Articles by Stephen Ottley

What is the highest speed limit in the world?Technically speaking the fastest speed limit in the world is no speed limit. While Germany has been introducing speed limits across many of its highways, which are known as the autobahn, Germany still has thousands of kilometres of roads where you can drive as fast as you like.In terms of the highest posted speed limit, that title belongs to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which has sections of motorway where you can drive to 160km/h (100mph).What is the purpose of speed limits?Governments around the world implement speed limits in order to keep the roads as safe as possible for all road users. And by all ‘road users’ we mean not only motorists but also cyclists and pedestrians, which is why there are different speed limits in urban areas compared to highways, and in recent years specific speed limits near schools in many countries.Do all countries have speed limits?Yes and no. Every country in the world has some form of speed limit, with one minor exception - the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man speed limit is officially non-existent. However, this small self-governing island posts guidance limits in built-up areas, to ensure public safety. Out on the island’s open highways, however, a road with no speed limit stretches out before you and drivers are free to go as quickly as is safe - with police still enforcing dangerous driving laws.How have speed limits evolved over time?According to a report from History.com speed limits actually pre-date the automobile, with the colony of New Amsterdam (now known as New York) issuing a decree in 1652 that “o wagons, carts or sleighs shall be run, rode or driven at a gallop” of the rider will be fined.The police were just as serious about enforcing the law back then too, with then-President Ulysses S. Grant arrested for driving his horse-drawn carriage too fast in Washington in 1872.As for speed limits specific to cars, the United Kingdom led the way in this regard, introducing a speed limit of 10mph (16km/h) on open roads and 2.0mph (3.0km/h) in towns in 1861.In Australia the speed limits were gradually introduced around the country in the first half of the 20th century. Notably, when Australia switched from imperial to metric speed limits were changed in 1974 and were rounded to the nearest 10km/h increment. So, 60mph became 100km/h and the freeway limit of 70mph became 110km/h - the limits we still have today.Check out our story on the highest speed limit in Australia.Why do maximum speed limits differ in different countries?There are a variety of reasons, from political, social to the purely practical. For example, a poorly constructed highway with no speed limit is obviously more dangerous than a carefully built and maintained one. While the German autobahns are not radically different from our highways in Australia, they typically have some form of fence or border on the median to reduce the risk of head-on crashes.Geography plays a major role in determining speed limits. For example, the Isle of Man doesn’t have an extensive motorway network, rather open roads across its largely agricultural land, whereas Abu Dhabi has a much bigger and very modern motorway network, so it is able to have a higher posted limit as the roads are straighter and smoother and therefore more conducive to faster driving.How can you find out the speed limit where you are driving?Most countries have roadside signs that display the limit, although they can differ significantly from one country to another. So if you are planning on traveling it’s worthwhile searching for images of what signs you should be looking out for.In Australia we use white signs featuring black numbers in a red circle, which were actually inspired by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals held in 1968.What happens if there is no speed limit sign?If there is no sign then you should drive to what’s known as the ‘default limit’ in that country. Typically there is an urban limit and open road limit, so it pays to know what those are in whatever country you are driving.Typically the key differentiator between what is considered an ‘urban’ road is the presence of street lights and buildings, whether residential or commercial.In Australia those default limits are 50km/h in urban settings and 100km/h on open roads.What are the highest speed limits on roads around the world?1. Germany: UnrestrictedAs mentioned above, despite some political pressure (surprisingly on environmental grounds as much as safety) Germany’s autobahns remain famously speed limit free for large stretches. This is possibly due to more thorough driver training and testing in Germany than most other nations and a strict adherence to the correct lane; driving too slow in the fast lane will get you flashed repeatedly until you move out of the way.2. United Arab Emirates: 160km/hWith a relatively modern and well-maintained motorway network there are sections of road in the capital, Abu Dhabi, with a posted speed limit of 160km/h. Perhaps more interestingly, on the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Road there is actually a minimum speed limit, with drivers required to drive at least 120km/h or face a fine.3. Poland, Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia: 140km/hThese three very different countries all have an upper highway speed limit of 140km/h.In Poland, the standard, two-lane highway speed limit is 120km/h, but it is raised on its toll motorways.Bulgaria has a similar system, with the majority of its highways limited to 120km/h, but drivers are allowed to go quicker on newer sections of motorway.While in Saudi Arabia the previous speed limit of 120km/h on its major routes was raised to the new higher speed in 2018, although trucks remain limited to 80km/h.4. USA (Texas): 137km/hThe United States of America is a little disjointed when it comes to speed limits as each state sets their own, rather than there being a national standard. The most common speed limits are 70mph (113km/h) or 75mph (121km/h) but they can also get to 80mph (129km/h) in several states.However, the highest speed limit in the USA belongs to Texas State Highway 130, a toll road outside of Austin that has a posted speed limit of 85mph (137km/h).5. Italy, France, Australia and more: 130km/hThere is a misconception that when it comes to the Stuart Highway no speed limit applies, but the truth is the Northern Territory trialled that and designed to limit it to 130km/h for lengthy stretches. This was done to make travel faster across what is a sparsely populated desert landscape.However, 130km/h is a common speed limit on highways and motorways around much of Europe, including Italy, France (except when raining), Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Russia and Ukraine.

The revolution hasn’t been canceled, but it appears to be delayed.

Despite a backwards step in 2024, Chinese cars are on-track to bounce back in 2025 as a flood of new brands enter the market.While brands like BYD, MG, GWM and Chery have already established themselves, a new wave is on the way to challenge Japan as Australia’s biggest car importer.By the end of 2024 there were 12 Chinese brands officially in the Australian market and at least two more have announced plans for entry into our market in 2025 with more expected to follow. Japan, by contrast, only has nine brands in our local market but still comfortably leads the overall production with nearly 379,000 vehicles from Japan sold here in 2024.That compares to 272,139 from Thailand and 176,159 from China. Those figures don’t account for a brand’s national base but rather simply where they are built, so it includes certain Tesla, Volvo and other models from different brands.But while Japan and Thailand still lead the way as the most popular countries for new-car production, China appears on-course to overtake them in the not-too-distant future at the current rate.With the likes of Zeekr, Leapmotor, Deepal, XPeng, Geely, Smart, JAC, GAC/Aion, Jaecoo and more set to grow in 2025, plus expanded product lines from BYD, MG, GWM and Chery, the approximate 96,000 sales difference between China and Thailand could shrink dramatically this year.The industry is well aware of the rapid growth of the Chinese car industry in Australia, with Toyota Australia’s Head of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, Sean Hanley, commenting this week: “The Australian new-car market has always been one of the most competitive in the world, and 2025 will be no different. We expect to see more new brands and models, which means more choice and even stronger competition, which, in the end, is great for the consumer.“By all reports, there could be a dozen new Chinese car companies arriving in Australia by the end of next year. In the past five years, they have taken more than 13 percentage points of market share from established brands.”Hanley was quick to point out that while these new brands have taken significant market share, Toyota remains the clear leader.However, that growth must come from somewhere and that will force brands across the market to react to this new array of rivals. This is likely to result in increased competition for Australian buyers at a time when cost-of-living pressures are expected to cool the market after record sales in 2024.

Christmas is a fading memory, the New Year’s hangovers have cleared and we’re still getting used to writing ‘2025’ so you know what that means?Hot takes time.Yes, it’s January and with a whole year of new cars ahead of us, I’m going to try and predict the future. But while these might meet the clickbait definition of a ‘hot take’ these aren’t just random thoughts, but rather these are five scenarios that I believe could play out in 2025 based on previous trends and the other available evidence.To be fair, I’m basing this at least in part to Toyota Australia boss Sean Hanley’s own prediction that he believes the RAV4 can leapfrog the Ford Ranger into first place. I agree with him that the Ranger will need to work hard to stay at the top of the charts, with its gap to the RAV4 less than 4000 sales in 2024.The Ranger will be entering its fourth year on sale, which means it no longer feels ‘new’ but is also too early for a mid-life upgrade, so it will need to rely on new additions like the Super Duty and plug-in hybrid to keep its interest high.The latter is really the key for Ford, with the Ranger PHEV having to face a direct rival in the form of the BYD Shark 6 - which wasn’t on the horizon when Ford announced its plug-in back in 2023.Meanwhile, the RAV4 remains beloved by SUV buyers, despite its many rivals, and Toyota is (reportedly) carrying over a healthy order bank that should maintain its steady sales pace.Whatever happens, it should be a close finish in the sales race.It’s safe to say Kia has copped some flak for the styling of its Tasman ute, which has raised concerns over its sales potential. But, personally, I think it will be a success story for Kia even if it doesn’t achieve the headline-grabbing sales figures the brand is hoping for.Kia’s goal to sell more than 20,000 Tasmans per year is an ambitious target, even if the styling had been universally praised, given the strength of the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. But the truth is looks are subjective and the Tasman’s ultimate sales potential will come down to pricing and specifications. If Kia can give ute buyers a good value proposition, then undoubtedly many will jump aboard, regardless of what anyone says about the styling.Fleet operators who don’t care about subjective elements like style will likely be wooed by the expected five-star ANCAP rating and Kia’s reputation for reliability.Bottom line, even if Kia sells half of its expected numbers, adding 10,000 Tasmans to Kia’s tally is all incremental growth for a brand that has never previously offered a ute - and that will make it a big success.One of the key takeaways from the 2024 sales was the huge growth of hybrids (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) compared to the stalled sales of electric vehicles (EVs). Sales of pure electric models were only up 4.7 per cent after growing more than 160 per cent in 2023.That’s an enormous change of fortunes for EVs, which have always largely been underpinned by Tesla, which had a down year in 2024. Whether Tesla can rebound is one major question, with its sales down by more than 16,000 sales, but other brands will need to start selling more of their EVs if the market is to accelerate its growth again.It appears as though the market for EVs has largely been catered to, with a huge variety of makes and models across the spectrum of size and price, so there’s no longer any major barriers for EVs apart from consumer demand.Australians seem unconvinced by EVs in the broad sense, preferring dual-cab utes and mid-size SUVs with hybrid engines, and it seems unlikely to change in the short-term so I wouldn’t be betting on a big turnaround for electric sales in 2025.NVES, or the New Vehicle Efficiency Standards, grabbed plenty of headlines in 2024 as the car industry pushed back on long-overdue emissions regulations like kids not wanting to eat their vegetables. But despite the kicking and screaming from certain members of industry, NVES officially began on January 1 and the world hasn’t stopped turning.Inevitably there will be change thanks to NVES, with car brands needing to introduce more fuel-efficient vehicles or face financial penalties, however the government has effectively given the industry three years to sort itself out. Any brand above the limit in 2025 has until the end of 2027 to generate (or buy from a rival brand) ‘credits’ to offset their less-efficient models.In other words, expect ‘situation normal’ in 2025 with all the usual models you find in dealerships, albeit with a ramp up of more hybrids and PHEVs like we’ve begun to see in the last 18 months.Normally you’d expect the arrival of two big name models, which nearly double the options for buyers, to result in a sales boom for a particular market. And yet, despite the introduction of the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra, sales of ‘$100k plus utes’ (otherwise known as the US-style pick-ups) were up just a marginal 2.4 per cent in 2024.The segment still sold more than 10,000 units in 2024, which is an impressive number when you consider these are expensive and niche vehicles, but the arrival of the Ford and Toyota should have been a boost. They certainly helped offset the sales decline of the Ram 1500, which dropped as the current V8-powered model entered run-out, but it speaks to the limitations of the market.With the arrival of the new six-cylinder Ram 1500 to go along with the F-150 and Tundra, it’s hard to see the total volume of $100k plus utes getting much higher than 10,000 per year.

BYD is a relative minnow in the Australian car market. Yes, it’s had some modest success with its range of electric cars, but it’s still well-short of reaching the top 10 in sales and having a real impact on the market… or is it?

What makes a car important? Depending on the brand, important can mean a lot of different things.It could be its profitability or maybe it’s the new technology it will bring or even a new image it could create for a brand.So picking the most important new models from Australia’s biggest brands isn’t always easy, but looking ahead to what’s headed our way in 2025 one common theme emerged - sales.It seems obvious, it’s important that the models each brand offers sell, but in the case of these five there is an extra layer of importance beyond just the volume they will or won’t do.To say the Ranger is important to the success of Ford Australia is an understatement. Sales of the ute account for more than 60 per cent of its total volume, and that’s before factoring in the Everest SUV spin-off.Ford has put a lot of money and resources behind this new plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger, knowing that it needs to cut its fleet emissions as the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is introduced in 2025.If Ford can get its marketing and sales staff to successfully push the Ranger PHEV it sets the brand up for a bright, lower-emissions future. But if they can’t, it could become a very expensive white elephant for the brand.Toyota hasn’t said too much on the record, but all signs point to a new RAV4 arriving by the end of 2025. The popular SUV usually has a six-year lifespan and the current iteration was launched in 2019, so in theory it’s time is up.What will we see from the new RAV4 - will it be more of the same or a shift upmarket like we’ve seen with the CH-R? The former is far and away the most likely, although don’t be surprised if inflation drives the price up slightly, as the RAV4 has become the brand’s bedrock passenger vehicle.There is a possibility it will follow the Camry and go for an all-hybrid line-up, but that would undoubtedly drive the entry-price up and Toyota is probably hesitant to do that if it can be avoided. It should have enough hybrids to help offset its HiLux and LandCruiser sales under NVES.Why is a small car so important in 2025? Especially when Kia is set to launch its all-new Tasman ute? Well, because of sales.The K4 is the replacement for the Cerato which, despite all the hype around SUVs and utes, is still Kia Australia’s second best-selling model (behind the Sportage SUV, of course). If the more polished-looking K4 carries a significant price rise, though, that could dent its market appeal and leave Kia with a sudden drop in its overall volume.Small cars like the Cerato and Toyota Corolla still do decent volumes, in large part because they are affordable and appeal to a sizeable number of people that don’t want a bigger car. Pricing the K4 right will be the most important challenge for Kia Australia in 2025, regardless of what happens with the Tasman.This new baby of the Hyundai family is due in the early months of 2025 and will bring with it a lot of expectations and new hope. While we’re still waiting for official details (at the time of publication) the speculation is it will carry a sub-$40k price tag. That would be a big deal for Hyundai in its fight against the influx of affordable electric small cars from China - such as the GWM Ora, BYD Dolphin and MG4.But more than that, the Inster needs to draw a younger audience to Hyundai. The brand has deliberately ditched its ‘cheap and cheerful’ image for a more premium range. But there’s no doubt many current Tucson, Santa Fe and Staria drivers probably had an Excel or Accent in their past.The Inster is unapologetically youth-targeted, so if it can be priced right it could be critical in reviving Hyundai’s chances with a fresh audience for years to come.The Chinese brand may be proudly celebrating its improved new generation of vehicles, including the recently launched ZS Hybrid+, but the reality is its volume aspirations are tied to affordability. Which is where the rest of the ZS will play such a crucial role when it arrives in early 2025.While the hybrid offers a good value package, its mid-$30k price range is a big step up from the sub-$25k entry-level ZS of old. Introducing at least two (but preferably three) sub-$30,000 models will be crucial to maintaining the ZS as the best-selling small SUV in the country.

A new year brings a fresh array of vehicles for Australia — but some get us more excited than others.

Sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are up more than 100 per cent as Australians look for ways to cut their fuel bills and embrace new technology.

It’s fair to say General Motors’ decision to close Holden was not a popular one amongst the car-loving population of Australia (blue-blood Ford fans excluded). But in 2025 GM’s decision could be justified if its new vision for our market pays off.That vision, of course, is the switch to running under the General Motors Australia (and New Zealand) banner, with GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) offering Chevrolet and GMC models as well as the long-awaited introduction of Cadillac to our shores. GMSV, which sells the right-hand drive converted Chevrolet Silverado and soon the GMC Yukon as well as the Corvette range, sits under a separate banner to Cadillac, but it’s all one big happy GM family behind the scenes. This new business model will never see GM achieve the kind of sales volumes Holden did, but it has the potential to be a very profitable business for the American automotive giant. However, it will need to enjoy a successful 2025 if it’s to feel good about its long-term hopes in Australia, with several major challenges ahead of it.Firstly, there is its existing Silverado line-up, which faces increased competition from the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra, as well as the new-generation Ram 1500 due in 2025. These new rivals arrive amid a decline in sales for the ‘over $100k ute’ segment, which feels inevitable given the expense and fit-for-purpose nature of these types of US-style pickups.Silverado sales are on course to finish well up on the segment (nearly 15 per cent for the Silverado 1500 and more than 20 per cent for the Silverado HD), but maintaining that kind of growth in ‘25 will be crucial to the long-term viability of both Chevy models — and potentially the overall ‘big truck’ market.To diversify, GM Australia decided to introduce an SUV to its mix — the GMC Yukon.This works on multiple levels for the company as the Yukon is based on the same platform as the Silverado 1500 GMSV is already converting, but is a more luxurious model and therefore can carry a higher profit margin.It will become the only full-size SUV with a V8 engine and is loaded with space and creature comforts, the Yukon will be a tough sell. It’s priced from $169,990 (plus on-road costs), which positions it well above (circa-$20k) the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, its most obvious rival, so it high volumes won’t be likely but it could add meaningful sales to GMSV’s bottom line.Then there’s arguably GM Australia’s biggest risk — Cadillac. The American luxury brand is finally expanding its operations beyond North America, but there’s an obvious question around the timing of launching an all-electric brand now.Demand for electric vehicles has, at best, cooled off after a sudden surge a few years ago (when GM was making its decision). However, the brand’s first Australian-bound model, the Lyriq SUV, undercuts its key rivals from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi on price, so it stands some chance on conquesting luxury buyers.There’s also a chance that Australian buyers will surge towards this all-new but very well-known brand in the market. We’ve seen an Australian soft spot for similar American vehicles in the past, such as the Corvette and Ford Mustang, and while the Cadillac Lyriq is a very different proposition it’s not outside the realms of possibility that Australians will be attracted to it.There are some fairly large ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’ surrounding General Motors’ Australian chances in 2025 so it could go either way. On the plus side it could establish its roots for even further growth, but on the flip side there is potential for a rough year that could cause GM’s Detroit management to re-think its Australian outlook. Only time will tell which way that will go, but we will watch General Motors’ sales performance with great interest next year…

At the start of 2024 we asked the question ‘is Jeep lost?’ and the answer has categorically come back in the affirmative. The American brand is, to put it bluntly, in trouble and there doesn’t appear to be an obvious solution.