Automotive news

• BMW Alpina unveiled as standalone brand with new emblem

  15-02-2026 23:19 via autotalk.co.nz
  BMW Alpina has been formally launched as a standalone brand under BMW Group ownership, revealing a new emblem and confirming future models will be produced at select BMW Group plants. The brand, activated in early January 2026, positions itself as an exclusive marque focused on combining high performance and comfort. The new BMW Alpina badge […]
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• APIs: Your Freedom Matters

  15-02-2026 23:04 via autotalk.co.nz
  Like AI, the term API is everywhere. Vendors use it constantly, and product brochures are full of it; however, as APIs become foundational to dealership operations, it’s increasingly important for decision-makers to understand what an API actually is, what it is not, and why that distinction directly affects operational flexibility and future competitiveness. It’s a […]
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• Toyota confirms updates to controversial ad

  15-02-2026 22:42 via drive.com.au
  Toyota has confirmed it will modify its controversial ad, which features dogs in the back of the new 2026 HiLux.Toyota has confirmed it will update its controversial 2026 Toyota HiLux ad, with a spokesperson telling Drive: “We intend to modify the advertisement in line with the Ad Standards ruling.” Toyota’s recent ad for the new 2026 Toyota ran afoul of Australia’s free-to-air advertising rules for showing unsecured dogs in the back of the HiLux ute.It was the secon
  
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• Tesla to shift Full Self-Driving to subscription-only model

  15-02-2026 22:13 via autotalk.co.nz
  Tesla will remove the option to buy its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) package outright from April 1, moving the advanced driver-assist technology to a subscription-only model. The company says vehicles with FSD (Supervised) purchased outright must be ordered and delivered by March 31 to qualify. Existing Hardware 4 (HW4) vehicle owners can also purchase FSD (Supervised) […]
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• Kia: We won’t compete with Chinese car brands on price

  15-02-2026 21:21 via drive.com.au
  BYD and its Chinese rivals will sell you more space, luxury, and tech than Kia for the same money, but the Korean giant won’t turn to massive discounts to compete.
  Kia EV3 Air.
  Kia Australia says it will not “burn” existing customers with drastic discounts to compete on price with the growing array of budget-priced electric cars from China.The South Korean car giant is Australia’s top-selling electric-car brand that isn’t Chinese, though its most popular battery-pow
  
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• BYD Shark 6: Better off-road ability is ‘certainly on our radar’

  15-02-2026 19:58 via drive.com.au
  Yes, BYD Australia is passing on local feedback on the Shark 6 to head office in China.BYD is looking at improving the off-road capability of its big-selling Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute.In an interview with Drive, BYD Australia’s chief operating officer, Stephen Collins, said the brand was looking to satisfy the requirements of those who want to take their Shark 6 on more arduous off-road terrain.There’s been some criticism of the current Shark 6’s performance when taken off the
  
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• NSW Police to begin seizing illegal e-bikes

  15-02-2026 19:07 via drive.com.au
  Illegal e-bikes will quickly be vanishing from NSW roads as police crack down on misuse.
  Photo: iStock
  New South Wales (NSW) Police have been given the green light to seize and destroy any e-bikes built to exceed their 25km/h speed limit by state law.Seized bikes “will end up as a twisted wreck so they can’t rejoin the road,” according to NSW Minister for Transport John Graham.Current state laws require e-bikes to have their power assistance cut out completely when the bike&rsq
  
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• The single models propping up entire car brands

  15-02-2026 19:00 via drive.com.au
  Some of Australia’s best-selling car brands are being propped up by one or two models, with some brands’ most popular cars outstripping sales of the rest of their range.
  Four of Australia’s five most popular car brands, including Ford and Hyundai, are being heavily bolstered by just one, two or three models, with more than 50 per cent of their overall sales going to a tiny fraction of the car they offer, recent data shows.
  Recent VFACTS data from the Federal Chamber of Automoti
  
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• Mazda has ‘something above’ the MX-5 coming, and it will be rotary-powered

  15-02-2026 02:19 via drive.com.au
  Mazda’s European head of product planning has strongly suggested that a halo sports car, positioned above the MX-5, is finally on the way.New life has been breathed into rumours of a rotary revival at Mazda.In an interview with UK publication Auto Express, Mazda Europe’s product planning supervisor, Moritz Oswald, revealed that a production version of the 2023 Iconic SP concept was still on the brand’s agenda.“If there’s a feasible way to do that, then I’m sur
  
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• V10 F1 cars coming to the 2026 Australian Grand Prix

  15-02-2026 00:51 via drive.com.au
  Cars from the era of Jack Brabham will hit the track for demonstration, alongside a V10 Jaguar F1 racer.2001 Jaguar-Cosworth R2 V10A car from F1’s popular V10 engine era will return to the track at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, with the 2001 Jaguar-Cosworth R2 V10 to conduct demonstration laps on Thursday, 5 March.Cars from the iconic V10 era, which is loved by fans worldwide, last raced in 2005, with engines producing a unique high-pitched scream as they rev to 19,000rpm, nearly three t
  
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• BYD reveals the truth behind local suspension tuning

  15-02-2026 00:07 via drive.com.au
  Exactly how much chassis tuning work is carried out in Australia for BYD models built in China? Find out here.
  BYD Sealion 8 and Sealion 5
  BYD Australia is touting a level of local suspension tuning for its new Sealion 5 and Sealion 8 models, but there is a big difference between a market-specific complete rework to suit local conditions and simply changing a tyre package.So what has BYD done to the Australian versions of the its two new plug-in hybrid SUVs?Speaking to Drive, BYD Australia chief
  
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