Motoring Friday,December27,2019
T
wenty nineteen is a year that Holden is going to want to forget. Sales stumbled to their worst levels, its reasonably new CEO Dave Buttner left the building, and the Holden Commodore’s fate was finally confirmed. But there’s at least one nice silhouette on the horizon for the car-maker to look forward to, being the right-hook Chevrolet Corvette C8. And, the first of the breed has landed in Australia. Holden confirmed its Corvette Christmas on social media this week, showing the first Corvette C8 to land in Australia at its headquarters in Victoria. Given the timing, it’s unlikely that the new arrival is a right-hook variant set to go on sale. Instead, it’s most likely a test vehicle for local evaluation. Holden alluded to its plans for local tuning specific to Australian roads and conditions on social media (“You’ll find the Corvette to be tuned and tested for our roads and conditions” it said, in a response on Facebook), which will most likely concern the way the C8 rides on local roads. While American Corvette enthusiasts are picking up their new C8s as we speak, Australasian buyers are set to wait until 2021 for a local arrival. Local pricing is yet to be confirmed, but that didn’t stop us from taking a stab at guessing back in August. The Corvette’s 2021 arrival won’t just be momentous because of the fact its
Corvette coming
369kW/637Nm 6.2-litre twin-turbo V8 is mid-mounted for the first time. It’s also set to be the first right-hand
drive Corvette offered new to Australia and New Zealand. As it stands, it’ll also be the only ‘car’ in the Holden line-up alongside
the Spark hatchback when it arrives, given the scheduled 2020 departure of the Commodore and Astra.
Following in some giant footsteps
T
wo young engineers from New Zealand have arrived in England to begin an internship established in honour of McLaren’s Kiwi founder, Bruce McLaren. University of Auckland students Elizabeth Grant and Harvey Merton are both following in the footsteps of Bruce McLaren who arrived in England in 1958 on a scholarship before going on to establish his racing team five years later. Bruce’s vision was always to build supercars. McLaren Automotive was established just under a decade ago to fulfil that vision and which is where Elizabeth and Harvey, who both have a passion for high performance engineering and cars, will spend the next two months. The company has produced some of the world’s most iconic supercars, most recently unveiling the Elva roadster which celebrates the renowned Bruce McLaren-designed M1A and McLaren-Elvas of the 1960s. Produced as ‘customer’ versions of the innovative and exciting Group 7 McLaren race cars, the McLaren-Elva sportscars embodied many of the pioneering design and engineering principles that are still integral to the McLaren road cars the company hand-builds today. Both Harvey and Elizabeth will be based at the iconic McLaren Technology and Production Centres in Woking, where they will have stints with designers, development engineers, the powertrain team as well as areas such as aftersales to gain a rounded understanding of the 2700-strong team.
Farming Motoring
12 2
Friday, December 27, 2019
www.guardianonline.co.nz
More clean vehicles? AP
F
iat Chrysler and Peugeot agreed recently to merge into a single company that will become the world’s fourth-largest automaker, a giant that could bring consumers a wider variety of cleaner vehicles at a faster pace, including more powered by electricity. The boards of the two companies signed the deal to achieve what neither was good at alone: conquering the challenges of stricter emission rules and navigating the transition to battery-powered and autonomous vehicles. The new company, which doesn’t yet have a name, will be led by Peugeot’s cost-cutting CEO Carlos Tavares. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley will stay on, though it was unclear in what capacity and for how long. For consumers, the agreement will give Fiat Chrysler access to “multi-energy platforms” already developed by Peugeot, including electric vehicles, Manley said. “That obviously increases choice and improves overall fleet performance from a CO2 perspective,” he said. “In any competitive environment, you win because you offer your customers great value.”
vehicles should be able to fill up But don’t expect to see Peugeot under-utilised plants, they said. sedans in the US anytime soon. By themselves, the companies Tavares said the combined comwere relatively weak in new techpany’s brands would stay where nology, such as electric vehicles, they originated. with Peugeot ahead of Fiat ChrysThe deal, long sought by both ler. But together, they will be able corporations, is expected to close within 15 months, although it will to turn out more plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. have to clear anti-trust and other “In going this route, they regulatory hurdles. should be more affordable,” said On a series of conference calls, Stephanie Brinley, principal anTavares and Manley talked about alyst for IHS Markit. “Consumers obtaining $4.1 billion (3.7 billion should be able to get it faster, and euros) in annual savings, largely they should be able to get it at a from combining research and lower cost.” platforms, the underpinnings • Latest facelifthas strong small and Peugeot on which vehicles are built. The • 15,000km mid-size cars, markets that Fiat companies said they do not exTurbo Diesel Chrysler has almost abandoned pect any factory closures, but •ad- 2.8L in the US because of a huge ministrative cuts that could cost consumer shift toward SUVs jobs will be considered. Added
and trucks. But Brinley said Fiat Chrysler could use the Peugeot underpinnings to build more small and mid-size SUVs at a faster pace for sale in the US. Meanwhile, Peugeot would get Fiat Chrysler’s expertise in pick-up trucks and commercial vehicles and could perhaps sell some of the popular Jeep brand vehicles in Europe and elsewhere. Tavares said both companies’ brands have a strong following, especially in their home countries, that could be used as an advantage. “When there is passion and emotion, there is room to work on the marketing communications,” he said. The merger will not be the last in a capital-intensive industry that faces challenges of new technologies, Brinley said. Although she expects more combinations, she said competitors such as Ford Motor Company have been able to get economies of scale and share technology costs through partnerships that are short of a full-blown combination. Ford, for instance, is partnering with Volkswagen, while the much smaller Mazda of Japan is joining with Toyota. “I think that it’s not unrealistic that we will see another merger or acquisition,” Brinley said. “But strategic alliances can be just as
effective or more. I think we’ll see both happening.” The deal, which was first unveiled in October, will create a company with revenues of nearly 170 billion euros (nearly $190 billion) that produces 8.7 million cars a year — just behind Volkswagen, the Renault-Nissan alliance and Toyota. The new company will be legally based in the Netherlands and traded in Paris, Milan and New York. It will start with a strong base in Europe, where Peugeot is the second-largest car maker. Fiat makes most of its profits in North America and has a strong presence in Latin America. It will be looking to strengthen its position in China, where both companies lag. “That is part of the opportunities,’’ Tavares said. “We are not happy with our performance there. We think we should be doing better in China.’’ Fiat Chrysler has been looking for an industrial partner in recent years. A previous deal with French rival Renault last spring fell apart over French government concerns about the role of Renault’s Japanese partner, Nissan. Both the French government and unions backed the new deal from the beginning, Tavares said.
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