Category: Motoring

Tajudeen Adebanjo

 

THE new Kia Sorento has been revealed. Powerful, progressive and versatile, the fourth generation of Kia Motors Corporation’s flagship Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) was designed and engineered to take on everything life throws at it.

Raising standards in the midsize SUV class for space, efficiency and quality, it sits at the heart of Kia’s reinvigorated global SUV line-up, which also includes the Seltos, Stonic, Telluride and Sportage.

Kia Motors Europe Chief Operating Officer Emilio Herrera said: “The Sorento’s evolution over the last 18 years echoes that of the Kia brand as a whole. While the car was initially launched in 2002 as a utilitarian all-terrain vehicle, the fourth-generation Sorento has been transformed into something altogether more desirable. It is an important model for Kia, particularly now that it also represents the first use of electrified power in our flagship SUV.”

The Sorento’s redefined exterior design – with sharper lines, high-tech details, and elongated proportions – gives it a more confident and mature presence. Inside, its attractive cabin also introduces premium-quality materials, cutting-edge infotainment technologies, and a stunning new design.

The Sorento is the first vehicle to be based on Kia’s new-generation midsize SUV platform. Paired with a larger body to maximise cargo and luggage space, the platform ensure the Sorento is one of the most versatile and spacious three-row SUVs on the road.

Furthermore, the Sorento’s innovative interior packaging means it can offer all this while accommodating Kia’s new ‘Smartstream’ electrified powertrains – the first time that hybrid power has featured in the Sorento line-up. As a result, the new model offers greater fuel efficiency, lower emissions, and higher performance than its predecessors.

Read Also: Kia reviews images of Sorento

This will be Kia’s most high-tech car ever, thanks to its progressive connectivity, driver assistance and infotainment technologies. Its user-friendly twin digital displays deliver advanced graphics, new telematics features and smartphone connectivity.

A mainstay of Kia’s global line-up, more than three million Sorento models have been sold worldwide since it was launched in 2002. In that time, Europe has accounted for around 300,000 of these.

The Sorento Hybrid will go on-sale in select European markets from launch, with others to follow later in 2020. The new Sorento will also be available as a Plug-in Hybrid variant from late in 2020.

The Sorento’s new four-cylinder 2.2-litre ‘Smartstream’ diesel engine is also available for European customers, producing 202 ps and 440 Nm torque. With a new aluminium block, 19.5 kg lighter than the cast iron block of its predecessor, the new engine is 38.2 kg lighter compared to that found in the third-generation Sorento. Furthermore, it is paired with Kia’s new eight-speed wet double-clutch transmission (8DCT). Designed to offer the smooth shifting characteristics of a conventional automatic, the 8DCT enhances fuel efficiency over a conventional eight-speed automatic, depending on application.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

Hyundai Motor Company has announced the appointment of Bang Sun Jeong as their new Vice President of the Middle East and Africa region.

Based at Dubai’s regional headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, Jeong will oversee the day-to-day operations and will be responsible for strengthening Hyundai’s presence and brand value across the MEA region.

Jeong has gathered abundant experience at Hyundai Motor Company that will help maximise results in his new position.

In his previous role, he had served as Hyundai’s Vice President of Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East Operations Division and also held the Executive Director – sales and marketing role for Hyundai Motor India. He also held positions in Poland and Turkey.

Jeong said: “I am delighted be named as the new Vice President of Middle East and Africa for Hyundai Motor Company. It is a company that I know very well having gained vast knowledge of the brand during my career.

“As  the Vice President of Middle East and Africa at such an important phase, I am compelled by a strong responsibility to confront the challenges ahead of us. In 2019, we made solid progress and moved forward despite the challenges faced in the previous year.

“It is essential we build on this success in 2020 and I forward to helping sustain our growth momentum to reach our best sales record, and in doing so, we hope to set a new milestone in our journey.”

Jeong replaces Mike Song, who has been promoted and will now work with the Genesis Division Headquarters.

Song said: “Jeong has strong knowledge of Hyundai Motor Company and I have no doubt that he will take the brand to the next level in the Middle East and Africa region.

“In what was a challenging 2019 year for the whole industry, Hyundai still made significant sales and at the same time, the company cemented its position as a global brand in the automotive industry.”

Jide Owatunmise

OVERTAKING or Passing is a very complex task both for learners and experienced drivers. Errors in overtaking is responsible for thousands of road traffic crashes every year in Nigeria. It is the major cause factors in head on collision usually with high rate of fatalities. Impatience, miscalculation, aggressiveness, driving under the influence of alcohol and other psychoactive drugs, overconfidence, disobedience to traffic rules and several other factors are responsible for the high rate of overtaking incidents.

To avoid overtaking hazards, governments must install the appropriate traffic signs and road markings to warn drivers against overtaking at the various points where overtaking or passing should not be done.

 

All categories of drivers and riders must always remember that Overtaking or passing Must  Not Be Done at a road bend, near or on a bridge, on a hill or slope, junctions, roundabouts, cross roads, wherever there is solid line mark on the road, at congested areas such as markets, bus stops, school environment, malls, etc.

When overtaking at points where it is permitted, there are rules the driver still need to follow to prevent accidents. Before starting the overtaking process, the driver must honestly ask himself the following questions: Is the overtaking necessary? Is it safe? Is it legal? Can it be successfully and safely completed? Will it not obstruct the traffic? Will it not cause others to alter their path or speed?, etc.

Having answered the above questions and satisfied that the overtaking can be done safely, the driver needs to strictly follow the MSM/PSL routine to start and complete the overtaking safely. That is, use your mirror to check the upcoming traffic (vehicles), signal your intention to overtake, manoeuver or move, position your vehicle safely to allow adequate lateral space between your vehicle and the one(s) you intend to overtake, move in a safe speed without violating the approved speed limit, and look at the path of travel and the entire environment to ensure the avoidance of any perceived hazard in the course of overtaking. After completing the overtaking of the vehicle(s), you must allow a safe distance before returning back to the right or original lane. In the process of returning back to the lane after the overtaking, the driver must again follow the MSM/ PSL routine to ensure a safe return.

Drivers must not overtake on the right lane except on a dual carriage road and where the vehicle to be overtaken has indicated or has been confirmed to continue moving on the left lane. In this case, overtaking can be done safely on the right lane. Before overtaking, the driver of the vehicle you want to overtake must be alerted with the horn to be sure he is aware you want to overtake him. Failure to do this can result to a simultaneous pull out by the vehicle you want to overtake thereby resulting to confusion and accident.

 

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

Providing a glimpse of normalcy for an auto industry and world gripped by fear of the Coronavirus, Honda Motor’s car assembly plant in Wuhan, China — the city at the epicentre of the global pandemic — resumed production last Wednesday, the day President Donald Trump announced United States actions, including a ban on travel from Europe.

The assembly plant, which built 791,518 vehicles last year, shut down for the annual Chinese spring holiday on January 23. Scheduled to reopen February 3, the plant was closed indefinitely when the Chinese government sealed off Hubei province to control the virus’ spread.

“This is important, good news. Never underestimate the resiliency of the auto industry,” Eric Noble of consultant The Carlab, said.

Honda’s joint venture with local automaker Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co. Ltd. employs 12,000. With a population of 11 million,Wuhan is Hubei’s capitol and largest city.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan last Tuesday to reinforce the idea that the pandemic is under control, a position possibly undermined by the fact that Xi and his retinue wore masks.Honda production “resumed with limited volume after a long suspension and may take time to recover to full” output, a spokesman said.

None of the plant’s production is sold in the United States. It builds vehicles including the CR-V, Civic, Inspire, VR-X, XR-V and Jade.

The plant’s five-week shutdown, and reopening while Coronavirus remains at large in Wuhan, shows concrete evidence of how automakers and other industries can respond to the worst outbreak of coronavirus thus far.

Toyota and Nissan Motor Corporations have also resumed vehicle manufacturing after a one-and-a-half-month hiatus in the central Chinese province of Hubei and Guangzhou.

Toyota said production would return to normal today. The plant, which produces the Camry sedan and the Yaris compact hatchback models, resumed its first shift earlier this month.

Operations at two other Toyota plants, in Changchun, Jilin Province, and Chengdu, Sichuan Province, have also returned to normal, while its plant in Tianjin is only operating a single shift, compared with double shifts at the start of the year.With the restart at its plant in Xiangyang, Nissan now has put all of its production bases in China back online.

Nissan initially aimed to reboot the Xiangyang plant on February 24 at the earliest but was forced to extend the suspension on request from the Hubei provincial government.

The local government said Wednesday that some industries in the province can resume work as new virus cases there have fallen significantly.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

Dana Motors, a leading auto company, paraded the 2020 Kia and DFM made-in-Nigeria models at an event organised by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) in Abuja.

The event was a prelude to the Argungu Motor rally.

The event was aimed at demonstrating the feats recorded by the auto policy for the past years.

The made-in-Nigeria vehicles are testaments to the success recorded in the industry over the years to make Nigeria a self-sustaining industrialised nation with locally produced vehicles.

Minister of State for Industry, Trade, and Investment Ambassador Mariam Katagum urged the auto companies to do more in the area of local content and have faith in the Federal Government’s commitment to economic diversification.

Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo from the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, said the vehicles and brands unveiled were a testament to the zeal and commitment of the automotive industrial sector to government’s efforts towards diversification and development of the non-oil sector of the economy.

“The role of the NADDC in reviving and sustaining the automotive sector has greatly helped in stimulating growth and development in the Nigerian automotive industry,” he said.

NADDC Director-General Jelani Aliyu, said Nigerians spent over $8 billion on vehicle importation yearly.

This, he said, was hurting the local automotive industry that was established in 2013. He said the National Automotive Industry Development Plan established about six years ago has attracted about $1 billion into the Nigerian economy despite Nigerians preference for imported cars.

According to him, about 4,700 people were directly employed in the sector.

He, however, lamented the lack of patronage of the locally produced cars.

This, he said, is hurting the growth of the industry.

To make the cars affordable to all, Jelani added that it set aside N5 billion towards a single-digit vehicle finance scheme and was talking with banks such as Zenith, Wema and Jaiz to provide the financing for vehicles made in Nigeria.

Keying into the Federal government’s economic diversification, Dana Motors Limited has been at the vanguard of the production of locally produced vehicles. Having established an assembly plant in Lagos, the auto company has produced technologically advanced vehicles for both the Kia and DFM brands.

The plant prides itself on the production of over 13 models and their respective trims cutting across two multinational brands – Kia and DFM – with thousands of units rolled out since its launch in April 2014.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

For more than seven years, ANAMMCO, a vehicle assembly facility inaugurated in 1980 by the Federal Government in partnership with Mercedes Benz was shut down.

This was due to lack of activity as a result of economic instability, unavailability of forex and lack of patronage, among others.

Life became unbearable for all members of staff of the Enugu-based company, and they were laid off.

Like ANAMMCO in Enugu, activities at the Onne Port Complex situated on the Bonny River Estuary along Ogu Creek in Rivers State, was declining due to lack of  patronage.

ANAMMCO management heaved a sigh of relief when it entered into an agreement with the Transit Support Services (TSS), a subsidiary of ABC Transport PLC, to manufacture trucks.

TSS is representing China’s leading truck manufacturer, Shacman Trucks.

But its biggest benefactor is the Dangote Group, which has so far injected over N63 billion into the assembly plant.

Speaking after a tour of the expansive ANAMMCO plant which was filled with Dangote trucks undergoing semi-knocked down (SKD) production, TSS Chairman Mr. Frank Nneji said if not for Dangote’s magnanimity and his commitment to empowering local manufacturers, the ANAMMCO plant would have remained perpetually moribund.

According to him, the skeletal activity that started with an agreement with Shacman group has blossomed to full step production with the coming of Dangote Group’s investment in the plant.

The agreement, signed in 2016, has led to the recall of workers at the plant.

“With the recall of over 300 ANAMMCO staff and 15 expatriates, the factory that was in a comatose state is now bubbling with life, courtesy of Dangote Group support to the plant. We initially signed an agreement for the first 500 units of trucks,” Nneji said.

Leading automobile reporters round the huge plant built over 30 years ago, Nneji said: “What you are seeing in the plant today is with the full support of Dangote Group. This is to correct the impression by many that Dangote Group is ignoring the Eastern part of the country in its investment programme. We are a franchise holder of China’s number truck marker, Shacman. We started local assembly five years ago at a time Dangote Group was looking for locally assembled trucks for its businesses across the country.”

A selfless Nneji said after recalling all ANAMMCO staff back to work, he decided that the shipment of the components for the trucks should arrive at the country through the Onne Port in Rivers State.

This has also extended Dangote Group’s investment into the Southsouth part of the country.

Nneji said no less than 400,000 jobs have been created through that singular effort.

“You can imagine the multiplier effects it would have on the nation’s economy if other wealthy Nigerians decided to invest into something like this,” he said.

Besides the assemblage of the trucks, Nneji said the plant was serving as a training school for students interested in Mechatronics engineering.

“The area around the plant is fast becoming an automobile cluster because Enugu is a motor city. We have local suppliers too as well as our own in-house workers. This has provided training on how to produce the trucks with the well-experienced staff we recruited. The company produces over 200 trucks monthly comprising three different models, with local content of about 22 per cent. It is capable of increasing its production if there is a demand for such,” he said.

Apart from assembling the truck at the plant, the TSS boss said the chassis numbers are locally generated and printed on the truck engine, adding that the brand Shacman has about 15 models of the truck but only three models are being produced at the plant at the moment.

“What this initial capacity surge did was to ensure that all the staff of ANAMMCO who had been at home had to come back to work. Some local suppliers, lubricants, electrolytes and the rest of them also had to come back to doing business. And it goes even further than that because we are in Enugu, we used the Onne Port to bring in these goods. You know many people are complaining that Onne Port is moribund, no good is coming. Of course, we directed all the containers there and from 2016 up till now courtesy of Dangote, the Onne Port has handled more than 3000 containers coming to this place,” he stated.

Nneji added that 90 per cent of trucks produced at ANAMMCO plant were for Dangote.

“According to the National Automotive Policy, Enugu and Nnewi have been designated as the automotive centre for the Southeast in this axis. This is because of the stay of ANAMMCO over a period. They have acquired a lot of technical capacity. There is also a training school that produces technicians, training young school leavers here.

“So this is what we are doing here. This place is busy producing quality trucks with Dangote as the largest single patron. Totally here, we have done 3,500 units for Dangote. Additionally, the trucks used at the refinery are also Shacman trucks. Because of the quality of Shacman trucks, Dangote also patronises that for the refinery,” he said.

Dangote Group Corporate Communications General Manager Mr Sunday Esan, said the partnership with TSS would last for a long time as the group continues to expand across its various business segments.

Esan added that as the Dangote refinery comes on stream, the group would require more trucks hence the sustained relationship with TSS/ANAMMCO.

According to him, the massive investment in the Southeast is contrary to the assumption that Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President/Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group is not patronising local manufacturers.

“This is why he agreed we should come and see how ANAMMCO plant has come alive, the impact he has made in the country and the employment this patronage has generated,” he said.

By Our Reporter

Kia Motors Corporation will unveil the first official images of the new Kia Sorento, ahead of its first public appearance at the 2020 Geneva International Motor Show tomorrow.

The concept of ‘refined boldness’ inspired Kia’s designers, who sought to maintain the robust, tough-looking aesthetic of earlier generations of Sorento, while applying a greater degree of refinement and elegance. More stylish than ever, the Sorento’s redefined design incorporates sharper lines and uninterrupted surfaces, making it noticeable more sculpted than its more round-edged predecessor. With more contemporary geometric details and more swept-back, elongated proportions, the result is a more confident, more mature and more desirable design than ever.

The more assertive ‘face’ of the Sorento evolves, too, with a new interpretation of Kia’s hallmark ‘tiger nose’ grille. Wider and more expansive, it wraps organically around the integrated headlamps on each side. The headlamps themselves feature a new ‘tiger eye’ LED daytime running light, adding extra focus to the design by depicting the intense impression of the lines around a tiger’s eyes.

In profile, the proportions of the Sorento are subtly adapted to make it appear longer, with shorter front and rear overhangs and a longer wheelbase. Its new proportions also extend the length of the bonnet, drawing the A-pillar 30 mm further back from the front axle for a more ‘cab-rearward’ design. The trailing edge of the hood wraps around the front wings and turns into a single, strong character line that extends along the side of the Sorento and flows into the new vertical taillights.

Inside, the attractive, upscale cabin of the new Kia Sorento introduces a sophisticated new design, incorporating cutting-edge infotainment, supreme practicality, and premium-grade materials. One of the highest quality interior spaces found in any Kia to-date, the intuitive, tech-oriented cabin of the new Sorento retains the spaciousness and three-row versatility that has characterised the Sorento over its 18-year existence. Yet it now provides owners with something altogether more striking, desirable and comfortable.

The cabin introduces a sophisticated next-generation design. Blending metallic trims, leather upholstery, and embossed wood-effect surfaces, the interior also subtly integrates other technologies to enhance connectivity, driver assistance, and infotainment.

The Sorento comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system incorporating audio-visual navigation. It also comes with a new 12.3-inch high-resolution digital instrument cluster that provides crystal-clear information to the driver. The progressive technologies available in the new model make it the most high-tech vehicle Kia has ever created.

The Sorento sits at the heart of Kia’s reinvigorated global SUV line-up, which also includes the Seltos, Stonic, Sportage, and Telluride. The new model is the result of a collaborative effort between all three studios within Kia’s global design network, in Korea, Europe and North America. The next-generation model is based on  raising standards in the midsize SUV segment for space, practicality, efficiency, and quality.