The Nation Newspaper

Category: Motoring

  • Killers on the roads (2)

    Despite the commendable efforts of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), state governments and the Association of Driving Instructors of Nigeria, some saboteurs are still bent on mass producing licences for untrained and unqualified drivers or killers.

    Law enforcement agents

    some law enforcement agents and traffic managers are still guilty of disgraceful compromise on the road, mostly for personal financial gains. The killer drivers earlier mentioned in this article do move on the roads manned by the law enforcement agents and the federal or state traffic managers. How many of them have been arrested and prosecuted and without bias or compromise?

    A holistic and unbiased traffic law enforcement is a very effective antidote to the reduction of road accident and fatalities anywhere in the world.

    Employers of drivers

    So many employers of drivers care less about the training and retraining of their drivers. Many don’t see drivers as so important to develop forgetting that drivers are actually the most important set of employees that bring about the loss of lives and valuable properties in the organisations without carrying gun.

    Some employers use money to buy licence for their drivers through the backdoor to prevent them from spending time to undergo the requisite training in accredited driving schools.

    Sadly,  a very high percentage of the employers of drivers do give targets or tasks that prevent the drivers from having enough post – driving or pre – driving rest or sleep ( Drivers are required to have six to eight hours of uninterrupted pre – driving sleep). Some employers pay inadequate attention to vehicle standards or maintenance. Employers must ensure their drivers are properly retrained regularly, particularly in vehicle technology which changes regularly,  vehicle dynamics (the forces that operate on vehicles in motion),  energy management, vehicle maintenance, and traffic rules and regulations among others.

    Driving school

    There are some driving schools that do compromise their operating standards while some are not showing interest in providing comprehensive driver education programmes before issuing certificate to candidates for the processing of driver licence. This is a wicked act of corruption in the system.

    I strongly believe that whatsoever a man or woman does,  he or she will surely reap. I hereby use this opportunity to plead with the concerned government authorities, organisations and individuals to reconsider these issues and do the needful henceforth to ensure the safety of lives and properties on the roads.

  • Audi closes 2017 with record sales

    Audi closes 2017 with record sales

    Audi AG has increased its global sales for the eighth year in a row. Despite a turbulent first half of the year, the company achieved a new record-breaking figure. About 1,878,100 deliveries represent an increase of 0.6 percent. The Four Rings sold more than in the previous year in all three core markets in 2017.

    In the United States, Audi achieved new record-breaking sales month by month and closed the year 2017 with growth of 7.8 percent. In China, Audi not only managed to offset the poor delivery figures from the first half of the year, but even achieved a cumulative increase of 1.1 percent in the year-end spurt. In Germany, sales built on the very high level in 2016 with an increase of 0.4 percent.

    Audi AG Board Member for Sales and Marketing Bram Schot said: “Despite a very challenging situation, we achieved positive growth in all core markets in 2017 and achieved a record-breaking sales result worldwide. Every single market contributed to this outcome. This demonstrates the attractiveness of our product portfolio to our customers.”

    Since June, Audi has managed to return to growth in China, steadily reducing the cumulative year-on-year decline month by month and ultimately achieving a positive sales balance.

    Read Also: Kia partners Cars45 for trade of used cars

    Between January and December, the brand increased its deliveries by 1.1 percent to 597,866 automobiles. With this new all-time high, the company continues to maintain its lead in the Chinese premium market. Following on from its similar achievement in November, China also posted the highest volume growth of any individual market in the last month of 2017. Here the sales figures once again increased sharply, up 34.3 percent to 69,160 automobiles year-on-year. Never before had so many Chinese customers taken delivery of an Audi in a single month.

    Audi of America also achieved another successful year despite the declining overall market. Audi was the only premium manufacturer in the United States to grow steadily in 2017: up 7.8 percent to 226,511 units. In December 2017, the company also celebrated its 84th record-breaking month in a row.

    The market downturn in the UK had a negative impact on overall results: With 175,217 deliveries and a drop of 1.3 percent, total Audi sales in the United Kingdom, however, comfortably outperformed the declining overall market.

    In 2017, the most successful member of the Q family was the Audi Q5 with around 281,850 automobiles delivered. The most Audi Q5 models were delivered to the individual market China. The successor model will go on sale at Chinese dealers as a long-wheelbase version in spring 2018.

    The Audi Q7 also saw sales increase by 3.9 percent in 2017. Since the start of the year, sales of the full-size SUV have increased in North America alone by about a fifth to around 43,800 units.

  • Volkswagen delivers 10.7m vehicles

    Volkswagen delivers 10.7m vehicles

    The Volkswagen Group delivered more vehicles than ever before in the 2017 fiscal year, with 10.74 million customers worldwide chosing a vehicle from the Volkswagen Group.

    As a result, the Group deliveries rose by 4.3 percent compared with the previous year. At almost one million units, deliveries in December were up by  8.5 percent.

    The company’s Volkswagen Group Chief Executive Officer Matthias Müller said: “The all-time record for deliveries is attributable to a strong team performance by all Group brands and employees. We are grateful to our customers for the trust these figures reflect. We will continue to do everything we can in 2018 to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers all over the world.”

    The Group handed over 4.3 million vehicles to customers in Europe in 2017, representing growth of 3.3 percent; 338,700 new vehicles were delivered in December of which 97,500 were handed over to customers in the home market of Germany.

    Read Also: Volkswagen partners Aurora for self-driving cars

    Recovery in the Russian market had a positive impact on the performance in Central and Eastern Europe, and led to growth of 13.2 percent for the full year 2017. 21,000 vehicles were delivered to customers in Russia in December.

    The Group deliveries in the North America region rose by four percent to 976,400 units in 2017, of which 625,100 vehicles were handed over to customers in the United States (U.S.) market. In line with the overall trend on the passenger car market in the U.S., Volkswagen Group deliveries in December were down 2.7 percent to 91,500 units. In Brazil, 24,700 customers took delivery of a new Group vehicle. Driven by the recovery in the Brazilian market, deliveries by the Volkswagen Group in the South America region for the full year 2017 were 23.7 percent higher than 2016.

    Group deliveries in the Asia-Pacific region in 2017 rose by 4.3 percent compared with the previous year to 4.5 million, of which 4.2 million new vehicles were delivered to customers in China during the 12-month period. There was a strong boost in deliveries in the largest single market at the end of the year: 460,100 new vehicles were handed over to customers in China in December – an increase of 17.8 percent.

    “We are making decisive investments in the mobility of tomorrow, using funds from our own resources: in e-mobility, autonomous driving, new mobility services and digitalisation. At the same time, we continue to systematically develop present technologies and vehicles. The excellent delivery figures confirm that this is the right approach,” Müller added.

  • Total, Kia unveil ‘Text and Win’ promo

    Total, Kia unveil ‘Text and Win’ promo

    Total Nigeria Plc has begun a lubricants promotion tagged ‘Text and Win’ promo to reward loyal customers who buy Total lubricants from any its service stations and authorised distributors.

    Customers stand a chance to win millions of naira worth of airtime, smartphones, tablets, Solar Lamps and the grand prize of a Kia Rio.

    This promo is open to all users of Total lubricants from owners of household generator sets, car owners, among others.

    The ‘Text and Win’ promo guarantees the buyers of all four-litre cans of Total lubricants the best performance needed and equally present them with an opportunity to win a brand new Kia Rio.

    Read Also: Total Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries to pay N8.9b interim dividend

    Total Nigeria Plc Managing Director, Mr Jean-Philippe Torres, stressed the need for customers to take advantage of the promo to buy authentic lubricants, made from global best standards, to energise the performance of their engines, adequately maintain them and get rewarded.

    He said the ‘Text and Win’ promo “is one of the many promotions scheduled for Total Lubricants to reward customers with exciting prizes and particularly a dream car, the all-new Kia Rio while they enjoy the premium quality of the lubricants thereby making it a win-win situation for all.”

    KIA Motors Nigeria Marketing Manager Olawale Jimoh said: “With the commitment to partner organisations for the sole aim of rewarding customers, our partnership with Total Nigeria Plc in the promo flows from Kia brand’s pedigree to offer pleasant surprises to customers at every touch point. We believe that this partnership will make a customer’s dream of owning a Kia Rio come through.”

  • Mercedes-Benz Citan makes its debut

    Mercedes-Benz Citan makes its debut

    Weststar Nigeria last Friday announced the arrival of the Mercedes-Benz Citan Tourer and Panel Van, the first addition to its Mercedes-Benz vans products for the local market.

    The Citan is an absolute all-rounder, powerful, with compact dimensions, making it suitable for city use.

    With its impressive quality and driving dynamics, exemplary safety and economy, and high level of versatility and robustness, the new Mercedes-Benz Citan is truly a professional in its segment.

    The Citan Tourer is designed for individuals that want to get more out of life, business, and leisure time. Due to its versatility and adaptability, the Mercedes-Benz Citan fulfils a broad range of commercial applications. The Citan variants is the Tourer 112; a five-seater crew vehicle with folding rear seat bench, sliding doors on each side and with a long wheelbase.

    As it is the case with every Mercedes-Benz vehicle, safety plays a big role in the new Citan. It comes with the Electronic Stability Programme, as standard, which takes the vehicle load into consideration. This innovative dynamic handling control system in the new Citan combines the functions of the anti-locking braking system, which counters over- and understeer, and Traction Control System. It also includes acceleration skid control and drive and braking torque control.

    In addition to safety and comfort options, there are also numerous functional extras and accessories to choose from and as an alternative to individual options, Citan buyers have access to various specially created packages.

    The Citan focuses on functionality as it is all about meeting the challenges faced in day-to-day operations. Functional features include a large glove compartment, a stowage compartment between the front seats and a useful overhead stowage compartment across the entire width of the windscreen to accommodate all those items that drivers keep on hand on a daily basis. The practical, standard equipment for the new Citan includes a height-adjustable steering wheel, central locking with remote control and exterior mirrors which can be adjusted from inside. The Citan also sets a good example when it comes to fuel consumption and performance as the engine line-up has the right solution for every requirement profile. It is available only with front-wheel drive, and a high-torque petrol engine as standard for the local market.

    “The Citan is indeed an absolute all-rounder when it comes to day-to-day business, an ideal partner for city logistics and transportation, a corporate shuttle vehicle or simply a vehicle for family leisure activities and is exclusively available for immediate delivery with up-to-the-minute aftersales service through Weststar. Our resolve to providing transportation solutions in Nigeria is to ensure we keep our service promise: to deliver only “Vans. Born to run” says  Mr. Umoh Ekanem, Sales Manager, Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles, Weststar Associates Limited, Authorised General Distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Nigeria.

  • Hyundai Sonata wins Good Design Award

    Hyundai redesigned its industry-leading midsize sedan Sonata for the 2018 model year with a more assertive profile and clean and handsome approach.

    That new design was honoured with a 2017 Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, a significant honour in the world of design.

    This is the second time Sonata has been recognised by the Museum’s Good Design Awards, following a win in 2014 and continuing Hyundai’s commitment to bold and distinctive styling.

    The Hyundai Sonata was honoured alongside pioneers from the worlds of industrial, product and graphic design for its immense creativity and attention to form, function and aesthetics.

    As the oldest and most prestigious worldwide design awards programme, Good Design has upheld a standard of excellence and daring creativity for 67 years, and Hyundai said it is proud to have been honoured on numerous occasions.

    Founded in Chicago in 1950, the Good Design Awards honour the yearly achievements of the best industrial and graphic designers and world manufacturers for their pursuit of extraordinary design excellence.

  • Kia partners Cars45 for trade of used cars

    Kia Motors Nigeria has teamed up with Cars45, the foremost online retail platform for used car sales, to provide a seamless pre-owned car sales and Trade-in programme for all Kia cars.

    The Certified Used-Car scheme offers a unique and comprehensive service where a car owner can trade in a car for an all-new Kia car or an outright sale of a used Kia car with an immediate payment. The scheme offers a fair valuation and a competitive deal on used cars. The process is seamless, accessible to all and very easy, above all, it provides a Certified Used-Car service that’s tailor-made and customisable to suit customers’ needs.

    Over the past few decades, there had been a direct nexus between the buying power of the people and the upsurge in the used car sales. However, this demand was exploited thereby making the country a dumping ground for all sorts of used cars across the globe and sadly affecting the growth of the country’s auto industry.

    Kia Motors Nigeria Vice President Olu Tikolo said: “We have witnessed strong demand for our used Kia cars and customers have over the years asked for a trade-in option for a new model. The market size of pre-owned cars has grown significantly and our partnership with Cars45 is aimed at offering a well organised used car and trade-ins with a complete peace-of-mind and a hassle-free ownership experience to our customers. The country’s used car market has a huge growth potential and we expect ‘Kia Certified Used Car’ business to grow in the foreseeable future and contribute to the brand’s growth in Nigeria. Our partnership with a leading online used car sales portal, will not only roll out a used certified car programme but also offer customers more choice, enabling them to create a bespoke buying process that suits their needs.”

    Cars45 Chief Executive Officer Etop Ikpe said the platform is beyond providing an avenue for Nigerians to sell their cars, adding: “The desire to meet the customers’ expectations is what is paramount for us at cars45.  The Used Car Market is growing and we have seen a lot of requests from Kia owners for an opportunity to swap their old Kia for new ones. This plan, we believe, further restates Cars45´s commitment to the Nigerian people to ensure that there are cars for the average Nigerian whenever he or she wants one”.

    The programme enables you to sell your car or swap it for a new model.

  • Mazda, Toyota plan $1.6 billion in joint facility

    Toyota Motor Corporation and Mazda Motor Corporation had announced Alabama in United States as the site of their new joint-venture manufacturing plant.

    The new plant will have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles annually, with production split evenly between two lines for each company to produce Mazda’s crossover model that will be newly introduced to the North American market and the Toyota Corolla.

    The joint venture represents a $1.6 billion investment that Mazda and Toyota plan to make with equal funding contributions. The site for the new plant is in Huntsville, located approximately 14 miles from Toyota’s Alabama plant (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc.). The facility is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs. Production is expected to begin by 2021.

    The State of Alabama is the fifth largest producer of cars and light trucks nationally with a strong automotive manufacturing presence including Toyota’s engine plant in Huntsville, where Toyota employs 1,400 team members. There are approximately 57,000 automotive manufacturing jobs in Alabama.

    In the coming months, after obtaining approvals and authorisation by antitrust agencies, the new joint venture will be established, and site preparations will begin with the start of production in 2021.

    Mazda Motor Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Masamichi Kogai said: “Mazda makes cars with a clear vision of how we want to inspire people, contribute to society and help preserve the beauty of the earth. By making such cars here in Alabama, we hope that over time our plant will come to occupy a special place in the hearts of our employees and the local community. By making this plant a vibrant part of that community, we hope to work, learn and grow together with the people of Alabama and Huntsville.”

    Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda said: “When Toyota and Mazda announced our intention to build a new plant in the US last summer, I said that two things brought the companies together: the love of cars, and the love of home towns. While cars get our hearts pumping, hometowns make the success of our endeavours.

    “We are proud of where we come from, of course, but as we expanded our business globally, every place where we operate has become our hometown.”

  • Kia global sales hit 226,842 units

    Kia Motors Corporation has announced its December 2017 global sales figures for passenger cars, recreational vehicles (RVs) and commercial vehicles, recording a total of 226,842 units sold.

    Last December, sales in Korea slid by 6.2 per cent compared with the same month last year, totalling 46,502 units on weakening sales of Picanto (known as Morning in Korea) minicar.

    The company’s overseas sales totalled 180,340 units in December, which represents a 19.6 per cent decline compared to the same month a year earlier due to slower sales in China.

    Last last year, Kia Motors posted global sales of 2,746,188 units, decreasing 7.8 per cent from 2016. Sales in Korea declined 2.5 per cent to 521,550 units and overseas sales retreated nine per cent to 2,224,638.

    Kia’s best-selling model in overseas markets was the Sportage compact SUV with 415,558 units sold. The Rio (known as ‘Pride’ in Korea) was the second best seller with 379,184 units sold, followed by the K3 compact sedan (known as ‘Forte’ in some markets) with 364,054 units sold.

    The auto giant will unveil a new electric concept car and present the brand’s vision for future mobility at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

    Combining Kia’s design strengths with a highly efficient battery-electric powertrain, the new concept represents the next step in the brand’s ongoing journey to electrification. The concept also features a never-seen-before human-machine interface (HMI) and an advanced new ‘motion graphic’ lighting system, previewing the potential for these technologies for market introduction in coming years.

    Alongside Kia’s new concept, the brand will reveal a range of new in-car features and innovations at CES 2018.

    Kia’s interactive ‘Beyond autonomous driving’ exhibits combine existing and future technologies to outline the company’s plans for vehicle autonomy and mobility, supported by the introduction of upcoming autonomous drive technologies.

    Kia will present three interactive, cockpit-style exhibits designed to show how the company will incorporate new technologies to enhance communication and interaction between occupants and vehicles. These include new advanced driver assistance technologies and pioneering HMI functions, as well as the world’s first in-car 5G connection.

    “Virtual reality, self-driving cars, and full vehicle connectivity were all once considered technologies of the distant future. As they rapidly become a reality, Kia is exploring how to adapt these new technologies for its customers. At CES we will share our strategy and vision for future mobility, and exhibit a range of advanced technologies that our customers can look forward to,” Dr. Woong-cheol Yang, the Vice Chairman/Head, Hyundai-Kia R&D Centre, said.

  • VW announces new engine, kit for Golf, Passat

    Volkswagen is offering drivers new engine options for its Golf range, along with new standard equipment for all five trim levels of its larger Passat.

    The manufacturer said a 128hp Bluemotion version of its 1.5-litre TSI EVO petrol engine is now available to order on the Golf GT hatch and Golf Estate GT.

    The engine, previously only available in SE and SE Navigation trims, features a shutdown mode allowing all four cylinders to temporarily turn off while cruising to save fuel.

    VW claims 0-62mph in 8.8 seconds for the hatch, and 9.2 seconds for the Golf Estate, while top speeds are 130mph and 131mph respectively.

    CO2 emissions are 116g/km for a manual Golf Estate and five-door hatch, and 113 g/km for a three-door hatch, and also for both body styles with a DSG gearbox.

    VW has also made a petrol engine available for the first time in the latest Golf Alltrack, with the option of a 1.8-litre TSI petrol engine producing 178hp.

    It’s capable of taking the car from 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 135mph, with CO2 emissions of 156 g/km.

    Upgrades to the Passat range include LED headlights now coming as standard at SE Business, GT and Alltrack trim levels, and premium LED headlights being fitted to R-Line cars.

    Every new Passat now comes as standard with Volkswagen’s App-Connect system, which enables smartphones to be mirrored onto the Passat’s infotainment touchscreen.

    Also, SE Business, R-Line and Alltrack trims now feature heated front seats as standard, and SE Business models now come with 3Zone climate control and a colour multi-function display.

    There are also some price increases involved, including an extra £550 for the SE Business and £200 for the GT, but VW argues that the value of the extra equipment outweighs this, delivering net savings.