying, you can't go to the bowser."So we're going to have to provide the ecosystem to some extent. There's many partners in this ecosystem of hydrogen, right? Viva Energy, and there's many partners, but in order to support the customer as we bring hydrogen fuel cell in, we're looking at supporting them also with relocatable refuelers,” he said.That’s right, Toyota will not only supply HiLux FCEV to fleet customers, but will also provide the fuel and refuellers to ensure they can keep running. It would be the equivalent of a car maker refining its own oil into petrol and then providing remote refuelling tankers. But such is Toyota’s belief in the long-term viability of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that it is willing to make the commitment.“ We'll produce the hydrogen in Altona, we've got an electrolyzer there,” Pappas told CarsGuide.“So we'll produce hydrogen, we'll then transport the hydrogen to locations that we've got the HiLux FCEV fleet base, in order to basically be able to refuel our customers, right? Now, obviously to do that you’ve got to partner with other people."Hyundai's been one of those partners for us, where we've actually developed consortiums to try and work with other people like Hyundai and the government to be able to try and promote an ecosystem for hydrogen.“So this is a long game. This is a long game. This is not where we're going to get suddenly the hydrogen HiLux is going to become the number one selling vehicle or we're going to be inundated with demand. Because the technology's going to take time, the infrastructure's going to take a lot of time."In line with that, we need to be prepared for that time, right? So that's why we're bringing in the hydrogen HiLux and that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing investing in hydrogen in Altona.”The Centre of Excellence is located at the company’s former manufacturing plant and includes a design centre in addition to the Hydrogen Centre. According to the company it can produce up to 80kg of hydrogen per day on-site. It is all part of the long-term play for the brand that hydrogen is the ultimate solution for carbon neutral trucking and heavy industry vehicles, as well as the likes of the HiLux and LandCruiser.“Looking at it from a technical point-of-view, the advantage of hydrogen is the ability to carry a lot of energy in a light weight,” Ray Munday, the Senior Manager Product Planning and Pricing at Toyota.“And so in terms of the need for pickup trucks, and also trucking industry, it's still a long way for batteries to be able to do that, several generations probably. So that's really the answer for hydrogen, is that there is a BEV that can do a lot of stuff, but it's a long way for battery tech to go there.“It's not like we're not working on other things but that is the reason for hydrogen is that technical advantage that exists there. And then that allows the combination of fast refuel and light weight, which in vehicles that need to tow, go a long way, carry a lot of weight, payload, driving range, they are critical factors for moving."Diesel can do a lot of that stuff, but of course diesel has challenges. And hydrogen is a zero CO2 emission fuel. If you consider what diesel is doing now, that's where something like hydrogen goes in the future.”Which means that hydrogen technology will likely be limited to heavy vehicles, such as trucks and buses, rather than passenger vehicles like the Mirai - assuming Toyota's long-term gamble pays off.

Since the day the first Ram Truck arrived in Australia it feels like there has been a growing chorus of people looking to get US-style pickups (or utes, as we call them) banned.Some have argued they are simply too big for Australian roads, but the primary reason for this has been safety.ANCAP in particular has taken an interest in US utes, creating a specific testing program to assess the merits of the Active Driver Safety Assistance (ADAS) systems of the likes of the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, Toyota Tundra and Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series.The concern from ANCAP and other anti-American ute campaigners is that these bigger vehicles create a more dangerous environment for pedestrians and cyclists. But I find this argument a bit strange and, frankly, the entire movement against these types of vehicles potentially opens up the question of mandating what people can and can’t drive - which is very problematic in my personal opinion.Now, don’t get me wrong, I would not like a Tundra to crash into me crossing the street. But I also wouldn’t want a Toyota Yaris to run over me either. I’m sure the Tundra might do a bit more damage, but I feel like any impact between car and pedestrian is going to leave the pedestrian worse off.But the last time I checked our roads were filled with light trucks, like the Fuso Canter, Iveco Daily and Hino 300 Series as well as the odd heavy truck and the occasional bus (sarcasm intended). Obviously there is a difference between a bus and a pickup truck in terms of its role within society, but simply saying one is a danger to our roads while ignoring the other is disingenuous, at best.Why is it ok for someone to drive a Canter for their delivery business but not drive an F-150 for a weekend away camping when they have to tow a large caravan. Or why are we ok with someone driving a Hino in the city but not a Tundra pulling a horse float.To be fully transparent, I don’t really like these types of utes. I don’t think they make a lot of sense if you live in a major city. My brother used to live in Oklahoma and every driveway had some sort of Tundra/Silverado/1500/F-150 and they made perfect sense there. The roads are nice and wide and every shop has US-sized parking lots, and very few are multi-storey parking either.I am the definition of a ‘city-slicker’, I've spent my entire life in the city and suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, and I have no caravan, horse float or similar that requires towing, so the idea of trying to live with such a big ute makes no sense to me.When I have tested these utes, even living with them for a week is challenging, because they simply do not fit everywhere. I find myself googling the maximum height of every car park I plan on visiting - and they don’t always fit.But while they aren’t for me, I find the very idea of banning or even campaigning against a car because it doesn’t suit your personal lifestyle a dangerous path to tread. Obviously the government needs to dictate certain safety requirements, but I don’t think many of us want the government saying what size of car we are allowed to drive.Because by that logic, and the argument that US utes are more dangerous than Australian-sized ones, then SUVs should be a major focus of safety groups. The modern SUV is designed for urban use, not going off-road like the original concept. A Toyota Yaris does the exact same job as a Yaris Cross but is taller and therefore, arguably, not as safe for pedestrians. Something like a BMW X5 is obviously taller and has a bigger frontal area than a 5-Series sedan. So why aren’t we banning urban-focused SUVs?Because nobody wants to be told what they can and can’t drive, it leads us down a slippery slope of government over-regulation and ultimately denies us choice depending on our lifestyle and needs.So before you throw stones at a US-sized ute, take a look at what’s in your driveway…

Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury brand, has set its sights on competing against the likes of BMW’s M division, Mercedes-AMG and even Porsche eventually with its new Magma sub-brand. The first installment in this new chapter has arrived, the GV60 Magma. While based on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and 6 N, Genesis has given the GV60 a unique twist. We review it to assess its performance, luxury, value and more.

The biggest change in the Australian automotive landscape since the demise of Holden is about to play out in the coming years.In just the past few weeks we’ve seen both Peugeot and Fiat ‘pause’ Australian operations amid steeply declining sales. Peugeot has sold just 427 cars in the first half of 2026, a more than 40 per cent decline on its sales last year. Fiat was even worse off, managing just 144 sales.They could potentially join a growing list of brands that have officially left the Australian market in recent years, including not only Holden but Chrysler, Dodge, Infiniti, Opel and Citroen.The problem is simple, and one I have outlined before - you can’t fit 10kg of dirt in a 5kg bag. The cold, hard fact is the Australian car market isn’t very big, at least not in global terms, with between 1.1 and 1.2 million cars sold each on average.The pie is only so big, so to speak, so with each new brand that arrives, the slice of pie each brand gets grows smaller. When a brand like BYD arrives and quickly rises to claim an 8.6 per cent market share, as it has done in the first half of this year, those sales have to come from another brand’s share.There are now about 70 brands, and more coming seemingly every month, competing for those one million sales. With Toyota taking a 15.7 per cent share, BYD with its 8.6 per cent and a few other brands like Kia, Hyundai and Mazda with more than five per cent, it doesn’t leave much for the rest.Brands with less than one per cent market share include, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Cupra, Deepal, Foton, Genesis, JAC, Jaguar, Jeep, KGM, Land Rover, Leapmotor, Renault, Skoda and XPeng.Market share is not a guarantee of success either. Holden may have lost some share in its final years, but it was still a leading car brand in Australia at the time General Motors pulled the plug. But obviously the more vehicles you sell the better your chances of survival.One of the obvious reasons for this dramatic change in the past five years has been in the flux of Chinese car brands. Many have arrived with appealing products at an attractive price, which is why BYD, GWM, Chery and MG have all made meaningful inroads into the market.Obviously these brands, and the rest of the Chinese newcomers, put pressure on the established order, but that is how a free market works. The competition between brands drives improvement in the cars we drive and the value brands offer us.Not to be harsh, but if Holden, Chrysler and the rest offered more appealing products to Australian new car buyers they’d still be here. That’s the cold reality of capitalism.Having said that, the new Chinese brands are not any safer than any of the established names, perhaps even more at risk. Case in point, Foton and XPeng are both already on their second attempt at the Australian market.On top of this increasing market competition car brands are also facing the challenges from the New Vehicle Efficiency Standards (NVES). This requires them to sell more lower emission vehicles or face heavy financial penalties and many brands were simply not prepared for it.It means many brands need to deal with increased competition putting pressure on them to make their cars cheaper, while at the same time potentially needing to make their cars more expensive to compensate for government fines.As one industry expert put it to me several years ago, when NVES was being developed, not all brands will survive. It’s sad, it will mean job losses and less choice for you, the new car buyer, but that is simply the reality we all face.Holden may have been a high-profile departure but Peugeot and Fiat’s recent 'pause' is likely a portent of things to come. The Australian new car market is now a survival of the fittest and that will likely mean it looks very different in the not-too-distant future…

Electric vehicles may be on the rise, but hybrid sales are still booming - so much so that Genesis is on the brink of a radical shake-up of its future strategy.The Hyundai-owned luxury brand made no secret that its initial long-term strategy was to transition directly from internal combustion engines (ICE) to all-electric vehicles (EVs), skipping over hybrids and plug-in hybrids.But with the automotive landscape dramatically changing in recent years, with EV sales growing slower than expected until the US-Iran War began and drove a surge in EVs, Genesis has abandoned its ‘no hybrid’ stance.The brand’s first hybrid model is due to be revealed later in 2026 and should be on sale in Australia by the end of 2027. Genesis hasn’t announced which model, but the current flagship GV80 SUV seems like the most likely candidate.Head of Genesis Motors Australia, Justin Douglass, explained the reason for the change is simple - customer demand.“ I think when you look at the luxury market, and you look at what mix of sales is coming from some form of hybrid, it's nearly one in two,” he told CarsGuide.“So right now, we play in a really small part of the market, and it's no secret our mix is heavily skewed towards ICE. So I think having hybrid come to market where all of a sudden you've got then half of the market more accessible to you that's only gonna be beneficial to the brand.”While some other luxury brands are remaining steadfast in the transition to an all-electric future, most notably Jaguar, Genesis is joining Porsche and adapting to meet the changing market demands.This is less-challenging for Genesis than potentially it is for other brands, as it can draw on the resources from Hyundai to rapidly adapt.“I think it's fantastic that we're able to give the customers choice and meet the needs of the customers,” said Douglass.“Yeah, you're right, at some point we were going to be an all-electric brand. Whereas there has been a pivot to that, and obviously there's been talk about hybrids joining our drivetrain mix, which I guess, demonstrates how lucky we are to be part of Hyundai Motor Group and have access to those different drivetrains. And if they could be here now, of course we'd love it. You'd take advantage of the opportunity that's there, but at the end of the day, it's important that we get it right. And I'm confident that once it does come to market, it's going to be a great opportunity for us, and it'll be at the right time for the brand.”While nothing has been confirmed, the GV80 hybrid is likely to use the 'TMED-II' hybrid system that debuted in the latest generation Hyundai Palisade.This powertrain combines a new 2.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an all-new hybrid system that integrates two electric motors, instead of just one. In simple terms, the two motors are mounted between the engine and the transmission and one motor is dedicated to creating power and the second one to drive the wheels. In the Palisade it makes 245kW of power and 460Nm of torque, while using 6.8L/100km - a good return for such a big SUV.However, it’s likely to only be the beginning for hybrid Genesis models, with both it and Hyundai making little secret that development of range extended electric vehicles (REEV) is advancing at a rapid pace.Tim Rodgers, Product Planning and Development Manager for Genesis and Hyundai Australia, said both arms of the company would look to introduce the latest hybrid technology that benefits from its EV knowledge.“I think from a R&D side as well, if you consider ICE and EV on a spectrum, a lot of hybridisation is coming from the ICE end, right?” Rodgers said.“And that dictates a lot of the development. But actually by having so much electrification in our portfolio and bringing in hybrid from an EV end of the spectrum it actually presents different opportunities and technological breakthroughs, if that makes sense? So the result will be a portfolio of different hybrids. We're going to be differentiated because of that, which is good for us.”While no official details have been announced, Genesis is expected to offer hybrid variants of the GV70 and GV80 SUVs as well as possibly the G80 sedan within the next two years.

Toyota has warned Australian customers to think about cyber security before they buy their next car.As a new generation of connected cars enter the market capable of recording not just vehicle data but also biometrics, as many are laden with cameras looking both outside and inside, Toyota Australia boss John Pappas said the time has come for buyers to be more conscious of who has their data and where it ends up.“ I think customers should really, really be aware,” Pappas told CarsGuide. “They really need to be aware of their data management. It's like anything when we go and buy anything, these days. We've really got to be aware of how the brand is managing our data.”While not specifically calling out Chinese car brands, Pappas’ comments come at a time when Chinese brands are now amongst the most popular in the country and cyber security experts continue to warn about the potential dangers from China’s national security laws.“ I'm not sure what other brands are doing and that's not for me to comment on, but what's important to Toyota is that we treat the safety... From a safety point of view, we treat software like we treat hardware.”According to Alastair McGibbons, former head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the problem isn't the car makers but rather the differences between data protection in different countries around the world, specifically China.“The trouble is, of course, that by its nature, that connectivity means that you could be taking a whole range of things - audio, visual, location, details from a connected telephone, et cetera - out of the vehicle and into the manufacturer,” McGibbons said.“And that’s particularly problematic for Chinese-headquartered companies because of the national security laws there, right? No one's really suggesting that the companies themselves are problematic, but certainly the national intelligence law in China means that the agencies of the CCP could direct that data be extracted and used by them.”Pappas made it clear the data Toyota takes from Australian-delivered vehicles is stored on data servers based in Australia, however he added there are data back-ups in Singapore and the USA. “This is actually all about protecting our customers from a privacy point-of-view and we consider this paramount to our safety philosophy,” Pappas said.“So we say hardware equals software when it comes to quality and safety for our customers, and that's how we've got very strong governance when it comes to our data. And governing the data and the privacy for the customer.“The only features in the vehicle that are by default when you get onboarded through the dealer are the crash notification, the paramount safety features and the SOS feature. They're really by default activated. When you look across our offering, our connected offerings and things like that and even driving recorder or they're encrypted in the vehicle. So they're not transmitted in any way. So for us we don't know what other brands and other manufacturers do in this space, but for us it's all about making sure that we can protect our customer safety and that includes the data governance.”McGibbons said he hopes Pappas’ comments spark a discussion around creating an Australian standard for data protection, in the same way there are regulations around other vehicle components, in particular safety.

As Lord Acton told us way back in 1887, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But Lord Acton never drove the new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series Performance Hybrid. Remarkably, despite the company’s litany of sports cars over the years - Supra, MR-2, Celica, etc - this new off-road SUV can lay claim to the title of ‘the most powerful Toyota production car’ ever offered in Australia.That’s thanks to its new powertrain, which is lifted from the US-built Tundra ‘pick-up’ (aka super-sized ute), combining a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine with an electric motor mounted between it and the 10-speed automatic transmission.But unlike the rest of Toyota’s hybrid range that focuses on efficiency, this 'i-Force Max' powertrain (as it is known in the Tundra) is biased towards performance - and a lot of it. The new LandCruiser makes 341kW of power and 790Nm of torque, which is an extra 114kW and 90Nm on top of the already very capable 3.3-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine in the LC300.It’s obviously a lot of performance, but the LandCruiser is a lot of SUV, so while Toyota calls it a ‘performance’ vehicle, don’t expect to be blowing the doors of a Porsche Cayenne or Ferrari Purosangue. Instead, it offers a punchy amount of torque that helps get the big beast moving with relative ease. But during on- and off-road drives there weren’t any moments where this new powertrain stood out as hugely different and better than the already impressive turbo-diesel option. Officially, Toyota says this new engine helps to tow more easily but we weren’t able to test that, so we’ll reserve judgement. They also said the addition of the electric motor improved low-speed behaviour off-road - and this we did get to test.In news that will shock nobody, the Toyota LandCruiser performed well off-road, with the addition of a new, more powerful engine not suddenly turning it into a tarmac-only soft-roader. But to say the electric motor makes it dramatically different, and indeed superior, off-road is a hard call to make without back-to-back testing on more challenging off-road terrain.The catch with this potential improved off-road and towing performance is the performance hybrid powertrain comes with a not-insignificantly smaller fuel tank than its diesel sibling - a 98-litre tank, instead of the 110L one in the diesel.Combined with higher fuel economy - 10.0L/100km vs 8.9L/100km - it means the theoretical range of the performance hybrid is 980km compared to over 1235km from the diesel. For those looking at an LC300 for a long-distance adventure vehicle, losing a potential 255km of range on each tank is not a small matter and swings the needle in favour of the diesel.You’re also paying upfront for the extra performance, with this new model more expensive than its diesel alternatives. For starters, the performance hybrid powertrain is only available with the high-spec Sahara ZX and GR Sport variants, which start at $156,740 and $155,990 (before on-road costs) respectively, a more than $8000 premium over the diesel.Obviously both are well equipped with alloy wheels (18-inch on the GR Sport and 20s on the Sahara ZX), leather-accented seats, heated and ventilated front seats, a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen paired with a 14-speaker JBL sound system. The only major specification difference for the Sahara ZX (aside from wheels and some styling) is the inclusion of a dual rear-seat entertainment system. For comparison, Denza B8 plug-in hybrid starts at $91,000, and offers 425kW and 760Nm from its plug-in hybrid powertrain. Like the LC300 it can tow up to 3500kg but unlike the Toyota, the Denza’s bigger battery allows for up to 115km of electric-only driving and has better on-paper fuel economy. It’s certainly a vehicle worth cross-shopping if you’re looking at an LC300, but ultimately there are some major differences between the pair.In terms of design and practicality there isn’t a lot to say about the new performance hybrid variants compared to the rest of the LC300 line-up, as it’s still a relatively new vehicle by Toyota standards, having only launched in 2021.The only design difference between the petrol and diesel models is the lower bumper treatments (front and rear) on the Sahara ZX, but the GR Sport is visually identical regardless of which engine you choose.Inside the new options look the same, with a fantastic array of physical buttons, dials and knobs (as well as the 12.3-inch touchscreen) to easily adjust things even on bumpy, tricky roads - and very much in keeping with the practical ethos of the LandCruiser.However, the biggest difference between the diesel and petrol is the boot. Thankfully there is no repeat of the hybrid Prado’s high boot floor and plastic riser solution to housing the hybrid’s battery under the rear floor. Neither of the petrol models are available with a seven-seat option and the floor is slightly higher than the diesel model, but not dramatically so.But despite Toyota’s best efforts to package the battery up tightly space is still lost, 216 litres to be precise, with the hybrid boot measuring 910L compared to 1126L in the diesel.

Toyota has adopted a slow and steady approach to electric vehicles, with the new bZ4X Touring only its second battery-powered model. The new, more spacious SUV goes head-to-head with the likes of the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and Subaru Trailseeker. We put the bZ4X Touring to the test to see how it rates for value, practicality, performance, safety and more.

Mazda may be behind much of the market when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs), but it has a not-so-secret weapon to catch-up.The recently launched 6e is the first product of the Japanese brand’s decades long partnership with China’s Changan Automobiles to reach Australian showrooms, and it won’t be the last. The sedan’s SUV sibling, the CX-6e, is already confirmed for local launch and Mazda 6e Program Manager, Hiroshi Ozawa, hasn’t ruled out more models built in China joining the local range.Ozawa explained that Mazda has been able to learn a lot from its partnership with Changan, as the Chinese market is far more developed with both EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and that will be beneficial in speeding up Mazda’s adoption of these lower-emission powertrains.“ The Chinese market, actually over 60 per cent is EV and the PHEV, and we call them NEV, ‘new energy vehicles,’” Ozawa said.“That includes EV and PHEV and that mix is over 60 per cent… in the coastal area. The metropolitan area over 70 per cent mix. So in that sense, the technology development for the battery is also growing very fast.”In addition to the higher volume of these so-called new energy vehicles, the Chinese industry has become highly capable of developing this technology quicker and that is something Mazda can learn from. But Ozawa also said it was a two-way street, with Changan able to also learn from Mazda’s strengths.“How they develop the vehicles, compared to the traditional OEMs, their way of making things is different, and we can learn those things,” he said.“We have a joint venture with Changan Automobile so that we can absorb their strengths. And also we have strengths like driving, design, quality, those are what we are stronger , so what they can learn from us and through that we can develop a fantastic vehicle together. So that's the kind of learning we have.”Without wanting to dive into the specifics of what Mazda learned from Changan, which sells a modified version of the Mazda 6e as the Deepal L07 in China, Ozawa said the Chinese automotive industry is leading the way with its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), not only in-vehicles for connected car services, but also the development of the cars themselves.“Generally speaking, China is advanced,” he said. “They are ahead in those areas like connectivity and they are far advanced with AI, and they are going to produce the models using AI. So for that kind of thing, I think each OEM is going to learn from China. So we ourselves will also do the same. We will make sure to learn from this.”The addition of the CX-6e later this year will double Mazda’s EV portfolio in Australia but with EV sales hitting 23.3 per cent of the market in June, the brand may need more electric and PHEV models sooner rather than later if demand continues. Ozawa wouldn’t reveal any details but left the door wide open for more Chinese-built Mazdas to join the Australian showroom.“ We already announced publicly, but after that model reveal, we're not in the position to talk about now,” he said. “ But, we have a multi-solution strategy around that… we have partnerships with many other companies, not only Changan, so that we can introduce the right products to the right market at the right timing. So not only with Changan, but we have other partnerships. So we're trying to explore a lot of possibilities.”

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. As the automotive world embraces technology at a rapid rate with autonomous driving, connected cars and electrification, even the biggest names in the business are forced to reinvent themselves. Hyundai, the world’s third largest car brand, has declared that it is no longer simply a car maker but is something more.“ So we are not a normal OEM , “ declared Jose Munoz, global president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. “I think by now you've seen that we are more of a tech company that happens to be also an OEM.”Munoz explained why this is more than simply a rebranding exercise to compete with the likes of Tesla and other emerging brands from China that straddle the world of technology and cars, pointing to Hyundai Group’s expansive portfolio of companies.“Because we control, we own, Boston Dynamics,” he said.“We created a lot of companies related to autonomous driving, like 42Dot, Motional. We have made the best deal ever with Waymo on literally tens of thousands of robotaxis that we're gonna produce in the United States and expand it to the world. And we… with local partners like Momenta in China. We got an exclusive supply from NVIDIA… and we also have a fantastic partnership with the state-of-the-art, the number one company in the world, which is Amazon. Not to mention others like Santander, GM, TBS In India, Mubadala in the Middle East, etc.”The deals he is referring to include the robotics company Boston Dynamics, which Hyundai took ownership of in 2020 and specialises in commercially available robots. While 42Dot and Motional are both autonomous driving software companies owned by Hyundai but based in South Korea and the USA, respectively, and Momenta is a Chinese joint-venture in the same space.Hyundai’s deal with Amazon is described as a ‘broad partnership’ that encompasses a variety of deals including online vehicle sales in select markets as well as the integration of Amazon Alexa into Hyundai vehicles and the car maker’s use of Amazon Web Services.This all comes in addition to Hyundai Group’s diverse business interests that include making its own steel, container ships and logistics businesses that can all help with the production and distribution of its cars.“So our group is not a normal group, so we have a lot of companies,” Munoz added.“We won't get into all the details, but you can see we have more than 50 affiliated companies in all areas of the business. So not only vertically integrated and creating the steel, also the distribution with Glovis, with our own advertising with Innocean. But then we are in many other businesses like robots for the factories. And then as mentioned, sales finance, Rotem in the military and other applications.”All this investment in technology is part of a plan to not only ensure the business is ready for what car buyers are interested in, but also make Hyundai appealing to investors and drive the share price up.“So I think the result is fantastic, and obviously, this is being accompanied by the top rating in the world in terms of the financial performance,” Munoz said.It appears to be working, with Hyundai Motor Company’s share price dramatically increasing over the past three years, despite up and down sales numbers - particularly in Australia.