Car News

Isuzu has given the world a sneak peek of the new-generation D-Max ute, which is expected in Australian showrooms in 2020. As these images taken from the video show, the Isuzu D-Max will maintain its familiar tough-truck look, however it will be completely new from the wheels up. This is the first full model change for the Isuzu D-Max since the current version went on sale in 2012.

Toyota has joined Ford and Mitsubishi in offering potentially life-saving active safety technology standard in its ute-based family hauler, the Fortuner, upping pressure on Holden and Isuzu to follow suit. The entire Fortuner range gets autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection (daytime only), adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and speed sign recognition as standard for the 2020 model year, following a similar update to the related HiLux ute earlier this year

Mercedes-Benz has expanded its CLA four-door coupe line-up in Australia with the announcement of two new additions, the CLA250 4Matic and Mercedes-AMG CLA35 4Matic. Following on from the arrival of the CLA200 earlier this year, the CLA250 and CLA35 are expected to become the volume sellers amongst the CLA range. Later in 2020 the flagship CLA45 4Matic+ will also join the range.

The Australian car market continued to decline in September 2019, with a 6.9 per cent drop in sales making it the 18th consecutive month of decline. VFACTS data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) reveal 88,181 vehicles were sold last month, compared to 94,711 during the same month in 2018. It's the worst September result since 2011, when 86,819 sales were recorded.

Nissan is hoping to commercialise its dual-sided dieless forming technique in order to create replacement parts for vehicles long since out of production, and it could prove useful for components where the original dies have been discarded. For dual-sided dieless forming, the company uses two synchronised robots with diamond-coated tools on either side of a sheet of steel.