Car News

New vehicle sales in Australia over the first quarter of 2019 fell 7.9% relative to the same period in 2018, to 265,538 units. This is the lowest Q1 tally since 2014, and marks 12 consecutive months of negative growth compared to the same month in the preceding year. This data comes from VFACTS, a sales record compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, based on sales figures submitted by each of the market's car brands. While not flawless, it's the best we have.

Mercedes-Benz has teased the interior of the Concept GLB, which will make its global debut in Shanghai later this month. It's no secret the German marque has a new crossover in the works, and given its 'B' nomenclature, it's also no surprise this interior sketch looks like it was lifted straight out of the new B-Class.

Toyota will make roughly 23,740 electrified vehicle patents available for royalty-free use until the end of 2030, as it looks to drive development of hybrid vehicles around the world. The automaker says it's making the move to "further promote the widespread use of electrified vehicles, and in so doing, help governments, automakers, and society at large accomplish goals related to climate change".

Ford has confirmed its all-electric descendent of the Mustang will go 600km between charges. Set for a 2020 launch, the SUV was once again teased at Ford's overnight Go Electric event in Amsterdam. We also learned the next-gen Escape will come with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and the pure-electric Transit will arrive in 2021.

Audi has teased an autonomous concept car for the Shanghai motor show, continuing the theme laid out by last year's Aicon and Elaine show cars. Based on the sketches you see here, the AI:ME is a smaller interpretation of the autonomous design language debuted on the two concepts mentioned earlier. The nose has a similar scowling look, while the rear is pert and upright.