Car News

South Korea is seemingly set to require commercial vehicles in the country – including trucks and construction equipment – to use hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrains by 2035. The move is designed to counter “serious fine dust problems” in the country not helped by diesel emissions, according to The Korea Herald. The plan was apparently released by Transport Minister-nominee Choi Jeong-ho and Yoon Kwan-seok of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

The Volkswagen Multivan Black Edition has landed in Australia, priced from $63,990 drive-away. Scheduled for a public debut this weekend at the Kombi Rally in Manly, NSW, the Multivan Black Edition is limited to just 230 units in Australia, and is pitched as a lifestyle offering in the largely utilitarian line-up. "A people mover needn’t be all about carting passengers – it ought to truly move you too,” said Ryan Davies, director for commercial vehicles at Volkswagen Australia.

Holden has quietly introduced some running changes for the MY19 Astra hatchback, headlined by the retirement of certain manual variants and a reduction in colour options. The same model family remains: R, R+, RS and RS-V. However, both the R+ and RS have had their manual options dropped for 2019. Speaking with CarAdvice, Holden's manager for product and public relations, Daniel Cotterill, said keeping the entry-level and top-spec manuals is based on different reasons.

Toyota and Suzuki have agreed to share drivetrains and models in a wide-ranging partnership, which is primarily focussed on Europe, India and Africa. On a global level, Toyota will supply its hybrid technology to Suzuki, which to-date has sold vehicles only with petrol, diesel and mild hybrid drivetrains. The two automakers will work closely to add Toyota hybrid tech to Suzuki's offerings in India. With a market share of over 50 per cent, Suzuki is the dominant force in the Indian market.

Toyota USA has announced a handful of upgrades for the C-HR crossover for 2019, headlined by a new infotainment system with Apple CarPlay. Fitted as standard across the line-up, the new 8.0-inch media unit introduces the aforementioned smartphone mirroring technologies, and appears to feature the new interface seen in other Toyota models like the Camry and Corolla. Higher-grade models can equip satellite navigation as part of the higher-spec Entune 3.0 infotainment system.