Author: Robert Barry
Robert Barry has been reporting on the Australasian automotive and transport sector since June 2003. A member of the New Zealand Motoring Writers Guild since 2005, Robert has also previously held the positions of secretary, vice-president and president. His work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and on the web. He holds a Class 2 and a Class 4 heavy transport licence and knows his way around a manual transmission.
Mercedes-Benz Cars AG has unveiled the latest generation of its C-Class saloon and estate which is the brands highest-volume production model. Longer, wider, but shorter in height, the new C-Class saloon and estate introduces more efficient plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, as well as more efficient four-cylinder turbocharged petrol …
Australia’s BYD electric vehicle distributor Nexport has announced it will be selling the cars direct to consumers through its new online sales platform; evdirect.com.au. Nexport managing director Luke Todd says through evdirect.com.au, the organisation will deliver the cars directly from the factory to the buyer. Todd says allowing …
MG Motor Australia has confirmed that its HS Plug-in Hybrid SUV will reach dealerships nationwide in March. The marque says the MG HS Plug-In Hybrid has a top speed of 190km/h and achieves 0-100km in 6.9 seconds. The combined output of the electric motor and turbo engine combined provides …
Chinese electric vehicle brand BYD says it is planning to launch pre-sales of its passenger cars in the Australian and New Zealand markets in July 2021 with newly appointed distribution partner Nexport. Sydney-based Nexport Pty Ltd signed an agreement with BYD Auto Industry Co., Ltd (BYD) on February …
Following a 45% year on year increase in new vehicle sales for January, Volvo Cars Australia managing director Stephen Connor says he anticipates dealers will sell the remaining stock of new diesel vehicles by the end of March. “As I have said previously, during 2021 all diesel models …
Toyota Australia is announcing a local electric-vehicle pilot trial with resources giant BHP. The small-scale trial involves a Landcruiser 70 Series single-cab ute that has been converted to a battery-electric vehicle by Toyota Australia’s product planning and development division in Port Melbourne. The converted vehicle – equipped for …
A 4.8% increase in Tesla’s share price has seen co-founder and chief executive Elon Musk overtake Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bloomberg says Bezos has held the position on its Billionaires Index since October 2017, but Musk has now surpassed …
Hyundai Motor Group wants to expand its range of battery electric vehicles (BEV) from the current eight models to 23 by the year 2025. It’s part of future growth strategy unveiled by the Group chairman Euisun Chung in a speech outlining the company’s commitments for 2021 and beyond. …
Nissan is celebrating the Leaf electric car’s 10th anniversary of sales and the delivery of more 500,000 vehicles since it was first introduced. “In marking these milestones, we firstly want to express our appreciation to all the customers who have come on this electrifying journey with us,” Nissan president and CEO Makoto Uchida says. “By switching to electric mobility, customers …
MG Motor New Zealand has entered the country’s top 10 new cars for November 2020 on the back of 60 registrations of the all-electric ZS SUV in its first full month of sales. For the month of November, the MG Motor New Zealand dealer network retailed more than …
