Category: Motoring

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation have announced an investment of €100 million (£85m) in a United Kingdom-based start-up that manufactures electric vans.

They have signed a contract for investment in Arrival – with Hyundai investing €80 million and Kia contributing €20 million – and for the joint development of electric vehicles (EVs).

Through the partnership, Hyundai and Kia plan to introduce “competitively priced” small and medium-sized electric vans and other products for logistics and on-demand ride hailing and shuttle service companies.

Arrival is to help the two Korean car giants meet the rapidly growing demand in Europe for cleaner commercial vehicles and accelerate the companies’ transformation “from carmakers to clean mobility providers”.

Founded in 2015, the electric van manufacturer has production plants and research and development centres in the US, Germany, Singapore, Russia and the UK.

The partnership is also expected to enable Hyundai to accelerate its strategy to deliver electric battery and hydrogen fuel cell solutions for the commercial vehicle market in Europe.

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Hyundai Motor Group President and Head of Research and Development Division Albert Biermann, said: “The eco-friendly vehicle market in Europe is expected to grow rapidly due to the introduction of further environmental regulations.

“Through the joint development of electric commercial vehicles with Arrival, we will be able to gain a competitive advantage and progressively establish our leadership in the global eco-friendly vehicle market, with Europe at the forefront.”

Toyota is looking skyward, announcing a collaboration with Joby Aviation (Joby), an aerospace company that is developing and commercialising all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The two companies hope that by working together, they can meet the potential of the air taxi market — something that is in its infancy today but is expected to explore in the near future.

“Air transportation has been a long-term goal for Toyota, and while we continue our work in the automobile business, this agreement sets our sights to the sky,” said Toyota President and Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda.

Toyota will be the lead investor in Joby’s $590 million start-up, putting it in a ground floor position should Joby emerge as a leader in the air taxi industry. Besides the financial investment, Toyota will share its expertise in manufacturing, quality, and cost controls for the development and production of Joby Aviation’s breakthrough eVTOL aircraft.

The announcement comes a week after Uber and Hyundai announced that they plan to use flying cars to launch an aerial rideshare network. The concept is aimed at speeding mobility through congested urban areas.

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Uber has been working on this for some time. In 2018, it held a summit with aerospace companies to go over some potential designs. In the end, the rideshare giant decided to partner with an automotive company.

Toyota says it chose to partner with Joby because it believes the company’s design is well matched to serve the needs of an emerging air transportation market. But how that market will operate remains to be determined.

City planners have been looking to the skies as urban streets have become more congested. Helicopters are notoriously expensive, but there was a famous instance last month where a helicopter ride from New York’s JFK Airport to Manhattan cost slightly less than a ride-share.

A HAZARD in driving or riding is any situation that could prompt the driver, rider or other road users to adjust speed or change direction. That is, situations that can compel the driver or rider to take sudden action, such as accelerating, braking, turning left or right.

In the next few weeks, I want to focus the articles in this column on the various driving and riding hazards. The information that will be provided in this column, when practised, will go a long way in reducing the rate of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths on Nigeria roads.

A driver or rider operating on any  road has the responsibility of perceived hazard. Based on the accurate analysis of the likely consequences, he or she will thereafter take the safest decisions and actions that will ensure the incident is averted. By identifying the hazard early enough, the Driver or Rider will have sufficient time to take the appropriate action.

A hazard can be created by the objects or the actions of other road users. It is, therefore, important to watch out for pedestrians that are crossing the road with more attention on the vulnerable ones such as young children, old people, the physically challenged, hawkers and cart pushers. You must also pay more attention when driving or riding through bus stops, schools, markets, event centres and shopping malls where  there are often large numbers of people waiting to cross the road, particularly at corners.

Watch out for other vehicles, animals with their herders, bicycles, motorcycles and tricycles that may not obey traffic light or other traffic regulations. What out for those overtaking on the road shoulders. Observe drivers or passengers that might open the car door on your side. Watch out for drivers or riders that might cut into your front suddenly. Avoid the use of mobile phone and other distractions which can make your driving erratic or unpredictable to other road users around you.

Avoid sounding the horn unnecessarily, deliberately revving the engine, flashing your light unnecessarily, unnecessary harsh braking,  edging forward when pedestrians are crossing in front of your vehicle, showing any aggression towards other road users, especially those that are vulnerable. Always stay alert and watch what’s happening around you, analyse and promptly respond safely.

In the next edition, I will discuss hazards relating to vehicle positioning and lane discipline.

 Tajudeen Adebanjo

ROLLS-ROYCE Motor has delivered an historic yearly sales record, with a global performance unequaled in the company’s 116-year history.

A total of 5,152 cars were delivered last year to customers in over 50 countries, an increase of 25 per cent on the previous high set in 2018.

With these historic results, Rolls-Royce continues to make a meaningful contribution to the overall performance of its shareholder, BMW Group.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer Torsten Müller-Ötvös described the feat as remarkable.

Müller-Ötvös said: “This performance is of an altogether different magnitude to any previous year’s sales success. While we celebrate these remarkable results, we are conscious of our key promise to our customers, to keep our brand rare and exclusive. We are pleased and proud to have delivered a growth of 25 per cent in 2019. Worldwide demand last year for our Cullinan SUV has driven this success and is expected to stabilise in 2020. It is a ringing testament to the quality and integrity of our products, the faith and passion of our customers and, above all, the skill, dedication and determination of our exceptional team at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and around the world and our dedicated global dealer network.”

Sales grew across all regions during the year, driven by strong customer demand for all Rolls Royce models. The company reported significant sales growth in every one of its key global markets. North America retained top status (around a third of global sales) followed by China and Europe (including the United Kingdom).

Last year, Rolls-Royce motor cars were sold in more than 50 countries through a global network of 135 dealerships. As part of its commitment to long-term sustainable growth, Rolls Royce announced two new dealerships – Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Brisbane and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Shanghai Pudong. Development of the new Rolls-Royce Motor Cars flagship dealership in Berkeley Street, London – more than twice the size of the previous location – is underway and is due for launch later in the year.

Phantom retains its rightful place as the company’s pinnacle product, with Dawn and Wraith continuing to dominate their respective sectors; strong demand was experienced for all three models during the year. Cullinan, the marque’s new SUV, successfully translated the media plaudits and public acclaim into the largest advance order book and fastest post-launch sales growth of any Rolls-Royce model in history.

Last November, the marque completed its dark, edgy Black Badge family with the addition of Cullinan Black Badge alongside Ghost, Dawn and Wraith variants, all of which were highly sought-after by customers seeking a more individual, rebellious expression of the Rolls Royce brand.

In its first year, Cullinan exceeded even the highest expectations raised by its successful launch. The world’s pre-eminent super-luxury Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) has become the fastest-selling new Rolls-Royce model in history.

Last year marked the end of Ghost production after 11 years of huge success. Since its launch at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009, Ghost has established itself as an undisputed modern classic. The last Ghost of the current generation left the Goodwood production line at the end of 2019.

TWENTY-SIX vehicles will be on display at the Tata Motors stand at the 2020 Auto Expo.

At the expo, scheduled for next month, Tata Motors will announce the debut of four products. These products that will make their global debut will be the seven-seat SUV called the Tata Gravitas, the refreshed Tata Nexon which will borrow the new design from the recently revealed Nexon EV.

Another model that could make its debut at the expo is the production-spec model of the Micro SUV based on the H2X concept which was showcased at the last Geneva Motor Show. It is likely that the all-electric version of the Altroz hatchback could be showcased at the event marking its global debut.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Tata Motors Guenter Butschek, said: “We are delighted to announce the theme for our pavilion at the Auto Expo 2020 – Connected India: Responsible and Sustainable Mobility Solutions. This theme will bring alive our future focus on CESS, which is – Connected, Electric, Shared and Safe. The future of efficient, green, sustainable mobility solutions needs to translate into reality.

“As a responsible corporate, we are doing every bit to contribute to this agenda and are gearing up to bring a new generation of products faster to market. We are excited to unveil our extensive range of future portfolio at the Auto Expo 2020 which are not only BSVI ready, but are designed and developed to truly enhance the value proposition for our aspiring customers.”

With the Altroz becoming the first BS6 compliant model from Tata Motors, the brand will be upgrading its entire line up of passenger and commercial vehicles powered by petrol, diesel and CNG to BS6, including automatic and semi-automatic (AMT) models.

Tata Motor has stated that cumulatively, they will have a total of 26 vehicles to be displayed at the expo. With the four global debut, there will be 14 commercial and 12 passenger vehicle to be displayed.

The more stringent Bharat Stage 6 emission regulations will come into force from April 1. Many manufacturers have already introduced BS6 compliant models well ahead of the rule being implemented. Tata Motors has announced that from January, it will begin rolling out its BS6 compliant engines in the Indian market for passenger and commercial vehicles.

THE Nissan Leaf electric hatchback gets updates for 2020 that include more safety features and infotainment technology, along with a $1,640 price increase for the base Leaf S model.

Nissan Safety Shield 360 technology goes standard across the lineup, bringing pedestrian-detecting automatic emergency braking, lane departure and blind-spot warnings and rear automatic braking. It also gets forward collision warning, intelligent lane intervention and blind spot intervention. The 8-inch touchscreen from the longer-range Leaf Plus is now standard in all trim levels, up from 5 and 7 inches in the previous Leaf S and SV, respectively. Also going standard across the lineup, finally, is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.

There are a few other changes, too, including new air bags added to the driver and front passenger knee areas and mounted in the rear seats for side impacts. The Leaf’s “Canto” pedestrian safety sound for warning pedestrians of its presence has also been updated in tone and volume, Nissan says. And finally, there will be a new exterior colour on offer, called Sunset Drive ChromaFlair.

There are now just two trim levels for the base 40 kWh, 149-mile range Leaf, S and SV, down from three, while the 226-mile range Leaf Plus comes in S, SV and SL trims. Pricing for the Leaf S starts at $32,525, including the $925 destination fee, which is $1,640 more than the 2019 model. Leaf Plus models start at $39,125, up $1,680 from last year.

Nissan last redesigned the basic Leaf in 2018 to boost its driving range to 150 miles, and in addition, it introduced the longer-range Leaf Plus last year, with a 62 kWh battery pack, upgrades to the electric motor and a range of 226 miles. Both models are now on sale at dealerships.

By Jide Owatunmise

Last Thursday alone, three of the reported cases of road traffic crashes claimed 64 lives on a single day. This is a great tragedy not only to the family but to the nation. There is no disease that kills suddenly and massively like this in the world. This is just one incident. What will be the figures for the day when added up to other incidents that happened in other places the same day? We all need to rise up to the challenge, drop personal income drive, drop government revenue drive and pro actively refit the driving school standards and road safety education and more importantly the driver licence process. These should be backed up with uncompromising traffic law enforcement nationwide. Driving School Association of Nigeria (DSAN) has taken up this battle since six months ago and must be supported by all concerned individuals and organisations to ensure a sustained stem-down of the rate of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths in our dear nation, Nigeria. It is a joint responsibility and this is not the time to pass buck but to rise up and play our possible roles to stem the tide. May God comfort the family and give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Imagine the consequences of just three road traffic crashes that occurred in Nigeria. This is disheartening indeed!

Pleading with the Federal, State and Local Governments to be more proactive in addressing the challenges of road accidents, I would like to further advise drivers to drop every habit that can cause road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths on Nigeria roads.

Habits once formed are in most cases very difficult to drop. In this write up, I want to talk about the driving habits that must be dropped and detested by all categories of drivers in Nigeria (including vehicle owners).

*Restlessness – some drivers are so friendly with impatience that they cannot stay on the queue or in traffic when there is go-slow or traffic jam. They move from one lane to another in a bid to beat the traffic. Drivers must be patient and show sanity on Nigerian roads.

1. Drunk Driving – alcoholism and drug addiction are great enemies of driving. They work on human brain thereby creating effects such as slow reaction time, wrong judgment, blurred vision and aggressiveness among others.
2. Distraction – drivers must avoid every act of distraction such as making or receiving calls, texting, eating, drinking, smoking, making up, shaving, etc.
3. Tailgating – inadequate following distance is very dangerous. Under normal driving environment, you should apply the two-second rule but on wet roads, you should increase it to four-seconds. Following too closely is the main cause of multiple accidents.
4. Dangerous overtaking – overtaking wrongly is dangerous and has become a major cause of road crashes in Nigeria. Before you commence the overtaking process, you must ask whether it is necessary, whether it is safe and whether it can be done without violating the speed limit rule.
5. Poor lane management – many drivers (private and commercial) don’t know how to keep their vehicles in lane when driving. Your vehicle should always be positioned at the middle of the lane without trespassing to the next lane except when overtaking.
6. Over speeding – some drivpromote sanity and safety on Nigeria roads.

Our Reporter

The Honda Place has held a three-day Mega road show, the first of its kind in Lagos, where a convoy of Honda Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) painted the town red with its promotional offer and engaging with the fellow roadsters for a test drive. The road show started with a bang to create a buzz around the new Honda HR-V. The timing coincided with December festivities.

The convoy of six cars started at The Honda Place in Akin Adesola, Victoria Island with fan fair and covered strategic locations like Falomo round about, Ikoyi, Lekki Admiralty Road, Third Main land, Opebi, GRA, Ajose Adegun, Oniru and Lekki Express Way among others to engage with the customers.

The New Honda HR- V is a perky crossover with available all-wheel drive and a rear seat that flips and folds to please owners. The Honda HR-V stuffs a lot of personality into its 102.8-inch wheelbase. Its body riffs on hatchbacks and crossovers with sweeping strakes that run from the nose to the rear roof pillars. The cabin has the tone right, and wears tough-looking clothes that clearly are meant to last. It has spacious interiors, easy handling, and great fuel economy.

The road show managed to create visibility and prompt test drives. The super enthusiastic Honda promoters connected with more than 3000 customers. Flyers were shared and the hype had motorists in traffic checking out the cars while music was playing.

Our Reporter

General Motors Company announced last Friday that it delivered 2,887,046 vehicles in 2019 in the United States. The total included more than 1 million crossovers for the second year in a row, an increase of 12.7 percent compared to 2018, and more than one million full-size pickup trucks and SUVs.

General Motors Vice President (U.S. Sales Operations) Kurt McNeil said: “”We’ve focused our resources on what our customers want – crossovers and trucks – and that has paid off.

“In addition to our industry leading crossover sales, our full-size truck franchise is unmatched. We’re pleased with our full-size pickup launch and we look forward to launching our segment-leading, all-new full-size SUVs in 2020.”

Fourth quarter North American wholesales declined an estimated 25 percent year over year, due to the 40-day United Auto Workers work stoppage. This includes the company’s newly launched heavy-duty full-size pickups, which were off approximately 17 percent.

“Our fourth-quarter stocks were leaner than we wanted, but as we get ready to launch our all-new full-size SUVs, we look forward to another solid year in 2020,” McNeil added.

ver, the Chevrolet Equinox, both continued to grow, achieving their best-ever sales in 2019. The all-new Chevrolet Blazer mid-size SUV debuted in 2019 and gained retail market share nearly every month. Continuing this momentum, the Chevrolet Trailblazer small SUV will arrive in showrooms this Spring.

Cadillac crossovers saw strong gains in 2019, up 22.4 percent year over year, given a full year of sales of the all-new XT4, continued popularity of the XT5, and debut of the XT6.

Our Reporter

In mid- last December, at the Autostadt, the Volkswagen brand delivered the 250,000th electrified car since the introduction of the e-up in 2013.

The brand’s electrified model range has been continually expanded in the following years: e- Golf and Golf GTE followed in 2014, the Passat GTE and Passat Variant GTE in 2015.

Since 2018, the Passat and Tiguan have been available as plug-in hybrids in China, where they were followed by battery electric versions of the Bora and Lavida. The best-selling electrified car has been the e-Golf with 104,000 units delivered, followed by the Golf GTE (51,000), Passat Variant GTE (42,000) and e-up! (21,000). Half of the customers opted for a battery electric vehicle and the other half for a plug-in hybrid.

The 250,000th car is a “Pure White” e-Golf. Sandra Fleischer from Herne took delivery of the car at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg in mid-December.

Board Member for Sales, Marketing and After Sales Jürgen Stackmann said: “With the 250,000th electrified vehicle, the Volkswagen brand has reached a major milestone on the way to carbon- neutral mobility. Especially all-electric vehicles such as our new ID. Family are the answer to major challenges of our times. They offer considerable driving pleasure and advantages we could only dream of a few years ago. They have a carbon- neutral balance, offer more space with comparable outside dimensions, and are quiet, highly efficient, economical and inexpensive to maintain. This is why we will be selling the next 250,000 electrified vehicles in a considerably shorter period of time. At Volkswagen, we are convinced that the future is electric.”

The Volkswagen brand delivered more than 70,000 electrified vehicles in 2019 – following 50,000 last year. The main sales markets in 2019 were China, Norway, Germany, the USA and the United Kingdom.