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May 4, 2011 Australia’s No.1 Automotive Industry Journal No. 579 70,000 Readers Weekly 

JAC attack 

Australian importer secures car deal with China’s JAC and sets 2012 launch date 

By RON HAMMERTON 

TOP-10 Chinese vehicle manufacturer 

Jianghuai Automobile Co (JAC) is set to 

launch its passenger car range in Australia 

within 18 months, becoming the fourth carmaker 

from the world’s biggest motor market 

to lock in its car export plans for this country. 

The JAC range of cars and SUVs will be 

imported by Sydney-based WMC Group, 

which is already gearing up to introduce 

JAC trucks and vans in the second half 

of this year alongside its existing Higer 

Chinese bus import business. 

JAC cars will go head-to-head with 

existing Chinese light-vehicle brands Great 

Wall Motors, Chery and Geely, which all 

have major model expansion plans in place 

for Australia in the next two years. 

WMC Group managing director Jason 

Pecotic confi rmed to GoAuto that the deal 

to extend the JAC distribution deal beyond 

trucks to light passenger cars had been 

signed in February, with JAC selecting two 

car platforms to be developed in both right- 

and left-hand-drive for western markets, 

including Australia, and exported by the 

fourth quarter of next year. 

This means WMC – formerly known 

as White Motor Corporation – will have 

exclusive rights to distribute all vehicles 

under the JAC brand across Australia and 

New Zealand. 

JAC, best known as China’s secondlargest 

truck-maker and number-one truck 

exporter, already offers nine passenger 

vehicles in China, ranging from a Suzuki 

Alto-sized fi ve-door hatch to a Camry-sized 

sedan, and including two people-movers 

and a Hyundai Tucson-style SUV. 

GoAuto understands that at least two 

Australian importers sought the highly 

prized JAC light-vehicle deal. 

The successful WMC bid was backed by 

Australia’s biggest automotive dealer group, 

Automotive Holdings Group, which is set to 

offer both JAC trucks and cars through its 

national dealer network. 

Mr Pecotic said WMC’s commitment to 

the truck business had been instrumental in 

winning the passenger car import deal. 

 

 

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“We have spent millions on trucks and 

pre-purchasing product over the last few 

months,” he said. 

Mr Pecotic said that, now the decision had 

been made, JAC was moving ahead with its 

product development plans for Australia. 

“It is all coming together so quickly,” he 

said. “They are moving ahead at 100 miles 

an hour.” 

WMC’s JAC import operation kicks off 

in New Zealand in May with the showroom 

launch of the fi rst 7.5-tonne, Cummins Euro 

4 diesel-powered truck. 

The same truck but with a Euro 5 version 

of the ISF 3.8-litre Cummins engine – made 

under licence by Chinese truck-maker Foton 

– will hit the Australian market in limited 

numbers in August before larger shipments 

arrive in the fi nal quarter. A smaller 4.5-tonne 

model is set for launch about the end of July. 

Continued next page 

INSIDE 

GOAUTO DRIVES 

INFINITI’S G37



JAC attack 

Continued from previous page 

The JAC Multivan – a Mercedes-Benz 

Sprinter-style six-metre-long multi-purpose 

van powered for Australia by a 2.8-litre 

four-cylinder ISF Cummins engine – is 

scheduled to go into production in October 

and arrive in Australia in November. 

Although the passenger car plans for 

JAC in Australia are still under wraps, the 

company is likely to follow the lead of other 

Chinese brands and start with light and small 

cars, potentially with more than one variant 

built off each platform. 

Contenders could be the current or nextgeneration 

versions of the Cruze-sized JAC J5 

in sedan and fi ve-door RS crossover styles, the 

smaller J3 sedan and hatch, or the baby of the 

range, the J2 fi ve-door hatchback city car. 

The J3 was famously designed by Italian 

styling house Pininfarina, making it among 

the most contemporary cars from a Chinese 

manufacturer. The J5 is also said to have 

been infl uenced by the Italian designers. 

However, all these models will probably 

have to be renamed for Australia, as rival 



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EDITOR: Terry Martin 

MANAGING EDITOR: Marton Pettendy 

JOURNALISTS: Ron Hammerton, Haitham Razagui 

Byron Mathioudakis, James Stanford 

PRODUCTION: Luc Britten 

SUB-EDITOR: David Hassall 

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Mike Costello 

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May 4, 2011 Page 2 

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Chery has already snapped up the ‘J’ format 

for its range, which so far includes the J1 

and J11, with a J3 on the way. 

Similarly, Chery importer Ateco 

Automotive was forced to change the name 

of the Chery cars – known as A1, A3 etc 

elsewhere – because Audi had already 

adopted those tags worldwide. 

All existing JAC passenger cars are frontdrive 

and powered by four-cylinder engines, 

either petrol or diesel, ranging from the 1.0litre 

unit with just 55kW/85Nm in the J2 to 

2.4 litres with 110kW/210Nm in the S1 SUV 

that also offers a 2.0-litre diesel producing 

100kW/190Nm. 

JAC makes its own 16-valve four-cylinder 

petrol engine in a range of sizes, while also 

running alternative engines from Mitsubishi. 

Manual transmissions, in either fi ve or six 

speeds, are standard across the range, but no 

automatic transmission is currently on offer. 

Based in the central Chinese city of Hefei, 

JAC has a production capacity of 700,000 units 

a year and last year sold 460,000 cars, trucks 

and buses – up from 310,000 in 2009 – putting 

it among China’s top 10 manufacturers. 

Last year, it exported 20,000 vehicles, 

mostly trucks, to developing countries. It 

hopes to double those exports this year and 

Brazil showroom and 

(below) Chinese production 

push its overall sales to 600,000 units. 

The local Anhui provincial government 

based in Hefei is a major shareholder in the 

company, which has backed its commitment to 

exports by opening research and development 

centres in Turin, Italy, and Tokyo, Japan. 

The Turin and Japanese operations are 

jointly credited with designing the JAC 

Multivan, with Turin looking after the exterior 

and Tokyo being responsible for the interior. 

In China, the van is offered in a range of 

confi gurations, from standard commercial 

work van to coach and even ambulance. 

Local importer WMC already imports a 

range of Higer buses, all powered by Cummins 

engines fi tted with Allison transmissions. Its 

latest model is the Higer Munro – a 27-seater 

named after majority shareholder in the 

WMC Group, Sydney doctor Don Munro. 

JAC trucks set to roll – next page 

Email Nick Dimax: sydney.reception@auto-it.com.au | 02 8566 3000



JAC trucks set to roll 

Importer reveals big order 

bank for JAC truck range, 

with van launch due in Q4 


CHINESE vehicle importer WMC Group 

says it has pre-sold 100 of the 300 JAC 

Motors trucks it expects to receive from 

China’s second-largest truck-maker – 

Jianghuai Automobile Company – in the 

second half of this year as it launches the 

new brand in Australia. 

And the Sydney-based importer has 

revealed to GoAuto that it will add a JAC 

large van in the mould of the Mercedes-Benz 

Sprinter to the opening two-truck range from 

November, before extending into passenger 

cars from the fourth quarter of 2012. 

WMC Group managing director Jason 

Pecotic said he expected the fi rst JAC 

truck model – a 7.5-tonne vehicle powered 

by a 3.8-litre ISF Cummins engine – to 

get offi cial ADR approval in June when 

a production version with the latest Euro 

5-compliant engine arrives to be signed off 

by the Department of Transport and Road 

Safety (DOTARS). 

Mr Pecotic said the fi rst batch of fi ve 

production trucks would then arrive in 

August, with mass-produced customer 

vehicles following from September. 

As well, the fi rst 4.5-tonne model with the 

JAC Multivan 

same 3.8-litre diesel engine was expected to 

land in Australia about July. 

Mr Pecotic said WMC’s JAC division 

– JAC Trucks Australia Pty Ltd – had 

committed to taking delivery of 300 

vehicles in the fi rst six months, with a 

target of 950 sales for 2012. If achieved, 

those fi gures would place JAC in the top 

10 in the Australian truck industry in its 

fi rst full year. 

“We have actually sold the fi rst 100,” Mr 

Pecotic said. “The problem we have got at the 

moment is not getting them here in time. 

“I have so much pressure on getting them 

here earlier, so we are fairly excited about 

the trucks getting here.” 

WMC – formerly known as White 

Motor Corporation – has been backed in 

the venture by Australia’s biggest dealer 

group, Automotive Holdings Group, which 

operates more than 100 dealerships across 

Australia and New Zealand. 

WMC also imports and distributes Chinesemade 

Higer buses, also with Cummins 

engines and Allison transmissions. 

JAC has had a prototype truck in 

Australia for a year preparing for local 

homologation – a process that moved a 

step closer with an inspection two weeks 

Australia’s No.1 

Motor Marketing Specialist 

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May 4, 2011 Page 3 

ago by DOTARS offi cials at the company’s 

Australian headquarters at Milperra, in 

Sydney’s south-west. 

However, the fi nal sign-off will have to 

wait until the arrival in June of a formal 

SUTI (single uniform type inspection) 

vehicle with the production-ready Euro 

5 diesel engine, as the vehicle already in 

Australia has an earlier Euro 4 powertrain. 

The company is just three weeks away 

from the showroom launch of the fi rst 

JAC truck in New Zealand, where the fi rst 

shipment of 48 JAC Euro 4-diesel trucks are 

making their way through customs. 

In China, JAC makes a full range of trucks, 

from light delivery vans to heavy haulage 

prime movers, as well as buses, passenger 

cars and light commercial vehicles. 

For Australia and New Zealand, WMC has 

specifi ed all Cummins ISF diesel engines, 

which are assembled in a new Chinese 

factory built near Beijing as a joint venture 

between Cummins and major truck-maker 

Beiqi Foton. 

Mr Pecotic said Cummins was making a 

batch of 50 Euro 5 engines for WMC’s fi rst 

JAC production. 

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China lights the way 

Four-way Chinese stoush 

looms as Great Wall joins 

hunt for $10,990 Chery J1 


THE price battle at the bargain-basement 

end of the new-car market, where Chinese 

brand Chery has just announced a $10,990 

driveaway price for its entry-level J1 city 

car, has the potential to turn red hot before 

the end of the year with the arrival of up to 

three more Chinese-made light hatchbacks. 

Great Wall Motors importer Ateco 

Automotive has all but confi rmed that its fi rst 

Great Wall passenger car – a fi ve-door light 

hatchback called Voleex C10 in China, where 

it was launched last year – is on the launch 

pad for the fourth quarter of this year. 

And, as GoAuto has previously reported, 

Perth-based Chinese Automotive Distributors 

this year is planning to nationally launch 

not one but two new Geely light cars, the 

diminutive LC mini hatch – called the Panda 

in China – and the one-size-larger CE hatch 

– replacing the WA-only Geely MK. 

The pressure will ratchet up even further 

in late 2012 with the arrival of passenger 

cars from a fourth Chinese brand, Jianghuai 

Automobile Company (JAC). 

Although the JAC models destined for 


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Australia are yet to be revealed, the Chinese 

company is equipped with a Pininfarina-designed 

light sedan and hatchback range, known as J3, as 

well as a mini hatchback called the J2. 

All these Chinese newcomers are expected 

to come in below most existing contenders, 

such as the Indian-made Suzuki Alto and 

Malaysian-built Proton S16, as well as other 

potential players such as the Hyundai i10 

and Kia Picanto from Korea. 

The Great Wall C10 is a fi ve-door, 

fi ve-seat hatchback offered in China with 

a choice of 68kW/118Nm 1.3-litre and 

77kW/138Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol 

engines, each in a choice of two equipment 

levels, Luxury and Elite. 

Unlike many Chinese light cars, the 

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May 4, 2011 Page 4 

Voleex C10 

transmission (CVT) – alongside the standard 

fi ve-speed manual gearbox. 

Standard equipment includes airconditioning, 

ABS four-wheel disc brakes, 

electric windows and central locking. 

Asked if the Great Wall C10 was locked 

in for Australian launch this year to kick off 

the brand’s passenger car range, Ateco’s 

Chinese brands spokesman Daniel Cotterill 

told GoAuto: “We wouldn’t be far from that. 

I think that is where we get started.” 

Mr Cotterill said Ateco and Great Wall 

still had some details to fi nalise, including 

the design of the front fascia. 

“There are a couple of different grilles 

and I think it would be fair to say it is not 

actually fi nalised as to which one Australia 

gets just yet,” he said. 

Continued next page



China lights the way 


One of the grilles – the most public variant 

seen in China – has a distinctive toothy 

vertical chrome bar design, while the other 

is a more conventional horizontal affair. 

For Great Wall, the arrival in about 

November of the C10 – which is also 

known in China as the Phenom – will cap 

a hectic six months in which it will also 

introduce long-awaited diesel versions of 

its two current sister models, the ‘V’ ute 

and ‘X’ SUV. 

The diesel version of the latter – to 

be called X200 TDi – will also get an 

automatic transmission option, greatly 

expanding the market reach of this small 

crossover wagon entry. 

The 105kW diesel engine will generate 

more power than the current 93kW 2.4-litre 

Mitsubishi-derived petrol engine that will 

continue in the range, as well as delivering 

more than 300Nm of torque. 

Mr Cotterill said the diesel was the missing 

link in the Great Wall ute and SUV range. 

“The sooner we can get these on the 

market, the sooner this business becomes 

better in terms of Great Wall,” he said. 

Mr Cotterill said he could not speculate on 

the incremental sales the diesel powertrain 

would bring to the ute and SUV, but said it 

would be signifi cant. 

Asked if the engine had the potential 

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to double volume, he said: “If those cars 

have already proved to have been such a 

good value proposition to so many people 

now, I would not be surprised to see things 

of that magnitude.” 

So far this year, Great Wall has registered 

990 V240 petrol utes and 662 petrol X240 

SUVs, according to offi cial VFACTS fi gures 

to the end of March. 

Mr Cotterill conceded that the showroom 

introduction of the diesel engine had been 

delayed, saying that the company just 

wanted to ensure the engine was fully ready 

for the Australian market. 

The V200 TDi ute is now expected to arrive 

about July, with the X200 TDi to follow a 

little later in the third quarter, along with the 

optional fi ve-speed automatic transmission. 

“We are down to the fi ner points of 

homologation and production orders and so 

on, and we expect it (the V200) about the 


May 4, 2011 Page 5 

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third quarter,” he said. “But I wouldn’t be 

surprised to see a manual ute or two a little 

bit before that. 

“The auto will be in the SUV, and that’s a 

third quarter proposition.” 

The single-cab V-series ute is also 

expected to receive the same cosmetic 

facelift that was applied to the dual-cab 

earlier this month, when the facelifted X240 

crossover was also released. 

Mr Cotterill dismissed the chances of an 

Australian launch for Great Wall’s large Ford 

F-150-rivalling pick-up concept, the CL, 

which was shown at the recent Shanghai motor 

show. “It’s not in our current planning, no,” he 

said. “We are pretty happy with the Great Wall 

line-up as it is, but clearly we would like to add 

some depth to it where it makes sense.” 


Chery hits new low – next page 

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Chery hits new low 

Australia’s new-car entry 

level has fallen to $10,990 

driveaway with Chinese J1 

By MARTON PETTENDY 

CHINESE car-maker Chery has wound 

Australia’s new-car price clock back 20 

years by slashing the pricetag of its brandnew 

J1 city car to just $10,990 driveaway 

after only two months on sale. 

That sort of retail price – let alone one that 

includes all statutory and on-road costs – 

has not been seen in Australia since 1991, on 

Hyundai’s industry-changing Excel hatch, 

or more than two decades ago, on Suzuki’s 

1990 Swift. 

Factor in two decades of infl ation and the 

Chery J1 could well be the most affordable 

new car ever sold in Australia. 

The new J1 pricetag not only undercuts 

Proton’s $11,990 driveaway S16 sedan – 

previously Australia’s equal-cheapest new car 

alongside the J1 – by $1000, but is signifi cantly 

lower than the rock-bottom stickers on city cars 

like Suzuki’s Indian-built Alto (from $11,790 

plus on-road costs or $12,490 driveaway) and 

Holden’s Korean-made Barina Spark (from 

$12,490 plus ORCs or $13,990 driveaway). 

At the same time, traditional Korean 

price leaders like Kia and Hyundai, whose 

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$15,490-plus (or from $15,990 driveaway) 

i20 will become the brand’s lowest-priced 

model when the long-running Getz (from 

$12,990 driveaway) is retired this year, 

have both fl agged their intention to move 

upmarket with all-new light cars later this 

year via the redesigned Rio sedan and hatch 

and Accent sedan respectively. 

Chery became Australia’s third Chinese 

passenger vehicle brand in March, when it 

released the pint-size J1 hatch and Australia’s 

cheapest SUV – the J11 – following the 

launch of two Great Wall utes in July 2009 

and, so far only in Western Australia, the 

Geely MK light car in January. 

Now Chery distributor Ateco Automotive 

says it is passing on its savings from the 

surging Aussie dollar by offering a $1000 

cash-back offer on the J1, effectively 

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reducing its smallest model’s driveaway 

price from an already bargain-basement 

$11,990 to just $10,990. 

“The Australian dollar is running at levels 

not seen since 1983, the year Australia won 

the America’s Cup,” said Chery Automotive 

Australia general manager Dinesh 

Chinnappa. “We have decided to pass on the 

benefi t of the strong Australian dollar to the 

Australian car-buying public.” 

To take advantage of the nation’s best newcar 

deal, which sees the 1.3-litre fi ve-door 

J1 priced about the same as a fi ve-year-old 

Holden Commodore Executive, customers 

must fi ll out a form and pay the discounted 

price of $10,990 or pay the full retail price of 

$11,990 and receive $1000 in cash. 


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Saab moves into China 

Chinese car-maker Hawtai 

rides to the rescue as Saab 

aims to resume production 


SAAB Automobile has signed a strategic 

partnership with small but ambitious 

Chinese motor company Hawtai Motor 

Group that will not only help the struggling 

Swedish company to revive production at its 

stalled home factory at Trollhattan but also 

get the brand into manufacturing in the huge 

Chinese market. 

Hawtai has agreed to spend €120 million 

($A163m) to buy a stake of up to 29.9 per 

cent in Saab parent company Spyker Cars 

NV in return for the rights to build and 

distribute Saab vehicles under joint ventures 

in China, as well as share technology. 

As well, Hawtai has agreed to lend Saab 

€30 million ($A40.7m) in the form of a 

convertible loan. 

The Saab-Hawtai tie-up was announced 

yesterday in Beijing by Saab chairman Victor 

Muller and Hawtai vice-president Richard 

Zhang, just 24 hours after Spyker announced 

it had secured a €30 million short-term loan 

that would, along with fi nancing from the 

European Investment Bank (EIB), help kickstart 

production at Saab’s Trollhattan factory, 

possibly within a week. 

The Saab production lines ground to a 

halt last month when unpaid parts-makers 

refused to deliver components until cashstrapped 

Saab settled their bills. 

Announcing the deal, Mr Muller said: 

“The partnership with Hawtai allows Saab 

Automobile on the one hand to continue 

executing its business plan since we secured 

the required mid-term fi nancing subject to 

meeting certain conditions, whilst on the 

other hand it allows Saab Automobile to 


May 4, 2011 Page 7 

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enter the Chinese car market and establish 

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Target line drawn 

Dealer profi tability is top 

of mind for Mitsu but four 

per cent return ‘idealistic’ 

THE new chief of Mitsubishi Motors 

Australia has vowed not to drag his dealers 

into the maelstrom of bullying and strongarm 

tactics being experienced within a wide range 

of new-car franchises across Australia. 

Incoming president and CEO Genichiro 

Nishina told GoAuto the company was 

pursuing a policy of steady growth and that 

its goal was to make sure all its dealers were 

making a strong net profi t on sales. 

His predecessor, Masahiko Takahashi, 

told GoAuto: “We want Mitsubishi to 

be the most preferred franchise 

and this concept will be passed to 

Nishina-san.” 

The two MMAL chiefs were 

commenting on recent presentations 

to Deloitte Motor Industry Services’ 

clients in each mainland capital city 

by GoAuto publisher John Mellor, 

who revealed widespread discontent 

among dealers from pressure being 

placed on them by car companies. 

Mr Mellor’s research for the presentation 

involved interviews with leading dealers 

in a cross-section of markets. It revealed: 

massive pressure to take excess stock; 

underhand tactics to prevent dealers from 

taking on Chinese franchises; unrealistic 

expectations for dealership upgrades; 

and failure to understand mounting cost 

pressures across all dealership activities 

which are collectively making a large 

number of Australian dealers unviable. 

Mr Mellor warned that many dealerships 

were unprofi table and the owners were 

Masahiko 

Takahashi 

Top Performance Workshops 

Are you getting the most from your business? 

The Deloitte Top Performance Workshop brings your 

management team together to identify profit opportunities 

within your business and work with your management 

team to maximise the profit in their individual departments. 

The Deloitte Top Performance Workshop objectives: 

• Understand the financial dynamics of a dealership and 

connect the Senior Managers 

• Compare your departmental performance to franchise 

averages and industry benchmark 

trapped in their businesses while looking for 

an exit from the car industry. 

He said the car industry was facing the 

loss of key dealership sites as dealers placed 

under pressure by the car companies sold or 

leased their facilities to other retail sectors 

– especially the rapidly expanding 

hardware sector for which dealership 

sites are especially suitable. 

However, Mr Mellor told the 

Deloitte audiences that one franchise 

was setting out to be a model of 

factory-dealer relations and was 

working with its dealer group to 

achieve a retail structure where all 

dealers could achieve a four per 

cent net return on sales. 

Asked if Mitsubishi was that franchise, 

Mr Takahashi said: “Four per cent profi t 

is probably a little idealistic. We have not 

talked about that as a concrete target for our 

dealers, but we are very keen to improve the 

dealers’ profi tability. 

“We are seeing that our dealer profi tability 

on the Deloitte (Profi t Focus) database is 

so-so and we have set a target line as an 

ideal position, but it is not four per cent. 

“We are not trying to totally change the 

(dealer) structure. We are taking a mild 

approach where we know that dealers’ 

• Provide an insight into the industry and best practice 

dealerships 

• Conduct a top performance planning session to define 

Performance Action Plans. 

The Deloitte Top Performance Workshop outcomes: 

• Drive a performance culture 

• Generate performance commitment of all 

department managers 

• Quantifiable action plans for your senior management 

team to deliver on. 


May 4, 2011 Page 8 

investments should be covered out of their free 

cash fl ow. So we are keen to improve their free 

cash fl ow, but it can’t be achieved overnight. 

“The easiest way is to allow them to get 

more gross margin, but that is not so easy 

because there is a trade-off in sales and 

market competition which is very severe at 

the moment. 

“We need to secure profi tability fi rst of all. 

In order to make that happen we are trying 

to support dealers by increasing their parts 

and service revenues. 

“So there are no such enforcing requests to 

our dealers. We are trying to approach them 

in a very mild way and we are emphasising 

that dealer profi tability is the fi rst priority. 

“The relationship is very important and 

we are not enforcing some things on dealers 

and we are very keen to listen to our dealers. 

This is totally the opposite strategy from 

some of the other car-makers operating in 

Australia. I will not say who they are, but we 

are totally the opposite. 

“In the long term, the relationship and the 

mutual respect (with MMAL dealers) will 

grow our business. Maybe not in the short 

term but long-term growth will be the best way 

… and MMC itself is running the business in 

that concept,” said Mr Takahashi. 

Continued next page 

Deloitte Performance Workshops 

– Book one today! 

Dale McCauley 

Director 

Tel: +61 (0) 2 9322 7277 

Tony Hutton 

Manager 

Tel: +61 (0) 2 9322 3710 

Genichiro Nishina



Career Opportunities 


‘Sustainable’ growth chart 

Mitsubishi declares not to 

drive up share by shoving 

new cars into showrooms 

By JOHN MELLOR 

MITSUBISHI Motors Australia Ltd has 

decided not to force market growth by pushing 

cars into dealerships, opting instead for steady 

market share increases over the longer term. 

With a caveat that there will be disruption 

to sales due to the Japanese earthquake and 

tsunami by mid-year, senior management 

has told GoAuto that forcing market share 

would create a “backlash” in the market and 

that it would instead pursue sustained share 

growth in Australia. 

MMAL’s incoming president and CEO, 

Genichiro Nishina, said the transition from 

local manufacturer to total importer was 

achieved without loss of share by careful 

management of products and price points. 

He said that in his view the company 

should plan on steady growth in Australia 

without forcing the market by loading 

excess vehicles into dealerships. 

May 4, 2011 Page 9 

Mitsubishi aims for ‘preferred franchise’ status and sets new profi tability target 


Mr Nishina said he would continue to 

pursue the current policy of co-operation 

with the dealers: “Business continuity is 

very important and so is sustainable, stepby-step 

growth. That is what we are aiming 

at and I will continue that strategy because 

in the long-term that is very important.” 

“If we hit seven, eight or nine per cent 

market share, we will probably see a backlash 

later on, so therefore we are pursuing very 

sustainable growth,” Mr Nishina told us. 

“Currently we are 6.3 per cent market share 

and we will increase that to 6.5 and then 6.7.” 

He said MMAL would have a series of 

replacement products coming in from late 

2012 to 2013 “that will be a key driver to gain 

market share”. “With those new products 

available we are expecting real market share 

growth up to possibly 7.5 per cent,” he said. 

Asked if MMC had a policy of forcing 

growth by oversupplying dealers with 

cars, outgoing MMAL president and CEO 

Masahiko Takahashi said: “While the plant 

was running in Adelaide, I cannot deny that. 

But once we became an importer, the plant 

Mr Takahashi said those dealer policies 

were established by former president 

Robert McEniry. “I have maintained and 

grown that and Nishina-san will continue 

that because you need to be consistent,” he 

said. “That should not be changed.” 

Mr Nishina, who has been with Mitsubishi 

for 30 years, mainly in overseas sales and 

New Car Sales Manager • Used Car Sales Manager • Sales Executives 

Established on the Gold Coast in the late 1950’s, the Grand Motors Group celebrates over 50 years of unsurpassed customer 

service and dealership excellence. Recent additions to the Grand Motors Group in Sydney include Marshalls Motors Mercedes- 

Benz and Grand Motors Parramatta; which includes Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Chery and Great Wall Motors. 

Due to the phenomenal growth of the Chinese brands and with exciting new products from Alfa Romeo, Citroen and Fiat, Grand 

Motors Parramatta is expanding rapidly. We are now seeking experienced Sales professionals with a desire to become part of our 

dynamic team and share in our success and growth, working in a rst-class dealership facility. Excellent remuneration packages 

are on offer for the right individuals. 

Please send your resumé and covering letter to the Dealer Principal Ed Butler on email: ed.butler@grandmotors.com.au 

• No.1 Chery Dealership in Australia • No.1 Great Wall Dealership in NSW 

ASX 

in Japan is reasonably well managed at a 

certain level of throughput and therefore we 

run the business naturally.” 

But Mr Takahashi said that any “oversupply 

situation” would be reversed as soon as June 

or July. He added that there “will defi nitely 

be supply shortages in Australia” due to the 

earthquake in Japan and that “excess stock 

in Australia could be cleaned out in one or 

two months’ time and probably after that the 

supply will be totally short”. 

Mr Nishina said MMC was assessing the 

impact of the disaster and that the “outlook 

changed very much for the worst” as more 

details about vital tier four and fi ve suppliers 

emerged. “MMC’s plants were away from the 

earthquake area, but not its suppliers. I hope 

there will not be a severe problem,” he said. 

marketing operations, said he was wellplaced 

to help MMAL’s growth because he 

was well-connected in Japan. “Of course I 

have lots of friends in headquarters,” said Mr 

Nishina. “Those friends are already senior 

level so, by using my experience with MMC 

and my overseas experience, I strongly hope 

that will be a benefi t to the operations here.” 

www.grandmotors.com.au



National 

Parts 

Manager 

Australia and 

New Zealand 


Next Focus draws near 

Ford Australia set to sell 

all-new Focus hatch and 

sedan range from August 


FORD has announced its third-generation 

Focus will go on sale in Australia in just 

three months, headlined by a frugal new 

1.6-litre petrol engine to open the all-new 

small-car range. 

Now offi cially confi rmed for release 

here in August, the redesigned Focus will 

be available from launch in both four-door 

sedan and fi ve-door hatchback body styles, 

with the choice of four specifi cation levels. 

In addition to a new 2.0-litre GDi directinjection 

four-cylinder petrol engine and 

upgraded 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi turbodiesel, 

the 1.6-litre Duratec Ti-VCT petrol 

four will bring the initial number of new 

Focus engines to three. 

Full details of the local launch range will be 

announced next month, but GoAuto expects 

Ford Australia to expand the number of sedan 

variants it offers in order to capitalise on the 

more stylish new three-box Focus design. 

Sales of the current LVII-series Focus 

are heavily skewed to the hatch, while the 

top-selling Mazda3’s hatch/sedan split is 

closer to 50:50. That is why the MkII Focus 

sedan range includes just two entry-level 

petrol versions, while the hatch is available 

in four model grades (CL, LX, Zetec and 

TDCi diesel). 

However, the addition of a range-topping 

Titanium variant, which borrows its name 

from the fl agship Mondeo and now Territory, 

and the availability of diesel power in both 

hatch and sedan confi guration, should result 

in the widest Focus range for some time. 

Ford says the new 1.6-litre engine reduces 

fuel consumption by more than 15 per cent 

over the most fuel-effi cient 2.0-litre petrol 

Focus currently offered (7.1L/100km), 

which equates to about 6.0L/100km. 

However, it is not clear which transmission 

the smaller engine will be matched with, or 

which body style it will be available in. 

Although the Focus 1.6 is not expected 

to signifi cantly reduce the current model’s 

May 4, 2011 Page 10 

entry-level price of $21,990 – at least not 

until MkIII Focus production for Australia 

switches from Saarlouis in Germany to 

Rayong in Thailand late next year – it 

will join a growing number of smallerdisplacement 

models in what was once 

exclusively a 2.0-litre class. 

While the 1.6-litre Focus will be Ford’s 

answer to Hyundai’s 1.6-litre petrol i30 hatch 

range-opener ($19,590) and Volkswagen’s 

1.2-litre Golf 77TSI ($22,990), the new 

Focus itself will be joined in Australia’s 

fastest-growing sales segment by facelifted 

Mazda3, all-new Holden Cruze hatch, new 

Subaru Impreza and new Citroen C4 models 

by year’s end, plus new Honda Civic and 

Opel Astra models next year. 


Ford posts $2.6b Q1 profi t – page 16 

 

 

 

 

 

To support the growth plans for the business, WMC Group are 

now seeking an experienced Parts Manager to drive this fast 

paced division for the JAC and HIGER brands. 

Operating across our Australia and New Zealand business, and 

working with IDS e42, this role will be responsible for the overall 

strategy and success of the parts department. This includes the 

strategy for pricing and profitability, inventory management, sales 

promotions, NPD, dealer network strategy and sales into both 

the genuine and aftermarket segments. 

JAC and HIGER are two of the world largest manufacturers, and 

through new releases will offer a product range covering passenger, 

LCV and heavy commercial segments. 

Proven success in a wholesale parts manager role is essential. 

 

 

MOTORS



Established in 1984, the James Frizelle’s Automotive Group is a large privately 

owned Automotive Group representing many of the world’s best vehicle 

manufacturers such as Hyundai, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Volkswagen. 

Today, the group retails in excess of 8000 New and Used vehicles per year and 

employs over 300 people across our Southport, Nerang, Lismore and Tweed 

Heads operation. 

Due to unforseen personal circumstances the position of General Manager – Tweed 

Heads has now become available. Reporting directly to the Dealer Principal, the 

successful applicant will be a pivotal part of our groups operation and responsible 

for achieving growth in Sales, Service and Parts for our Tweed Heads Dealership. 

The successful applicant will also need to maintain a culture based around industry 

best practices and consistent with our goal to both a Dealer and Employer of 

choice. This rare opportunity to join an iconic dealer group, is a genuine long term 

opportunity for a dynamic and experienced General Manager or suitably qualified 

person to pursue a lifestyle change to one of Australia’s most progressive regions 

and sort after destinations. 

Applications will be treated in the strictest confidence and initial inquiries can 

be made by contacting Megan Mckenzie at hr@jamesfrizelles.com.au 


Opel turns out Astra GTC 

Australia waits for green 

light as stunning red-hot 

coupe emerges overseas 


OPEL has revealed the showroom-ready 

version of its wild GTC Paris concept, which 

will make its global debut at September’s 

Paris motor show as the Astra GTC coupe 

– and could top Holden’s born-again Astra 

line-up in Australia next year. 

The Astra GTC is the latest of three rangetopping 

Opel model variants to appear in 

the past few weeks, following the limitededition 

Corsa Nurburgring Edition and the 

Insignia OPC ‘Unlimited’. 

GM Holden has announced the light-sized 

Corsa hatch, small Astra hatch and midsized 

Insignia will be the three core models 

for the Opel line-up it plans to introduce in 

Australia next year. 

Holden will not comment on the chances of 

their local release, but has said it will consider 

every model in the Corsa, Astra and Insignia 

ranges, and the OPC/GTC trio would make 

the perfect fl agships for each model. 

Revealed simultaneously in Germany and 

England last week by Opel and its British 

sister company Vauxhall, the Astra GTC 

pictured in two computer-generated images 

looks almost identical to the GTC Paris 

concept from last year’s Paris motor show. 

Dressed in the same sleek three-door body, 

it differs only in its use of toned-down front 

and rear bumpers with revised foglights and 

a less radical rear diffuser with single (rather 

than twin) exhaust outlets. 

As GoAuto has reported, Holden – which 

designed the fi ve-door version of the Cruze 

that will join the sedan on sale here later this 

year – was responsible for styling one of three 

upcoming Opel models, including the Astra 

GTC, a small Corsa-based SUV codenamed 

Junior and the all-new Astra convertible. 

However, we understand Holden Design 

did not have a hand in styling the Astra GTC. 

At Paris last year, GM said the GTC 

General Manager 

AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 

May 4, 2011 Page 11 

concept measured 4.46 metres long, making it 

around 40mm longer than the fi ve-door Astra, 

although a heavily arched roofl ine and narrow 

rear glass area disguise its extra length. 

GM Europe says full details – including 

pricing – of the Astra GTC, which is in fi nal 

validation testing, will be revealed on June 7, 

when European order books will also open. 

It said the fi rst three-door version of 

Opel’s new-generation Astra hatch, which 

is yet to be made available in Australia, 

will still be capable of accommodating fi ve 

adults and will also feature all of Opel/ 

Vauxhall’s latest technologies and “unique 

chassis features”. 


McKenzie24824

Field Manager 

Technical 

(NSW) 

Mazda NSW is the state headquarters 

for Mazda Australia. The Field Manager 

Technical will work with Dealer service 

teams to resolve technical issues and 

with Mazda’s Customer Services team 

to negotiate outstanding customer 

resolutions. You will also assist in the 

assessment and validation of warranty 

claims and assist Dealer service teams 

to build their technical capacity, through 

training and mentoring. 

Reporting directly to the NSW State 

Manger, the role is based in Kingsgrove. 

Regional travel within NSW will be 

required. 

Applicants should be qualifi ed in a 

relevant automotive trade or as an 

automotive engineer. You will need to 

demonstrate strong communication skills 

and have an analytical and systematic 

approach to fi nding solutions. 

To apply, send your resume and 

a covering letter or email to: 

careers@mazda.com.au 

quoting the reference SY-FMT-04 

in the subject line by 27 May 2011. 

Dealer Business 

Manager 

(VIC) 

The Dealer Business Manager (DBM) 

is the key interface between Mazda 

and our Dealer networks. This role will 

see you developing strong working 

relationships with Dealers in all areas 

of their business, monitoring Dealer 

performance and working with Dealers 

to plan and implement collaborative 

business solutions. You will also provide 

marketing and business planning support 

and assist Dealers to fulfi ll our Corporate 

Identifi cation requirements, build their 

product and business knowledge and 

implement strategic business programs at 

the Dealer level. 

Based at Mt Waverley, this role reports 

directly to the respective State Manager. 

Regional travel and interstate travel 

may be required. Tertiary qualifi cations 

in the areas of business, marketing or 

commerce are essential. Experience 

in the automotive industry may be 

advantageous. 




quoting the reference VIC-DBM-01 

in the subject line by 27 May 2011 

• Work for a dynamic 

automotive company 

• Four exciting opportunities with m{zd{: 

Field Manager 

Dealer Business Manager 

Technical Analyst 

National Learning and Development Manager 

Technical Analyst 

(VIC) 

The Customer Support team manages 

the relationship between Mazda Dealers 

and our customers via a range of industry 

leading services. This entry-level role 

involves responding to and assisting 

Dealers with all technical enquiries via 

our Technical Help Desk. 

You will provide the Mazda Dealer 

network with quality technical advice, 

follow up with Dealer staff to ensure they 

have addressed customer issues, carry 

out hands-on technical investigations, 

work to enhance Mazda’s brand, ethics, 

product quality and professional image 

through the services you provide and 

liaise with other Mazda departments 

to ensure you have the most accurate 

technical information available. 

This is a full-time Melbourne based 

(Mount Waverley) role and the successful 

applicant will report directly to the 

Warranty and Technical Manager. 

The successful applicant must have 

mechanical knowledge and will have 

experience working in a technical role 

handling enquiries in a retail or call 

centre environment. Only applicants with 

experience in the Automotive Industry 

should apply. 




quoting the reference CS-TA-04 

in the subject line by 27 May 2011. 

National Learning 

and Development 

Manager 

(VIC) 

Mazda is a top four automotive vehicle 

brand in Australia, and the top full line 

importer of cars into the country over the 

last fi ve years. Mazda’s range of vehicles 

embody the emotion of motion; cars 

that are stylish, a joy to drive and which 

enhance the everyday lives of drivers. 

Mazda Australia is responsible for 

importing, wholesaling and distributing 

vehicles and parts to our Dealer 

network, as well as providing marketing, 

advertising, customer support and Dealer 

development services. An important 

feature of Mazda’s support for our 

Dealers is our Learning & Development 

function, which is responsible for 

delivering training programs and content 

for Dealer staff in both classroom and 

online formats. 

The Manager – Learning & Development 

role is responsible for leading a signifi cant 

team and interfacing with the Dealer 

network directly. The key functions of 

the role include: 

• Defi ning the strategic direction of L&D 

based on inputs from Mazda Australia 

management, Dealer stakeholders and 

the L&D team 

• Collaborating with Dealer stakeholders 

to identify training and developmental 

needs and to review the ongoing 

relevance and effectiveness of L&D 

programs 

• Ensuring the L&D team are supported 

in achieving their objectives, meeting 

project deadlines and producing quality 

outcomes 

• Setting and maintaining a schedule for 

program development and delivery 

• Supporting other Mazda Australia 

departments in the implementation of 

their key business projects 

• Driving participation in L&D initiatives 

from the Dealer network through the 

demonstration of business value. 

We are seeking applicants who are 

qualifi ed with a suitable undergraduate 

degree. You will be business minded and 

have proven yourself as a leader, with 

the project management skills to deliver 

programs on time and to budget. The 

successful applicant will also have strong 

communication and relationship building 

skills, be able to infl uence management 

and Dealer stakeholders and enjoy a good 

awareness of adult learning principles. 

Experience in the automotive industry is 

not required, but may be advantageous. 

The role is based at our head offi ce in 

Mt Waverley, 20 minutes south east of 

the Melbourne CBD, and reports directly 

to the National Manager of Human 

Resources. Interstate travel will be 

required periodically. 




quoting the reference NLD-MLD-01 

in the subject line by 27 May 2011.



Car Leather 

Italian car leather 

Pantera 

Command Centre 


May 4, 2011 Page 13 

Class act, from A to Zed 

GoAuto takes a drive in Infi niti’s G37 coupe ahead of its 2012 Australian debut 

By JAMES STANFORD 

in LOS ANGELES 

THE sporty G37 coupe will be crucial to the 

success of the Infi niti roll-out in Australia next 

year. With Infi niti starting off with negligible 

brand recognition here, it will be the relatively 

affordable G37 coupe’s role to promote the 

brand as a serious sports luxury player. 

After a brief test of the American version 

in California, it is clear the car will be up to 

the task. 

That’s no surprise, as the G37 is based 

on the 370Z, so it has street cred right from 

the start. While it is clear the two vehicles 

are related, there are still some striking 

differences between them. 

The fi rst is the level of refi nement. The 

Zed is a great sports coupe, but no one would 

accuse it of being refi ned. Sharp, responsive, 

explosively fast, yes, but not refi ned. 

The sledgehammer VQ Zed V6 

delivers the fi repower required for a highperformance 

machine, but it sounds thrashy 

when pressed. This is not a smooth in-line 

DESIGN 

YOUR OWN 

SEATS 

experience of its forebears but you put up 

with it for the performance. The Zed’s sixspeed 

manual is also a rough unit. 

The G37 gives a different impression. 

Firstly, it is only available with an automatic 

transmission. 

Secondly, a lot of work has gone into 

suppressing the sound of the engine. The 

harshness is muffl ed, although the exhaust 

still produces a meaty note. 

It still produces enough power to shoot 

the G37 forward at an exhilarating rate. 

The power and torque is almost identical 

to the Zed’s powerplant, with 243kW at 

7000rpm (down 2kW) and 366Nm at 

5200rpm (up 3kW). 

Complete replacement 

rear view mirror which 

includes: Reversing 

Camera, Inbuilt GPS, 

Handsfree Bluetooth and 

MP3 Player. 

ADR 

COMPLIANCE 

We don’t have an accurate 0-100km/h 

time yet, but the Infi niti is unlikely to match 

the 370Z. 

That is simply a matter of weight. The 

Infi niti is longer, has two extra seats and 

a load more luxury gear which adds about 

130kg to the tally for a total of 1647kg, 

which is still respectable. 

The transmission, a sport-tuned torqueconverter-type 

unit, is a competent gearbox 

and shifts quickly via paddles mounted on 

the steering column. 

The fact they are mounted on the column 

and not the wheel itself means they don’t 

move when the wheel is turned into a 

corner, and losing touch with the paddles 

can be off-putting. 

We drove the G37 on a mixture of 

suburban streets and Californian freeways 

and were therefore unable to test the Infi niti 

on any twisty tarmac. But the car did seem 

to be fairly agile. 

Hardtop 

Canopies 

The most stylish looking 

Nissan Navara Hardtop 

Canopy on the market. 

3YR/100,000 

WARRANTY 


www.alphalineauto.com.au or 1300 726 837



GENERAL MANAGER 

Scotts Honda is a prestige motor dealership located in the heart of Sydney’s North 

Shore, seeking a dynamic, process driven General Manager to lead our Artarmon based 

Honda franchise. 


Ultimate 911 street racer 

Australia to receive up to 

10 units of Porsche’s wild 

500hp GT3 RS 4.0 special 


UP TO 10 examples of the most extreme 

street-legal Porsche racecar, powered by the 

largest engine to grace the rear end of a factory 

911, will become available in Australia late 

this year, each priced at more than $400,000. 

The special-edition Porsche 911 GT3 RS 

4.0 Coupe will be limited to a production 

run of just 600 units globally as a swansong 

for the current-generation 997-series 911. 

While the all-new, and even more 

confusingly named, 991-series 911 will 

make its world debut at this September’s 

Frankfurt motor show before going on sale 

in Australia next year, the RS 4.0 is the 

ultimate naturally aspirated 911 road car. 

Taking the relatively new GT3 RS Coupe 

to even greater extremes, the 4.0 – as its name 

suggests – employs a variation of the 4.0litre 

boxer six from the 911 GT3 RSR racer 

to deliver an astonishing 368kW (500hp) at 

a heady 8250rpm (350rpm higher than the 

GT3 RS’s 3.8-litre fl at-six) and some 460Nm 

of peak torque 1000rpm earlier at 5750rpm. 

May 4, 2011 Page 14 

This role reports to the Managing Director and will suit an experienced motor industry 

professional who can work with our team to drive the business forward. 

To succeed in this role, you will; 

• Motivate an exp’d sales, service and parts team to achieve and exceed monthly targets. 

• Have extensive senior management experience within a motor dealership. 

• Be driven to deliver outstanding customer service and encourage your team to have the same passion. 

• Take a systems based approach with a focus on process and procedure. 

• Be an effective communicator & leader. 

• Have good computer skills 

On offer is an excellent salary & comm. package, state of the art facilities at a landmark location, growth 

potential and a strong, established business and customer base. 

If you want to be part of an energetic team, 

contact Jason Everett on 9431-2333, Fax 9906-6843 or hr@scottsgroup.com.au 

Customer Driven 

Borrowing the RSR’s crankshaft, forged 

pistons and titanium conrods not only makes 

the Porsche Motorsport-developed fl at-six 

the most powerful naturally aspirated 911 

engine ever, but gives the RS 4.0 a specifi c 

output of some 92kW per litre, which at 

125hp/litre easily breaks the magic 100hp/ 

litre mark once achieved by few road cars. 

The wildest GT3 road car’s 368kW 

output betters the ‘garden variety’ GT3 

(320kW/430Nm) and piping-hot GT3 RS 

(331kW/430Nm), and even matches the 

peak power – but not torque – of the forcefed 

fl at-six in the 911 Turbo and the twinturbo 

V8 that powers the Cayenne and 

Panamera Turbo models. 

Porsche says the close-ratio six-speed 

manual-only GT3 RS 4.0 is almost as 

quick as the 911 Turbo, too, with claimed 

0-100km/h and 0-200km/h acceleration 

of just 3.9 and 12.0 seconds respectively, 

depending on its (variable) gearing. 


DIESEL FOR PANAMERA 

LAST week Porsche revealed its biggestengined 

911 ever, the GT3 RS 4.0; this 

week the Stuttgart sportscar-maker 

presents its fi rst diesel-powered passenger 

car, the Panamera Diesel. 

Now on sale at $194,900 plus on-road 

costs, representing a $1900 premium 

over the entry-level V6 petrol-powered 

Panamera, the oil-burning four-door sets a 

new Porsche fuel consumption benchmark 

of just 6.5L/100km. 

FULL STORY: CLICK HERE



Grand plans for MG 

MG fl ame fl ickers from 

China with model plans 

covering major segments 

By TERRY MARTIN 

CHINESE-OWNED British brand MG is 

preparing to make a massive comeback to 

international markets, possibly including 

Australia, with a host of new models – 

including an all-new sportscar. 

Other key passenger vehicles for the 

revamped marque include the MG5 small 

car unveiled in near-production ‘concept’ 

form at the recent Shanghai motor show, the 

MG3 light hatch already available in China 

and the MG6 small-medium fi ve-door 

‘fastback’ that has just hit UK showrooms. 

In addition, an all-new sportscar, an SUV, 

an MG7 replacement and a host of new 

engines, including a hybrid and all-electric 

powertrain, are also understood to be in 

development. 

An Australian program is still to be 

confi rmed, although MG owner SAIC – 

China’s largest car-maker, which took control 

of the MG and Roewe (Rover) brands when 

it merged with Nanjing Automobile in 2008 

– has made it clear that its heavy investment 

and ambitious product plans will ultimately 

reach global markets outside China and the 

UK over the next fi ve years. 

Need to know Australia’s automotive industry & market? 

YEARBOOK 2011 

Your one-stop guide to all aspects of our market and 

industry from Australian Automotive Intelligence - 

Australia’s automotive sector specialists. 

ORDER YOUR COPY NOW 

visit www.aaintelligence.com.au for more information 

CD or HARDCOPY 

OVER 100 COMPANY PROFILES 


UNIQUE DATA 

YEARBOOK 

2011 

Australian Automotive Intelligence 

May 4, 2011 Page 15 

Wedding bells in Britain as Team Lotus takes the hand of Caterham sportscar brand 

By HAITHAM RAZAGUI 

TEAM Lotus, the Formula One team 

owned by enigmatic Malaysian tycoon and 

airline owner Tony Fernandes, has bought 

Caterham, the British sportscar-maker 

famous for keeping alive the concept of 

Colin Chapman’s iconic Lotus Seven roadgoing 

racecar. 

To celebrate the union, Caterham has 

launched a run of limited-edition upgrade 

packages comprising Team Lotus livery and 

While dubbed a concept, the MG5 is close 

to production and should hit the Chinese 

market through Nanjing Auto later this year 

alongside the MG3, which was fi rst seen as 

the Zero Concept at last year’s Beijing motor 

show and was recently launched in China. 

MG Motor UK, which is also a subsidiary 

of SAIC and is now building the MG6 

fastback at the reborn MG-Rover plant in 

Longbridge, Birmingham, said the MG5 

fi ve-door hatch was designed in the UK 

under the watch of SAIC’s global design 

director Tony Williams-Kenny and is aimed 

at a “slightly more mature and sophisticated 

audience” than the Williams-Kenny-created 

Zero, “with a more refi ned and dynamic 

style and chic technical fi nish”. 

Details are scarce at this stage, but 

overseas reports indicate the MG5 will hit 

the UK market in 2013 to compete with 

“a raft of bespoke Team Lotus additions”. 

Just 25 Caterham Sevens will be produced 

with the upgrade package, which can be 

specifi ed on any Seven variant. The cost 

of the package to Australian customers is 

$5500 on the entry-level Roadsport SV120 

European small cars such as the Ford Focus, 

Vauxhall/Opel Astra and Volkswagen Golf. 

It will be based on the Roewe 350 platform. 

SAIC’s Roewe website shows the 350 

four-door sedan is based on a 2650mm 

wheelbase and measures 4521mm long, 

1788mm wide and 1492mm high, with a 

luggage capacity of 458 litres. 

It uses a 1.5-litre VCT four-cylinder petrol 

engine that produces 80kW of power at 

6000rpm and 135Nm of torque at 4500rpm, 

driving the front wheels through a conventional 

fi ve-speed manual or a fi ve-speed ‘SSG Multi- 

Mode’ automated transmission. 

The suspension set-up is a MacPherson 

strut front and torsion beam rear, with 

standard 16-inch alloy wheels and 

205/55-section tyres. 


and $7150 for all other models, which are 

subject to luxury car tax. 

Each of the 25 limited-edition cars will 

feature a cockpit plaque exhibiting the 

signatures of Team Lotus Formula 1 drivers 

Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, and 

customers will also receive a book about 

the history of the Seven, signed by Team 

Lotus chief designer Mike Gascoyne. 


10th EDITION 

OVER 300 PAGES 

INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS 

MG5



Line dancing 

Subaru to split Impreza range into ‘character lines’ 

By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS 

SUBARU will follow Nissan’s lead in 

splitting its coming fourth-generation 

Impreza small-car series into three distinct 

“characters” made up of mainstream, 

performance and lifestyle lines – with the 

latter being a Dualis-rivalling compact 

crossover based on the Shanghai motor 

show XV concept. 

However, while the naturally aspirated 

G4 Impreza sedan and hatch that made 

their New York motor show debut late last 

month are only about six months away from 

launch in Australia, the eagerly anticipated 

turbocharged WRX and STI cars are up 18 

months from Subaru’s local dealerships, 

meaning the current performance models 

will solider on until late 2012 at the earliest. 

The next-generation WRX and STI will 

sport different exterior sheetmetal – as well as 

signifi cantly revamped chassis and drivetrain 

components – to live up to their standing as 

the company’s high-performance fl agships. 

As they will be the last of the new smallcar 

range to be rolled out, the long-running 

performance and rally icons are expected to 

be the fi rst to herald Subaru’s fresh styling 

direction. As GoAuto has learned, this will 

move the Japanese fi rm’s look from the 

chunky design language that debuted with the 

existing Liberty/Outback models in 2009. 

As with the current G3 Impreza-based 

WRX and STI updates launched towards 

the end of last year – as well as the new XV 

that will slot beneath the Forester when it 

arrives in Australia sometime during 2012 – 

the ‘Impreza’ badge will remain only with 

Subaru’s Volkswagen Golf/Jetta rival. 

“We announced at the last WRX launch 

that those models are now totally separate 

to the current Impreza range – in fact, the 

current cars don’t even carry those names at 

all,” said Subaru Australia corporate affairs 

manager David Rowley. 

“There will be no turbo Impreza models 

at change time … those are totally separate 

to the mainstream range and form part of 

Subaru’s performance stable that includes 

the Liberty GT and Forester S Edition.” 

Mr Rowley added that, while the G4 

Impreza is still on track for a late 2011 

release, Japanese earthquake and tsunami 

disaster-related delays may push the launch 

date back to the fi rst quarter of 2012. 



May 4, 2011 Page 16 

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Ford posts impressive 

$2.6 billion Q1 profi t 


FORD Motor Company’s fi rst-quarter net 

profi t soared to $US2.6 billion ($A2.4b) – 

its best Q1 result in 12 years – as the Blue 

Oval’s product-led recovery hit top gear. 

New fuel-effi cient vehicles such as the 

Focus, Fiesta, Fusion, Edge and Explorer 

helped to propel Ford’s profi ts upwards by 

22 per cent or $US466 million ($A431m) 

over last year’s fi rst-quarter return and put 

the Dearborn-based company on track for 

its third consecutive year in the black. 

Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally 

said the Ford team had delivered a 

great quarter, with solid growth and 

improvements in all regions. 

“We continue to accelerate our One Ford 

plan around the world, delivering on our 

commitments to serve our global customers 

with a full family of best-in-class vehicles 

and deliver profi table growth for all, despite 

uncertain economic conditions,” he said. 

Ford not only lifted Q1 sales revenues 

by $5 billion, to $33.1 billion, but slashed 

automotive division debt by $2.5 billion to 

help its cause by reducing its interest bill. 

Vehicle wholesales were up 150,000 

units, to 1.4 million, and the company is 

forecasting another lift to 1.5 million for 

the second quarter, putting Ford on track 

for annual sales of almost six million units 

in 2011 compared with 2010’s 5.3 million. 


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Quake costs to mount 

Toyota faces fall from top 

global sales spot as quake 

cuts into Japanese output 


THE Japanese car-makers have released 

fi nal production fi gures for their fi nancial 

year ending March 31 – just 20 days after 

the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit 

the country – and all but Toyota, Mazda and 

Honda reported double-digit increases on 

the previous year. 

Toyota, dogged by a damaged reputation 

as a result of repeated recall dramas, saw 

its worldwide production grow just 1.1 per 

cent, to 8,241,675 units. 

The modest production increase for the 

year, coupled with the company’s expectation 

that it will not return to full production until 

November or December, paves the way for 

a resurgent General Motors and relentless 

Volkswagen Group to send it tumbling from 

the global top spot to third – or even fourth 

if combined results of the Renault-Nissan 

Alliance are taken into account. 

For the 2010 calendar year, GM was just 

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May 4, 2011 Page 17 

Boom sales in China accelerate Volkswagen and Mercedes profi ts in fi rst quarter 


GERMAN motor company profi ts 

soared in the fi rst quarter of 2011 as the 

giant Chinese market’s love affair with 

Volkswagens, Audis and Mercedes-Benzes 

reached new heights. 

Volkswagen Group, whose fi rst quarter 

car sales in China leaped 20 per cent year 

on year, reported a Q1 net profi t of €1.71 

billion ($A2.3b) – an increase of 260 per 

cent on last year’s €473 million ($A639m) 

quarterly after-tax profi t. 

28,000 units behind Toyota in the sales race. 

As expected in the aftermath of the 

earthquake, Toyota’s production for March 

was down 31.3 per cent globally, with a 

61.5 per cent reduction in Japan and 2.2 

per cent overseas. 

In the face of the uncertainty caused by 

the rebuilding efforts, no Japanese vehicle 

manufacturer has issued production or sales 

forecasts for the present quarter or beyond. 

At the opposite end of the growth 

spectrum, Nissan produced 24.5 per cent 

more vehicles worldwide at 4,214,959. 

The company’s fi nancial results will not 

be published until May 12, but before the 

earthquake it forecast net profi t of ¥315 

Martin Winterkorn 

Daimler AG’s net profi t almost doubled, 

to €1.18b ($A1.59b), as Chinese sales 

of its Mercedes-Benz vehicles rose 82 

per cent to 48,861 units in the fi rst three 

Toyota US production 

billion ($A3.5 billion), a 643 per cent 

increase over FY2009. 

Mazda production grew 4.7 per cent to 

866,992 units while Honda car sales rose 

5.5 per cent compared with an 18 per cent 

rise in power equipment sales and a 19.7 per 

cent rise for motorcycles. 

Honda, which recorded a net profi t of 

¥534 billion, an increase of 266 per cent, said 

the increased sales and efforts to reduce the 

overall costs of running the business enabled 

it to fend off the impacts of the March 11 

disaster, a strong Yen and increased research 

and development costs. 


months of the year. 

Both companies have reconfi rmed their 

positive outlooks for 2011, with continued 

sales gains predicted as the world emerges 

from the worst of the global fi nancial crisis. 

VW chairman Martin Winterkorn said the 

company was continuing to power ahead. 

“Volkswagen shifted into the fast lane in 

2010 and that’s exactly where we intend to 

stay this year,” he said. 




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Korean-American Accent 


SOUTH Korean auto-maker Hyundai used 

the recent New York motor show to launch 

its new light-sized Accent hatch and sedan 

onto the US market ahead of its showroom 

arrival there in the Northern summer. 

In contrast to the car slated for Australian 

release in the third quarter of this year as a 

more upmarket sedan sibling to the Indianbuilt 

i20 hatch, the sedan variant of the US 

market Accent will be the entry-level model 

with 14-inch steel wheels, while the hatch 

– which is not coming here – will be more 

highly equipped. 

Air-conditioning, electric windows and 

cloth door inserts are part of an option package 

for the manual transmission sedan, although 

automatic models get these as standard. 

A premium package, which is only 

available with the automatic transmission, 

adds extra equipment, including keyless 

entry, steering wheel audio controls, cruise 

control, Bluetooth, 16-inch alloys and bodycoloured 

doorhandles. 

Hyundai Australia will be pitching the 

Accent sedan as an upmarket alternative 

to the well-equipped i20 hatch, so expect 

locally delivered cars to be highly specifi ed. 

Hyundai Motor America makes much 

of the Accent’s roominess. Despite its sub- 

compact (light car) exterior dimensions 

– at 4369mm in length the sedan is 69mm 

longer than the equivalent Yaris and 78mm 

longer than the booted Fiesta – the Accent is 

classifi ed as a compact (small) car in the US 

due to its interior volume. 

Hyundai claims its glovebox is at least 

20 per cent bigger than the rival Chevrolet 

Aveo (Holden Barina), Toyota Yaris and 

Honda Fit (Jazz). 

Despite a 22 per cent stiffer body 

structure, extra safety features and onboard 

technology, Hyundai claims to have avoided 

weight gain with the new Accent, which in 

manual sedan form weighs 1087kg. 

It is claimed to be 18 per cent more fuel 

effi cient than the outgoing model (11 per cent 

for the auto) thanks to a new 103kW/167Nm 

1.6-litre direct injection petrol engine, which 

is 18kg lighter than the unit it replaces and 

has a claimed best-in-class specifi c output of 

63kW per litre. 

The powerful engine and low weight of the 

May 4, 2011 Page 18 

Alfa celebrates with Viper-based Zagato special 


ALFA Romeo has leveraged Fiat Group’s 

Chrysler tie-up by launching a new limitededition 

sportscar built on a Dodge Viper 

chassis and drivetrain to wrap up the Italian 

marque’s 100th birthday celebrations and 

its 90-year association with design house 

and coachbuilder Zagato. 

The road-legal Zagato TZ3 Stradale – 

just nine of which will be built – is clothed 

in a bespoke carbon-fi bre body, delivering 

what Zagato says “can represent the fi rst 

American Alfa Romeo”. 

The fi rst three Stradales are already spoken 

for, with number one already in the hands of 

a United States-based Alfa Romeo Zagato 

collector. A further two will be delivered to 

customers in Japan and Europe. 

Alfa Romeo’s Australian importer Ateco 

Automotive told GoAuto that it is unlikely 

that any of the remaining six will make an 

appearance Down Under. 

No performance fi gures have been 

new Accent give it a 22 per cent power-toweight 

ratio advantage over the previously 

class-leading Honda Fit. The 1.6-litre engine 

in the i20 produces 12kW less power and 

11Nm less torque than the Accent but must 

pull a car that is 32kg heavier. 

Hyundai estimates the Accent will achieve 

5.9L/100km on the highway cycle and 

7.8L/100km on the city cycle compared with 

Australian standard fi gures of 5.1L/100km 

and 7.7L/100km for the manual-equipped 

1.6-litre i20 (5.4 and 8.4 for the auto). 


provided, but the Viper on which it is based 

deploys a 450kW/760Nm 8.4-litre V10 to 

achieve 0-100km/h in less than four seconds 

and reach a top speed of 296km/h. 

Zagato says the TZ3 Stradale celebrates 

the road legal heritage of Alfa Romeo 

Zagato coupes dating back to the 1920s. 

The Stradale is inspired by, but not to be 

confused with, 2009’s TZ3 Corsa, a oneoff 

track-only car weighing just 850kg and 

commissioned by German Alfa Romeo 

Zagato collector Martin Kapp, whose 

collection also includes examples of the 

classic TZ1 and TZ2 from the 1960s. 


Accent sedan



Civic centrefolds 

Sexier new Honda Civic 

slips in to US but could 

be a year away from Oz 


YOU would be forgiven for missing the global 

public debut of Honda’s ninth-generation 

Civic sedan at the New York motor show late 

last month, given the all-new Japanese small 

car is virtually identical to the ‘concept’ that 

previewed it at January’s Detroit show. 

Full specifi cations and fi rst images of the 

production version were announced in the 

US as early as February 17 and no fewer than 

seven 2012 Civic model variants – including 

coupe, hybrid and natural gas-powered 

versions – are now on sale in the US. 

Honda Australia has confi rmed its 

version of the redesigned sedan will again 

be sourced from Thailand but will wear the 

new sheetmetal seen in New York, with a 

familiar overall profi le bookended by sleek 

headlights that look more like the existing 

Civic hatch’s than the outgoing sedan’s. 

Australia’s next Civic will differ only 

cosmetically from the North American 

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version, including detail changes to wheels, 

bumpers, grilles, headlights and tail-lights, 

although the previous-generation Toyota 

Camry-style shape of the latter will remain. 

Although it had been due to arrive here 

in the fi nal quarter of this year, Honda says 

its Mk9 Civic sedan range – including the 

next-generation Civic Hybrid, which is also 

reported to have been delayed by at least six 

months due to the 2008 GFC – might not go 

on sale in Australia until early 2012. 

By then the existing Civic sedan, which 

was launched here in February 2006, will be 

a full six years old and a host of redesigned 

small cars will have been launched, 

including hatch and sedan versions of Ford’s 

MkIII Focus, Subaru’s MkIII Impreza and 

the upgraded Mazda3, plus Holden’s allnew 

Melbourne-designed Cruze. 

Honda Australia has confi rmed its fi vedoor 

Civic hatch, which has been available 

only in 1.8-litre Si form since January (priced 

$9000 lower than before at $29,990), will be 


May 4, 2011 Page 19 

More power and lower consumption for next Mazda3 


IT DEBUTED at the Toronto motor show in 

Canada in February but now the fi rst offi cial 

details have accompanied the upgraded 

Mazda3’s North American premiere at the 

recent New York motor show. 

Mazda Australia has confi rmed the 

facelifted version of Australia’s top-selling 

small car so far this year will go on sale 

here in 2011, but will not say exactly when 

and will not comment on technical details. 

However, Mazda’s extensive US press 

release provides vital clues about what to 

expect from the fi rst production model to 

be equipped with Mazda’s ground-breaking 

SkyActiv engine technology. 

While all versions of the 2012 Mazda3 will 

come with subtle new exterior styling changes 

– including new headlights, fresh wheel 

designs and a new front bumper with newlook 

grille and foglight bezels – only selected 

North American models will be powered by 

Mazda’s all-new direct-injection 2.0-litre 

replaced here after its successor appears in 

Europe some time next year. 

While spy shots of camoufl aged new 

Civic hatches are already doing the rounds in 

Europe, a successor for our sole three-door 

Civic – the Type R – will also eventually 

come from Honda’s UK plant, but Honda 

Australia will continue to be without an 

affordable small hatch. 

Worse still, Honda Australia is unlikely to 

offer any change to its current Civic line-up 

for the remainder of 2011, a year in which 

sales of the volume-selling small car were 

down 28.3 per in the fi rst quarter. 

The bad news continues for Australian 

Honda fans with confi rmation the CR-Z 

hybrid coupe has also been postponed until 

early next year – at least six months later 

than its expected local release in July – 

this time due to production backlogs from 

Japan’s crippling March earthquake. 


four-cylinder SkyActiv-G petrol engine with 

dual sequential valve timing (S-VT). 

In the US, it will better most of the 

Mazda3’s small-car rivals and match 

BMW’s 2.0-litre petrol four by producing 

155hp (115kW) at 6000rpm and 148lb-ft of 

torque (about 200Nm) at 4100rpm. 

That is about fi ve per cent more peak power 

and 10 per cent more torque than the current 

Mazda3’s entry-level MZR 2.0-litre engine, 

which offers 108kW (at a higher 6500rpm) 

and 182Nm at a similarly busier 4500rpm. 


Civic sedan 

SkyActiv-G



Taiwanese brand Luxgen 

reveals all-electric Neora 

sedan – with 400km range 

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‘Electro’ Lux hits China 


TAIWAN’S fi rst and only domestic car 

brand, Luxgen, used the recent Auto 

Shanghai show to premiere its electricpowered 

Neora four-door premium sedan 

concept, featuring sprightly acceleration 

and a 400km battery range. 

The budding vehicle manufacturer has 

told GoAuto that it regards Australia as 

an important market and one that it hopes 

to export to in future, but for now it is 

concentrating its efforts on Asia. 

Luxgen says the Neora weighs 1600kg 

(slightly more than a Nissan Leaf), and 

that its 48kWh lithium-ion battery pack 

– twice the size of the Leaf’s – enables a 

claimed maximum range of 400km from 

a full charge, comfortably beating the 

Leaf’s 160km. 

Although the Neora’s large battery pack 

promises plenty of kilometres between 

charges, Luxgen’s claim should be taken 

with a pinch of salt as it has previously stated 

EV range fi gures rated at an unrealistic 

constant 40km/h. 

The Taiwanese brand says the Neora’s 

batteries can be charged to 80 per cent 

capacity in one hour. The Leaf’s smaller 

battery takes 26 minutes on fast-charge or 

eight hours from a household outlet. 

The Neora’s 180kW electric induction 

motor sends 100kW more power to the front 

wheels than a Leaf does. As a result, Luxgen 

says its electric sedan concept can achieve the 

sprint from rest to 100km/h in a Golf GTIshaming 

6.5 seconds, topping out at 250km/h 

– matching the electronically limited top speed 

of many high-performance European cars. 

The Neora’s design, with its front end 

reminiscent of what a car customiser might 

do to a Honda Insight, and its side profi le 

dropping hints of Hyundai i45, is said to 

incorporate design cues that signal the future 

styling direction of Luxgen products. 

Luxgen says the Neora’s looks 

encompass “chic aesthetic and innovation” 

and are “perfectly integrated” to “create a 

May 4, 2011 Page 20 

Big-name Euro brands set for Tokyo motor show 


THE organiser of Tokyo’s revitalised 

2011 motor show used the recent New 

York show to reaffi rm its commitment to 

this December’s new-look event, which 

has now been confi rmed to host nearly 20 

European brands. 

Japan’s peak auto industry body, the Japan 

Automobile Manufacturers Association 

(JAMA), moved to assure the world that the 

42nd Tokyo will go ahead as planned from 

November 30, despite continuing worldwide 

production cutbacks and radiation fears 

following Japan’s devastating earthquake 

and tsunami on March 11. 

“The Japan Automobile Manufacturers 

Association would like to inform that the 

Japanese automotive industry is working 

as hard as possible to help the relief and 

recovery effort in the aftermath of the 

earthquake,” a JAMA representative said in 

a New York press conference on April 21. 

“We also want to express our most 

strong visual effect”. 

What appears to be a big front grille is 

just for show as Luxgen claims the Neora’s 

“minimum intake area decreases the drag 

coeffi cient and achieves both aesthetics 

and effi ciency”. 

Look beyond the fancy lighting effects of 

the Neora’s exterior and you see a thinlydisguised 

concept car that looks close to 

production. The same goes for the interior 

– for all its translucent surfaces and blue 

lighting, it looks realistic, especially when 

one considers that the interiors of Luxgen’s 

existing product line-up are adorned with 

multiple screens and hi-tech gadgets. 

Like the new Mercedes SLK, the Neora’s 

panoramic glass sunroof uses polymer 

dispersed liquid crystals to electronically 

vary the amount of light entering the cabin 

and a fully digital LED instrument panel 

is complemented by a head-up display 

and nine-inch colour screen for the 

infotainment system. 


Tokyo Big Sight 

sincere gratitude for all the support and 

encouragement received from so many all 

over the world. 

“JAMA is confi dent that the 42nd Tokyo 

motor show in 2011 will be an opportunity to 

inform the world that Japanese manufacturing 

has recovered from the earthquake, and is 

committed to holding the show as planned 

in December at Tokyo Big Sight.” 

After dispelling any doubts this year’s 

Tokyo show would not go ahead, JAMA 

released an exhibitor list confi rming all of the 

major European brands will be in attendance. 



GoAuto Market Insight 

US study sees low hybrid, 

EV share for years ahead 

as slow sales here roll on 


THE market share of hybrid and electric 

vehicles in the United States is expected 

to remain below 10 per cent through to at 

least 2016, according to new research from 

global marketing information company JD 

Power and Associates. 

The 2011 ‘Green Automotive Study’ 

released last week reaffi rms conclusions 

made from earlier research, including a 

JD Power report released late last year that 

predicted hybrids and EVs would account 

for just 7.3 per cent – or 5.2 million units 

– of the 70.9 million passenger vehicles 

forecast to be sold worldwide in 2020. 

This latest research includes a survey in 

February of more than 4000 US consumers 

who indicated they will be in the market 

for a new vehicle over the next fi ve years. 

JD Power says its study is also based on 

“information and insight” from primary 

consumer research, social media intelligence, 

forecasting and transaction sales data. 

And for car companies pushing ahead 

with hybrid and electric vehicles in the US, 

Australia and elsewhere across the globe, 

the fi ndings again indicate that there will 

be plenty of fi ghting, in JD Power’s words, 

“over the relatively few consumers who are 

willing to drive green”. 

The study, which tracks consumer 

attitudes toward conventional hybrids, 

plug-in hybrids, full EVs and ‘clean diesel’ 

models, found a high level of interest in 

alternative powertrains among a majority 

of Americans. General perceptions of green 

vehicles were also largely positive. 

GoAuto Market Insight is brought 

to you by Dealer Solutions 

However, JD Power concludes that 

“converting this interest into actual sales 

will require concerted efforts to improve the 

technology and infrastructure and reduce the 

cost to consumers” – most notably for the 159 

hybrid and EV models the fi rm believes will be 

available for purchase in the US by the end of 

2016 (up from 31 hybrids and EVs in 2009). 

Last year, the US recorded more than 

274,000 hybrid car sales, selling almost 

three times the number in a single month 

– 28,600 in December, for example – than 

Australia can muster in an entire year. 

With 11.59 million overall sales last 

year in the US, GoAuto’s calculations put 

hybrid’s share at 2.4 per cent. Japan, on the 

other hand, has already passed the 10 per 

cent mark for hybrids. 

While Australia is still a minnow in 

EV terms and in any comparison with 

the vast US market, the hybrid landscape 

nonetheless changed dramatically here last 

year with the launch of the locally built 

Camry Hybrid in February and, late in the 

year, Honda’s $29,990 Insight. 


Dealer 

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Means Performance. 

Hybrid share hurdles 

Sales 

1400 

1200 

1000 

800 

600 

400 

200 

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Hybrid Sales in Australia 

Private sales Non-private sales Total sales 

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May 4, 2011 Page 21 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 

2010 2011 

Automated Inventory Advertising 

Total hybrid vehicle registrations more than 

doubled in 2010 compared to the previous 

year – up from 4197 to 9784 units – but, 

pointedly, this still represents less than one per 

cent of the total new-vehicle market. 

It is also less than the annual fi gure 

(10,000) Toyota had targeted for its Camry 

Hybrid alone. 

Of last year’s total hybrid sales, just 2292 

went to private consumers, accounting for 

less than one in four (23.4 per cent) of the 

total and apparently refl ecting the same sort of 

attitude among average Australian buyers that 

JD Power has found in American consumers. 

While people are likely to recognise 

the fuel-cost savings hybrids and other 

alternative-powertrain vehicles can 

offer, study participants cited signifi cant 

impediments (whether actual or perceived) 

to ownership, including the purchase price – 

the number-one barrier – as well as driving 

range, increased maintenance costs and 

compromised vehicle performance. 


Sour Source: ce: VFAC VFACTS TS 

Take the sales lead. Contact Dealer Solutions today. 1300 66 11 33 

www.dealersolutions.com.au


GoAuto Green 

Green issues in the auto world 

GoAuto Green is brought 

to you by Custom Fleet 

Lasers spark interest 

Laser ignition system set 

to raise engine effi ciency 

over common spark plugs 


LASER igniters might replace spark plugs 

in petrol engines to improve their effi ciency, 

thanks to a team of Japan-based researchers 

who will present their laser development 

to the Conference on Lasers and Electro 

Optics in Baltimore this week. 

Compared with conventional spark plugs, 

which ignite the air/fuel mixture closest to 

them and create a fl ame front that spreads 

throughout the combustion chamber to force 

the piston downwards, laser beams can be 

accurately focused to start the combustion 

at the most effi cient point. 

The researchers from Japan’s National 

Institutes of Natural Sciences claim that 

because the fl ame front generated by a 

spark plug travels across the relatively cool 

surfaces of the combustion chamber as it 

starts to expand, some of its energy is lost. 

A laser can avoid this by focusing the 

beam into the centre of the combustion 

chamber. Team member Takunori Taira said 

this caused the fl ame front to expand more 

symmetrically and up to three times faster 

than it would if ignited by a spark plug. 

In addition, several beams can be used 

simultaneously for an even faster, more 

complete burn and lasers can be more 

precisely timed than spark plugs – in 

nanoseconds as opposed to milliseconds – 

resulting in more effi cient combustion. 

Although spark plugs have the ability to 

ignite lean fuel/air mixtures, a limitation of 

the technology is that the increased spark 

energy required causes the spark plug 

electrodes to degrade rapidly. 

Laser ignition circumvents this limitation 

because lasers are able to inject enough 

energy to the combustion chamber to ignite 

a lean fuel/air mixture without being subject 

to the wear that necessitates the regular 

replacement associated with spark plugs. 

The faster, more accurate and leaner 

combustion made possible by laser ignition 

results in improved fuel economy and 

reduced emissions – particularly NOx, 

which contributes to smog. 

The research was funded by the Japan 

Science and Technical Agency with support 

from Denso – a major vehicle component 

manufacturer and part of the Toyota 

Group. 

The team is working with an unnamed 

large spark-plug company (which could 

be the Japanese fi rm NGK) and Denso to 

explore the possibilities of bringing the 

technology to market. 

Using lasers to replace the spark plug – 

which has been around since 1860 and fi rst 

made commercially viable by Robert Bosch 

in 1898 – is not a new idea. 

In 2006, Colorado State University fi led 

We make managing fleet and equipment easy for 

Government and Not for Profit organisations 


May 4, 2011 Page 22 

a US patent for a special type of optical 

fi bre that could withstand the high levels 

of energy required to create a spark in an 

internal combustion engine. 

In 2009 Liverpool University in the UK, in 

collaboration with Ford Motor Company, did 

research into using laser to power combustion 

in mass-produced petrol engines. The 

researchers successfully ran a four-cylinder 

engine using laser ignition, recording smoother 

running and reduced exhaust emissions. 

However, the British team met problems 

delivering the beam to what they called 

the optical spark plug via fi bre-optics and 

could only use it by aiming the separate 

laser unit’s beam directly into the engine – 

making it impractical for commercial use. 

Mr Taira’s Japan-based team was well 

aware of the limitations faced by other 

researchers into the fi eld of laser ignition. 

“In the past, lasers that could meet (the) 

requirements were limited to basic research 

because they were big, ineffi cient and 

unstable,” he said. 


At Custom Fleet we understand Government and Not for Profit fleet and equipment needs. Our dedicated team draws 

on its market expertise to provide tailor-made finance and management solutions. Our full suite of leasing, finance and 

fleet management products including Operating Lease and Fleet Card can be customised to meet all of your fleet and 

equipment requirements. 

To find out more click here or call 1800 812 681.


GoAuto Personnel 

UP CLOSE ON PERSONNEL 

Brought to you by Motor Staff – Australia’s Largest Supplier of Qualifi ed Applicants 


BMW TO BOLSTER CHINESE OPERATIONS WITH SHANGHAI DESIGN CENTRE 


BMW Group has announced that it will 

open a design studio in Shanghai, China, 

in the second half of this year, broadening 

the operations of its DesignworksUSA 

subsidiary beyond its current studios in Los 

Angeles, Munich and Singapore. 

The move, which should increase the 

Designworks employee base beyond the 135 

designers currently spread across the three 

studios, is being described as a key strategic 

move that will strengthen BMW’s position in 

the world’s biggest market and foster China’s 

increasingly important role in global design. 

As well as doing advanced design work 

for the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, 

DesignworksUSA – which was established 

as an independent industrial design studio in 

1972 by Charles Pelly, with the BMW Group 

buying it in 1995 – also offers creative 

services to a diverse range of clients such as 

Coca Cola, Microsoft, HP and Siemens. 

Although BMW has operated a 

Designworks studio in Singapore since 


RENAULT announced last week that it had 

fi nalised a compensation deal with three 

executives it falsely accused of feeding 

secrets of the company’s electric vehicle 

development program to China. 

In a statement, the French manufacturer 

said it had “fi nalised compensation for the 

harm done to Michel Balthazard, Bertrand 

Rochette and Matthieu Tenenbaum” and 

that it had reached a “positive outcome 

to the negotiations on compensation ... as 

part of the intelligence fraud that recently 

occurred at Renault”. 

No details of the payouts were given, 

but overseas reports have indicated that the 

claim for damages ran into the millions. 

While Mr Balthazard, who was senior 

vice-chairman of advanced engineering, and 

Mr Rochette, who was second in charge in 

Adrian van Hooydonk 

2006, the new Shanghai centre underscores 

the Chinese market’s increasing signifi cance 

to the German luxury car manufacturer. 

The studio will be overseen by BMW 

Group DesignworksUSA president Laurenz 

Schaffer – the former director of the 

Designworks Munich studio – and come 

under the ultimate control of BMW Group 

design director Adrian van Hooydonk, 

the Dutch designer who was president 

of Designworks from 2001-2005 before 

moving to BMW’s main styling centre and, 

in 2009, succeeding Chris Bangle as global 

head of design. 

Mr van Hooydonk described the move 

the same division, have decided not to return 

to the company, Renault said Mr Tenenbaum 

had accepted a position in its corporate 

strategy and planning department. 

The former deputy head of Renault’s EV 

program started back this week. 

All three executives had been wrongfully 

accused of spying and were dismissed from 

the company in January. 

Last week, Renault thanked the three 

men and their legal representatives “for 

the dispassionate environment in which the 

negotiations were held” and also made the 

point of thanking Mr Balthazard and Mr 

Rochette “for the quality of their work at 

the group”. 

Renault’s chief operating offi cer Patrick 

Pelata resigned last month over the bungled 

EV spy case, although he remains working 

with the Renault-Nissan alliance. 

May 4, 2011 Page 23 

to Shanghai as “an important strategic 

step for both BMW Group design and 

DesignworksUSA”. 

“The Shanghai studio will allow us to 

better serve design clients in China,” he said. 

“Designing in China will also deepen our 

understanding of this inspiring culture.” 

Mr Schaffer said the Shanghai studio “will 

help contribute to China’s creative industry 

development” and enabled the BMW/ 

Designworks “to strengthen our global 

creative competency, while supporting 

China’s growing role in global design”. 

“By tapping into the Chinese market, 

DesignworksUSA gains a deeper 

understanding of Chinese consumer 

behaviours and offers a global creative 

perspective to its clients in China and in 

Asia,” he said. 

“Additionally, we will incorporate the 

Chinese viewpoint in projects for its US 

and European clients.” 


RENAULT SEALS ‘SPY’ CASE COMPENSATION DEAL CORRIGAN’S NEW ROLE 

Australia’s No.1 

Motor Recruitment Specialist 

Anne Taylor 

Sharon Hunter 

George Hennessy 

Mara Nogarotto 

Sonya Poci 

Les Land 

SUMMIT Fleet Leasing 

and Management has 

announced the opening of 

a regional offi ce in Perth 

and the appointment 

of Craig Corrigan as 

regional manager for 

Western Australia and 

South Australia. Craig Corrigan 

Mr Corrigan heads up the new offi ce after 

four years with the company in a sales and 

relationship management role. He previously 

spent several years in the corporate vehicle 

rental side of the business. 

The new offi ce will be located within the 

Perth offi ce of Summit’s parent company, 

Sumitomo Corporation, on Mounts Bay 

Road. Summit’s head offi ce is in Rydalmere, 

NSW, with other regional offi ces located in 

Victoria and Queensland. 

“Our people take the stress 

out of hiring the best people 

for your business.” 

For more information please call 1300 666 562 or visit www.motorstaff.com.au



- SUBSCRIBE FREE: www.GoAutoMedia.com 

May 4, 2011 Page 24 

GoAuto’s latest car review www.GoAuto.com.au 

Mini Cooper Countryman S All4 Chilli 5-dr wagon 

IS IT really a Mini? Spanning more than four metres long and built in Austria, the R60-series 

Countryman represents another departure from the original 1959 BMC template, adding 

the option of all-wheel drive to make it a compact alternative to models as diverse as 

the Skoda Octavia Scout and BMW’s X1. But to look at and to drive, the Countryman 

is indeed very much like a Mini and, for the sort of buyers attracted to this sort 

of vehicle, that’s great news. It doesn’t come cheap though – especially in top-line 

Cooper S All4 guise tested here – while there are some ergonomic flaws too. 


CHRYSLER’S BLACK INK 

AMERICAN car-maker Chrysler Group 

has continued its journey from death’s door 

by announcing its first quarterly net profit 

since emerging from chapter 11 bankruptcy 

almost two years ago. 

Propped up by United States and 

Canadian taxpayers and new owner Fiat, 

Chrysler posted a net profit of $US116 

million ($A106m) in the first quarter of this 

year, compared with a first-quarter loss of 

$US197 million ($A180m) in 2010. 

Chrysler’s success impressed analysts, 

but was modest compared with cross-town 

rival Ford which last week announced a 

$US2.6 billion ($A2.4b) net profit – its best 

quarterly performance in 12 years. 


LOW FINANCE DEAL 

RENAULT Financial Services has opened 

for business by announcing one of the most 

attractive automotive finance offers ever seen 

in Australia. The super-low introductory rate 

of just 1.9 per cent is available now for all 

Renault passenger cars except the Clio and 

Megane RenaultSport. 

Underlining how serious Renault is with 

its latest Australian rejuvenation, the French 

brand’s 1.9 per cent passenger credit is offered 

with 3.9 per cent finance for all light commercial 

vehicle customers, who will also receive free 

satellite-navigation. Both rates are available to 

eligible private, business and fleet buyers of 

Renault vehicles financed for 36 months during 

May and June and delivered by July 31. 

Launch Pad 

Australia’s No.1 because it works! 

May: 

Bentley Continental GT 

Mercedes-Benz C-class 

McLaren MP4-12C 

Mercedes-Benz C-class 

Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion 

Volkswagen Eos 

VW Golf BlueMotion 

New model diary: CLICK HERE 

AURION WHITE KNIGHT 

TOYOTA has released a special edition of 

its Aurion V6 large car, offering what the 

company says is $3000 of extra value – for 

$3500 more than the Aurion Prodigy on 

which it is based. 

The $44,990 Aurion White – all 250 

examples in the limited run are painted 

Crystal Pearl white – comes equipped 

with an array of extra features including 

Sportivo bodykit, unique five-spoke grey 

alloy wheels, “leather-accented” interior, 

a premium three-spoke steering wheel, 

electric moonroof, carbon-fibre interior trim 

highlights, multi-function trip computer, 

dark grey carpets and Aurion-embroidered 

floor mats. 


MASERATI MC HAMMER 

THE quickest, fastest, lightest and most 

powerful Maserati road car will also be the 

most expensive, following confirmation that 

limited numbers of the GranTurismo MC 

Stradale will arrive in Australia from June with 

a pricetag of $364,900 plus on-road costs. 

Despite the $46,400 premium over 

the GranTurismo S coupe upon which 

it is based, making the Stradale almost 

$27,000 pricier than Maserati’s $338,000 

GranCabrio flagship, about half the 18 

examples allocated for Australia and New 

Zealand have already been sold. 


TOP FERRARI SERVICE 

FERRARI has announced a seven-year 

scheduled servicing program that will entitle 

European customers ordering one of its 458 

Italia, FF or California sportscars to seven 

years of free scheduled servicing. 

Customer cars will receive scheduled 

maintenance at 20,000km or yearly 

intervals, with no restriction on the number 

of services for high-mileage drivers. 

Genuine Ferrari spare parts, engine oil and 

brake fluid are all included. 

FULL STORY: CLICK HERE FULL STORY: CLICK HERE 

Franchised or independent - it works. 

Call us on 1300 728 800 or 

email dealer@carsales.com.au

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