Car News

Job cuts continue to spread through the automotive industry as car manufacturers try to reduce costs due to a dramatic sales decline in the first half of 2020. Bentley has announced it would be slashing 1000 jobs, nearly 24 per cent of the company's workforce, as reported by news agency Reuters. The announcement came within 24 hours of Aston Martin announcing it would cut 500 jobs, more than 19 per cent of its personnel.

As we enter a new decade, car subscription in Australia has well and truly progressed from new-age novelty to present-day reality. The automotive industry's answer to the commitment phobia that plagues plenty of millennials, services such as GoGet and Carbar are to car ownership what Spotify is to music – and they've seen massive uptake in recent years.

The Kia Stinger that has come out on top in the battle for a slice of the shrinking large car market, according to latest figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Kia sold 93 Stingers in May, beating out the Holden Commodore (40 sales) and the only other combatant in the segment, the Skoda Superb (15).

Volkswagen has released Australian pricing and specifications of its factory-endorsed, long-wheelbase Amarok XL and XXL conversions, with prices starting from $10,595 RRP for an XL cab-chassis upgrade. This comes on top of the initial purchase price of an Amarok, with prices starting from $44,590 (before on-road costs) for a dual-cab TDI400 with a six-speed manual gearbox. The cheapest V6 Amarok, also with a six-speed manual gearbox, is $49,590 before on-road costs.

Tradies and small business fleets have been given an extension to cash-in on the Federal Government’s $150,000 instant asset write off scheme, after it was announced overnight the deadline has been moved from the end of June 2020 to the end of December 2020. The six-month extension means business buyers who may not be able to take delivery of a new work vehicle before the original 30 June 2020 deadline can now take advantage of the tax benefit in the 2020/2021 financial year.