RAM 1500
REVOLUTION
+ RUGBY LEAGUE STAR SHINES TACKLING AUTOMOTIVE APPRENTICESHIP + THE BLUNDELL CLASSIC FORD MUSEUM
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MEMBER OF MTA QUEENSLAND?
+ PEUGEOT INCEPTION CONCEPT
MTA QUEENSLAND hosts quarterly Divisional Committee meetings for:
› AUSTRALIAN AUTOMOTIVE DEALER ASSOCIATION (NEW CAR DEALERS)
› AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS DIVISION (MECHANICAL REPAIRERS)
› AUTOMOTIVE PARTS RECYCLERS DIVISION (PARTS RECYCLERS)
› AUTOMOTIVE REMARKETING DIVISION (USED CAR DEALERS)
› ENGINE RECONDITIONERS ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND (ENGINE RECONDITIONERS)
› NATIONAL AUTO COLLISION ALLIANCE (PAINT & PANEL / TOW TRUCKS)
› QUEENSLAND FARM & INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY DEALERS DIVISION (FARM & INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY)
› QUEENSLAND MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY DIVISION (MOTORCYCLES)
› RENTAL VEHICLE INDUSTRY DIVISION (RENTAL VEHICLES)
› SERVICE STATION & CONVENIENCE STORE ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND (SERVICE STATIONS)
› TYRE & UNDERCAR DIVISION OF QUEENSLAND (TYRES, BRAKES, SUSPENSIONS)
The Agenda topics include:
› robust discussions around the priorities of the Division,
› issues that need to be directly presented to government and submissions,
› skilling needs,
› membership representation,
› technical and educational updates, and
› innovation opportunities.
The Committee meetings can be attended in-person at MTA Queensland or online. The meetings are open to members and non-members, but we strongly encourage membership to ensure all member benefits are available.
HEAD OFFICE
Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113
P.O. Box 4530, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113
Tel: 07 3237 8777
Fax: 07 3844 4488
Toll Free: 1800 177 951
Email: publications@mtaq.com.au
Website: www.mtaq.com.au
EDITOR
Jonathan Nash
ART DIRECTOR
Marco Ilinic
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Evangeline Kannis
Ian Naylor POLICY
Kellie Dewar, General Manager MTA Queensland
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES
Email: jonathann@mtaq.com.au
EDITORIAL
Editorial submissions are welcomed but cannot be guaranteed placement. For more information email the Editor at publications@mtaq.com.au
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Subscribing to the Motor Trader e-magazine is free. Click here to subscribe
MOTOR TRADER PUBLISHING POLICY
Motor Trader is the official publication of the Motor Trades Association of Queensland. The role of Motor Trader is to inform members of current issues and legislation affecting the industry. As such it can be regarded as the business magazine for the Queensland motor industry. The role of Motor Trader is not to be in competition with the technical magazines already on the market. It will advise of new vehicles being released and of the latest technology incorporated into them; it will advise of latest technology affecting members in each of the MTA Queensland Divisions; it will keep members abreast of the latest in motor industry training and industrial affairs; and it will keep members informed of the latest technical aids available through MTA Queensland Member Services, which will assist members in staying ahead of the technological revolution presently being encountered within the motor industry. The publisher reserves the right to omit or alter any advertisement and the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher for all damages or liabilities arising from the published material.
MTA QUEENSLAND ABN: 74 028 933 848
CORPORATE PARTNERS
JONATHAN NASH EDITOR
WELCOME TO THE February edition of Motor Trader, our first edition for 2023.
For a few years now, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held each January in Las Vegas, has been attracting leading automakers, as well as tech companies developing products for vehicles, to display their latest advances. This year saw some interesting announcements made and technology demonstrated, and in this month’s Motor Trader, we look at some of the stories that caught our eye. Find out more from page 14.
Also in this edition, we meet Emma Manzelmann, a thirdyear light vehicle apprentice with Jet Maintenance Services in Mackay who just happens to be one of Australia’s best rugby league players. How good? Well, last October, Emma was
part of the Newcastle Knights NRLW (National Rugby League Women’s) Premiership side that romped home to win the competition’s Grand Final against the Parramatta Eels. At just 21, Emma has already achieved much in rugby league and Motor Trader jumped at the chance to chat with her about her sporting ambitions, her career so far, and her light vehicle apprenticeship. Find out more from page 34.
Collecting classic cars is likely a dream many of us share. Some people get to live that dream, and Motor Trader recently spoke with the Blundell family in Far North Queensland to hear the story behind the creation of their collection of classic Fords. It comprises nearly 40 stunners from the Blue Oval, and the public will soon be able to get a close-up view of them when the Blundell Classic Ford Museum opens next month. Find out more from page 52.
I hope you enjoy this edition and please reach out if you have some interesting news to share.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all and welcome to 2023! I trust everyone had a relaxing holiday period and are ready and raring for what will hopefully be a much calmer year ahead.
Unfortunately, it has been a difficult start to the year for many of our members across parts of Central and North Queensland, with widespread flooding and torrential rain causing havoc for an area still recovering from natural disasters and the pandemic in recent years. Our thoughts go out to everyone impacted by this event.
During these difficult times, I would like to reach out to our members, wherever you are located across the state, and remind you that we are here for you. Our Senior Workplace Relations advisors are available to discuss options around standing down employees and safely re-opening, or if you require more general support, please contact us on (07) 3237 8777 and we will try to help however we can.
KELLIE DEWAR DEPUTY CEO | GENERAL MANAGER MEMBER SERVICES
IWOULD LIKE TO start by echoing Rod’s sentiment about the year ahead. We have many exciting initiatives coming and I am looking forward to hearing from our members more regularly.
Rod and I will be hitting the road later this month for our first regional events for 2023 in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. These events are a fantastic opportunity to connect with you and discuss the topics important to your business and your community specifically. You will also have the opportunity to hear a special presentation from the Office of Fair Trading. These meetings will be held regularly across Queensland and I encourage all member and non-member businesses to come along for what is a great night. For a full list of event dates and locations, visit www.mtaq.com.au/mtaq-events. RSVP is essential.
On the topic of support, MTA Queensland has recently been installed in the Industry Workforce Advisory role for the automotive industry. Through this role, we are offering free tailored workforce planning and guidance to help businesses address workforce challenges and establish a more diverse workforce. This may include developing strategies for creating a workplace conducive to different cohorts, including women, indigenous people, and skill migration. I encourage all automotive businesses to get involved in this fantastic project.
If you are looking for more information about this program, please get in touch and we will happily assist you.
The first round of our Divisional Committee meetings have now also kicked off for the year, representing another great avenue for members to voice their views to us on the direction of the industry. Attendees will also have the chance to hear from cyber security experts from Aliva, who will run through steps business owners can take to keep themselves safe from online threats. With a rise in the number and complexity of threats targeting businesses lately, this session will be incredibly insightful for all business owners.
Once again, the invitation to attend these meetings is open to all member and non-member businesses and you can register to attend online by emailing info@mtaq.com.au.
I hope to see you all there!
MTA QUEENSLAND HAS RECENTLY BEEN INSTALLED IN THE INDUSTRY WORKFORCE ADVISORY ROLE FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. THROUGH THIS ROLE, WE ARE OFFERING FREE TAILORED WORKFORCE PLANNING AND GUIDANCE TO HELP BUSINESSES ADDRESS WORKFORCE CHALLENGES AND ESTABLISH A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE.
THE FIRST ROUND OF OUR DIVISIONAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS HAVE NOW ALSO KICKED OFF FOR THE YEAR, REPRESENTING ANOTHER GREAT AVENUE FOR MEMBERS TO VOICE THEIR VIEWS TO US ON THE DIRECTION OF THE INDUSTRY.
With Commonwealth Bank, MTAQ members can receive special discounts on EFTPOS solution.
We can also offer a customised comparison^ of your current merchant service to Commonwealth Bank’s merchant solutions, to help you discover which product is right for you. We have flexible terminal and pricing options to suit your needs today and that can change with you in the future.
To find out how much you could save with Commonwealth Bank, contact contact MTAQ by email info@mtaq.com.au or call 07 3237 8777 and they’ll put you in touch with a Commonwealth Bank Relationship Manager.
Thingsyoushouldknow:
^
Commonwealth Bank merchant cost comparison is available to compare all fee types & competitors.
As this advice has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs, you should, before acting on the information, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances. Different assumptions and estimates could result in materially different results. On this basis, no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy of the information or projections contained in this example.
Fees, charges, terms and conditions apply. Please view our Merchant Agreement, Financial Services Guide and Operator and User Guides at commbank.com.au/merchantsupport MTAQ may receive a referral fee from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for each successful referral (excludes existing customers) on eligible Business Banking products and services.
The target market for this product will be found within the product’s Target Market Determination, available at commbank.com.au/tmd.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL and Australian credit licence 234945.
Jeff Turner and Melissa Turner own and run Mad Engine Solutions from their workshop in the centre of Mackay. While the couple have worked in the automotive industry for many years, they established their own business in 2018, specialising in engine reconditioning services.
WHAT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DO YOU OFFER AT MAD ENGINE SOLUTIONS?
MT: We offer services including reconditioned engines, cylinder head machining, crack repair, flywheel grinding and honing, and other mechanical services such as diagnostics and repairs, component testing and more.
JT: Basically, from engine reconditioning to drive-in drive-out servicing, but our main core is engine conditioning and the more in-depth engine side of things.
MT: About 70 per cent of our work comes direct from the trade or is referred from the trade. Retail customers do contact us, but they are often referred to us by another mechanic.
JT: If you're not mechanically minded, then you tend to reach out to a local general mechanic. If they want to take that job on, they'll give us a call. Sometimes they’ll pull the motor and send it to us, other times they’ll refer the customer.
We're finding more and more now that they're stepping away and referring the customer straight to us.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THE AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AROUND YOU WORKS CLOSELY TOGETHER. IS THAT IMPORTANT?
JT: That sense of business community is really important anywhere. If you don't communicate, you get nowhere. If you try to act solely on your own and not work with people, forget about it. We help each other out, loan tools to each other and so on. They might not come to us a lot, but one day they're going to remember it and say, “I'm going go to these guys because they helped me out.”
HOW DID YOU COME TO ESTABLISH THE BUSINESS AND WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN THE INDUSTRY?
JT: I originally started as a delivery driver in the spare parts shop, then went into the workshop and worked my way up to running it, becoming a spare parts interpreter and light vehicle mechanic on
the way. I was there for 22 years before our employer decided to close the business. We decided to take the plunge and start our own business.
MT: I was working at the same shop as a parts interpreter as well as doing the workshop paperwork, and was there for 19 years.
That work was what we knew, and we also knew that it was a busy shop. So, starting MAD Engine Solutions was a gamble, but a calculated one.
Our engine builder, Ray, had worked with Jeff there for more than 20 years, so when that business closed there were three of us that were all going to have to find a job in the same industry. There was work around and we could have got a job, but you don't have the same flexibility as you do when you've got your own place. We work well together, and Ray came with us and is still with us today.
JT: Initially, it was tough and very stressful, but we're pretty happy with where we're at and we actually thought it would take longer to get to this point.
MT: As well as Ray, our main engine builder, we have our son Cody, who has just qualified, and we have four apprentices –Thomas who is going into his third year, Kai who is a second-year, Dean who is in his fourth year, and Eden, who recently started with us and who has come up from NSW. We always do a trial before we make the decision of taking on staff. My reasoning is
that they have to fit in with the rest of the team. That’s important. We get together for smoko and lunch, we talk and joke together, we’re all friends and everyone is willing to help each other out when needed.
JT: That bond is really important. Your staff are the backbone of your business. We have really good staff and without them, things would be a lot harder. Lots of people are looking for good staff and we’re extremely lucky.
Jeff Turner Melissa Turner
JT: It’s not the work that is dying but rather it is about finding employees who are interested in it. I don’t think some people even realise it’s a thing, especially up this way. They push mining so much - jobs like boiler making, diesel fitting and so on - and that’s all you ever see advertised.
MT: Of our four apprentices, two of them who were keen to learn how an engine goes, while the other two were really interested in putting a car together and pulling it apart. And that’s a really good mix for us. We asked our boys at the interview stage, “What do you see yourself
shop. What sort of thing are you're looking for?” to make sure they were going to fit in. And that’s important because they've got to fit into the shop and start doing the basics like resizing rods and head testing and things like that.
JT: Yes. We put our guys on as light vehicle mechanics because the MTA Institute offer that as an apprenticeship. We cover everything they need in their training. For example, in the shop we do a bit of general mechanical but there are other mechanics in town who, if needed, we can send them to so that they cover all those areas of their
apprentices come here to do their modules for the engine side of things.
MT: Our apprentices do things exactly the way that we want them done. They've been here since school pretty much, so they've learned the way that we do things, and it just works.
JT: Passion is probably the most important thing. You can teach a person as long as they want to learn. If they don't want to learn and they’re just here for a paycheque, you’ll never be able to teach them. You’ve got to be passionate and that’s the major thing we look for in an apprentice.
MT: We had about two weeks of work booked in and then our phones just stopped ringing and we thought, “This is going be bad.” We were wondering what we were going to do and then - and I don't know whether it was an announcement that they [the Government] were going to give money or whether it was the superannuation thing - but our phones just went from barely ringing to ringing nonstop and we had the busiest six months after that. It was insane!
It was people at home, working on project cars that had been sitting in the shed for years, and they were taking engines out and bringing them to us to have heads done and so on. It was crazy. It continued like that into Christmas of 2020, and when we came back at the start of the year the phone was still ringing non-stop.
JT: It was very weird in 2021 because it was as stressful trying to get things out as it had been trying to get work in! While it isn’t as hectic now because we have learned to scale things down, it really hasn’t dropped off.
MT: I grew up in the industry - my parents were in the industry and my brother is a mechanic - but for a female, you've got to have pretty tough skin. A lot of people think you know nothing and that can be frustrating at times. However, I think it is getting better. It's probably been 10 years since I worked in spare parts answering the phones all the time, and there weren’t a lot of females in the industry then. Now, there are females at all dealerships, and ladies everywhere. I’m a member of the MTA Queensland Auto Women group, and they've all dealt with the same issue. But it is improving.
WHY DID YOU JOIN MTA QUEENSLAND AND WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BENEFITS OF BEING A MEMBER?
MT: Being able to tell people you are a member of MTA Queensland is a big thing. It’s a well-known name. And there’s advice that you can get on a lot of things – industrial relations information and recommendations and so on. We managed to set up all our workplace health and safety with a company that was recommended. The wage stuff is great too. You have one person who knows who you are and who you can call or email anytime to get accurate information.
Regarding the training of our apprentices, we know exactly what they are up to and we don’t have to chase anything. It’s all up to date and the communication is great with the trainer.
TELL ME ABOUT THE NAME ‘MAD ENGINE SOLUTIONS’. HOW DID YOU COME BY THAT?
MT: Our youngest daughter thought it stood for ‘Mum And Dad’! Actually, it’s Mackay And District, although Jeff likes to tell people that ‘you’ve got to be mad to do it’!
YOU’VE RECENTLY CHANGED YOUR OPENING HOURS AND ARE NOW CLOSED EVERY SECOND FRIDAY. WHY DID YOU COME TO THAT DECISION?
MT: A few other places in town are doing a 9-day fortnight and it's a good incentive when you're
competing for staff that are working at the mining companies and who do four-onthree-off or five-on-four-off and are getting a long weekend all the time.
There is an appeal to having that extra day. Normally, come the weekend, you're busy doing things and by the time you’ve done any jobs around the house, the weekend’s over and you've had no family time. Now, we can do all that sort of stuff on Friday and have that time.
We thought we'd give it a trial and see how it goes. Now we open from 7:30am until 4:30pm Monday to Thursday, and 7:30am to 4pm every second Friday and that means we are still working the 76 hours over the fortnight. It’s early days and we’ll see how it goes but having that extra half-hour at the end of the day has been productive – the boys just seem to smash through the work.
YOU MENTIONED YOU ARE AHEAD OF WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE WHEN YOU STARTED THE BUSINESS. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
JT: We probably don’t want to grow a crazy amount more as far as staffing goes, but will do some fine tuning, be more productive, and upgrade our machines. We've got a talented team, so we will look at fine tuning.
HE
held every January in Las Vegas has, over the years, become the go-to expo for carmakers to show off their latest innovations. Technology companies developing tech for the auto industry like to get in on the action too, and be it the latest in futuristic concept cars or the whiz-bang gadgetry that will soon be a regular feature in roadgoing production models, there was plenty to see at this year's show . In time, the traditional car show may give way to shows such as the CES – an exhibition that highlights the progress of tech and vehicle integration – and that
MERCEDES-BENZ IS to launch a high-power charging network across North America, Europe, China and other markets. The company made the announcement at CES with construction of the network to begin this year in the US and Canada. The German manufacturer said its aim is to have the full network in place before the end of the decade, by which time it intends to go all-electric where market conditions allow.
may indicate just how much cars are becoming as much technology products as they are a means of transportation. Here are some of the automotiverelated technology developments and announcements that caught our eye at CES 2023.
The Mercedes-Benz charging hubs will be located in key cities and urban population centres, close to major arteries, and at convenient retail and service destinations, including participating Mercedes-Benz dealership sites.
IN TIME, THE TRADITIONAL CAR SHOW MAY GIVE WAY TO SHOWS SUCH AS THE CES – AN EXHIBITION THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE PROGRESS OF TECH AND VEHICLE INTEGRATION . . .VIDEO: MERCEDES-BENZ HIGH-POWER CHARGING NETWORK
The company said it believes the charging network move will ‘significantly enhance the usability of its electric vehicles, differentiate the Mercedes-Benz ownership experience and accelerate the EV transformation.’
The charging network will focus first on Mercedes-Benz customers but will be open to drivers of all other brands with compatible technology.
By 2027, the plan is for more than 400 hubs to be located across North America offering more than 2,500 highpower chargers. Depending on location, the hubs will offer 4 to 12, and as many as 30, high-power chargers with up to 350kW of charging power.
Mercedes-Benz added that it will work to ensure green energy is used at the chargers - preferably via green electricity supply contracts or by using renewable energy certificates from an accredited supplier. Selected Mercedes-Benz charging hubs will also be equipped with photovoltaic systems to provide electricity for lighting and video surveillance, for example.
The locations and surroundings of the charging hubs will be selected with wider customer needs in mind, meaning food outlets and restrooms are to be situated nearby. Facilities will also be equipped with surveillance cameras and other measures to provide a safe charging environment.
“Mercedes-Benz already offers what we believe to be the finest EVs in the market. But to accelerate the electric transformation, we need to ensure that the charging experience keeps pace as well,” said Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. “Our customers deserve a compelling charging experience that makes electric vehicle ownership and long-distance travel effortless. We won’t take a wait-and-see approach for this to be built. That’s why we are launching a global high-end charging network. It’s designed to become another differentiator of Mercedes-Benz ownership for our customers and an asset with value creation potential for our company.”
THIS IS THE Climb-E, an autonomous driving concept designed to provide either a private travel experience or services delivery.
A collaboration between famed design and engineering company Italdesign; the elevator and escalator manufacturer, the Schindler Group; and the Politecnico di Torino university; the Climb-E is an electric shuttle with some unique features and abilities.
Modular in design, the Climb-E is comprised of a capsule that can be configured for a variety of uses - such as carrying up to four people for private use, or to deliver services such as medical or hospitality services – and which is coupled to a fully electric platform called a ‘skid’ which features autonomous driving and safety technology from road-safety company, Easyrain.
The capsule is designed to be kept at a home or apartment and be separated from the skid. The skid is shared rather than owned, enabling it to be stored and charged elsewhere and be called upon when required.
The skid comprises four steering and driving wheels fitted with electric motors. Energy comes from a 65kWh battery pack delivering up to 322km of range. Top speed is 120km/h. Inductive charging will enable a 10-80 per cent charge in 15 minutes. Perhaps the most unusual feature of the Climb-E comes via input from
VIDEO: CLIMB-E: A NEW MOBILITY CONCEPT
The capsule is designed to be kept at a home or apartment and be separated from the skid
Schindler. The idea is that buildings can be constructed (or current buildings retrofitted) with a hoist system that can be used to bring the capsule from an apartment on any floor down to the waiting skid below.
TYRE COMPANY GOODYEAR and delivery company Gatik - an autonomous vehicle start-up focused on the ‘middle mile’ of logistics –announced they had demonstrated that intelligent tyres powered by Goodyear SightLine technology can accurately estimate tyre-road friction potential and provide real-time information to Gatik’s automated driving system (ADS). With road-friction data, the companies said tyres can help enable smoother, safer and more sustainable driving. The data is critical information for autonomous vehicles in terms of path planning and providing recommendations for safe driving speed, vehicle acceleration limits and vehicle following distance.
While the Climb-E is just a concept, it highlights the innovative ideas being generated around the future of mobility and, in this case, the quite original thinking regarding transportation and living in urban centres.
Goodyear SightLine technology is designed to measure the tyre wear state, load, inflation pressure and temperature. It combines that with real-time road-weather data and rubber friction models to estimate the tyreroad friction potential.
Goodyear and Gatik recently deployed road-friction detection capabilities in Canada, pairing the information with other vehicle data and using Goodyear’s cloud-based algorithms to optimise vehicle performance. Estimates from SightLine were successfully able to detect low grip conditions, such as snowy or icy conditions, and make this information available to Gatik’s autonomous fleet, enhancing safety and performance.
‘DIGITAL EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE’.
That’s what DEE stands for in the name of the new concept from BMW that was unveiled at CES. And it sums up nicely the idea behind this concept. As BMW puts it, it’s the name that ‘. . . underlines the growing importance of the emotional bond between human and machine in the future.’
First up, the design, inside and out, of the all-electric, mid-size sports sedan is minimalist. On the inside there are no monitors or buttons, instead, a fullwidth head-up display that incorporates augmented reality functions displays
everything a driver needs to know. There’s an AI -powered, voice driven virtual assistant and a ’mixed reality slider’ on the dash enables drivers to choose how
much digital content they want to see on the head-up display while also offering selections for communications and augmented reality projection.
On the outside, there’s all manner of trickery and cleverness going on. The kidney grille has been digitised and is interactive, able to convey ‘emotion’ and expressions via the E-Ink wrap technology that BMW revealed on its iX Flow concept at last year’s CES. The wrap, when stimulated by electrical signals, can change colour and hue. The same tech covers the entire concept, allowing drivers to choose
between 32 colours and an array of shapes and patterns for the exterior look of the car.
The digital experience begins outside the vehicle, with a personalised welcome scenario that combines graphical elements, light and sound effects and the i Vision Dee can even project an image of the driver's avatar onto the side window to further personalise that welcome scenario.
While the I Vision Dee is a concept, the technology is not, BMW said, just for show, with elements of the digital tech, including the head-up display, to appear on the company’s upcoming Neue Klasse of vehicles.
GERMANY’S BENTELER GROUP - which is involved in, amongst other industries, steel, automotive, and engineering – has created a new brand, called Holon, and unveiled its debut effort at CES - an autonomous, fully electric people mover.
With the design coming from Pininfarina, the Holon Mover looks pretty good given its practical, boxy shape, and it is built to accommodate up to 15 people. It can, the company said, reach a top speed of 60km/h and has a range of 290km.
There are some features here that are designed to make the Holon Move accessible to everyone. For example, there are electric double-wing doors and an automatically extending ramp with lowering function. There’s automatic
securing of wheelchairs inside the vehicle, and the Holon is designed to make information available both in Braille and via an audio-visual set-up to provide additional support for visually impaired people.
The self-driving function comes via Mobileye Drive technology and the Holon can can, the company says, achieve Level 4 autonomy.
The Holon Mover can, the company added, be used for on-demand services, such as ride pooling and ride hailing,
IMMERVISION - A DEVELOPER of advanced vision systems combining optics, image processing and sensor technology - showcased its ready-to-use 190-degree, lens at CES. Developed to meet safety and comfort requirements in thepassenger compartment in the event of low light, the lens delivers an ultra-wide field-of-view and is designed to capture quality images in low-light conditions, and provide versatility for complex function applications such as eye tracking through goggles, determining safety risks such as driver fatigue, and improving passenger classification and object detection at night, without external lighting sources.
The company said the design has a
reduced lens footprint allowing vehicle manufacturers to have more complete coverage of the cabin with fewer cameras.
“In-cabin monitoring applications are evolving from luxury car options to mandatory safety features and are crucial for autonomous driving systems (ADAS),” said Jean-Sébastien Landry, Chief Operating Officer products at Immervision.
but also normal scheduled services. Other applications for the vehicle include cargo transport and last-mile delivery as well as customer transport on campuses, at airports and other locations.
The first pilot project has already been
announced with Holon teaming up with leading German transit company Hochbahn in Hamburg. Plans are afoot for the Mover to debut in the U.S. as well, with mobility provider Beep to take on the first vehicles there.
STELLANTIS - THE VEHICLE manufacturer that includes Peugeot, Chrysler, Citroen, Opel, Dodge, Fiat and more, amongst its brands – announced the establishment of Mobilisights, an independent business unit whose aim is to expand the company’s ‘data as a service’ (DaaS) business and develop B2B products, applications and services.
By the end of this decade, Stellantis said it expects to be leveraging the data from 34 million connected vehicles, with Mobilisights having exclusive access and rights to license vehicle and related data from all Stellantis brands to external customers.
“The vision for Mobilisights is to contribute to a smarter world, leveraging the insights that vehicle data provide to inspire innovative applications and services that can transform and dramatically improve the day-to-day lives of users and businesses,” said Sanjiv Ghate, Mobilisights CEO. “Harnessed effectively, sensor and other data available from connected vehicles can enable a wide range of services and applications with compelling benefits, ranging from
personalised usage-based insurance to road hazard detection and traffic management. With its 14 iconic brands and millions of connected vehicles, Stellantis has unmatched global data scale capable of powering this business forward.”
Mobilisights said its products will be available to a variety of groups, including private enterprises, public-sector utilities, education and research institutions to enable a wide range of applications and services. The company added that both it and its partners will operate within strict data governance and privacy policy, including using anonymised and aggregated data, and only sharing personal data of customers with their consent for the specific services of their choosing. Customers also can opt out of information being collected, used or shared, even after they have given their consent.
20% OFF!
After the successful completion of these courses, a person may register for a Licence as a Motor Salesperson or Motor Dealer with the Office of Fair Trading.
MOTOR VEHICLE SALESPERSON COURSE
Non-members: $500 $400 | MTAQ members: $400 $320 CLICK HERE FOR
MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER COURSE
Non-members: $1,000 $800 | MTAQ members: $800 $640 CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
THIS IS THE Ram 1500 Revolution allelectric pick-up concept, revealed at CES. With Ram saying that its entire line-up will be available with electrified variants in the future, the 1500 Revolution marks quite a statement of intent, with the company, while not revealing every detail such as battery size and range, saying that the pick-up has all-wheel-drive capability, is powered by two electric
drive modules (EDMs), and will have a battery pack that will be efficiently incorporated into the company’s STLA body-on-frame platform. It added that the pick-up will be able to add up 160km
VIDEO: RAM REVOLUTION CONCEPT | REVEAL
Ram 1500 Revolution
of range in around 10 minutes with 800volt DC fast charging at up to 350kW.
Ram showcased a new inductive robot charger – the Ram Charger – with the 1500 Revolution. It is designed to detect the vehicle's presence and its charging requirements, and automatically move into position under the vehicle. Smartcharge capability will allow charging during off-peak time.
Four-wheel steering is on tap for the 1500 Revolution with up to 15 degrees of articulation, and there’s three-mode adjustable air suspension too. Inside, is a high-tech, spacious interior, and the placement and size of the battery allows
for plenty of cargo volume.
Lots of top tech and goodies are stuffed into the 1500 Revolution. Powered features include a frunk with one-touch open-and-close functionality, a powered charge-port door, and powered tailgate, while there are also powered side steps and a powered rear step. The interior is configurable in plenty of ways with a powered mid-gate and flexible seating including a fold-flat option.
Side-view mirrors use a digital camera to capture the truck’s surroundings, and there’s an augmented reality (AR) head-up display for the driver. Other nifty features include an AI-powered vehicle personal
assistant; a ‘shadow mode’ that allows the vehicle to automatically follow the driver walking ahead of the vehicles; an intelligent storage app that helps users measure objects to determine if they can be transported in the vehicle; an exterior projector; and a smart home control system, amongst much else. The company says there’s Level 3+ autonomous mode driver capability too, and the full touchscreen display, which is comprised of two screens, offers acres of display space. A nice touch is that the lower display is removable and
can be detached from the centre console and used as a tablet. All this technology and clever thinking hasn’t led to a Cybertruck-like reimagining of the pick-up truck. The 1500 Revolution is recognisably a chunky American beast, even with some tasty touches – including saloon-style doors, animated LED tail-lamps and badging at the rear and animated RAM badge upfront between nice ‘tuning fork’ LED lights. Ram actually refers to the styling as ‘brutiful’ – brutal yet beautiful - and that’s a pretty good description.
Sony and carmaker Honda, under the banner of their joint venture company Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), used the CES event to announce their new car brand Afeela and revealed a striking new prototype.
The new vehicle, a handsome, four-door sedan/hatchback, follows on the heels of two concepts revealed by Sony at the 2020 and 2022 CES shows.
Those two concepts were visually similar to the Afeela prototype and were also, as can be expected with input from Sony, stuffed full of cuttingedge technology. The Afeela represents a step-up, perhaps, in terms of tech, coming as it does with 45 cameras and sensors inside and outside; 800 TOPS (Trillions
of Operations per Second) of computing power via the use of SoCs (System on a Chip) from Qualcomm Technologies that will be used in ADAS, HMI (HumanMachine Interface) and IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) features and functions; and a collaboration with Epic Games (the company behind such computer games as Fortnite) to create new mobility services and entertainment.
It’s perhaps no surprise to imagine the Afeela being a standout when it comes to entertainment and certain forms of audio-visual technology given Sony’s long expertise in those areas, and Honda’s input will likely result in a very decent vehicle, one that SMH says will have Level 2+ driver assistance and, at some point, Level 3 automated driving capability.
While there’s no word on battery, motor or performance, range and charging details, the Vision-S 02 SUV concept revealed at last year’s CES had two motors delivering 200kW on each axle, while the Vision S sedan concept from 2020 had the
Sony Honda Mobility AFEELAsame dual-motor set-up and was good for a 240km/h top speed and a 0-100km/h time of 4.8 seconds. We’ll wait and see what set-up the Afeela has, but whatever it may be, things are moving swiftly.
BOSCH, THE GERMAN technology and engineering giant, unveiled a new connected smart camera system at CES – one geared specifically toward the ride-hailing sector.
Bosch says the system, called RideCare companion, provides monitoring and transparency for ridehailing, enabling accountability for both driver and rider and delivering swift responses when there is an issue.
The device features a number of sensors for monitoring of shared rides with an interior and exterior camera providing visibility – especially at night – to both the interior and exterior of the vehicle. The system analyses the data enabling the detection of aspects such as the start and stop of a ride to enable better management of footage.
Accompanying the RideCare companion is a wireless SOS button in the vehicle that the driver can press to
SMH says a production model, will appear based on this prototype with pre-orders planned to begin in the first half of 2025 and delivery in the first half of 2026.
activate an emergency call to a Bosch service centre. As long as the vehicle is within range of mobile connectivity, trained emergency call operators are available live 24/7 and can look into the vehicle. They can access a camera view from the RideCare companion device to determine if emergency services need to be contacted.
All rides are monitored and uploaded to the cloud and a lighting element on the front of the RideCare device lets drivers and riders know the service is active. Data is handled securely from end-to-end, being encrypted on the device and stored in the cloud. Video data is documented with location and timestamp and can be used as proof in case of disputes.
VOLKSWAGEN TOOK TO the display floor at CES to unveil a little more about its upcoming all-electric offering, the ID.7 sedan. Boasting some updated tech and experiences for driver and passengers – apparently in response to customer feedback of other ID models – the ID.7 will
have a new display concept, an augmented reality head-up display, a 15-inch screen, and a new air conditioning system that can, amongst other things, detect when the driver is approaching and start to cool or heat the cabin depending on the weather, and respond to voice commands. Full details are yet to be released on the production ID.7 – those will come closer to its official launch date – although VW has said it will be based on its MEB electric
TWO OF THE world’s leading technology companies are teaming up and heading to the automotive sector together. Qualcomm, a leading semiconductor and wireless communication technology company, and Salesforce, one of the world’s largest software companies and the maker of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, are set to collaborate on development of a new intelligent connected vehicle platform for the automotive industry.
The new platform, which will utilise Qualcomm’s Snapdragon tech and Salesforce’s Automotive Cloud system, intends to give manufacturers, fleet providers, auto finance groups and others
the ability to design and deliver new, personalised customer experiences that can be updated throughout a vehicle’s life.
According to Salesforce, 93 per cent of all automotive companies agree that first-party data – such as website interaction, in-app usage, and purchase/ service history – will help them improve the customer experience, and Qualcomm and Salesforce aim to provide carmakers with the means to deliver experiences that use vehicle and driver data, including fast or real-time alerts, specific offers, predictive services, and more.
This should, the companies said, result in the building of experiences that extend a carmaker’s brand, help them stay connected to customers with monetisable connected services.
platform and have a range of 700km. While the CES near-production model was camouflaged, VW also mentioned it is based on AERO concept car that appeared last year.
That concept had around 600km of range
thanks to a 77kWh battery, which suggests VW may have a bigger battery pack in store for the ID.7.
The ID.7 will be the sixth model in VW’s ID family of electric cars, one of the 10 new electric models the company intends to launch by 2026. VW also reported that it had delivered 500,000 ID vehicles since September 2020.
Emma Manzelmann with Newcastle Knights 2022 Grand Final-winning teammates Yasmin Clydsdale and Romy Teitzel
Image courtesy of the Newcastle Knights
ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2022, at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, the Newcastle Knights and Parramatta Eels battled it out in the Grand Final of the NRLW (National Rugby League Women) Premiership. The result was a comprehensive victory for the Knights, who scored a whopping seven tries on their way to securing a 32-12 win.
It was a pretty amazing feat for the Knights. The team had only joined the league the previous year and in the COVID-delayed 2021 season - played from February to April of 2022 - the team had come last in the six-team competition.
To go from that low point to the high of premiership winners in just six months was an amazing turnaround.
Among the Knights players who lifted the trophy on that Grand Final day was Emma Manzelmann, a 21-year-old from Mackay who played the pivotal role of Hooker.
An exceptionally gifted athlete –who exceled in the pool and swam competitively at a national level before choosing Rugby League as her sport –Emma’s footy achievements are pretty impressive. They include, amongst plenty of others, twice being named Player of the
Year for the North Queensland Gold Stars in the QRL (Queensland Rugby League) BHP Premiership and being part of the 2019 Queensland Women’s under-18 State of Origin squad.
However, winning the Premiership was, she said, an amazing moment.
“After our first season we were bottom of the ladder. To then come out and win the Premiership - you wouldn't expect it,” she said. “To come out and win that next season was incredible.”
A Grand Final victory would likely be the highlight of many a League player’s career, and for a key figure such as Emma, the start of a long and potentially lucrative one.
However, in many ways, the women’s professional Rugby League is just getting rolling. The NRLW Premiership competition was established only in 2018 with just four teams participating in that inaugural season. The 2022 competition comprised six teams, while the 2023 season is set to include 10 teams. That growth is a great indication that things are gathering steam, but the women’s game is yet to reach the status of the men’s and the
earning power that they enjoy.
It’s also worth remembering that a career considered long in any professional sport is short when compared to those of regular folk.
According to some - including the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA), which represents elite League players – the average men’s NRL career is less than 45 games, and it would be rare indeed to find anyone, in any rough, tough, physical sport, playing at the elite level beyond their mid-30s.
Taking all this into account, it is no surprise to learn that Emma, and likely many other women athletes, has another job - one that both allows her to earn while her sport works to provide her and others the opportunity to play and earn full time,
“IF I DIDN’T WORK HERE, I DON'T THINK I WOULD HAVE A JOB WHERE I WOULD BE PLAYING FOOTBALL. I'D EITHER HAVE ONE OR THE OTHER.”Image courtesy of the Newcastle Knights
as well as train for a second career once her playing days come to an end.
For Emma, that potential second career lies in the automotive industry, and she is currently in the third year of a light vehicle apprenticeship at Jet Maintenance Services in Mackay.
Formerly known as Eveready, Jet Maintenance is a division of the larger Jet Group which offers a range of services –including engineering, design, fabrication, installation and more – primarily to the mining sector.
Based out of a 2000 square-metre facility in Mackay, Jet Maintenance provides mechanical, auto electrical and onsite field services for light vehicle, and
mechanical machinery and equipment, and employs some 30 staff. While work is done at mining sites, some is brought into Mackay to be serviced, overhauled, and repaired and Emma is one of a handful of mechanics, auto-electricians and other apprentices and tradies who do that work at the Mackay facility.
It is a job she enjoys immensely and, she said, she is lucky to have found an employer willing to offer her the chance to learn a trade and support her sporting ambitions – one that has seen her regularly travel the 1500km to Newcastle to train and play with the Knights team.
“If I didn’t work here, I don't think I would have a job where I would be playing football. I'd either have one or the other,” said Emma.
“I remember that I said to them in my interview that I was doing well in rugby league at that moment and I would occasionally need days off. And they said that was fine and they could work around that. From there on it’s been perfect.”
For Lucas Seymour, Operations Manager for Jet Maintenance, accommodating
Emma’s Rugby League ambitions and playing commitments was a simple decision to make.
“We are a people-focused business, and our people are our number-one priority, so when it came down to circumstances where Emma started progressing through the ranks of football and might need time off, it was an easy decision,” said Lucas.
“And Emma made it easy for us,” he added. “When she started her Origin campaign, there were times when she would fly down to training on an afternoon, have one day there and then fly back the following morning at 7:30 and be running in the front door here throwing her work boots on.
“Her work ethic here is the same as it is on the field. She works hard, she's a very good communicator, she gets along well with everyone. She's a pretty good apprentice!”
The work ethic Emma brings to her job at Jet Maintenance is mirrored in her training.
“Emma is a great student,” said Gareth Hartley, her MTA Institute trainer. “She’s keen, always has her units done and has the evidence and everything ready to go
on the day. She’s very organised and she’s not afraid to ask questions. She's not afraid to say ‘Hey, look, I don't know,’ and that's a big part of it as well.”
To support Emma while she played League, which in 2022 included the COVID-delayed 2021 season plus the actual 2022 season, training was put on hold for several months – a relatively easy option for those training with the MTA Institute. The one-on-one, in-theworkplace training delivery the Institute offers to students and employers allows for this sort of individual flexibility.
“When we knew the footy season was coming up, we got the paperwork - the
application to suspend Emma’s training – and did a six-month application. There were no issues with that and at the end of the six months I rang up Emma and said, ‘Hey, we're back on again,’ and we just kicked back into training,” said Gareth.
The Institute's training delivery is one that works well for Emma, even beyond the time-off flexibility it has offered.
“It feels comfortable,” she said. “You know your workplace and you know your way around. I like it when you come in, do your modules, and then go and train in the workshop. It's good. And I can
always flick Gareth an email or give him a call if I need to.”
Choosing automotive as a potential post-football career was a natural one for Emma, although she was not absolutely certain that it would be one she would follow.
“I grew up on a property and was always helping dad with fixing things, but it was more tractors and loaders and that sort of thing,” she said. “I wasn’t scared to get dirty or anything, so I thought I'd just give it a go. I didn't really know if I'd enjoy it, but I love it and I’m still here!”
Starting out as a trade assistant before taking on her apprenticeship, Emma now works on all manner of vehicles and jobs that come through the Jet Maintenance facility.
“We work on cars and trucks, and we see quite a few vehicles that need repairs or servicing and that need to be made mining site-compliant,” she said.
“I like the bigger jobs,” she added. “I pulled the diff out of a car yesterday and I hadn't done that before so that was
“WE ARE A PEOPLE-FOCUSED BUSINESS, AND OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY, SO WHEN IT CAME DOWN TO CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE EMMA STARTED PROGRESSING THROUGH THE RANKS OF FOOTBALL AND MIGHT NEED TIME OFF, IT WAS AN EASY DECISION.”
pretty cool . . . The bigger jobs are more interesting, and time goes heaps quicker!”
As a third-year apprentice, Emma has perhaps 18 months left of her light vehicle training to run before she qualifies. That’s a long time in sport, and plenty can happen during that time as she pursues her footy goals.
For starters, there’s the 2023 NRLW season and discovering for which team Emma may play. Some reorganisation within the Queensland rugby league setup will see her join the Mackay Cutters – a new team which will represent the whole North Queensland region and which will compete in the Queensland Rugby League BMD Premiership. It is one of the teams from which NRLW clubs will likely select their players.
The Cutters are aligned with the Townsville-based North Queensland Cowboys, one of the NRL's top clubs and which has an expansion team set to join the NRLW Premiership competition for the 2023 season. There is no denying that Emma is drawn to the opportunity to play for the club she has supported since she was a child.
“I have supported the Cowboys my whole life, even when I was a little girl. I reckon it would be great to play for them,” she said.
Emma said NRLW players currently have yearly contracts, but there is a push, she added, for multi-season contracts and full-time professional status. Being
able to enjoy that position is a goal for her, as is the pursuit of becoming a leader within the sport, playing Origin, playing for the Jillaroos (Australia’s women’s national rugby league team), and winning a World Cup.
Automotive might take a back seat while all that happens, of course, but it would, said Emma, be something to which she returns.
“I want to get my trade . . . and have that certificate behind me,” she said. “Hopefully by then, football will be a full-time gig for women. At the moment it's not, and you have to work and play. I want to finish my apprenticeship, and then, hopefully, play football and then come back to automotive when that football career is finished.”
For the Jet Maintenance team, there is plenty of pride in seeing Emma power on in Rugby League, and excitement at what lies ahead for her.
“As an employer we look at it that we are here to support her as long as she needs so she goes out and becomes the best person she can be,” said Lucas.
“She’s 21 years old and with what she's accomplished in football already you can only sit back and think she's destined for great things.”
“AS AN EMPLOYER WE LOOK AT IT AS WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT HER . . . SHE’S 21 YEARS OLD AND WITH WHAT SHE'S ACCOMPLISHED IN FOOTBALL ALREADY YOU CAN ONLY SIT BACK AND THINK SHE'S DESTINED FOR GREAT THINGS.”Image courtesy of the Newcastle Knights
Auto Women is a supportive group that:
Raises the profile of women in the automotive industry
Advocates for women in the automotive industry on key issues to government
Promotes career opportunities for women and the advantages of diversity to employers
Hosts virtual and in-person networking and social events that educate, connect and support women
Is led by a diverse mentor team
Provides career enhancement courses and scholarships
FOLLOW AND LIKE @AUTOWOMEN
JOIN THE GROUP @AUTOWOMEN
READ MORE AT WWW.MTAQ.COM.AU/AUTO-WOMEN
ANY NEW (OR nearly new) technology will often need heavyweight support to get traction. While battery-electric vehicle (BEV) technology is now well on the road to general acceptance, it doesn’t do it any harm when a true heavyweight gets on board, and they don’t get much bigger than the United States Postal Service (USPS).
The USPS says it is planning to acquire at least 66,000 BEV delivery vehicles as part of a 106,000-vehicle acquisition plan for deliveries between now and 2028. The vehicles purchased as part of this anticipated plan will begin to replace the Postal Service’s delivery fleet of more than 220,000 vehicles.
The Postal Service anticipates at least 60,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV), of which at least 75 per cent (45,000) will be battery electric. 21,000 additional commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) vehicles are also expected to be battery electric,. The Postal Service also anticipates including internal combustion vehicles necessary to meet immediate vehicle replacement needs, although it said that acquisitions delivered in 2026 through to 2028 are expected to be 100 per cent electric.
The new vehicles will, unlike the vehicles they are replacing, feature air conditioning and advanced safety technology and are more suited to modern day operational requirements. For any COTS vehicles
purchased, the Postal Service will include a preference for domestically built vehicles.
It was back in February 2021 that the USPS announced it had awarded the company Oshkosh Defence a contract to produce the NGDV, with up to 165,000 vehicles to be built and available in BEV and petrol engine variants. Since then, the requirements around the number of BEV variants to be provided has changed. Initially, a commitment was given for at least 10 per cent of the new fleet to be BEV. In early 2022, a purchase order of 50,000 was made, including 20 per cent BEVs.
Total investment is expected to reach $9.6 billion ($AU13.3 billion) with the new acquisition plan made possible in part, USPS said, because of $3 billion ($AU4.22 billion) in funding via the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
TO MORE THAN 13,000 PEOPLE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE MOTORING INDUSTRY
(website or e-magazine options)
STELLANTIS, THE PARENT company that owns, amongst others, the brands Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Chrysler, Fiat, Ram, and Jeep, is planning on taking a stake in hydrogen mobility company, Symbio. The acquisition will see Stellantis join Michelin and French automotive parts manufacturer Faurecia in taking a major slice of Symbio.
At the end of 2022, Symbio announced its HyMotive project with the goal of greatly increasing its hydrogen fuel-cell system production. The company’s StackPack systems are available for use for tracks, vans, buses, and a range of other equipment, and Symbio plans to reach a production capacity of 200,000 StackPacks per year by 2030.
Stellantis has faith in hydrogen fuel cell use and is pursuing its use as part of its Dare Forward strategic plan, which includes expanding its hydrogen offering to large vans as early as 2024 in Europe and 2025 in the U.S. while further exploring opportunities for heavy-duty trucks.
“Symbio’s technical roadmap perfectly matches with Stellantis’ hydrogen rollout plans in Europe and in the U.S.,” said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. “This move will foster the speed of development to bring low emission products to our customers, beyond traditional electric vehicles. We’re grateful to the teams at
Faurecia, Michelin and Symbio for their commitment to innovation, excellence, and collaboration as we all work to achieve decarbonised mobility.”
Stellantis has also announced it has finalised its acquisition of aiMotive, a developer of artificial intelligence and autonomous driving software.
Stellantis currently is developing STLA Autodrive which will offer Level 2, 2+ and 3 autonomous driving capabilities and which will be upgradeable via Over-TheAir updates.
“The acquisition of aiMotive will accelerate our journey to become a sustainable mobility tech company and deliver our Dare Forward 2030 goals,” said Yves Bonnefont, Stellantis Chief Software Officer. “Thanks to aiMotive’s world-class expertise, we will enhance our artificial intelligence and autonomous driving core technology, expand our global talent pool, and foster the mid-term development of our all-new STLA AutoDrive platform.”
SEA ELECTRIC, THE e-mobility company founded in Australia in 2012, has signed a pair of partnerships that will see it collaborate with Ampol to develop charging options to support the uptake of lower emissions commercial vehicles, and with Mevco (Mining Electric Vehicle Company), a systems integrator focused on electric light commercial vehicles within the mining industry, to produce 8,500 allelectric Hilux and Landcruiser models for the mining industry.
The Ampol partnership will also focus on building an integrated charging solution for SEA Electric customers at Ampol forecourts, at destinations and at the workplace.
“SEA Electric is proud to partner with Ampol on this project, as both companies
lead the country in the transition to sustainable transport," said Bill Gillespie, SEA Electric President, Asia Pacific Region.
“Through this collaboration, we are shining a light on the fact that electric powered truck fleets can be operationally flexible by accessing convenient charging infrastructure through the AmpCharge network.”
The Mevco partnership, worth $1 billion, will see Hilux and Land Cruiser units
“THROUGH THIS COLLABORATION, WE ARE SHINING A LIGHT ON THE FACT THAT ELECTRIC POWERED TRUCK FLEETS CAN BE OPERATIONALLY FLEXIBLE . . .”
powered by SEA Electric’s SEA-Drive power-system.
Available in various mining-specific designs for 4x4 and 4x2 configurations, the vehicles can be specified with two SEA-Drive options - an 88kWh battery which provides 380km of range, or a 60kWh battery delivering up to 260km.
Fast DC to DC charging is available for the system, which provides up to 80 per cent battery power in less than one hour, with a five-year factory warranty on the batteries supplied.
SEA Electric said that over half of the 2023 allocation of the Australiandeveloped battery-electric vehicles have been pre-sold, with demonstration models available in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
“This is a pivotal partnership for the mining industry,” said Matt Cahir, MEVCO CEO. “It enables the world’s leading EV technology for heavy and light commercial trucks to be commercialised on a scale that makes sense for the bespoke needs of the mining sector.
“SEA Electric’s unique architecture is perfectly suited for the task, with the system’s high-torque characteristics ideally fit for purpose.”
LG ENERGY SOLUTION and Honda are establishing a joint venture (JV) to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV) produced by Honda in North America.
The JV will begin construction of a new battery plant in the US state of Ohia early this year with the goal of completion by the end of 2024 and starting mass production of advanced lithium-ion battery cells by the end of 2025. The plant aims to have an annual production capacity of approximately 40GWh.
All batteries produced by the new JV will be supplied exclusively to Honda plants in North America to power battery-electric vehicles sold in North America.
LG Energy Solution and Honda have committed to investing $3.5 billion ($AU4.9 billion) and creating 2,200 jobs to establish the new production facility. The companies’ overall investment related to the JV is projected to reach $4.4 billion ($AU6.2 billion).
LG Energy Solution is one of the world’s largest providers of electric vehicle battery technology. The company produces the Ultium system in partnership with GM, which is the foundation for GMs EV products, and also has joint ventures with Stellantis and Hyundai amongst others.
PORSCHE AND ITS partners have opened and begun production at an eFuels facility in Chile, South America.
Working with Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF) and others, Porsche marked the opening with the ceremonial fueling of a 911 sports car with the first synthetic fuel produced at the site.
In the pilot phase, eFuel production of around 130,000 litres per year is planned at the plant. After the pilot phase, the company says scaling up will take the project to a projected 55 million litres per year by the middle of the decade, and a couple of years after that, capacity is expected to be 550 million litres.
The eFuel is made from water and carbon dioxide using wind energy and enables the nearly CO2-neutral operation of petrol engines. Porsche says the synthetic fuels supplement electromobility and are part of its sustainability strategy.
Last year, Porsche and HIF announced it had begun the development of an eFuel production plant in Tasmania. That facility
is expected to begin construction in 2024.
“The potential of eFuels is huge,” said Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Development and Research at Porsche AG. “There are currently more than 1.3 billion vehicles with combustion engines worldwide. Many of these will be on the roads for decades to come, and eFuels offer the owners of existing cars a nearly carbon-neutral alternative. As the manufacturer of high-performance, efficient engines, Porsche has a wide range of know-how in the field of fuels.”
“THERE ARE CURRENTLY MORE THAN 1.3 BILLION VEHICLES WITH COMBUSTION ENGINES WORLDWIDE. MANY OF THESE WILL BE ON THE ROADS FOR DECADES TO COME, AND EFUELS OFFER THE OWNERS OF EXISTING CARS A NEARLY CARBONNEUTRAL ALTERNATIVE.”Porsche eFuels facility, Chile, South America
In December 2022, the ATO released a new solution to allow employers to request stapled super details directly from the ATO from their business software.
Spirit Super Chief Operations Officer Kathleen Crawford said the update means less leg work for employers and eliminates the need to make separate requests for stapled fund information via ATO online services.
‘The manual process of requesting data through ATO online services was always an interim solution. Integrating the solution into employers’ existing payroll systems makes things much easier and more efficient, which is always good news.’
With the release of the new solution, the current bulk request process will cease in mid-2023.
The ATO is encouraging all employers currently making bulk requests to start
discussions with their software providers about switching to the new solution.
Kathleen said employers should contact their software providers sooner rather than later.
‘Most payroll systems will be compatible with the new solution, but you don’t want to leave it too late. Get in in early and get the solution in place as soon as possible. It’s faster and easier, so there’s nothing to lose.’
To find out if your software solution will incorporate the stapled super functionality, please contact your software provider.
For more details about requesting stapled super fund details for employers, see the ATO
For support with your super solutions, call 1800 005 166 or contact your Spirit Super Employer Relationship Manager.
on Spirit Super is provided by Quadrant First Pty Ltd (ABN 78 102 167 877,
MINING GIANT FORTESCUE has taken delivery of a monster of an electric power system designed to power an equally monstrous 240-tonne mining truck.
Developed by WAE Technologies –formerly Williams Advanced Engineering, an offshoot of Williams Formula One team, and acquired by Fortescue Future Industries in 2022 – the massive 1.4MWh prototype power system will be installed in a prototype haul truck being developed by Fortescue and Liebherr, the GermanSwiss equipment manufacturer.
Fortescue says the system weighs 15 tonnes, measures 3.6m long, 1.6m wide and 2.4m high, and comprises eight sub-packs, each with 36 modules, all individually cooled and each with its own battery management system. It has the the ability
to fast-charge in 30 minutes and capacity to regenerate power as it drives downhill.
The battery is currently at Fortescue’s workshop in Perth and will be assembled and installed before its transported to the Pilbara for testing on site in 2023.
Fortescue says the battery will be integral to its decarbonisation strategy to help eliminate fossil fuels from its iron ore operations, which includes replacing its existing diesel-fuelled fleet with battery electric and green hydrogen powered haul trucks.
“Today marks the latest milestone in the rapid development of state-ofthe-art zero emission technology for Fortescue’s mining trucks,” said Craig Wilson, WAE Technologies. “This highperformance power system not only boasts the highest energy storage of its kind but will also be the first to offer 30 minute fast charging.
“This system is the first of many technologies that can help enable Fortescue to realise its industry leading 2030 net-zero target. Powered solely by renewable energy, it will help prevent enormous amounts of fossil fuel from being used in the mining industry, with the goal to not compromise the vehicle’s load capacity.”
AUSTRALIA’S TRITIUM, MANUFACTURER of electric vehicle (EV) fast-chargers, has announced that energy giant bp has placed the largest ever order with the company.
While the number of chargers has not been disclosed, bp will install the chargers for fleets and the general public in the US, the UK, Europe, and Australia as it expands its EV charging business, bp pulse.
Tritium is supplying the chargers as part of a multi-year contract between the two companies for chargers and related services to support bp’s growth in electrification. The order includes a mix of Tritium’s 50kW RTM and 150kW PKM chargers.
“As bp’s EV charging infrastructure grows worldwide, Tritium is a natural choice for this order,” said Richard Bartlett, CEO bp pulse. “Tritium has a global presence and industry-leading DC fast charging technology – we’re looking forward to putting these chargers to work across three continents.”
Tritium said manufacturing of the chargers destined for bp’s European and American markets will be done at the company’s Lebanon, Tennessee facility in the US, which is expected to reach a production capacity of 30,000 units per year. The chargers for bp’s Australia markets are expected to be manufactured in Tritium’s Brisbane factory, which has a
capacity of 5,000 units per year.
“Tritium envisions a world in which fast EV charging is everywhere,” said Jane Hunter, Tritium CEO. “We’re grateful to the bp team for their order and look forward to working together to support bp pulse as they build a reliable, accessible fast charging network around the world.”
“TRITIUM HAS A GLOBAL PRESENCE AND INDUSTRY-LEADING DC FAST CHARGING TECHNOLOGY – WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO PUTTING THESE CHARGERS TO WORK ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS.”
For the past few years, the lime-farming Blundell family of Far North Queensland have also been cultivating an epic crop of classic Ford cars. Next month, this private collection will make its official public debut with the opening of the Blundell Classic Ford Museum. Motor Trader caught up with Paul, Ron, and Rosemary Blundell to discover the story behind the family’s new venture.
SOME PEOPLE LIKE people dedicate their lives to sharing their passion for cars. Paul Blundell is one of those people. He has dedicated his life to collecting Fords. When you ask Paul, “Why Fords?” he replies, “Why would you collect anything else?”
A lime farmer by trade, Paul grew up driving a tractor, tending to the orchard, and growing limes for people all over Australia. As a young man he loved cars and in particular he loved Fords. In 1999,
Paul bought his first car - a 1963 Compact Fairlane. In true Far North Queensland fashion he wheeled and dealed and ended up trading $2,000 of hard-earned cash and a bullock for the big sedan. Young Paul fell in love with the Ford, stretching her legs
AS A FAMILY, PAUL, RON, AND ROSEMARY PUT THE PLAN IN MOTION TO BUILD THE BLUNDELL CLASSIC FORD MUSEUM.
on the long highways and country dirt roads around Mareeba as he mastered the art of driving.
In 2010 tragedy struck. A cardiac arrest would see Paul rushed him to nearest hospital and then on to specialists in Brisbane. It was touch and go for a long time to see if Paul would survive. The incident meant he had to start life all
A FEW YEARS AGO, A SPOT IN THE ORCHARD AMONGST THE LIME TREES WAS MARKED OUT AND A SHED WAS BUILT. IT WAS THE FIRST SHED IN THE BLUNDELL CLASSIC FORD MUSEUM.
Rosemary and Paul Blundell
over again, learning to walk and talk from scratch as if he was a toddler once more. Slowly, over many years, Paul learnt to function as an active member of his farming family again, but things would never be the same. When Paul had the cardiac arrest, his eyesight failed and he was left legally blind with only a narrow tunnel of vision to navigate the world.
He would never get to drive his beloved Compact at full speed again. As Paul recovered in hospital, his mum Rosemary and his dad Ron initiated a plan to keep Paul connected to the Fords he so dearly loved. Rosemary and Ron are not car people. Ron will tell you without any hesitation that his car is red, but beyond that he knows very little about it.
Ron and Rosemary knew that Paul loved his Fords and they felt that even though he could not legally drive cars on the roads anymore, his passion for the blue oval would provide meaning and purpose in his life. As a family, Paul, Ron, and Rosemary put the plan in motion to build the Blundell Classic Ford Museum.
Just east of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, on Cobra Road, is the Blundell Lime Farm and front and centre by the roadside is where the Blundell Classic Ford Museum now stands. A few years ago, a spot in the orchard amongst the lime trees was marked out and a shed was built. It was the first shed in the Blundell Classic Ford Museum. There are many more sheds still to come. The big Compact Fairlane was
parked. It was the first Ford in the Blundell Classic Ford Museum. There are many more Fords still to come.
Currently, the museum is comprised of five buildings which include a café, a display of Ford memorabilia, a merchandise shop, a workshop, a spray booth, and three large sheds filled with Ford cars, engines, and tractors. Ample room has been left for visitor parking and more sheds in the future. To date the entire museum has been funded by Paul and his family with no support provided by Government or Ford itself. Now, after nearly 10 years, the family is almost ready to open the doors of their collection to the general public with a launch planned for March 2023.
There are close to 40 cars in the
Ron Blundell also has a passion for collecting Ford tractors
collection. For some models such as the 1960 XK, the 1962 XL, the 1964 XM, the 1964 XP; the family has collected a ute, a sedan and a wagon example of each model. Pride of place is the 2016 XR8 Sprint sedan, which has never been registered or driven on the road. The dream car to add to the collection, they say, is an XR6 Sprint.
As anyone who has ever collected a few cars knows, it isn’t as simple as parking vehicles in a shed. Paul and Ron are very committed to having every car as original as possible matching the colour, the engine, and the optional extras to the compliance plate. There is a lot of maintenance and care to go into every car. When so many arrive at the shed in a very rough project state, the team that makes them worthy of a spot in a museum needs to be passionate,
skilled, and dedicated. Paul is very lucky to have three such people in his team.
Shane Arnett was a diesel fitter by trade who decided to take a break from his tools in 2015 by picking limes on the Blundell farm for a bit of a working holiday. He and Ron started talking about cars and before long Shane was back on the tools full time, restoring and maintaining the Ford collection. Shane takes the time to research every car making them as original as possible. He documents each vehicle with photos and their story to track their restoration.
Mick Burnett completed his trade in coach and body building and slant panel beating when he was a young man. In 1982, Mick moved from Brisbane to Mareeba. Over the years, Ron learnt all about Mick and lured him onto the team. Mick is an artist, restoring the body of each vehicle to a condition that rival cars fresh off the factory production line. Bog is not allowed in any vehicle, with Mick taking the time to restore every panel to showroom condition.
Jannica Spinelli has her own business, Viking Upholstery, in Mareeba. Jannica is on call for the museum to restore and recreate the vehicle interiors to an original
WHEN SO MANY ARRIVE AT THE SHED IN A VERY ROUGH PROJECT STATE, THE TEAM THAT MAKES THEM WORTHY OF A SPOT IN A MUSEUM NEEDS TO BE PASSIONATE, SKILLED, AND DEDICATED.The Blundell Classic Ford Museum team: Mick Burnett, Tom Jerome, Ron Blundell, Paul Blundell, Rosemary Blundell, Jannica Spinelli, and Shane Arnett
look when needed. Her passion for the vintage cars is evident as she researches the materials, colours, and trim for each Ford.
Holding the team together and driving them passionately is Paul’s dad Ron. Ron has invested his own hard-earned cash in the project and has a mission to collect an impressive array of Ford tractors to complement the car collection. Ron is constantly researching, finding and negotiating the buying of cars in close consultation with the team to make sure they are not over-investing in the wrong vehicle.
The Ford brand has a strong tribe of die-hard enthusiasts. Recently, the All Ford Club FNQ rallied more than 30 cars and 50 members to visit the museum and share their love of the blue oval. Slowly, they meandered amongst the collection, sharing stories of cars they had owned, cars they have now, and cars they will have one day. Each member was in awe of the dedication and passion that the Blundells have exhibited in bringing together a collection of classic Fords, and each member wanted to help. Generous offers of memorabilia, parts, tools, and even cars were made to the family on the day.
Ron tells us that often when people see the work they are doing, they want to contribute to the collection.
“We have a 1962 XL wagon from Toowoomba,” he says. “Their son had planned to restore the car and do it up but unfortunately he died from cancer before the car was finished. The parents couldn’t bear to part with the vehicle because it had meant so much to their son. We are honoured that they have entrusted us with restoring and caring for their son’s pride and joy.”
Paul, Ron, and Rosemary are more than lime farmers and more than just car collectors. They are custodians of the Ford brand and their commitment to restoring and caring for the vehicles they collect is testament to their passion and dedication.
If you would like to contribute or be involved, please contact the Blundell family via their Facebook profile or via email at rblundell@optusnet.com.au.
RECENTLY, THE ALL FORD CLUB FNQ RALLIED MORE THAN 30 CARS AND 50 MEMBERS TO VISIT THE MUSEUM AND SHARE THEIR LOVE OF THE BLUE OVAL.A recent All Ford Club FNQ rally held at the Blundell Classic Ford Museum site saw some stunning vehicles make an appearance.
As an Industry Skills Advisor we engage with employers, small business and industry stakeholders to provide high quality, evidence-based industry advice and intelligence about current and emerging industry direction, regional skills needs and training solutions, job growth and employment opportunities.
Suzuki models are headed for Australia following their launch at January’s Auto Expo 2023 in Delhi, India.
Firstly, Suzuki has confirmed that a 5-door variant of the small, and very cool, Jimny 4x4 is on its way. The 5-door will be longer – the Indian spec is given as 3,985mm long x 1,645mm wide by 1,720mm tall with the wheelbase growing to 2,590mm.
Performance and engine specs remain the same as the 3-door variant, with power coming from a 1.5-litre engine offering 75kW and 130Nm. There’s part-time 4x4, and 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic options.
Another new model coming our way is the Fronx SUV. The small SUV is a nice-looking entrant into the segment, and while, like the 5-door Jimny, there are plenty of details yet to be revealed, it was launched for the Indian market with the option of a 1-litre mild hybrid with 5-speed manual or 6-speed auto transmission, or 1.2-litre petrol engine with 5-speed manual or 5-speed auto.
Suzuki also said that equipment would include a 360-dgree view camera, head up display, wireless charger and rear-seat air conditioning vents, amongst other features. The exact Australian-spec details, including pricing, for both models are yet to be announced.
SUZUKI HAS CONFIRMED THAT A 5-DOOR VARIANT OF THE SMALL, AND VERY COOL, JIMNY 4X4 IS ON ITS WAY.Suzuki Jimny
TOYOTA REVEALED THE powerful 2023 HiLux GR Sport in January, and the potent off-roader is expected to arrive in Australia for sale in the second half of the year.
The new halo variant of the HiLux range had plenty of development input from Toyota Australia engineers and will be the most powerful diesel HiLux ever offered by Toyota in Australia. Power and torque from the 2.8-litre diesel engine have been boosted by 10 per cent to 165kW and 550Nm, courtesy of revised turbosupercharging and fuel-injection control.
Plenty of other features have been
beefed up too, with sportier tuning for the automatic transmission, paddle shifters on the steering wheel, wider tracks - extended 140mm front and 155mm rear - with redesigned wishbones and a reinforced rear axle.
Dedicated monotube shock absorbers with higher damping force and heat-dissipation capacity, stiffer coil springs and an optimal front-rear suspension balance are designed to deliver on handling, increased stability through reduced roll angle and topnotch steering response.
Available only in the double-cab
body style, the HiLux GR Sport boasts a muscular, Dakar-inspired design including the signature GR grille mesh and Toyota lettering, 17-inch alloy wheels with allterrain tyres, plus a skid plate, rock rails, and rear recovery points.
Inside the black theme is set off with bright sports pedals and red seatbelts. GR branding is featured inside and out, including on the steering wheel, headrests, red brake callipers, exterior badges, and is embossed into the tub-liner.
"HiLux GR Sport draws on the spirit of
Toyota's Dakar success as a hardcore 4WD that will appeal to customers seeking the quintessential off-road version of Australia's best-selling vehicle," said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations.
"It has been designed to turn heads with aggressive in-your-face styling that's reinforced by a healthy performance boost, enhanced highspeed handling and even better grip on dirt roads."
Aston Martin DBS 770 Ultimate
ASTON MARTIN IS marking the end of the current generation of its flagship DBS sports car with a blockbuster farewell limited edition model – the DBS 770 Ultimate.
The company says the 770 Ultimate is the most powerful production Aston Martin ever, with plenty of design and engineering enhancements. Available in both Coupe and Volante form, DBS770 Ultimate will be built in strictly limited
numbers – 300 Coupes and 199 Volantes –with all examples sold ahead of release.
The DBS 770 Ultimate is powered by Aston Martin’s quad-cam 60-deg 5.2-litre V12 engine. Now developing 770PS (566kW) at 6500rpm and a colossal 900Nm of torque,, that engine can shove the DBS 770 Ultimate to a top speed of 340km/h.
Power is fed through a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission and mechanical Limited-Slip Differential (LSD) mounted
at the rear of the car. In addition, Aston Martin says the there’s a unique transmission calibration to enhance shift speeds and driver interaction. Stopping power comes via a Carbon Ceramic Braking (CCB) system that uses 410mm x 38mm front discs and 360mm x 32mm at the rear.
Front end lateral stiffness has been improved by 25 per cent to provide maximum performance feel and response. This increase has been achieved with an enhanced front cross member, and thicker rear undertray, which Aston Martin says also increases global torsional stiffness by 3 per cent. Enhancements have also been made to the Adaptive Damping System (ADS).
Styling and design tweaks enhance
the looks and function with a clamshell bonnet featuring a ‘horseshoe’ engine vent and a new front splitter integrating two new outboard vents. Together these serve to enhance cooling.
Further detail design changes include 2x2 Twill Carbon Fibre Cantrail, Windscreen Surround, Mirror Caps, and Fender Louvre as standard. There’s also a unique design of rear diffuser.
The DBS 770 Ultimate sits on unique 21-inch wheels available in three finishes - full Satin Silver finish, full Satin Black finish, or optional Satin Black with Diamond Turned finish. Pirelli P Zero high performance tyres – 265/35 R21 front and 305/30 R21 at the rear – are standard.
Inside, there are luxurious trim options, including carbon fibre gearshift paddles, but the company says that like all its models, personal specification options are vast and include assorted graphics options, painted wheels to match body or graphics colours, tinted carbon fibre and woven leather seat inserts, trim inlays and a carbon fibre steering wheel.
Production of the DBS 770 Ultimate is due to commence in the first quarter of 2023, with first deliveries scheduled to begin during quarter three.
THERE’S A NEW, rugged-looking, tough off-roader on sale in Australia with Great Wall Motor (GWM) launching its Tank brand with the Tank 300 model.
Available in two grades – Lux and Ultra – the Tank 300 is powered by a 2-litre turbo hybrid engine with a 9-speed Hybrid Automatic Transmission sending power to all four wheels. The hybrid powertrain combines a petrol engine offering 180kW (at 5500-6000rpm) and 380Nm (at 1700 -4000rpm) and an electric motor which serves up an additional 78kW and 268Nm. Towing capacity is 2500kg.
Ground clearance is 224mm and there’s a 33-degree approach angle and 34-degree departure angle.
AVAILABLE IN TWO GRADES – LUX AND ULTRA – THE TANK 300 IS POWERED BY A 2-LITRE TURBO HYBRID ENGINE WITH A 9-SPEED HYBRID AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SENDING POWER TO ALL FOUR WHEELS.
The bold look of the Tank 300 is paired up with a suite of sophisticated safety (the model has scored a 5-star ANCAP rating) comfort, and infotainment tech as standard.
GWM says the Lux grade gets 17inch alloy wheels, 6-way power driver
seat, Comfort-Tek leather seats, a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment system, front and rear USB charge points, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Digital radio DAB+, LED headlights and taillights, 12V power outlets (front and luggage cabin), a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, and 7 SRS airbags – Front, Side, Curtain and Middle.
Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) functionality includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Auto Emergency Braking, Front Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) with brake, Crawl Control, Front and rear parking sensors, and 360-degree
view monitor, amongst others.
The Ultra grade gets a few extras, including 18-inch alloy wheels, Nappa leather seats, 8-way power driver seat with massage function and 4-way power lumbar support adjustment, Heated leather steering wheel, Wireless charging, 220V power outlet (luggage cabin), Front differential lock Auto parking, and Autoreverse tracking function.
Available now, the GWM Tank 300 is priced at $55,990 for the Lux model, and $60.990 for the Ultra variant.
Proudly sponsored by:
Recognising top Apprentices who are passionate about the Aftermarket industry
THE MAZDA CX-90 seven-seater SUV was unveiled this month in California. Built on the same front-engine, rear-biased AWD platform as the forthcoming Mazda CX-60, the flagship three-row SUV vehicle is, the company says, to be available in Australia with exclusively hybrid powertrains, comprising an inline six turbo-petrol MHEV (mild hybrid) and an inline six turbo-diesel MHEV.
The 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder e-Skyactiv turbo-charged petrol engine offers 254 kW and 500Nm of torque, making the CX-90 the most powerful mass production petrol car ever developed by Mazda. This engine is also equipped with the M-Hybrid Boost
48V mild-hybrid system. The electric motor is placed between the engine and transmission, allowing the motor to directly power the SUV at low speed.
The e-Skyactiv turbocharged diesel engine, sharing the same 3.3-litre capacity, inline-six configuration and MHEV technology, will be available from launch, with a power output of 187 kW and 550Nm of torque.
Both powertrains are paired with an eightspeed automatic transmission, specifically designed for the electrified longitudinal powertrains and large platform vehicles.
A large platform allows for a wider body and longer wheelbase and the handsome
Mazda CX-90
CX-90 is set to be offered in the company’s new Artisan Red paint and sit newly developed 21-inch diamond-cut wheels featuring a black metallic finish.
A luxurious interior – using materials such as Nappa leather and Maple wood – is paired up with, as you’d expect, top quality tech. While full details are yet to come, Mazda says the CX-90 will have many standard i-Activsense safety features, such as Smart Brake Support, Blind Spot Monitoring, i-Adaptive Cruise Control, and more.
Mazxda says new technologies, such as an available See-Through View monitor, assist in a variety of parking situations through the large 12.3-inch centre display. The company also highlights a third-row USB-C charging ports and upgraded interior lighting, while noting there will be many more such features.
“The first-ever Mazda CX-90 is the absolute pinnacle of Mazda premium; our most advanced model ever with exceptional levels of sophistication throughout that can be enjoyed not just by the driver, but the whole family,” said Vinesh Bhindi, Mazda Australia Managing Director. “Our second entrant into the new large platform family brings with it even more of everything – more power and performance, greater versatility and heightened luxury.”
THE MAZDA2 SMALL car has undergone some nips and tucks and been given a style refresh.
Up front, the fascia has a new black or body colour grille, and there’s a sleeker bumper design. All Mazda2 hatchbacks sport an asymmetrically placed colour accent on the front grille and rear bumper.
Hatchback variants, as well as the top-of-the-line GT sedan, have a redesigned rear bumper.
Two new paint schemes – Aero Grey Metallic and Airstream Blue Metallic –are offered for the first time.
Mazda2’s Pure and Pure SP grades offerings include three coloured dash trim pieces finished in Pure White, Mirror Black or Mint, determined by the car’s external paint scheme. The Pure SP gets a a black film covering for the roof.
Inside the Evolve and range-topping GT variants there’s a sharp black interior contrasted with red highlights extending to the seat stitching and air vent surrounds.
The GT also receives partial leather seats, a red and black dash, an all-new, aero-inspired multi-spoke alloy wheel design and polished, dual exhaust tips.
Aside from the Pure variant, all grades come equipped with a streamlined ‘shark fin’ antenna.
The updated Mazda2 will go on sale in June.
REPORTS OF A commercially available vehicle tampering device were featured on local news on Monday, 30 January 2023, and these have highlighted the urgent need for immediate regulatory action and higher penalties to be enacted against odometer fraud in Queensland.
As revealed on Channel 7 and Channel 9 News, a diagnostic tool capable of accessing and manipulating vehicle data is being purchased online from overseas markets and used by backyard operators to fraudulently rewind odometers prior to selling a vehicle.
MTA Queensland has staunchly fought over the last 24 months for significant escalation of penalties for those found to be deceiving consumers and tampering with vehicle odometers.
Looking to tackle backyard operators head-on and stop them in their tracks, MTA Queensland launched an online reporting platform in late 2022, providing consumers and businesses with a method for reporting evidence of a vehicle they believed had been tampered with to the Office of Fair Trading for investigating.
“I applaud the media and industry leaders for shining a light on this crucially important issue and bringing it to the front of mind of government and consumers who may be otherwise unaware that they are being caught out by unscrupulous operators,” said Rod Camm, MTA Queensland CEO.
“Instances of odometer tampering like this is what our industry is up against
every day, and we are regularly receiving reports from consumers and trusted, licensed automotive businesses who are impacted by this illegal act through both loss of revenue and loss of trust in the industry by association.
“It is clear that despite attention being drawn to the severity of this large-scale consumer fraud, far greater preventative measures are yet to be introduced by the State Government. While many are not reporting being caught out by this criminal activity, we need urgent action - at a minimum, penalties that include the seizure of tampered vehicles, surrendering of all proceeds of the sales, and substantial fines - if we are serious about stamping out these practices.
“We will work collaboratively with Government in the coming months to put plans into motion that target backyard operators and other dodgy dealers and make it far more difficult for odometer tampering to take place.”
HAS revealed plans to launch at least three EVs in three years, starting with the bZ4X SUV late this year. The company also unveiled a $20 million investment by dealers in charging facilities that will support the sale and service of customer EVs. Installation of the first stage of the dealership charging network, involving 232 sites, is underway and the company said it will be completed well ahead of the arrival of the bZ4X.
Toyota has a solid name in vehicle electrification - last year, customers bought a record 72,815 Toyota hybridelectric vehicles, representing 31.5 per cent of the 231,050 new Toyota vehicles delivered in 2022 – but it has been perceived to be behind in the move to battery-electric vehicle development and production. Its focus in Australia appears rather to be on providing a range of electrified options to customers.
In a media release, the company said it would progressively introduce additional EVs as well as other electrified vehicles to continue providing customers with practical and affordable ways to reduce emissions.
"Toyota is committed to bringing electric vehicles to Australia," said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing & Franchise Operations. "We know they will play
an ever-increasing role in helping usand our customers - get to net-zero carbon emissions.
"We also know it will take many years for the significant challenges facing EVs to be overcome, including battery-material shortages, less-than-adequate charging infrastructure and the ability to meet diverse customer requirements such as towing.
"That's why it's just too early - and too risky for the environment and for our customers - to put all our eggs in the electric vehicle basket.
"Toyota will therefore maintain our strategy of deploying as many technologies as possible -battery EVs where they are most appropriate and other electrified powertrains where that makes the best use of scarce battery cells."
Mr Hanley said Toyota would continue to evaluate EVs for the Australian market as they are made available, including one based on the bZ Compact SUV Concept revealed in November.
The Toyota bZ4X EV
DEMAND FOR NEW car remains strong in Australia. Data published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) showed 84,873 vehicles were delivered during January 2023, an 11.9 per cent increase on the same period in 2022.
Sales across all States and Territories were up. In Queensland, sales were up 14.3 per cent (18,766); New South Wales, 15 per cent (26,484); Victoria, 9.7 per cent (22,367); South Australia, 11.9 per cent (5,786); Western Australia 4.3 per cent (7,901); Tasmania, 2.9 per cent (1,510); the NT, 7.8 per cent (665); and the ACT increased by 18.6 per cent with 1,394 vehicles sold.
Toyota led the market with a total of 13,363 vehicles sold. Mazda was second with 9,407, followed by Ford (6,624), Kia
(6,006) and Hyundai (5,809).
The Ford Ranger was the highest selling model with 4,749 sales. Toyota’s Hi-Lux followed with 4,131. Tesla’s Model 3 was third with 2,927 followed by Mazda’s CX-3 (2,417) and Mazda’s CX-5 (2,189).
Australian’s preference for larger vehicles continues, with sales of SUVs (46,698) and Light Commercial vehicles (18,546) accounting for 76.9 per cent of total vehicles sold.
Sales of battery electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 12.28 per cent (10,426) with battery electric vehicles representing 5.71 per cent (4,852). Tesla, once again, was the leader in the all-electric sector, with 3,313 vehicles sold.
The fact that the Tesla Model 3 came in at third place overall for the month indicates Australia’s appetite for fully
electric vehicles is on the rise and will likely continue as more models come to the market, infrastructure in the form of the number of charging stations continues to grow, and customers take advantage of government incentives and initiatives to encourage EV uptake.
January’s encouraging sales figures follow on from a decent year for the market in 2022. Despite supply chain issued and delivery delays, 1,081,429 vehicles were delivered during the year.
Toyota was the top selling car brand with 21.4 per cent of the market (231,050) while the top selling vehicle was the Toyota Hi-Lux (64,391.) Mazda captured second spot with 95,718 sales, Kia placed third with 78,330, Mitsubishi fourth with 76,991, while Hyundai rounded out the top 5 with 73,345 sales for the year.
SUVs and light commercials accounted for 76.8 per cent of sales and comprised eight of the top 10 vehicles.
Battery electric vehicles accounted for 3.1 per cent of sales (33,410). Add in Hybrid (81,786) and Plug-In Hybrid (5,937) sales, and an impressive 121,133 electrified vehicles (those that use high-voltage battery systems) were sold in 2022, making up 11 per cent of total sales.
Not surprisingly, it was Tesla that romped home as the best-selling batteryelectric vehicle (BEV) maker. It snagged 1.8 per cent of the total market, and 58.7 per cent of the BEV market, with 19,594 sales. Its Model 3 scored 10,877 sales while the Model Y SUV claimed 8,717 sales. BYD, meanwhile, which entered the Australian market late in the year with its Atto 3, muscled onto the scene with 2,113 sales.
While new car sales showed decent numbers in 2022, the news was not so good for the motorcycle sector, with the FCAI reporting motorcycles and off-highway vehicles (OHV) sales for the year at 99,030a decrease of 19.8 per cent on 2021 figures. Off-road motorcycles made up 42.1 per cent of total sales with 41,681 units sold in 2022, a decrease of 21.5 per cent on 2021. Road motorcycles made up 36.6 per cent of total sales with 36,208 sales, a decrease of 2.8 per cent on 2021.
The OHV segment decreased 44.1 per cent per cent on 2021. Total OHV sales were 15,825 representing 15.9 per cent of the overall market.
Scooters make up the smallest portion of the market with 5,316 new units sold. This represented 5.4 per cent of the overall market and is an increase of 10.3 per cent on sales in 2021. The FCAI commented that an increase in scooter sales and only a slight decrease in road motorcycle sales pointed to the resilience of the Australian market and more first-time riders venturing onto our roads. With battery-electric powered scooter models now becoming quite accessible, it will be interesting to see what impact they will have on this sector through 2023.
NOT SURPRISINGLY, IT WAS TESLA THAT ROMPED HOME AS THE BEST-SELLING BATTERY-ELECTRIC VEHICLE (BEV) MAKER.EVANGELINE KANNIS SENIOR WORKPLACE RELATIONS ADVISOR
RECENT HIGH COURT decisions on whether workers were employees or contractors have prompted the ATO to release a new draft ruling and guideline for PAYG withholding, reporting obligations and superannuation.
Businesses should review their arrangements with contractors in light of the recent High Court decisions and ATO guidance. This update comes after a High Court’s decision in 2022 which corrected the approach for determining who is an ‘employee’.
The ATO introduced a new Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2022/D3 Income tax: pay as you go withholding – who is an employee? and Draft Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2022/D5 Classifying workers as employees or independent contractors. The drafts replace the previous Taxation Ruling TR 2005/16. Importantly, the Draft Ruling will not be binding on the Commissioner in superannuation contexts.
A Draft Guideline has also been developed by the ATO to provide a risk framework.
The question of whether a person is an employee of a business is still a question of fact, determined on a case-by-case basis. However, the High Court decisions make it clear that it is only the legal rights and obligations that constitute that relationship that help determine the question. The use of a ‘multifactorial approach’ or a ‘checklist’ analysing
how the parties’ relationship worked in practice over time is not the test.
Obviously, the label that the parties use to describe their relationship is not determinative. Instead, the contractual rights and obligations that govern the relationship and the indicia identified in case law are central irrespective whether these are in writing or verbal. Such arrangements may change over time and evolve into new worker classifications. Accordingly, contracts must be reviewed given any variations, waivers, discharges, sham arrangements or equitable remedies to determine whether the individual is an employee or an independent contractor.
Significantly, an employee serves in the business of the engaging entity and works as a representative of the business. In contrast, independent contractors, for example, provide services in furtherance of their own business enterprise and not the engaging entity’s business.
The two most helpful considerations are generally control and the extent to which a worker is seen to work in their own business, as distinct from the business of the engaging entity along with other indicators. This information is provided as general guidance, and professional advice and assistance is recommended.
For Business enquiries about wages, salaries, employment contracts, dismissals and representation, please contact the MTA Queensland Workplace Relations team on 07 3237 8777.
2023 brings significant changes to the MTA Institute’s management structure with Paul Kulpa moving into another significant management role within MTA Queensland. I’d personally like to thank Paul for his unwavering commitment to the Institute for the past 10+ years. I’m honoured to now take responsibility of the Institute and will give it my all to ensure we remain the best RTO we can possibly be.
For context here is a brief bio: I completed my apprenticeship as a mechanic in 1991 and went on to work in various small garages and a dealership until the mid-90s. I then spent nearly a decade with an automotive R&D company (Electrajet) recording, extracting, and analysing all manner of vehicle engine/ drive management systems.
In May 2003, I joined MTA Queensland and have enjoyed numerous diverse job roles including technical trainer/assessor, learning/development manager, operations manager and most recently as the State Government’s automotive industry skills advisor and Deputy General ManagerMembers Services.
Well, with the formalities covered, this year will see us optimise our digital
capability and, in practical terms, we anticipate implementing more trainer-led, online, interactive sessions to increase our services to the regions. While we are partly already there, where practical we will digitise our users' experience and limit the old-fashion printing of training material.
I’m excited to announce industry will soon have state funding for the new Certificate II in Accessory Fitting, a rapidly growing sector. Don’t believe me? Just go for a drive to one of our 4x4 beaches and check out some of the rigs parked on the beach!
I’ve touched on this point previously and will touch on it again - it’s never been as important as now to upskill our people as we see tremendous technological advancements in the mobility sector.
Hoping you all have a safe and productive 2023.
I’M EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE INDUSTRY WILL SOON HAVE STATE FUNDING FOR THE NEW CERTIFICATE II IN ACCESSORY FITTING, A RAPIDLY GROWING SECTOR.
APPRENTICE:
TYE BUGEJA
WORKPLACE:
SMITHFIELD AUTOMOTIVE, CAIRNS
APPRENTICESHIP:
LIGHT VEHICLE MECHANICAL
TYE BUGEJA IS the MTA Institute apprentice of the month for December 2022.
The 20-year-old light vehicle apprentice, who works at Smithfield Automotive in Cairns, is in the fourth year of his apprenticeship and is expected to complete his training in just a couple of months.
According to Antony Joslin, his MTA Institute trainer, Tye’s enthusiasm and dedication to learning the trade makes him an outstanding employee and student.
“He has consistently demonstrated a fantastic work ethic in both his day-to-day work and in his training,” said Antony, who is one of three highly experienced MTA Institute trainers who serve the Cairns region. “Tye is keen to learn more and apply his learning to his work, and he is a credit to himself and his workshop. It’s a pleasure to have him as an apprentice.”
Working at Smithfield Automotive was always a likely career path for Tye. Owned and run by his parents, Louise and Gary, who started the business 18 years ago, Smithfield Automotive offers the full range of mechanical services – from general maintenance and repairs, to tyres, log book servicing, roadworthy certificates, brakes and suspensions and more –on petrol and diesel vehicles of all makes and models.
While Tye’s family have been involved the industry for many years, and his interest in it is deep, it was not always a sure thing that Tye would follow that path. However, an unfortunate accident would see his father injured and a young Tye step up to help out – a move that would see him realise that automotive might really be a career he could pursue.
“I was always interested because I used to race motorbikes, so Dad always had me on the tools working on bikes, but I wasn’t really
looking at mechanical as a career,” said Tye. “However, when I was finishing school my dad had an accident with his foot and couldn’t work for a year, so I chipped in with helping out, enjoyed it and decided to do my trade.”
With Smithfield Automotive offering services on any make and model, Tye has plenty of experience working on all manner of jobs on all sorts of vehicles fitted with all types of technology. And he has tested his skills on work across the full list of services offered by the business.
“We’ve had Falcons from the 1970s to brand new vehicles come through,” he said. “And I enjoy all aspects of what we do. It just depends on the car!”
Tye has trained with the MTA Institute since starting his apprenticeship, working with his current trainer Anthony for the past few months, and the way the Institute delivers its training - one-on-one and in the workplace – is one that suits him, said Tye.
“When you basically have your own teacher who can help you out, you can get much more work done. And I can contact Antony at any time.”
As he gets closer to gaining his trade qualification, Tye has considered the direction his career may take and, not surprisingly, it revolves around building on the work of his parents and the business they have developed over two decades. It’s a lot of responsibility for a 20-year-old, but Tye is confident and enthusiastic about the future.
“I’m a little bit nervous but I’m keen to do it,” he said. “I’ve always been around the workshop and I’ve watched mum and dad run things, and we have kind of planned it so that when I have completed my apprenticeship, my dad is going to lean off of the workshop and let me take over. I’ve had to do it a few times when he has had to go down to Brisbane for check-ups and, hopefully, I’ll be able to take over more and more. That’s the plan.”
• Are you employing an apprentice who is excelling in the workplace?
• Do you have a high-achieving apprentice colleague?
• Are they training with MTA Institute?
If the answer is ‘yes’, then nominate them for the MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month Award.
APPRENTICE:
LIAM SHAKESPEARE
WORKPLACE:
FULCRUM SUSPENSION SPECIALISTS, CAPALABA
APPRENTICESHIP:
LIGHT VEHICLE MECHANICAL
LIAM SHAKESPEARE IS the MTA Institute apprentice of the month for January 2023. The 19-year-old is a second-year light vehicle apprentice with Fulcrum Suspension Specialists in Capalaba, south of Brisbane, and is proving to be an excellent student, impressing his employer and his MTA Institute trainer with his skills and his enthusiasm to learn.
Liam’s abilities have been impressive enough that the MTA Institute apprentice of the month award is not the first accolade he has received – in November last year, he picked up the Fulcrum Suspension Superstar award which is given to the highest achieving technician across the company, Australia-wide. He is the first apprentice to do so.
That’s a pretty good start to a fledgling career and working with cars is something Liam enjoys immensely.
“I eat, sleep and breathe cars!” he said. “Ever since I got my learners, I’ve loved every bit of it and had my own car – a 2000 Suzuki Jimny - which I pretty much rebuilt it and did everything I could to it. I still have it, but it is in many parts now as I try to make it even better!”
This enthusiasm that was sparked in Liam was helped along by an older brother, also a light vehicle apprentice.
“He works at Athena Automatics in Tingalpa, and we had plenty of conversations about cars,” he said with a chuckle.
As a second-year apprentice, Liam gets to work on most of the jobs that come through the Fulcrum Capalaba workshop. While these are mostly related to suspension and other undercar technology jobs, he does, he said, get to work on more regular mechanical jobs from time to time.
“Every so often we do servicing, but it isn’t as common as at a regular mechanical workshop,” he said. “We do mostly suspension work, and re-bushing, wheel alignments and so on. But I love the work I do and am trusted with most jobs. If I ever need any help, there is always someone around.
“And we work on all makes and models – sports cars, 4x4s, anything. There’s lots of variety comes through the shop and being that we are suspension specialists we do get a few interesting requests – that don’t always get approved!”
Liam works with five others, including another apprentice, at the Fulcrum Capalaba workshop and is trained by MTA Institute trainer James Dixon.
The training delivery offered by the MTA Institute – one-onone and in the workshop – is one that Liam said suits him well.
“The one-on-one training does work well for me. I much rather do it this way because James comes here and we can talk through things. I can ask him anything and also feel comfortable reaching out by email or phone to ask questions if needed.
While Liam has at least a couple of years to go before finishing his apprenticeship, it seems clear that an automotive career is one he’ll embrace fully and he has some ideas about what direction his career might take.
“I’ll always stay in this industry,” he said. “And I’d be quite interested in looking at custom work at some point - custom fabrication and modifications. Maybe I’ll start my own business one day. That would be great.”
“THE ONE-ON-ONE TRAINING DOES WORK WELL FOR ME. I MUCH RATHER DO IT THIS WAY BECAUSE JAMES COMES HERE AND WE CAN TALK THROUGH THINGS. I CAN ASK HIM ANYTHING AND ALSO FEEL COMFORTABLE REACHING OUT BY EMAIL OR PHONE TO ASK QUESTIONS IF NEEDED.
Trade Recognition is the process of having your skills and work experience formally assessed against industry and educational requirements for the purpose of gaining a formal trade qualification.
MTA Institute offers a Government
Subsidised Trade Skills Assessment and Gap Training Program for the following qualifications:
• AUR30316 – Certificate III in Automotive Electrical Technology
• AUR30416 – Certificate III in Agricultural Mechanical Technology
• AUR30616 – Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
• AUR30716 – Certificate III in Outdoor Power Equipment
• AUR30816 – Certificate III in Motorcycle Mechanical Technology
• AUR31016 – Certificate III in Automotive Sales (Parts Interpreting)
• AUR31116 – Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
• AUR31216 – Certificate III in Mobile Plant Technology
• AUR32116 – Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
• AUR32416 – Certificate III in Automotive Refinishing Technology
• AUR32518 – Certificate III in Automotive Underbody Technology
Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
i) Aged 21 years or over
ii) Have not completed a trade qualification in the same industry area
iii) Permanently reside in Queensland
iv) Be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or hold an eligible visa as identified by the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training; or
v) Meet any additional eligibility requirements identified through this Initiative and:
a. Individuals assessed as demonstrating substantial competency in a prospective trade qualification, who require gap training in no more than 40% of the funded competencies of that Priority Trade Qualification; and
b. Express a commitment to gain the entire qualification.
This program is mostly subsidised by the Queensland Government; however, mandatory student co-contribution fees are applicable for all units requiring gap training.
The course duration will depend upon individual circumstances and the amount of gap training required.
The duration and applicable fees will be advised upon a successful application.
Training and assessment can be arranged at either MTA Institute’s premises or an approved automotive workplace. Please refer to www.mtai.edu.au for full details or for further information contact one of our friendly team members using the contact details below.
– be they battery-electric or hybrid – become more common, it is essential for those working in the automotive industry to have the knowledge to work safely and confidently on and around them. While that is, of course, the primary reason for any training, it should be noted too that having the skills to work with electrified vehicles is a requirement for technicians to be able to access repair information via the Australian Automotive Service and Repair Authority (AASRA).
MTA Queensland and the MTA Institute offer a range of short courses and online
micro-credentials designed to deliver this knowledge, including the Battery Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skill Set (AURSS00064), the Hybrid Electric Vehicles Inspection and Servicing Skill Set (AURSS00037), and the Depower and Reinitialise HEVs and BEVs course that includes the AURETH011 and AURETH101 accredited units.
These are in-person training courses, usually held at MTA Queensland’s state-of-the-art facility in Brisbane. However, the Association has made the commitment to take BEV and HEV
training mobile and make it available to businesses and technicians in regional areas. The first such course was delivered last December in Toowoomba.
Held over a weekend at the Hi-Mech Auto Solutions workshop, more than a dozen technicians from businesses across the city attended the course delivered by Keith Minchin, the MTA Institute’s Technical Trainer.
For Craig Baills, owner of Hi-Mech Auto Solutions, opening up his workshop to enable BEV/HEV training to be delivered was a decision that enabled not only his
own staff to upskill, but others within the Toowoomba automotive industry community as well.
“I had three of my staff participate and the content was great,” said Craig. “They all got a lot out of it, and it gives them the opportunity to sign up for AASRA as well.
“But getting some decent training to Toowoomba, from an industry point of view, that was probably the key,” he added. “We had a number of shops represented and that was the crux of it – getting decent training to our workshop as well as others.”
Delivering BEV and HEV training to regional areas is to be a feature of MTA Queensland’s approach to helping the automotive industry adapt to the growth in electrified vehicles and comes directly from discussions between the Association and members during regional meetings, at which issues such as access to training were raised.
“Interest in the EV/HEV course was clear during those discussions and so we made
HELD OVER A WEEKEND AT THE HIMECH AUTO SOLUTIONS WORKSHOP, MORE THAN A DOZEN TECHNICIANS FROM BUSINESSES ACROSS THE CITY ATTENDED THE COURSE . . .Held in the workshop of Hi-Mech Auto Solutions in Toowoomba, the MTA Institute delivered BEV/HEV training to technicians from the local automotive industry community.
the commitment to make that training mobile and be able to offer it to regional areas,” said Marcello Riotto, Director of the MTA Institute.
“We understand that general workshops are now seeing hybrids and EVs, and while that might be for new tyres or windscreens or for detailing work, it is clear they are beginning to see more of them and that the appetite for this training is growing.”
For the Toowoomba program, the threeday course was condensed to two days over a weekend thanks to preparation work done by participants.
“As some training is done via online learning, we were able to get them to do some work in advance, including reviewing the learning material and content, prior to the practical aspects of the course,” said Marcello.
Regarding the practical requirements of being able to run the course, he added that it boiled down to having access to a suitable facility.
“In Toowoomba, we were able to use a well-equipped, spacious workshop that was very suitable for our needs, and which
allowed us to bring in all the learning resources such as battery packs and PPE,” said Marcello. “We also brought along some tablets for participants so they could access some of the online aspects of the course, but since the online learning management system is mobile-friendly and pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days, those weren’t required.
“If any region has a good number of participants wanting to take the course, and we have access to a good location, we are committed to bringing the course to those areas,” he added. “Having said that, we are also working to be able to offer
“IF ANY REGION HAS A GOOD NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS WANTING TO TAKE THE COURSE, AND WE HAVE ACCESS TO A GOOD LOCATION, WE ARE COMMITTED TO BRINGING THE COURSE TO THOSE AREAS.”MTA Institute trainer Keith Minchin delivering training to Toowoomba technicians.
specific units within the course and bring them to smaller groups or even to one technician. Some of our trainers are being supplied with ‘EV-ready kits’ to deliver training in just that scenario and can do so provided a workshop has access to required learning resources such as an EV or hybrid vehicle.”
For Craig Baills, holding the course in Toowoomba - where more EVs and hybrids are being seen every year - made sense, and while the obvious growth in numbers of electrified vehicles in Toowoomba may not be true of more remote areas, knowing the training is available is valuable information.
“You need to
understand what the car parc is in your area,” he said. “The number of EVs and hybrids here isn’t what you might see in Brisbane but there are quite a lot and the training was definitely on our radar and made sense for us. We don’t want our guys going into an EV or hybrid vehicle not knowing what they are up against and once you have the training it opens the doors to that technology.”
For MTA Queensland, providing EV/HEV training to regional areas is a move that was expected and planned for.
“We have offered the courses for a while now but the demand for it to be mobile was not there until now,” said Marcello. “But through 2022 and 2023, the interest in EVs from the consumer has grown massively, and with more models coming we know industry not only needs the training but needs this mobile option. We have always been responsive to industry’s needs and will offer that training where demand requires it.”
For more information, email courses@mtaq.com.au
TO SUPPORT HIGH school students as they explore potential career pathways, MTA Queensland and the MTA Institute have partnered with Glenmore State High School to bring a range of automotive training programs to the Rockhampton, Mount Morgan, and Yeppoon regions.
As part of Glenmore State High School’s new GlenTech Auto initiative, the MTA Institute will provide Year 11 and 12 students the opportunity to complete various nationally recognised VET accredited courses, including the Auto Ready school holiday program, as well as a AUR20720 Certificate II in Automotive Vocational Preparation.
Designed to give students a basic introduction to the automotive industry, those undertaking the courses will learn
a range of tasks related to identifying and inspecting the mechanical and electrical components of light vehicles.
The courses will be held at Glenmore State High School’s newly refurbished automotive workshop, which saw its official opening on Wednesday 1 February
“WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD TO PARTNER WITH GLENMORE STATE HIGH SCHOOL TO PROVIDE QUALITY TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS AS PART OF THEIR STUDIES.”Rockhampton State High School cluster students enrolled in Certificate II in Automotive Vocational Preparation Program 2023.
2023. The opening was an exciting event for all, with Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams, Local Member Barry O’Rourke MP, Division 7 Councillor Donna Kirkland, and Federal Member for Capricornia Michelle Landry MP joining the celebrations.
“We are extremely proud to partner with Glenmore State High School to provide quality training opportunities for students as part of their studies," said Anthony Bonaccorso, MTA Institute Operations Manager.
“From traditional roles such as light vehicle technician, motorcycle mechanic, panel beater, and parts interpreter, to opportunities arising in emerging technologies including electric and autonomous systems, the automotive industry is full of exciting career options.
“The GlenTech Auto Initiative will give students an introduction to the industry and highlight the various facets of each sector, so it is truly a fantastic program to get behind.”
Glenmore State High School Principal Brendan Shannon said, “Over the course of the year, we will see approximately 60 students from across Rockhampton take part in the GlenTech Auto initiative. The program will provide students with automotive-related interests a future career pathway, ensuring they realise and reach their potential as work-ready individuals."
MTA Institute looks forward to a continued partnership with Glenmore State High School and seeing the exciting opportunities this authentic learning experience will provide to students.
THE MTA INSTITUTE is the largest independent provider of automotive apprenticeships and training in Queensland and it is always a proud moment when its
students complete their trade qualification. Congratulations to everyone who was issued a qualification in December 2022 and January 2023. It's a fantastic achievement!
Myles Clark Certificate III in Agricultural Mechanical Technology
Jarrod Morris Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
Bradley Maloney Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
Jack Reynolds Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
Luke Leahy Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
James Murray Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
Bashir Muradi Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
Dylan Grant Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
Jackson McHugh Certificate III in Automotive Body Repair Technology
Connor Humphreys Certificate III in Automotive Electrical Technology
Anthony Wolfenden Certificate III in Automotive Electrical Technology
Jackson Brackin Certificate III in Automotive Refinishing Technology
Raimond Prasad Certificate III in Automotive Refinishing Technology
Joshua Mancuso Certificate III in Automotive Refinishing Technology
Joshua Rummery Certificate III in Automotive Sales (Parts Interpreting)
Jessica Gleeson Certificate III in Automotive Sales (Parts Interpreting)
Breanna Purse Certificate III in Automotive Sales (Parts Interpreting)
Blake Robinson Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
McLaren Hope Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Mark Vallis Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
William Baumann Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Aidan Delaforce Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Lincoln Tait Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Troy Ford Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Jethro Stone Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
James Holden Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Michael Park Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Jarrod Addley Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Angus Dow Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Trevor Nay Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Hunter Wright Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Bailey Harris Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Zachary Potockyj Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Benjamin Smith Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Alec Tiemesmann Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Lleyton Smith Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Jack Steger Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Carly Waller Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Terry Palfrey
Patrick Cranitch
Shane Palmer
Alfio Rotolone
Keiran Charters
Brett Baker
Patrick Cranitch
Alfio Rotolone
Patrick Cranitch
Andrew Elson
Lloyd Cross
Keiran Charters
Alfio Rotolone
Shane Palmer
Lloyd Cross
Bruce McLeish
Keiran Charters
Sol Layland
Terry Palfrey
Michael De Waard
Lloyd Cross
Michael De Waard
Michael De Waard
Jeff Mann
Ross Wilson
Steve Adams
Steve Adams
Steve Adams
Lloyd Cross
Ross Wilson
Steve Adams
Terry Palfrey
Stephen Blaauw
Ross Wilson
Andrew Keys
Andrew Elson
Andrew Keys
Derrick Pratt
Jake Knott Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Charles Kumar Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Christopher Marsh Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Jakeb Ward Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Rhys Bryant Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Ryan Thomas Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Alvin Amarillo
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Callum McIntosh Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Gavin Reid
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Ethan Schwarzrock Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Cody Turner
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Kyle Aston Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Micah Connolly
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Cohen Gitsham Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Elijah Hill
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Joel Klingner Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Michael Lancuba
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Lachlan McKinlay Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Cameron Sweet Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Curtis Vidulich Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Isaac Thurgood Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Ashley McNicholl Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Brody Ebert Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Klarah Cassar-Tan Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Luke Chipizubov
Kevin Lingard
Jesse Luke
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Harrison Munday Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Michael Nelson
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Luke White Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Aaron-Matthew Bates Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Daniel De Nava
Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Bradley George Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Jayden Jones
Certificate III in Motorcycle Mechanical Technology
Callum Morrison Certificate III in Outdoor Power Equipment Technology
Colin Crichton
Derrick Pratt
Dennis Shaw
Roger West
Scott Buckley
Simon Verkroost
Andrew Keys
Ross Wilson
Keith Minchin
Terry Palfrey
Colin Crichton
Bruce McLeish
David Twidale
Terry Palfrey
James Dixon
David Twidale
David Twidale
Ross Wilson
Stuart Davies
Bruce McLeish
Neville Donaldson
Derrick Pratt
Steven Cameron
Dennis Shaw
Keith Minchin
Stuart Davies
Stephen Blaauw
Kevin Ryan
Stephen Blaauw
David Twidale
Terry Palfrey
Gareth Hartley
Jens Puder
Ivan Aird
Gareth Hartley
TO MORE THAN 13,000 PEOPLE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE MOTORING INDUSTRY (WEBSITE OR E-MAGAZINE OPTIONS)
LAST YEAR, 33,410 electric vehicles (EV) were sold in Australia. That figure represents just over 3 per cent of total new vehicles sales for the year and while that may not seem terribly impressive, the truth is that the EV market is expanding, and doing so quickly.
MTA Queensland and the MTA Institute recognised the emergence, and growing importance, of the electrified vehicle market some time ago and developed, and now offer, a number of courses focused on the technology. These include the
. . . MTA QUEENSLAND RECENTLY PURCHASED A FULL BATTERY-ELECTRIC VEHICLE, AND A BYD ATTO 3 EV EXTENDED RANGE MODEL NOW JOINS OUR ELECTRIFIED VEHICLE FLEET OF CAMRY HYBRIDS AND PLUG-IN HYBRID MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER.Scott Gehrke will be giving us the lowdown on living with an EV SCOTT GEHRKE | MANAGER TRAINING DELIVERY, MTA INSTITUTE
Battery Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skills Set, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skill Set, the Depower and Reinitialise HEVs and BEVs short course, as well as Introduction to EV and Introduction to Hybrid online micro-credential courses.
To further our commitment to the training in future technologies, MTA Queensland recently purchased a full battery-electric vehicle, and a BYD Atto 3 Extended Range model now joins our electrified vehicle fleet of Camry Hybrids and plug-in Hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander.
I was asked if I would like to use the BYD to replace my Camry Hybrid company vehicle. My biggest concern of EV ownership, range anxiety, almost made me pass on the offer, noting that the Camry will travel 900km before it requires refilling, running at an average of 4.6 litres per 100km.
Battery (Blade) capacity: 60.4kWh
Maximum power: 150kW
Maximum torque: 310Nm
Range WLTP combined: Up to 420km
0-100km/h: 7.3 seconds
Drivetrain: Front-wheel drive
Motor: Permanent magnet synchronous motor
Wheels: 18-inch alloy
Charging: AC and DC charging ports + 220v emergency charging cable
Up to 80kW DC fast charging
ANCAP Rating: 5-star
The cost being approximately $7.80 of E10 per 100km (at today’s fuel prices).
However, I am a ‘car person’ and have always been interested in new
technologies. Plus, like we all have, I have witnessed the increased popularity of EVs over the last few years. I look at this as an opportunity to explore that world to answer some questions for myself, including “Can I live with an EV?”.
While we will delve into all the aspects of living with an EV over the coming months, initial impressions are positive, and the BYD experience has been enjoyable. It seems well built, has plenty of technology to explore, and the initial torque from the electric motor gives effortless acceleration from the lights. While missing the exhaust note of my personal V8 vehicles, I am torn as I am also enjoying the refined quietness an electric motor gives.
The advertised range seems to be accurate and acceptable - the figure being 400km before you would start looking for a charging station or normal home wall socket to re-charge. Charging the Atto 3 has been a breeze, so far. Every couple of days I connect it to MTA Queensland’s EV charging box, and I have been ensuring it is fully charged on Friday afternoons for weekend use. Range anxiety will be an issue, I am sure, and travel/charging will require some planning.
Over the next few issues of Motor Trader magazine, I plan
to give you an honest update on my experience “owning” an EV full time. I plan to report on the logistics of longer distance driving, how range is affected by driving conditions, the reality of using public charging stations, and the cost of running the vehicle. Other questions to be answered include whether I will require a tow truck when/if I run out of charge, will I be asking for my Camry back, and just how many cups of coffee (and snacks) will be consumed while waiting at a public charging station!
The final question will be, of course, will I enjoy “ownership” of an EV enough for me to replace one of my V8 or Turbo 4-cylinder personal vehicles?
We are going to find out.
If you’ve got any questions regarding longterm electric vehicle ownership, then get in touch with us via our Facebook page where we’ll be posting about Scott’s journey with the BYD Atto 3.
“OVER THE NEXT FEW ISSUES OF MOTOR TRADERMAGAZINE, I PLAN TO GIVE YOU AN HONEST UPDATE ON MY EXPERIENCE
“OWNING” AN EV FULL TIME.”
MTA Queensland will represent you to state and federal governments on BIG issues affecting your business and the industry. We represent service stations, new & used car dealers, tyre businesses, paint & panel, repairers, parts recyclers, engine re-conditioners, farm & industrial machinery businesses, motorcycle sales and rental vehicles, so can actively espouse direct industry perspective.
Receive FREE expert advice on Workplace Relations matters & Consumer Complaint Support. Access a website building service and, through the Member Portal, information regarding wages & awards, health & safety, public holidays and more. There also is a FREE-to-use online Jobs Board platform, and discounted products available through the online MTA Queensland shop.
• Apprenticeships • Traineeships • Skills Recognition.
• Automotive Licensing • Short Automotive Courses (including some which attract a 20% discount for members)
• Pre-apprenticehips.
Our corporate partners offer a wide range of services & benefits, including banking, insurance, payment options, legal advice, and advice on workplace health & safety compliance Library of online business resources and templates Weekly industry bulletin Webinar and micro-credential program (coming soon). FREE Jobs Board Discounts on stationery & workshop products Monthly subscription to the Motor Trader e-magazine Regular specials & discounts
Stay ahead of the automotive digital revolution with access to events and the MTAiQ Innovation Hub.
Spirit Super is a multi-industry super fund with over 300,000 members and $23 billion funds under management. We put the spirit in your super.
The Commonwealth Bank offers members some of the lowest EFTPOS charges in the country. Members have saved thousands with CBA.
Capricorn makes it easier for its members buy parts, earn reward points and share in the benefits of being a member of the largest and oldest automotive parts buying cooperatives in Australasia.
Guard Insurance Brokers specialises in insurance and risk management solutions and offers dedicated service to MTAQ members at market leading rates.
Providing legal services across a number of core areas, Bennett & Philp Lawyers have been providing effective legal solutions to meet the needs of dealers, suppliers, racers, financiers and other motor vehicle professionals for more than ten years.
Safety Help provides the automotive industry with a service dedicated to making your business compliant.
illion is the leading independent provider of trusted data and analytics products and services in Australasia. Members are eligible for substantial savings on annual subscriptions.
Make it Cheaper are Australia’s leading energy comparison and broker service for Aussie businesses, working with up to 10 energy retailers to find customers a great electricity or gas plan and reduce energy costs.
THIS IS THE Inception Concept, a new and very sleek battery-electric (BEV) concept car from Peugeot. Designed on the STLA Large platform - one of four future ‘BEV-by design’ platforms that are in development by Peugeot’s parent, Stellantis - the Inception Concept is equipped with 800-volt technology, has a 100kWh battery and uses, the company claims, just 12.5kWh per 100km, enabling a range of 800km on a single charge. The 800-volt platform enables the battery to charge the equivalent of 150km of range in five minutes and the Inception can be recharged via an induction system. There are two electric motors, one at the front and the other at the rear, giving the Inception 500kW of oomph. Those potent motors mean the concept can reach 100kmh in under three seconds.
.
THE INCEPTION CONCEPT IS EQUIPPED WITH 800-VOLT TECHNOLOGY, HAS A 100KWH BATTERY AND USES, THE COMPANY CLAIMS, JUST 12.5KWH PER 100KM, ENABLING A RANGE OF 800KM ON A SINGLE FULL CHARGE.
The styling of the Inception is stunning and there are some sleek ‘Aerorim’ wheels, with forged textile inserts, that add to the its aerodynamic slipperiness.
Technology is top-notch too, and the interior sees an evolved variation of Peugeot’s ‘i-Cockpit’ that includes a ‘Hypersquare’ steering wheel and a steerby-wire system which replaces mechanical links with electric controls.
. .
The Hypersquare consists of a screen with circular cells in each of its corners which enable functions to be activated by pressing with the thumb. At its centre is a tablet-type screen displaying control information. The control system is combined with a flexible screen, called the Halo Cluster, in the background that displays driving or infotainment data.
Peugeot says the Inception Concept is designed to be capable of Level 4 autonomous driving, and that during Level 4 driving the Hypersquare retracts to be replaced by a large panoramic screen.
Other technology includes artificial intelligence that allows the Inception to, for example, recognise occupants in order to set up the desired comfort settings (seat posture, temperature, driving mode and multimedia preferences).
The Inception is also an exercise in reducing Peugeot’s carbon footprint. Construction and fit-out includes the use of recycled moulded textiles as well as raw
galvanised steel, and the seats and floor are covered with 100 per cent recycled material. Concept vehicles represent the direction brands are looking at in terms of style, design and technology, and the Inception is no different. While it's unlikely to appear as a road car anytime soon, it does give an insight into Peugeot's thinking, and the company says that over the next two years it will launch five new 100 per cent electric models, have a fully electric range and, by 2030, expects all Peugeot cars sold in Europe to be electric.
PEUGEOT SAYS THE INCEPTION CONCEPT IS DESIGNED TO BE CAPABLE OF LEVEL 4 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING . . . AND THAT DURING LEVEL 4 DRIVING, THE HYPERSQUARE RETRACTS TO BE PLACED BY A LARGE PANORAMIC SCREEN.VIDEO: PEUGEOT INCEPTION CONCEPT
3 - 6 Apr 2023 (MACKAY )
RTO No: 31529
BATTERY ELECTRIC AND HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES COURSE
28 Feb - 2 Mar 2023 (SOLD OUT )
4 - 6 Apr 2023
2 - 4 May 2023
2 – 4 May 2023
8 - 10 Feb 2023 (SOLD OUT ) 15 - 17 Mar 2023
3 - 6 Apr 2023 (BRISBANE) 11 - 14 Apr 2023 (BRISBANE) SALES/DEALERS/WRECKERS
13 Feb - 17 Mar 2023
Enquiries to: courses@mtai.edu.au Website www.mtai.edu.au
ADVANCED DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS COURSES
AWARENESS COURSE TO BE ADVISED
VEHICLE GLASS COURSE TO BE ADVISED
TECHNICIAN COURSE TO BE ADVISED
Enquiries to: courses@mtaq.com.au Website www.mtaq.com.au 20170566
*Course dates subject to change
