January 24, 2019
Witness
WHEELS
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Opposite of ‘aikona’ ALWYN VILJOEN experiences why the 1-litre Hyundai Kona has won awards around the world The Cullinan is the latest Rolls Royce — selling from about R5 million — and 12 have been ordered by South Africans, according to local blogger Zero2Turbo.
RECESSION? WHAT RECESSION? FOLLOWING the House of RollsRoyce’s recent announcement of the highest annual results in its 115-year history, the marque said 2018 will be remembered as one of the most ambitious years for the marque’s Bespoke Collective. “The marque has an expertly honed understanding of the super-luxury market’s requirement for personally tailored and finely crafted items that are more frequently found in the world of horology, super-yachts, architecture and private aviation.” In plain English this means one’s Roll’s can cost as much as you want it to, based on the rarity of the materials used to clad the interior or make the paint job stand out from the crowd at the marina or private airport parking. One sheik’s Cullinan reportedly cost almost twice the starting price at roughly R8 million.
TOYOTA AND PANASONIC IN BATTERY PACT TOYOTA and Panasonic have announced a project to build battery packs for electric vehicles. Toyota will own 51% of the factory and Panasonic the balance. The lithium-ion batteries assembled at the new plant will be used in Toyota and its subsidiaries, which include Daihatsu, Mazda and Subaru, as well as the slew of single-seater cars and scooters being developed for predicted demand for micromobility devices. Toyota said it aims to develop the next-generation solidstate batteries to increase range and reduce weight and cost. Solid state batteries, the first generations of which are used by China’s foremost electric vehicle builder, BYD, which this week delivered its 50 000th fully electric bus to Canada. While its researchers are seeking other battery chemistries for electric cars, Toyota is also working on hydrogen vehicles. U.S. start-up truck builder Nikola says hydrogen will replace diesel, but pundits warn this development is in the far future, once the problems of producing hydrogen without causing massive pollution have been solved. — WR.
THE Hyundai Kona has garnered yet another international award last week, this time in the States, where the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year automotive media jury named the Hyundai Kona and Kona Electric CUV models the dual winner of the 2019 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. Deon Sonnekus, marketing manager at Hyundai SA, said in a statement this is the first time that a Hyundai Crossover Utility Vehicle model has won the Utility Vehicle of the Year category. What made this award extra special is that it happened at Detroit — home of the muscle car, tuned V8s, big pickups and soul music. This after the Texas Auto Writers Association also said this is the best subcompact sport utility vehicle at the 2018 Annual Texas Truck Rodeo. That a bunch of Texans and 54 American car journalists all picked this crossover from Seoul as the best utility vehicle the dollar can buy, underlines just how this cute but capable this little car is. All these accolades mean the Kona is an odds on favourite in South Africa, where the crossover is a finalist for the Autotrader Car of the Year , to be awarded by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists in April. In the flesh, the Kona looks as cute and sleek as a little wet otter, which has earned it a slew of design awards, including a Red Dot in 2018 and this year an International Forum (iF) award — one of the most important awards for industrial designers since 1953. Torque, and then some The Kona is not “all looking and no cooking” either. As Sonnekus explained, the iF awards are only bestowed after a rigorous test-
system. The sound is excellent thanks to four speakers and two tweeters. The Display Audio also allows passengers to mirror their smartphone’s content onto the system’s seven-inch display via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. More than meets the eye In the front, there is over a metre of legroom with the seat all the way back, while the rear offers 880 mm knee space with the front seat pushed forward. The boot swallows a respectable 361 litres with the seats up, and more than double this with the 60:40 split rear seat back rest folded down. The exterior rearview mirrors can fold in with remote control to protect from damage in tight parking spaces. The sun visors include vanity mirrors with illumination, and the centre roof console includes a sunglasses holder.
The little Hyundai Kona is a triumph of modern industrial design that has already won serious respect from car writers in Texas, Detroit, Barcelona and Pretoria. ing cycle to ensure the quality of the award is as high as possible. I did my own bit of rigorous testing last week, loading the family in the little 1-litre manual and taking on the hills towards Wartburg. Launched locally in October 2018, the Kona comes with only two drivetrain options —a burbly little 1-litre T-GDI Executive for R379 900 or the rev-happy 2-litre NU Executive automatic for R399 900. Both models have six-speed transmission that sends the power to the front wheels. And does it send that power! At one point, with cruise control on in fifth gear going up a steep hill with
no loss of speed despite all four seats being occupied, I started seriously doubting that I was driving in the little 998 cc turbo engine. Upon reaching my destination, I even checked under the bonnet to make sure the dealership did not perhaps send me the 2-litre by mistake. The overstroked three-cylinder makes 172 Nm from 1 500 rpm to 4 000 rpm with peak power of 88 kW at 6 000 rpm. This means you can basically shove the Kona in third gear in city traffic and then forget about changing gears. On the open road, fifth gear will meet all your needs up hill, and if you hook sixth, you will match or exceed Hyundai’s low-
est consumption of 6,8 litres/100 km. Sonnekus said the Kona 1.0 turbo can do 181 km/h, and I believe him. Inside, smooth, contoured surfaces fold around the occupants with bright highlights that add pizazz to the cockpit. Four presses of a button connected Bluetooth and the backlit AUX and USB plug points are both aesthetically pleasing and very practical in the dark. The onboard computer offers a wide variety of information, including instant and average fuel consumption, and the tyre pressure, which is standard equipment on both models. A seven-inch touchscreen controls the navigation, infotainment and sound
Safety The Kona achieved a five-star safety rating in the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP). Active safety features include an Antiskid Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Downhill Brake Control, Blind-Spot Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning. Passive safety features include two front, two curtain and two side-impact airbags. Numbers at a glance Price: R379 900 Engine: 998 cc, three cylinder Torgue: 172 Nm from 1 500-4 000 rpm Power: 88 kW at 6 000 rpm. Warranty: 7 years or 200 000 km Service plan: 5 years or 90 000 km Roadside assistance, 5 years or 150 000 km. • alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za
Mahindra South Africa’s 2018 sales break through the 5 000 barrier MAHINDRA South Africa reported its highest monthly sales ever in December, including a new sales record for the calendar year. Following the publication of the final sales results for December by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers (Naamsa), Mahindra has confirmed the sale of 440 new Mahindra SUVs and pick-ups in December, bringing its tally for the full year to 5 486 new vehicles. “Breaking through the 5 000 barrier in 2018 culminated in a very busy year for Mahindra,” said Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa. “During the year, we firmly entrenched our position as a truly South African company with the opening of our first assembly plant north of Durban. The sales growth of both our locally produced Pik Up models and SUV range has subsequently skyrocketed.” According to Naamsa, Mahindra grew by 26% in 2018, while the overall new vehicle market shrunk by 1%. The sales results show that Mahindra’s sales tempo picked up significantly in its new financial year, which started in March 2018, with an average growth rate of 32%. This further confirms its status as one of South Africa’s fastest growing brands. In 2018, Mahindra celebrated South
Mahindra chief of international operations Arvind Mathew (left) and CEO of Mahindra South Africa Rajesh Gupta (right) with the new XUV500 that has helped to drive local sales. PHOTO: ALWYN VILJOEN Africa as its second home outside of India when it commissioned the awardwinning Joe Public to create a new brand
campaign and two locally produced new TV advertisements. These not only won the hearts of many South African fans,
but also bagged an Orchid Award for local relevance and creativity. The new brand campaign showed that
Mahindra is #AlwaysUpForAChallenge and welcomed the refreshed Mahindra XUV500 and KUV100 NXT in the market. Both models have since been selling well, with the KUV breaking through the 100-unit-per-month mark in both November and December. “With its fresh design and improved affordability, the KUV100 NXT has become a popular entry-level vehicle option, especially among first-time buyers thanks to our new Graduate Finance offer,” says Avinash Bapat, chief financial officer of Mahindra South Africa. According to Bapat, the KUV100 NXT has also found favour with vehicle rental companies, with Mahindra delivering its first 100 KUVs to the rental market at various depots across South Africa. “For the year ahead, we hope to grow at an even faster pace. We will utilise the flexibility that our local assembly facility offers to introduce new models and special editions of the Pik Up and will soon launch a brand-new model in one of South Africa’s fastest growing vehicle segments,” said Gupta. “Mahindra will also invest in the expansion of its dealer network, starting with a new dealer location in Cape Town and an additional dealer in Johannesburg in January.” — WR.
VOLVO RECALL AFFECTS EIGHT MODELS COPENHAGEN — Swedish automaker Volvo Cars, owned by China’s Geely holding company, says it is recalling 200 000 diesel cars worldwide because the fuel line may crack, saying it is “a preventive safety measure”. Group spokeswoman Annika Bjerstaf said: “What may happen is that the fuel may leak out into the engine compartment over a long period of time.” She says Volvo Cars “however, has not received any reports of incidents surrounding this”. Bjerstaf said on Tuesday the recall covers the Volvo V40, S60 and V60 and their Cross Country versions. Also covered are the V70 and XC70, S80, XC60 and XC90 built in 2015 and 2016. The Goteborg-based company says it is offering to replace the fuel line at no cost and owners have been notified. — Associated Press.
The Haval H9 is taking the fight to no less a vehicle than the Toyota Prado.
HAVAL AIMS FOR WORLD’S BEST SUVs HAVAL celebrated global sales of over five million vehicles on January 13, with a party themed “Leading in China, Aiming for the world” at the HAVAL R&D Centre in Baoding. The company announced its “521” plan to increase the brand’s global footprint, still led by the company’s best selling H6 SUV. Haval said with sales of over 10 000 units in the month of December, the new F5 and F7 models are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the HAVAL range.
Founder of the brand, Wei Jianjun, said the “521” Globalisation Strategy, aims to sell 2 million vehicles within 5 years and to become the world’s No.1 SUV. He said Haval has established eight R&D centres around the world, including a new technology incubation laboratory in Silicon Valley. By 2023, HAVAL plans to launch 20 global vehicles, with only 40% using internal combustion engines. At the same time the H6 and F7 flagship models will aim to be among the world’s top 10 SUVs. — WR.
Mazda MX5 remains the best affordable sports car in UK The 2019 Mazda MX-5 has been named Best Sports Car for less than £30 000 at the annual What Car? Awards. What Car’s recognition of the 2.0 Sport Nav+ means the current fourth-generation of Mazda’s iconic sports car has won an award from What Car? every year since its debut. Launched in September last year, the upgraded 2019 Mazda MX-5 benefits from enhanced dynamic performance, improved safety equipment and driver comfort refinements. At the forefront of this technical upgrade is a more powerful and higher-revving version of the 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G engine. Substantially redesigned with lighter pistons and con-rod, the 2.0-litre engine also features revisions to the camshafts and exhaust valves, fuel injectors, throttle valve and air intake. The end result is an increase from 160ps to 184ps and a heightened redline, which rises from 6 800 to 7 500rpm. In addition with higher fuel pressure and more efficient combustion, there’s an increase in torque across the rev range, while peak torque rises by 5Nm. Mazda said as the most popular roadster in history, with over one million units sold worldwide to date the MX-5 has become a symbol of company’s car-making philosophy and tireless pursuit of driving pleasure. PHOTO: NEWSPRESS
The latest generation in tracking devices are selfpowered, robust, discreet and able to feed telematic data to fleet operators.
TINY NEW TRACKING DEVICES FIDELITY Security and Ctrack have both launched small new tracking devices that can trace stolen vehicles and provide telematics to fleets, be it trucks or golf carts. Wahl Bartmann, Group CEO of Fidelity Security, said in a statement the home security group has entered in partnership with Amber Connect to combine world class technology with Fidelity’s local footprint. “With SecureDrive, Fidelity is the only company that has a mobile application with an assist feature, where national response is provided through Fidelity ADT.” He said the Fidelity SecureDrive is the smallest telematics device in the world and comes standard with a global SIM that operates seamlessly in more than 145 countries. There are mobile applications for both Android and iOS with a rich set of features. “The emphasis of Fidelity SecureDrive is on smart fleet management,” he adds. “What’s exceptionally exciting about this product is, as a world first, the mobile application employs Artificial Intelligence (AI) through the Amber Shield feature to pro-actively inform the driver of any risk events associated with the vehicle.” The Fidelity ADT and Fidelity Security fleets are currently being fitted with Fidelity SecureDrive and Bartmann says initially the product is being introduced to the fleet sector followed by a later launch into the consumer market. Track the delivery bike Ctrack said in a statement the groups new BX500 and BX600 range of wireless, ultra-compact GPS tracking devices are ideal for use in cars, trucks and motorbikes, quads, golf carts, delivery vans and generators, the new devices are also designed to track non-powered assets like containers, trailers and packages. Both BX models are ultracompact, meaning either unit can be concealed in cargo easily and both have enough memory to record 25 000 trips. Featuring adaptive tracking, these devices make use of accelerometers as well as data from GPS transmitters, to intelligently detect movements and send live updates. Either model can be scaled to provide continuous tracking information or just once a day in order to preserve internal battery life. The BX500 model is powered by removable Lithium batteries, which can last up to four years when providing a single, daily tracking update. Several BX600 units were recently used to monitor the progress of the recent Sasol Solar Car Challenge, with great success. Each device recorded an average of 96 hours of driving time, having been charged once before the event commenced. The BX600 model is further equipped to detect tampering. This feature makes it ideal for high-value cargo applications. Both tracking devices are enclosed in rugged housings that are made from sturdy ABS/ Polycarbonate plastics. Ctrack’s BX units can be remotely configured and updated over the air and, using a single micro-SIM, can be configured to roam across multiple 2G, 3G or 4G networks in South Africa. The BX devices fit into a bag or cargo hold to discreetly show where a company’s assets or deliveries are in real time, as well as how to better plan their next movements. — WR.