Automotive news

• Federal Budget 2024: $84.5 million to implement NVES emissions standards

  15-05-2024 23:00 via drive.com.au
  The latest Federal Budget has earmarked almost $85 million to set-up and manage the government’s forthcoming NVES emissions scheme for new cars, but its implementation will also see a significant reduction in revenue collected from the fuel levy.The Australian Government has earmarked $84.5 million in funding to implement the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) over the next five years.Announced in the 2024-25 Federal Budget this week, the funds will go towards establishing a federal re
  
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• Federal Budget 2024: $84.5 million to implement new-car emissions standards

  15-05-2024 23:00 via drive.com.au
  The latest Federal Budget has earmarked almost $85 million to set-up and manage the government’s forthcoming NVES emissions scheme for new cars, but its implementation will also see a significant reduction in revenue collected from the fuel levy.The Australian Government has earmarked $84.5 million in funding to implement the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) over the next five years.Announced in the 2024-25 Federal Budget this week, the funds will go towards establishing a federal re
  
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• Bentley Continental and Flying Spur V8 axed, hybrid replacements imminent

  15-05-2024 22:00 via drive.com.au
  V8 power is gone from Bentley’s coupe, convertible and sedan range – but not for long, as new hybrid-assisted versions are waiting in the wings.Bentley has cut purely petrol V8-powered versions of the Continental GT two-door and Flying Spur sedan in key global markets – including Australia – ahead of plug-in hybrid V8 successors due to be shown imminently.The axing forms part of previously announced plans for every new petrol-fuelled Bentley sold to be a plug-in hybrid by
  
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• Over-hyped and over-priced. So why didn’t Australians buy the Fiat Croma? | Drive Flashback

  15-05-2024 21:32 via drive.com.au
  It was pitched in Australia as a rival to BMW and Mercedes-Benz with a price tag to match. And that, was arguably, its downfall.Original story, by Tony Davis, first published in Drive on 16 May, 1997In late 1987, the Croma was heralded as the first new model from Fiat in three years and the forerunner to a broad range of exciting new models.History records that these exciting new models never arrived. Indeed, the unloved and unexciting Croma became the death of Fiat in this market.Problem one wa
  
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• 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL Heritage: Limited-edition retro 4WD on sale

  15-05-2024 08:25 via drive.com.au
  Do you ever miss those groovy good old days? The limited-edition Suzuki Jimny XL Heritage has just been announced with some far-out features.The 2024 Suzuki Jimny XL Heritage has been revealed, offering retro looks and extra equipment.Limited to just 500 examples, the Australia-specific Heritage is based on the five-door, long-wheelbase Jimny XL model, and is a follow-up to the original three-door Jimny Heritage announced by Suzuki in March 2023 – which sold out in just five business hours
  
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• Ex-Alabama coach Nick Saban dragged into UAW's fight to unionize Mercedes plant

  15-05-2024 06:00 via autonews.com
  Saban, a co-owner in seven Mercedes-Benz dealerships, said his comments about college football unionization were used out of context in a pro-UAW ad.
  
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• Military truck ploughs through Queensland petrol station

  15-05-2024 04:30 via drive.com.au
  Authorities confirmed no one was injured in the incident, while the service station sustained structural damage as a result of the mishap.Photo Credit: Facebook
  A military truck heading to Townsville has destroyed a petrol station in Queensland – with photos and videos of the armoured vehicle wedged at the entrance of a petrol bowser circulating on social media.The incident is believed to have occurred this week at an Ampol service station in Sarina, a rural town located in North Queenslan
  
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• 1968’s Car of the Year was a revolution and a gloriously noble failure

  15-05-2024 04:03 via drive.com.au
  The NSU Ro 80 was 20 years ahead of its time and a dismal failure that sent its maker broke and yet its legacy still lives on today.The NSU Ro 80 was a car ahead of its time, a sleek, rotary-powered executive sedan that stunned onlookers when it was first revealed at the 1967 Frankfurt motor show. It garnered immediate praise, won the 1968 European Car of the Year (the first German car ever to do so) and its marketing slogan – Vorsprung durch Technik (Progress through Technology) – p
  
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• US Government quadruples tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars

  15-05-2024 03:56 via drive.com.au
  Chinese electric cars imported to the US will now pay their value in tariffs on arrival – and analysts warn the new taxes may have a broader impact on vehicles sold by all manufacturers.The US Government has quadrupled its tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles – from 25 to 100 per cent – in a move claimed to be in response to “unfair trade practices” and “artificially low-priced” exports.It will mean car makers will now pay the value of the Chinese-ma
  
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• Kia’s most affordable global electric car yet breaks cover ahead of schedule

  15-05-2024 03:26 via drive.com.au
  Kia’s upcoming EV3 electric car could compete against the BYD Atto 3 and Volvo EX30 on price.The upcoming Kia EV3 electric car has surfaced online, revealing exactly what to expect from the SUV believed to be the company’s most affordable electric car for global markets.Published by CarWale, the EV3 is sized similarly to the Seltos – a small SUV – slotting in below the Niro, EV6, and upcoming EV5.And given the smaller-still EV2 is out of contention for the Australian mark
  
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• Federal Budget 2024: Road safety to benefit from $21M data hub enhancement

  15-05-2024 02:59 via drive.com.au
  An improvement to road accident data availability will help inform better action plans to improve road safety for all motorists.The Australian Government has announced that, as part of the 2024 Federal Budget, a $21.2 million investment will be made to improve the reporting of national road safety data made available by the National Road Safety Data Hub.The support package, presented by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts (DITRDCA), is pr
  
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• 2024 Renault Megane E-Tech Electric price cut by $10,000 for limited time

  15-05-2024 02:28 via drive.com.au
  Renault has applied a $10,000 price cut to the Megane electric car until the end of this financial year, amid growing competition from Chinese brands.The 2024 Renault Megane E-Tech is the latest electric car to have its price cut in Australia as part of an End of Financial Year (EOFY) offer.Until 30 June 2024 the Megane E-Tech Electric – available in a single EV60 Techno variant – is priced from $54,990 plus on-road costs, a saving of $10,000 from its regular RRP.Drive-away prices ra
  
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• Jailed driver admits Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ not to blame in Melbourne hit-and-run – report

  15-05-2024 01:00 via drive.com.au
  A driver who lied about using a driver assistance feature at the time her vehicle hit a pedestrian has been sentenced to prison.A Melbourne woman has been sentenced to nine months in prison for a hit-and-run after admitting that her Tesla’s ‘Autopilot’ semi-autonomous driving assistance was not to blame for the accident after all.In March 2022, the woman was a probationary driver behind the wheel of an electric Tesla Model 3 when she hit a 26-year-old nurse at 58km/h, who was c
  
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• Price-leading Leapmotor electric cars from China coming to Australia

  15-05-2024 00:51 via drive.com.au
  The parent company of Jeep, Ram and Peugeot will help launch electric cars from Leapmotor – including a budget-priced EV city hatch – in Australia and Europe as soon as this year.
  Leapmotor T03.
  Stellantis – the parent company of Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot-Citroen – has announced plans to sell electric cars from relatively fresh Chinese brand Leapmotor globally to challenge the likes of BYD and GWM.Included in the global expansion of Leapmotor – founded in 2015 &ndas
  
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• Budget-priced Leapmotor electric cars from China coming to Australia

  15-05-2024 00:51 via drive.com.au
  The parent company of Jeep, Ram and Peugeot will help launch electric cars from Leapmotor – including a budget-priced EV city hatch – in Australia and Europe as soon as this year.
  Leapmotor T03.
  Stellantis – the parent company of Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot-Citroen – has announced plans to sell electric cars from relatively fresh Chinese brand Leapmotor globally to challenge the likes of BYD and GWM.Included in the global expansion of Leapmotor – founded in 2015 &ndas
  
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• 2025 BYD Shark plug-in hybrid ute revealed: Quicker than a Ranger Raptor, in Australia this year

  15-05-2024 00:40 via drive.com.au
  Meet Australia’s first plug-in hybrid ute, the Shark from Chinese car giant BYD – and it promises diesel-like fuel economy with twin-turbo petrol V6 performance.The BYD Shark has finally been fully unveiled, with the first ute from the giant Chinese car brand due in Australia by the end of this year also representing the first plug-in hybrid pick-up to reach local showrooms.It claims fuel consumption of 7.5 litres per 100km – similar to a four-cylinder diesel – in hybrid
  
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• 2024 MG 4 prices rise in Australia, just weeks after significant price cuts

  15-05-2024 00:00 via drive.com.au
  A price rise has been applied to four of the five MG 4 electric-car variants after substantial decreases earlier this year.The 2024 MG 4 electric car is now $1000 more expensive across most models.A $1000 price rise has been applied to four of the five MG 4 variants – Excite 51, Excite 64, Essence 64 and Long Range 77 – for Model Year 2024 (MY24) examples, with the range now starting from $40,990 drive-away.The top-of-the-range XPower is unchanged at $59,990 drive-away.The MG increas
  
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