Industry News............................................ 26-27

A consortium of British engineering and industry bodies is developing a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of the Toyota Hilux.

Led by Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (TMUK) and funded by the UK Government through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), the project will develop the technologies to integrate the second-generation fuel cell components from the Toyota Mirai within an electrically-propelled Hilux. Burnaston site in 2023 with small series production a consideration. The project represents an opportunity to support the decarbonisation of the transport sector in a hard-to-electrify segment.

“The UK’s fast-approaching 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered vehicles includes pickups, and that has implications for the off-highway, construction, and utilities sectors that depend on these workhorses,” D2H project senior engineer Adam Evans says

The consortium comprises engineering consultancy Ricardo, European Thermodynamics Ltd (ETL), Thatcham Research and D2H Advanced Technologies.

Scheduled to run for two years, the project will see prototype vehicles built at TMUK’s “Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell technology, as proven in the Mirai, provides one possible solution to the challenge of keeping these industries on the move in environments where battery-electric powertrains often prove impractical,” he says.

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Toyota Australia has upgraded its RAV4 SUV by introducing Toyota Connected Services functionality as well as the brand’s latest multimedia system and new active safety features..

It will arriving in local showrooms in December priced from $36,550 plus on-road costs.

The updated RAV4 receives Toyota’s latest-generation multimedia system that debuted on the all-new Corolla Cross SUV, along with an increase in touchscreen display size on certain variants.

Toyota Australia sales, marketing and franchise operations vice president Sean Hanley says the upgraded RAV4 offered customers the latest technologies to keep them connected on the road and provide greater peace of mind.

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The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) has confirmed there were 95,080 vehicles were sold in November 2022 bringing the yearto-date total to 993,509. In November rental fleets are up 36.3% with 6599 vehicles sold as operators prepare for the first major holiday period since border restrictions eased.

It says this result represents a 17.9% increase on the same month in 2021.

Toyota led the market with a total of 20,107 vehicles sold. Mazda was second with 7549, followed by Ford (7165), Kia (6120) and Mitsubishi (5559).

The Toyota Hilux was the highest selling model with 5440 sales reported. Sales across all States and Territories were up. Western Australia increased by 36.5% with 9668 vehicles sold; Queensland, 28.9% (20,621); Tasmania, 23% (1783); Victoria, 19.1% (25,534); the NT, 14.1% (815); South Australia, 12.3% (5673); New South Wales, 7.5% (29,545); and the ACT, 2.5% (1441).

Ford’s Ranger followed with 5073. Toyota’s Corolla was third with 3732 followed by MG’s ZS (3051) and Toyota’s Landcruiser (2296). “The automotive sector is continuing to recover from pandemic related shutdowns, a global shortage of microprocessors and the general supply chain uncertainty we experienced over the last two years,” FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says.

“The industry will deliver the one millionth vehicle to the market in 2022 next week.”

“While this is positive news, many customers are still facing extended wait times for their vehicle, with expected delivery dates for some models beyond 12 months.”

Sales of battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles continue to rise with a total of 13,415 zero and low emission vehicles sold in November. These were made up of 4457 battery electric, 8529 hybrid and 429 plug-in hybrid vehicles.

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The Hyundai Motor Group has promoted Luc Donckerwolke to the role of president and chief creative officer as it responds to a rapidly-changing global business environment and continues to drive business performance.

The Group also elevated Hyundai Motor Company senior vice president Kyoo Bok Lee to executive vice president and appointed him as the president and chief executive of its logistics and distribution arm Hyundai Glovis.

It has also established a Global Strategy Office (GSO) to lead future mobility strategy.

The Group says Donckerwolke will continue to strengthen the identities of each of its mobility brands – Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Genesis – through leading the Group’s advance design and concept model design. He has also led the Group’s creative projects such as Genesis House New York, and customer experience for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM).

“I am very honoured by this new responsibility. I would like to thank the Group for the trust it has shown in me, and I recognise the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis design teams for their consistently outstanding performance,” Donckerwolke says.

“We have together challenged the status quo and we will continue to promote a creative, challenging and positive attitude within our Group,” he says. Donckerwolke will also continue to oversee the Group’s brand communications based on creative contents and projects and continue his efforts to strengthen the brand identities of Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.

Lee has diverse experience in Hyundai’s global sales and finance roles including his role of chief finance officer at Hyundai Motor Brazil. Recently he has been leading Group’s process innovation aimed at sustainable growth.

He is expected to lead Hyundai Glovis to become a global smart logistics provider by accelerating the implementation of future new business strategies and creating synergies with the Group.

The Group says it established the Global Strategy Office (GSO) to accelerate its transition into a future mobility solutions provider and strengthen the synergy between the group’s core businesses.

The GSO will be responsible for establishing the Group’s future mobility strategy with regards to software, hardware and mobility services. GSO will have a decisionmaking body composed of experts in each field for timely and consistent implementation of strategies.

It says President of Strategy Planning Division Young Woon Kong; President of Innovation Division Youngcho Chi; and former president and CEO of Hyundai Glovis Jung-Hoon Kim will now take the role of advisors.