Category: Motoring

Automotive trading platform Cars45 has unveiled two more Carsbazr franchise lots at Egbeda and Shogunle in Lagos, in partnership with Auction.com Ltd.

Cars45 Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jide Adamokelun, who spoke at the launch, said: “For us at Cars45 and Carsbazr, we are always seeking out opportunities to fulfill our brand promise to consumers, that is, providing end-users with a rich variety of verified cars at affordable prices.”

“The roll out of these new franchise locations also ties in strongly with our vision to enhance accessibility of the consumers to affordable car sales channels, transform Nigeria’s automotive industry and deepen the values of transparency and integrity that we have brought to that space”.

The company, he added, provides “a detailed 200-point inspection report as well as a grade ranking on all vehicles bought or sold in a manner that reveals the true condition of the cars and empowers the consumer to make a well-informed buying decision.”

Read also: Cars45, Enyo partner on service delivery

Auction.com’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Oludare Adewale, said the partnership, would “enable the public have more convenient options when it comes to buying cars.

“In the few years that we have done business together, we have seen the value they provide to dealers like us in terms of value, volumes and profit margins. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

Carsbazr Head Operations John Egwu said: “What we are rolling outs is transparency to the car selling process, driving affordability in a way that says that there is a car for every wallet size and lastly delivering great consumer experiences that is consistent with what you’ll get at any of our Carsbazr retail lots across the country.

Cars45 is also leveraging its partnership with CFAO Motors to sell brand new cars – the Suzuki car models in addition to the foreign used and locally verified used vehicles.

Two of the world’s biggest car manufacturers are forging an alliance towards developing technologies aimed for the electric and autonomous segments.

Both Ford Motors and Volkswagen AG confirmed last Thursday that they are expanding their alliance which was revealed in January. The expansion will cover joint development and collaboration on the development of autonomous and electric vehicles.

The two companies said Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess and Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett will both appear at the scheduled press conference.

Among the expected agenda is a potential investment by Volkswagen towards Argo AI, the autonomous driving system company in which Ford has a majority stake.

Another matter that is expected to be discussed is Volkswagen’s contribution to the collaboration which is rumoured to be valued around $2 billion.

Both Volkswagen and Ford declined to comment on the matter. However, a Ford spokesperson did confirm that the two companies are in productive talks regarding a number of areas.

As for investments geared towards the development of artificial intelligence and self-driving technologies, Ford has pledged to invest $4 billion into the industry by 2023. Ford established its Ford Autonomous Vehicles division in 2018 for this very reason. It most valuable acquisition to date is when it bought Argo AI, a startup based in Pittsburgh that specialises in the development of software for self-driving cars. The two car companies have been in discussion on how to share the burden when it comes to the development of electric and autonomous cars.

The case of a promising young Accountant, Adewura Bello who met her untimely death in a manhole on a road in Lagos State is still very fresh in our memories.

For about three years now, I have used various platforms to draw the attention of the governments, drivers, riders and pedestrians to the open manholes in Lagos and Abuja. This was a follow-up to my road traffic research assignments in Ketu area of Lagos State and Wuse Area 1 in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja).  At Ketu bus stop in Lagos State, there is a very dangerous manhole by the junction of Ketu – Ikosi road which is wide enough to swallow a tricycle. Whenever it rains, the rush of water through the manhole can move a car with speed. There are open drainage, weak wooden planks and broken concretes at different parts of the drainage along Ketu – Ikosi road. The drainage beside the Ketu market is another snare whether there is rainfall or not.

In the Federal Capital Territory, far beyond the areas of coverage of my research, dangerous open manholes have dotted virtually all the roads in Abuja. During my research, I was told that people, particularly the refuse cart pushers popularly called “BOLAR” used to steal the iron covers for the manholes. This is another demonstration of the security lapses even in the Federal Capital Territory.

These open manholes can cause harm to pedestrians, cars and other road users. The manhole can cause tyre blowout and somersault among other hazards. The government road and traffic monitoring agencies should take stock of all these open and dangerous manholes so as to replace them with welded or screwed iron covers or better still, with concrete covers. The construction companies should also change their preference to concrete manhole covers. A stitch in time saves nine.

The National Automotive Design & Development Council (NADDC) Director-General and the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) Corp Marshal Boboye Oyeyemi will lead other experts to the Nigerian Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) training workshop.

The workshop, designed to aid human capacity for journalists reporting the automotive sector, will hold July 26 at the Golden Tulip Hotel, along the Murtala Muhammed International Airport road, Lagos.

The reporters would be trained on basic principles of mechatronics, automotive maintenance, electrical/electronic systems and air-conditioning systems.

The event will also provide avenue for critical stakeholders to ventilate their perspectives on some of the burning issues that relate with the auto industry and the way forward.

Chairperson Organising Committee Julie Chi-Nwaoha said there is need for consistent training and retraining of journalists to be up-to-date on their beat.

The workshop, she said, will impact positively on members as knowledgeable and competent instructors will be on hand to give their best to members.

“Journalism is wide and we must open ourselves to consistent training and retraining. It is important that journalists writing about the automotive sector are well informed; they must be well educated and empowered to write effectively without error of facts,” she said.

After the first six months of the year, Mercedes-Benz continues to be the leader among the premium car brands in a highly competitive environment worldwide, despite ongoing model changes.

From January to June, 1,134,729 cars were handed over to customers by Mercedes-Benz.

Unit sales decreased in the first half of the year primarily due to ongoing model changes for SUVs, the brand’s segment with the largest volume.

In the second quarter, Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 573,856 cars (-3.5 per cent). Sales momentum in those three months came primarily from the new compact-car models, including the new A-Class Saloon worldwide, and the new B-Class and new CLA Coupé in Europe.

In June, the Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star sold 196,230 vehicles (-3.7 per cent). Mercedes-Benz maintained its market leadership in the premium segment in the first half of the year in markets including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Greece, South Korea, Japan, Australia and Canada.

“After a challenging first half of the year, Mercedes-Benz continues to be at the top of the premium segment. We are particularly pleased with the great popularity of the new compact models. In the third quarter, we anticipate sales momentum from the new SUVs with the star,” said Britta Seeger, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing and Sales.

“In July, two real customer favourites will be in our showrooms: the new GLC and the GLC Coupé. The GLC, which has been the highest-volume model in our SUV portfolio for several years, comes with the latest intelligent driver assistance systems just like the GLC Coupé and is equipped with MBUX as standard,” Seeger said.

The Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA) has drawn map for its development and growth.

This followed the recent enactment of the act establishing the institute by the Federal Government.

Its National President, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, at a briefing said the institute would build a reputation as a world-class institute of transport administration.

This, he said, would be achieved by advancing top-notch study, training, certification and practice of transport management and administration in the country.

According to him, the institute would expand the transportation practice footprint across the country by becoming a reputable institute nationwide based on the mandate of the act establishing it.

He added that the six geo-graphical zones will be duly covered to lead specific transportation-related initiatives from the roads in the East, North-Central where a lot of mining is ongoing while Lagos would be focused on pipelines, cable transportation and aviation.

The institute also intend to establish partnerships and alliances with stakeholders on roads, rails, maritime, pipelines, transport, labour.

Read also: Transporter introduces welfare scheme for drivers

The president said they would continue to train professionals and also advise government and all stakeholders to adopt and implement global best practices in transport administration.

Jamoh also appreciated the 8th National Assembly for passing the bill and President Muhammadu Buhari for assenting to the bill in a bid to make it an act.

Jamoh had during his investiture as President of the institute, promised that his administration would prioritise the attainment of a charter status for the institute to make it a voice in the scheme of things in Nigeria’s transport sector.

He said the attainment of charter status had been a long struggle and a lot of hard work, which involved building on the legacy of his predecessors because institutional building is a continuum.

CIOTA, he said, is a professional body dedicated to broadening and improving the knowledge, skills and experience of its members in the practice of efficient transport management or an intermodal mode basis covering road, rail, air and pipeline/petroleum.

Toyota will start testing a new solar roof for the Prius that it said can add as much as 44.5 km of range to the plug-in hybrid a day. The solar cells, which are being manufactured by Sharp, are just 0.03mm thick, but deliver around 860 watts of power, and can even charge the car while it’s being driven. Testing is due to start on public roads later this month, but there’s no word on when it might make it into a commercial vehicle.

This isn’t the first time Toyota has made solar panels available for its cars. Way back in 2010, the manufacturer sold panels that could be used to recharge the car’s auxiliary battery (which powers secondary systems like the sat-nav and climate control). The difference here is that the new panels are much more efficient. They are capable of producing almost five times as much power as the previous model, and can give over seven times the amount of range.

Toyota doesn’t currently produce any pure electric vehicles (unless you count the hydrogen-powered Mirai) so these solar roofs are destined for plug-in hybrids for the time being. Toyota has previously justified its decision to focus on hybrids by saying that if it uses its battery production capacity to produce a larger amount of hybrids, then it will reduce carbon emissions more than if it produced a smaller amount of pure electric vehicles. However, last month it announced plans to produce an all-electric drivetrain platform in partnership with Subaru, indicating that an all-electric Toyota could arrive eventually.

Hyundai also announced plans to start installing solar roofs on select cars last year.

BMW’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Harald Krüger has announced he will not seek a second term when the German car maker’s supervisory board meets on July 18.

The move is not unexpected following a series of on-going health problems that have plagued Krüger since his appointment to the position in 2015. But it throws BMW into a period of uncertainty at a crucial stage of falling sales, reduced profitability and pressure to increase investment in the development of electric vehicles.

The 53-year-old’s current contract expires in April 2020. BMW confirms it now plans to use next week’s supervisory board meeting to discuss a possible successor.

In his announcement, Krüger said: “The BMW Group has been my professional home for more than 27 years. After more than 10 years in the board of management, more than four of them as the CEO of the BMW Group, I would like to pursue new professional endeavours.”

Norbert Reithofer, previous CEO and chairman of the BMW supervisory board, said: “Over the last quarter-century, Harald Krüger has demonstrated unwavering dedication to the BMW Group in all of the various positions he has held.”

Among the favourites to succeed Krüger are Oliver Zipse, board member responsible for production, and Klaus Fröhlich, board member responsible for research and development.

Krüger was appointed with strong support from the Munich based company’s majority shareholder, the Quandt family.

Since then, however, BMW has lost its long-held position as the number one premium automotive brand by global sales to Mercedes-Benz. In addition, Krüger has been criticised internally for failing to increase investment in the company’s BMW i electric vehicle sub-brand following the launch of the i3 and i8 models.

In recent weeks, BMW has attempted to boost its position by announcing it has fast-tracked its electrification plans, bringing forward the introduction of 25 electric and plug-in hybrid model from original date of 2025 to the end of 2023.