Sedan News

Mercedes-AMG has revealed a second bodystyle in the A35 4Matic range, with the sedan confirmed to launch locally in the fourth quarter of 2019.

March is traditionally a breather month after a usual weak sales start to the year. Given the market downturn so far, it could be a bit tougher than before. That means the new car deals will start coming hot and strong so we’ll publish some of the best that could save you some big bucks.

Audi's global chief has delivered a sobering summary of the brand's 2018 results, telling media and analysts that the numbers show a "brand in crisis".

Honda Australia says 95 per cent of faulty Takata airbags have been replaced locally, but that more than 40,000 vehicles are still out there with potentially deadly airbags fitted.The completion high rate to date is undoubtedly a positive result, but Honda Australia director Stephen Collins said there’s much more to do to achieve the brand’s 100 per cent success rate goal. “The biggest challenge for us so far has been customer response,” he said. “We know the VIN numbers of the cars that are yet to be replaced, and have been actively trying to contact the owners so that they can get their airbags replaced free of charge. The faulty items are already responsible for one death and dozens of injuries in Australia. “We door-knocked every single person that was affected by the airbag recall, and that got a 30 or so per cent positive response. “Of those door-knocks, 70 per cent we found the car, and of that 70 per cent a third of owners booked their car in, a third said they understood but didn’t want to complete the recall, and the other third gave many excuses as to why they didn’t want to, including that they were busy, that nobody sits on that side of the car or that Honda was trying to sell them another car.“There is still 43,531 vehicles left to have their airbags replaced,” Mr Collins said.At the peak of the recall, Honda was replacing about 8500 airbags each week, but now is down to roughly 300 per week thanks to the reach of the campaign so far.Honda has again called for the Victorian Government to join every other state in Australia in banning registration for owners who are yet to have their faulty airbags replaced. Honda is still attempting to locate 34,000 airbag inflators in 26,000 cars, and 4200 of those have the highest risk 'Alpha' type, which - according to Honda Australia - has a 50:50 chance of death upon deployment.“It’s extremely disappointing,” said Mr Collins.“NSW has the most outstanding faulty airbags by a long way, but Victoria still has many to be replaced as well, and it’s a relatively simple measure that is not difficult to implement. There’s too much talking going on and not enough action.”Despite not reaching a 100 per cent success rate yet, Honda Australia is committed to completing the task. Because the airbags can still kill without a car even being switched on, the car industry has employed an outside firm to recover faulty airbags from junked cars in wrecking yards.“As part of the recall, we as an industry have a company who has a team of people searching through wrecking yards finding used airbags, taking them out of the system,” Mr Collins said. “At the end of the day our focus still remains to try and get them done. That’s our total focus.”If you’re not up to speed on the Takata airbag scandal, manufacturers including Honda, Toyota, BMW and Subaru are recalling millions of cars worldwide because potentially deadly airbag inflators made by Japanese company Takata were fitted to cars from as far back as 2002. This is the serious part: there have been multiple injuries and even deaths because of the faulty airbags. A Honda technician in the US died changing a faulty unit while a car was switched off. Despite the replacement being free of charge, there are still thousands of cars on our roads that are yet to have their airbags changed. If you are yet to have your airbags replaced, you are putting yourself and others in danger.

Honda Australia has confirmed that the new-generation Accord sedan - on sale in North America since October 2017 - will finally be launched locally in late 2019 armed with both turbo-petrol and hybrid drivetrains.

Electric car brand Tesla will readjust its prices once more and will not shut all of its stores, the company has confirmed in its latest blog post.

The Tesla Supercharger network is about to get turbocharged, with the electric car company claiming its fast-recharge network will soon offer the capability of adding 1000 miles, or 1600 kilometres, per hour of recharging.

The first ever Peugeot 508 Sport model has been confirmed by the head of the French car maker.

The Hyundai Sonata 2020 model has been uncovered ahead of its debut at the 2019 New York auto show next month. Due for Australian release in the second half of 2019, the new eighth-generation Sonata shapes up differently to its predecessor - it's 45mm longer (4900mm) with a 35mm longer wheelbase (now 2840mm), 25mm wider (1890mm) and 30mm lower (1445mm). According to the brand, the new Sonata is taking Hyundai down the 'coupe'-style sedan path - a route it has not travelled before with a global product such as the Sonata.Influenced by the HDC-2 concept from the 2018 Busan motor show, the company says the new Sonata was designed using 'light architecture design'. This can be seen in several exterior elements - for instance, the chrome window surrounds connect with the headlights via LED strip lighting. A new feature for the Sonata is what Hyundai calls ‘Hidden Lighting Lamps’, which incorporate new lighting technology to appear as a chrome metal when switched off, yet become “dramatically lit” when turned on.The car’s wide, layered bonnet and low stance contribute to the coupe-like styling, the company claims. The sweeping roofline and almost-ducktail like rear end add a standout style, and the tail-lights joined by a single LED strip accentuates the rear width. The interior of the new Hyundai Sonata is a big step forward for the nameplate and the brand, too. There's a sweeping dashboard layout and fully-digital dials, as well as a Bose sound system. The shift-by-wire transmission selector has been taken from the Ioniq Electric and is said to free up storage space in the cabin. New interior switchgear has also been introduced - even the indicator and wiper stalks have been redesigned with a higher-quality finish, as well as the multimedia system buttons and climate control switchgear. Hyundai is yet to discuss details of the new Sonata’s drivetrains, though it is expected that the current model’s 2.4-litre petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engines will continue. In North America, a plug-in hybrid Sonata may continue to be offered into the next generation of the car, and in some markets a diesel engine may be available.Local specifications and pricing for the new Hyundai Sonata are to be announced before the car's release later this year.

Your new Mazda wants to watch you sleeping...