Articles by Stephen Ottley

Stephen Ottley

Contributing Journalist

Steve has been obsessed with all things automotive for as long as he can remember. Literally, his earliest memory is of a car. Having amassed an enviable Hot Wheels and Matchbox collection as a kid he moved into the world of real cars with an Alfa Romeo Alfasud.

Despite that questionable history he carved a successful career for himself, firstly covering motorsport for Auto Action magazine before eventually moving into the automotive publishing world with CarsGuide in 2008. Since then he's worked for every major outlet, having work published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Drive.com.au, Street Machine, V8X and F1 Racing.

These days he still loves cars as much as he did as a kid and has an Alfa Romeo Alfasud in the garage (but not the same one as before... that's a long story).

Is Australia stopping the uptake of EVs?

By Stephen Ottley · 29 Nov 2020

How do you encourage motorists to choose cleaner, greener cars whilst still ensuring everyone pays their fair share for using our roads? That’s the $49 billion question that threatens to derail Australia’s uptake of electric vehicles.

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Alpine to go after AMG, BMW M and Audi Sport?

By Stephen Ottley · 28 Nov 2020

Renault’s decision to rebrand the multi-million-dollar marketing machine that is its Formula One team after a company selling less than 1000 cars in Europe per year is starting to come into focus.

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Are you ready for a hydrogen off-roader?

By Stephen Ottley · 24 Nov 2020

Old fashioned off-roading is set to meet 21st century technology.

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What the UK’s ban petrol and diesel car means

By Stephen Ottley · 22 Nov 2020

The world is moving towards electric vehicles (EVs) faster than many people realise, and the consequences for Australian motorists could be significant.

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These new cars are firing on all cylinders

By Stephen Ottley · 15 Nov 2020

It’s no revelation the new-vehicle market is more crowded than ever before. There’s so much to choose from that it can be hard for new models to really grab buyers’ attention. But some models command attention.

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Luxury cars are surprisingly steady in 2020

By Stephen Ottley · 14 Nov 2020

The new-vehicle sales race is really two different battles. There’s the headline struggle for overall success between the mainstream brands, but there’s also the clash between the luxury carmakers for supremacy in the premium space.

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City cars to be gone by 2025? Kia thinks so

By Stephen Ottley · 08 Nov 2020

Prices are rising while sales are declining – the future of city cars doesn’t look bright. That’s not news, because this has been a trend for some time, but now one of the biggest supporters of smaller passenger cars has admitted the writing is on the wall.

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Genesis has really big plans for Australia

By Stephen Ottley · 07 Nov 2020

Genesis wants to make you a believer. Hyundai’s new luxury brand has set the ambitious target of attracting up to 10 per cent of the luxury car market with its new models, including the just launched GV80, which is the brand’s first SUV.

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Kia’s overdue brand relaunch set for 2021

By Stephen Ottley · 01 Nov 2020

Kia recently debuted a new, more sophisticated logo, and it comes at the perfect time for the South Korean brand. After five years of growth, Kia is now established as one of this country’s most popular mainstream car brands, so a new look helps shed the last vestiges of its former ‘cheap and cheerful’ image.

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PSA-FCA merger could lead to Aussie rebirth

By Stephen Ottley · 31 Oct 2020

What would be the world’s fourth largest car company – by volume – took a step closer to becoming a reality this week. The long-running saga of the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and PSA Group looks set to be finalised by early 2021, after the two sides signed cross-border merger terms.

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