FCAI

It’s easy to think a car’s country of origin is the nation where the manufacturer is headquartered. All Toyotas come from Japan, all BMWs from Germany, for instance. Not so. According to data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the country of origin of our new cars are many and varied. In 2020 alone, at least 26 different countries built and manufactured cars that made their way to Australia and into our driveways.

Australia's peak automotive industry body is urging drivers and passengers to conduct a simple but potentially life-saving check from their smartphones to see if their vehicle they're travelling in requires urgent airbag replacement under the ongoing compulsory Takata recall.

The $150,000 instant asset write-off tax incentive introduced by the Federal Government in the lead-up to the coronavirus lockdowns has caused widespread confusion in the car industry about how it applies to motor vehicles. A special investigation by CarAdvice has found most major car companies are reluctant to offer any guidance about which vehicles might be eligible under the scheme scheduled to run from 12 March 2020 to 30 June 2020, the close of this financial year.

Sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Australia have grown substantially over the last 12 months, although this excitement should be tempered considering the low base they’ve come from. Figures sourced from the Electric Vehicle Council show 6718 fully electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars were sold in Australia in 2019, more than triple the 2216 sold over the preceding 12 months.

Australia's Takata airbag recall is almost 80 per cent complete, but the ACCC data says there are three brands with a conversion rate below 70 per cent. A combination of heat and humidity can make the propellant in Takata airbag inflators degrade over time. In an accident where the airbags deploy, metal fragments could shoot into the cabin, posing a serious risk of injury or death to passengers.