New Volvo brands in Pole position -...

PremiumGoAutoNewsEDITION 103 MAY 11, 2018 THE BUSINESS PAGES OF GOAUTONEWS

New Volvo brands in Pole positionDealers to prepare as Polestar and Lynk & Co brands set to slot into Australian Volvo stable

Budget ‘a missed opportunity’AADA: Australian car buyers to pay $1.3 billion in purchase taxes despite no local industry

Success starts with you. New KPMG training programs inside

Sedans rapidly losing favourThe common car faces extinction as the list of car companies no longer selling sedans grows

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BENZ ACCOUNT UP FOR REVIEWMercedes opens up its $1b global

advertising business for review 3

BUDGET ‘A MISSED OPPORTUNITY’AADA: Australian car buyers to pay $1.3 billion

in purchase taxes despite no local industry Page 24

KIA CONFIRMS AI PLANS IN MOVIEYouth buyers the target with a

multi-million dollar Peter Pan tale reinvented for social media

Page 21

NEW VOLVO BRANDS IN POLE POSITIONDealers to prepare as Polestar and Lynk & Co brands set to slot into

Australian Volvo stable

Page 3

ACCC BACKS INDEPENDENT REPAIRERSACCC backs AAAA calls for

mandatory technical data sharing with independent repairers

Page 13

GETTING READY: INDEX NAMES AV LEAGUE TABLE

Netherlands the best as Australia comes in 14th on KPMG’s global autonomous

vehicle rankings Page 8

VW GROUP EXPANDS ITS SPARES CAPACITY

New facility in Sydney’s west will serve VW, Skoda and Audi spares to national network

Page 18

VOLVO PLANS LOCAL SUBSCRIPTION PURCHASE SERVICE

… and new Volvo Car boss wants to double sales through a bigger network

Page 6

AFMA PREPARES FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE, EXHIBITION

Australasian Fleet Conference & Exhibition to kick off on May 17 in Melbourne

Page 16

SEDANS RAPIDLY LOSING FAVOURThe common car faces extinction as the list of car companies no

longer selling sedans grows

Page 11

RENAULT THINKS BIGKoleos SUV on a sales roll and gets a new

ad campaign to add more spin

Page 20

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EDITOR: Neil Dowling

JOURNALISTS: Tim Nicholson, Tung Nguyen,Ron Hammerton, Ian Porter, Terry Martin, Robbie Wallis, Justin Hilliard, Daniel DeGasperi,Tim Robson, Byron Mathioudakis

PRODUCTION: Luc Britten, William Vicente

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Dealers to prepare as Polestar and Lynk & Co brands set to slot into Australian Volvo stable

New Volvo brands in Pole position

TO READ THIS STORY ONLINECLICK HERE

By TERRY MARTINn VOLVO has signalled major changes ahead for its retail operations in Australia with the Polestar and Lynk & Co brands both set to arrive in the next few years.

The three brands are part of China’s biggest privately owned car-maker, Geely Automobile, and discussions are underway as to how Polestar and Lynk & Co – all with models based

on the same global platforms underpinning Volvo’s latest cars – will be represented here.

Volvo Car Australia’s new managing director Nick Connor, who was the inaugural chief executive of Polestar, has confirmed to GoAutoNews Premium that the high-performance electrified vehicle brand will launch here in 2020 with the Polestar 2 compact sedan.

This will be followed by the Polestar 3 mid-size SUV due around 2022.

The more budget-oriented Lynk & Co is still to be confirmed for Australia, but Mr Connor said it was safe to assume the brand will come here as part of Geely’s plan to launch in all major markets.

Its range includes the 01 mid-size SUV, 02 small SUV and 03 sedan, with regular petrol-

engine versions to be produced in China and electrified variants built in Europe at Volvo’s Ghent factory in Belgium.

European sales, including the UK, will start in 2020.

Asked whether Polestar cars would be sold through Volvo dealers, dedicated standalone stores or an online sales channel, Mr Connor said: “Possibly all of the above.

“The primary offer for

Polestar will be direct supply, but the Volvo dealers will have a role in that.

“Exactly what that role is, is still to be confirmed in certain markets. But I think it’s a car that you should be able to buy physically from a Polestar store or online, on the internet, and primarily it’s going to be offered through the subscription service.”

Continued next page

Polestar 1



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Continued from previous page

This is similar to the ‘Care by Volvo’ subscription service already in place in overseas markets and which Mr Connor is planning to roll out in Australia within the next two years (see separate story).

Customers sign up for two or three years and pay a flat monthly fee for what Polestar describes as a “no-deposit, all-inclusive subscription model” which provides a range of

connected and on-demand services such as pick-up and delivery servicing and covers sundries like insurance and maintenance.

At the end of the term, customers will have the opportunity to purchase the vehicle outright or take out a subscription on another car.

Mr Connor said: “Primarily the offer will be: ‘Here’s a subscription service. It’s all in. It’s servicing, it’s

maintenance, it’s insurance. You just need to plug it in and charge it up and go.’

“Certainly, dealers will do service and maintenance on the cars, and we are still to determine what the dealer’s role will be in that subscription model, but, frankly, the subscription model lends itself to online activity. So that will be the primary route to market.

“It really is a pain-free

ownership proposition for the customer.”

Asked about the retail model for Lynk & Co, Mr Connor said “there’s ongoing debate about how it’s done”.

“The Lynk & Co (retail) model is primarily a direct-supply online sales channel with a subscription service similar to Polestar, so that’s their route to market,” he said.

“I think there will be a role for Volvo dealers working

with Lynk & Co in the future.“Exactly what that role will

be is still to be finalised, but I think the cars will come here, they’re going to need service and maintenance, someone needs to do that, we share the CMA platform with Lynk & Co, so I think it’s fairly obvious that there’s common sense in Volvo dealers looking after Lynk & Co products.”

Continued next page

Lynk & Co launch, Berlin






Mr Connor also said he was confident Volvo, Polestar and Lynk & Co could all operate comfortably in Australia, with cross-shopping encouraged given the separation between the three brands.

“If you look at what VW do with Skoda and VW and Audi, they do that pretty well in terms of brand management, so we wouldn’t be the first manufacturer to have a family of cars at different price points in the marketplace,” he said.

“There will always be some risk of cannibalisation, but the idea is that the Lynk & Co offer will be different from the Volvo offer, which will be different from the Polestar offer.

“So I think we have to look

at it from a slightly broader perspective and say that we are owned by the Geely group. Geely has got ambitions – I’ve heard (chairman) Li Shufu talk about Geely becoming the ‘Volkswagen Group of China’ and I think that’s the right approach.

“Yes, we’ll have group cars. Does that mean we might get some cannibalisation between the brands? Yeah, I think that’s inevitable.

“But if it’s for the greater good then so be it and I think the challenge for Volvo and the challenge for Lynk & Co and the challenge for Polestar is to make sure that we carve out our own particular niche in the marketplace and we position ourselves correctly to our right customer base.”

Nick Connor





… and new Volvo Car boss wants to double sales through a bigger network

Volvo plans local subscription purchase service


By TERRY MARTINn VOLVO Car Australia’s new managing director Nick Connor plans to broaden the retail network and work on improving dealer profitability and facility standards where needed as part of the company’s strategy to increase annual sales to 10,000 units by 2020 – up from less than 4700 last year.

Mr Connor, who has extensive experience in Europe and the United Kingdom, also plans to

introduce the ‘Care by Volvo’ subscription service over the same timeframe.

This operates like a mobile phone plan whereby the customer signs up for a two-year or three-year contract and pays a monthly fee that covers basically everything except fuel or electricity.

In an interview with GoAutoNews Premium, Mr Connor said that he had not yet visited every one of the 27 dealers across the network – “That’s on my to-do list”

– but said that his focus for Volvo dealers was on creating a “viable business model” that builds profitability and, at the same time, raises standards.

“Honestly, it’s like a lot of markets around the world, there’s some really outstanding representation and there’s some that needs to be improved, so it’s a mixed bag,” he said.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else, in all honesty. To be brutally honest, the network have not been hugely

profitable over recent years and asking dealers to invest in new showrooms and new furniture doesn’t stack up unless the dealers see a return.

“So I’m very focused on making sure that our dealerships represent us in the best way possible, but that they have a viable business model because it doesn’t do anyone any good at all to put, to heap, huge investment pressures on the dealer network that isn’t supportable by the volume.

“And I don’t believe that it’s all about the size of the showroom – I think it should be about having a very nice Scandinavian feel to the showroom.

“Customers buy cars from people. They want to have a nice experience. They want to be treated well. Yes, they want to go somewhere that looks smart and clean and tidy and represents the brand image. But it doesn’t have to be a hanger with 40 cars in it.

Continued next page



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“For me, it’s about having a scalable offering, and in some rural areas two- or three-car showrooms are going to be fine. But in a major metropolitan area like Melbourne or Sydney, then we’re going to ask for a bit more,” he said.

“But it should be appropriate to the return available to the dealer network.”

Mr Connor said the company had identified gaps in the network, and while not prepared to discuss specific locations, he indicated that the east coast was an area of focus.

“We have got some gaps. There are a few formal and not so formal open points, I think. Going up the east coast of the country there are some obvious areas where we simply have no

representation at all,” he said.“Our objective is to fill in

those gaps in the right way, and it might be that in some areas it’s simply a service point rather than a full dealership.

“Even for the volumes we’re doing today we’ve got some gaps, but certainly if we’re looking to grow our volumes beyond 10,000 units, then we need a few more physical presences out there – and we are working on that.”

He said that somewhere around 30 to 33 dealers for Volvo Cars would be an appropriate level – a return to the size of the network a few years ago.

^ CONTINUE ONLINEHow Care by Volvo

would work in Australia






mailto:[email protected]



Netherlands the best as Australia comes in 14th on KPMG’s global autonomous vehicle rankings


By NEIL DOWLINGn AUSTRALIA ranks a modest 14th in its ability to adopt autonomous vehicles, according to a comprehensive international KPMG study on the rapid development of the mobility services industry and its effect on the civilian and business communities of 20 countries.

The KPMG 2018 Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index says

Australians are “cynical” about autonomous vehicles (AV) and are hampered not only by attitude, but an only-average 4G network system.

“Australia receives the maximum score for the quality of its mobile networks but only middling ratings for the quality of its roads and availability of 4G and it has very few electric charging stations,” the report said.

“The country is very highly rated for people’s use of technology by KPMG’s Change Readiness Index, but few people live in test areas and consumer research suggests Australians are fairly cynical about the technology.”

The country is also held back by having few AV technology company headquarters and patents.

“The (KPMG) research

found no relevant investments and few Australians drive electric cars, although it (Australia) receives credit for a strong Uber presence and for general availability of technology,” it said.

“AV trials are taking place or are planned in several cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.”

All this wasn’t good enough for better than a 14th-place

ranking of countries that included Canada, China and the eighth-placed United Arab Emirates. Australia is sandwiched between France (13) and Spain (15).

Despite China’s massive uptake of electric vehicles that form the platform for AV services, it was not (yet) able to beat Australia and this year lies in 16th position.

Continued next page

Getting ready: index names

AV league table



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KPMG’s global head of Infrastructure, UK-based Richard Threlfall, said the rapid development and adoption of AVs will be spurred by the alignment of the interests of private developers and public authorities.

“Companies including the dominant vehicle makers, technology giants and specialist startups have invested $US50 billion ($A66 billion) over the past five years to develop AV technology, with 70 per cent of the spending coming from outside the automotive sector,” he said in the report.

“At the same time, public authorities can see that AVs offer huge potential economic and social benefits.

“AVs could eliminate the 90-95 per cent of road accidents caused by human error, saving as many as a million lives every year.

“Assuming they are electric, they should also reduce road pollution, improving citizens’ health.

“AVs offer mobility benefits to people who are unable to drive at present, including the elderly, those who do not

own a car and those who live in rural areas that do not have adequate public transport.

“And the hours spent driving, which now become productive, creates a potentially gigantic economic boost with one study estimating that the US economy could see an uplift of $US1.3 trillion ($A1.7 trillion) a year.

“For these reasons and others, many governments are keen to move towards an AV future as soon as possible.”

Mr Threlfall said AVs will bring changes to road infrastructure, including on-road telematics, signage, crash barriers, lane widths and curbs.

“They may also affect business cases for public transport schemes, which will need to integrate with AVs, as well as parking schemes and multimodal transport ticketing,” he said.

“AVs will also affect the placement and development of homes and businesses. They could make ride-sharing and mobility-as-a-service schemes more attractive, meaning space currently used for parking can give way to more housing and public spaces in urban areas.

Continued next page

“Australia receives the maximum score for the quality of its mobile networks but only middling

ratings for the quality of its roads and availability of 4G and it has very few electric charging stations.”

Source: KPMG





Continued from previous page“But by making longer

commutes more attractive, they could also encourage more suburban and rural development.”

As stated in GoAutoNews Premium’s interview with Australian-based KPMG director of motor industry services, Steven Bragg in the previous edition, one of the impacts will be that many professional drivers are at risk of being replaced by technology.

“There are also implications for government revenues. At present, taxes on fossil fuels generate billions of dollars, while electric vehicles receive subsidies in many countries,”

Mr Threlfall said.“This means a shift to electric

AVs would create a hole in tax revenues. Authorities need to think through urgently how to recover that lost revenue. For example, through road pricing, which might also help tackle congestion.

“Authorities will want to ensure that AVs are safe, both mechanically and in terms of their security from cyber-attack, so vehicle licensing could change, with new controls on data security.

“Regulations on vehicle insurance will need to adapt, including who is responsible for a driverless vehicle’s actions.

^ CONTINUE ONLINE

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By NEIL DOWLINGn THE passenger car, and particularly the sedan, appears to be headed for the history books as buyers dump the conventional car and switch to SUVs.

The trend is in line with the requirements of companies fielding rent-based autonomous compact vehicles as future personal urban transport.

Without the need for a small car in their garage, the arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs)

will, according to a KPMG report, lead to motorists buying larger vehicles – SUVs and utes – for travel beyond the city limits.

The scenario is not only backed up by the KPMG report ‘Islands of Autonomy’ but confirmed last month as Ford announced it would kill off most of its passenger cars in the United States – in favour of more utes and SUVs – because sedans were no longer profitable, especially

as they required regular and expensive model updates.

Ford may not be alone. General Motors may also consider downsizing its car fleet as the utes and SUVs bring in the big profits.

In Australia, 38 per cent of the passenger car segment is sedans (not hatchbacks or wagons). Some – like Nissan, Mitsubishi (the Lancer ended production in December), Citroen, Fiat and Suzuki – no longer offer

a sedan in Australia.Sedans also make up only

13.4 per cent of the total vehicle market, compared with SUVs at 42.2 per cent.

Holden and Ford have two – the Astra sedan and Commodore liftback, and Focus sedan and Mondeo liftback respectively – as does Toyota (Corolla and Camry).

Honda has three – City, Civic and Accord – and Hyundai has four, while Mazda has three and Mercedes-Benz has five.

A decade ago, sedans made up 45 per cent of the passenger-car car segment and included three sedans from Alfa Romeo and four from Holden.

In the US, autonomous ride-hailing services Wayco and General Motors’ Cruise have indicated they would not use conventional sedans and instead opt for the more versatile body styles of SUVs and crossovers.

Continued next page

Nissan Pulsar

The common car faces extinction as the list of car companies no longer

selling sedans grows

Sedans rapidly losing favour



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The KPMG report said this move by the ride-hailing services “will cause sedan sales to consumers in the US to fall from an estimated 5.4 million this year to 2.1 million by 2030”.

The blame is also levied at consumers who have lost interest in cars as their design preferences shift to roomier rides. As well, steady, low fuel prices in the US have given them confidence in buying bigger vehicles.

The KPMG report said that as self-driving cars reduce the price of ride-hailing services, smaller vehicles will become expendable for many US households.

The report by KPMG

analysed travel and smartphone location data in several US urban markets to determine how consumers’ transportation habits will change once autonomous mobility services enter those areas.

Self-driving taxis are expected to cause a drop in the cost of ride-hailing services, and the report predicts that consumers will opt to use those services for intra-city and suburban-to-city-centre trips including work commutes.

That, in turn, will lead consumers to ditch smaller cars, and keep larger vehicles like trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for longer family trips, the report said.

“This market shift will lead

many automakers to stop producing small and mid-size sedans altogether,” the report said.

KPMG said the number of automakers making large numbers of sedans for the US market will eventually fall from 10 today to only three or four.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has already exited the small and mid-size sedan market in the US, and many other automakers are moving to trucks and SUVs.

In the US, the trend away from cars accelerated in February. New-vehicle sales dropped 2.4 per cent for the month compared with the same month in 2017, but cars fell 12 per cent.

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ACCC backs AAAA calls for mandatory technical data sharing with independent repairers

ACCC backs independent repairers


By NEIL DOWLINGn THE Australian corporate watchdog has remained committed to working with auto industry bodies and the federal government aiming to resolve the contentious sharing of OEM technical information with independent repairers.

The issue, brewing for decades but on the boil as technology becomes more driven by electronics that demand sophisticated

knowledge and equipment, was reiterated at last week’s Autocare Convention hosted by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA).

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims told the convention that the watchdog would assist in the development of a mandatory scheme for AAAA members to get access to the technical

information needed to fix cars “and to compete”.

“We want to drive reform to ensure the automotive industry remains competitive and fair to consumers and businesses alike,” he told the convention.

“In the case of the Australian automotive market, there is a strong case for change and particularly as it relates to car servicing.”

It has been backed by the federal government, with

assistant minister to the treasurer Michael Sukkar MP stating in his address at the Autocare 2018 conference that the proposed scheme would “ensure competition and fairness for Australian consumers”.

“I am here at the opening of Autocare 2018 to assure you that this is definitely a priority for the government,” he said.

AAAA executive director Stuart Charity said efforts to

make data sharing mandatory in the Australian automotive aftermarket industry “have never been stronger”.

“Both Minister Sukkar and Mr Sims’ speeches reflect their commitment to developing the reforms that will protect 16 million Australian car owners along with their freedom of choice in selecting their automotive repairer,” he said at the conference.

Continued next page



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“After the comments made today in front of hundreds of AAAA members, it is very clear that we are nearing the end of the road to gaining a mandatory code for our industry.”

Mr Sims, whose parents in the 1950s ran Sims Motors car dealership and repair centre in Lorne and where he spent 10 years of his childhood, said earlier automotive eras were confined to mechanical repair and servicing but today “you practically need a degree in computer engineering to repair a vehicle”.

“Today’s new cars contain in excess of 10 million lines of computer code – more code than is used to operate the

avionics and on-board support systems of modern airliners – to create the sophisticated software that they require to work,” he said.

“In a sense, you don’t really drive cars anymore: you drive computers.”

He said that to fix modern cars, repairers need access to volumes of complex technical information that is held in digital form by the car manufacturers.

“This, however, allows car manufacturers to control who has access to the technical information needed to fix cars, often favouring their own dealer and preferred repairer networks over independent repairers,” Mr Sims said.

The sharing of technical

information between OEMs and independent workshops has been an unresolved issue that became close to being ratified in 2014.

To ensure a working relationship between independent repairers and the OEMs, a heads of agreement was signed in 2014 between the AAAA, Australian Automotive Dealers Association (AADA), the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI, representing the OEMs) and the Australian Automobile Association (AAA).

But complaints persisted. Mr Sims said when the ACCC looked into these complaints, it found numerous problems.

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Australasian Fleet Conference & Exhibition to kick off on May 17 in Melbourne

AFMA prepares for annual conference, exhibition


By JUSTIN HILLIARDn THE Australasian Fleet Management Association (AFMA) has predicted its annual Australasian Fleet Conference and Exhibition next week will be highlighted by discussion around the future of fleets, including electric, autonomous and connected vehicles.

Taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from May

17 to 18, the event will attract about 400 attendees – a 15 per cent increase over last year’s figures – with 24 workshops and more than 50 speakers expected, which are similar numbers to the 2017 event.

Speaking to GoAutoNews Premium, AFMA executive director Mace Hartley explained that the future of fleets and safety will be two of the main themes for this year’s event.

“The one thing that stands out is really having one eye on the future whilst underpinning (it) with a range of workshops that are designed to help people reach that future,” he said.

“It’s one thing to see what the future holds, the next bit is to try and help people navigate their own paths for themselves and their industry or organisation.

“There’s a range of safety and technology workshops this year, and safety almost

underpins every workshop in some fashion.

“One of the highlights for me will be the mock court trial … and that’s managed by Safety Australia. It’s going to take us through a criminal court case, with a scenario based around a range of actors that will play some parts in that.

“Businesses will be able to understand where they sit, where their role sits, where personally they could be on the

line for things going wrong.”When questioned if autonomy

and electrification will be the main talking points regarding the future, Mr Hartley said: “The first keynote delivered from the VACC (Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce) is going to look at the automotive industry and its transition from the closure of manufacturing to what’s likely to take up everybody’s time.

Continued next page



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“That really looks toward electric vehicles and connected vehicles, and it looks at the whole industry and how it will adapt during that whole phase.”

The second keynote is set to be delivered by GoAutoMedia publisher John Mellor, who will discuss how autonomous vehicles are changing the lives of all motorists.

Additionally, the following session will specifically discuss electric, autonomous and connected vehicles, with Intelligent Transport Systems Australia chief executive officer Susan Harris, Scania

Australia sustainable solutions manager Anthony King and Electric Vehicle Council chief executive officer Behyad Jafari weighing in on the issue.

A number of vehicles will be on display to support the event, including the Renault Zoe pure EV, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid series-parallel hybrid, and Hyundai Nexo fuel-cell and Ioniq pure EVs.

Meanwhile, event sponsor Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA)’s public relations manager of future mobility and government relations, Scott Nargar,

will deliver a workshop on alternative powertrains, such as those found in the aforementioned models.

Mr Hartley added that transitioning entire fleets to EVs brings with it several challenges, including cost and the lack of a second-hand market.

“I think there’s a lot of debate, whether it be fleet managers or the fleet management organisations (FMOs), on how we transition, because electric vehicles are more expensive,” he said.

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New facility in Sydney’s west will serve VW, Skoda and Audi spares to national network

VW Group expands its spares capacity


By TIM ROBSONn VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) has cut the ribbon on a new warehousing facility attached to its national head office in Chullora, 20km west of Sydney.

The parts facility now measures 23,000 square metres in size and will stock more than 1.5 million spare parts for VGA brands

including Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi.

Located behind VGA’s six-year-old head office facility, the new warehousing area added 7000 square metres to the existing floorplan, and will service the distribution of some 90,000 parts per month.

Construction on the expanded warehouse began

last year and was completed in April.

VGA director of aftersales Mark Fowler said that an internal audit of spares inventory storage revealed the previous warehouse – which opened at 60 per cent capacity in 2012 – would be full by 2019.

“The size of the business is substantial, and we hold

around 1.5 million parts in our warehouse,” he said. “We distribute around about 70 per cent of the national volume from the Sydney warehouse.”

He also stressed the significance of the parts business to VGA.

“The parts network really is the backbone of our industry, and indeed one of

the most significant areas of our business at Volkswagen Group Australia,” he said.

“VGA is proud to be investing in the future of the business, and its people, by expanding operations of the parts warehouse in Sydney, to better support our customers and dealership partners.”

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Built by Charter Hall, the space will incorporate electric charging points and an updated automated parts picking system. Around 50 people work in the facility in shifts between 4am and 9pm.

VGA managing director Michael Bartsch, who offered the ceremonial opening duties to young VGA staff members Abdullah Alkurd, Lasya Rao

and Alexander Nou, opened the warehouse last week.

The greenfields VGA facility was approved by Volkswagen AG in 2007, with expansion capabilities baked into the original plans for the site. The office comprises some 5900 square metres of office space, along with almost 5000 square metres of technical and training areas for the 200-plus staff on site.

“VGA is proud to be investing in the future of the business, and its

people, by expanding operations of the parts warehouse in Sydney, to better support our customers and

dealership partners.”- VGA director of aftersales Mark Fowler

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Koleos SUV on a sales roll and gets a new ad campaign to add more spin

Renault thinks big

By NEIL DOWLINGn RENAULT has gone big on its SUV range, promoting the Koleos mid-size SUV as the one that suits the Australian lifestyle.

Its ‘Big Life’ TVC campaign focuses on big houses, big dogs, big days, big boats, big nights and big trips. And its mid-size SUV.

The 30-second TVC will be extended to roll into advertising arenas in outdoor, social and digital.

Renault Australia general manager of marketing communications, Terri

Golder, said in a statement: “The objective of the new Koleos campaign is to encapsulate the essence of the Renault brand and appeal to a broader audience.

“The French design of our vehicles make them very distinctive on the road. We want our advertising to reflect this attribute by being stylish and distinctive in the cluttered automotive landscape.”

The Koleos is the top-selling vehicle in Renault’s ten-model range and, in the year-to-date data from VFACTS, is up 17.8

per cent with 960 sales to the end of April.

With the second SUV, the smaller Captur, also kicking goals with a 40.3 per cent sales increase year-to-date compared with 2017, it has pushed Renault past Lexus and Jeep in annual sales.

Renault Australia managing director Andrew Moore said Koleos’ position in the fast-growing mid-size SUV sector gave Renault a great opportunity to attract new mainstream audience.

The ‘Big Life’ campaign was the product of agency Big Red.


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Youth buyers the target with a multi-million dollar Peter Pan tale reinvented for social media

Kia confirms AI plans in movie


By NEIL DOWLINGn IT IS an old tale reinvented, computer enhanced and graphically altered to rocket author John Barry’s Peter Pan into the 21st century and revisit the forever-young character’s fight against the evil Captain Hook.

Which probably seemed like a good idea at the time that the concept found life in

South Korea and before the three-minute movie – now on Kia’s global websites including in Australia – started production in Madrid.

The film Peter Returns clearly displays Kia’s autonomous vehicle (AV) prospects that will begin to emerge in 2021 when the company begins its Smart

City AV trials.In Peter Returns, the Kia

computer-graphic concept vehicle, called the KED-12, displays a range of autonomous and advanced technology features including Smart Pixel Light, Valet Parking Pilot, Sound Focusing, Intelligent Agent and more.

Peter is joined in 2030 by

companions sourced from the original children’s story, Wendy and Tinker Bell, and together they overcome Hook’s attempts to side-rail the city of Neverland’s electronic guidance systems.

In launching the film, Kia Motors’ executive vice president of global brand and marketing, Yong Won Cho, said: “Kia is on a journey to

become one of the leading mass mobility providers in the future.

“Through our original film, we wanted to show how something classical and loved by millions around the world can be re-interpreted and made relevant for modern times.

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Mercedes opens up its $1b global advertising business for review

Benz account up for review


By NEIL DOWLINGn MERCEDES-BENZ is shaking up its advertising agencies by launching a global media review that is likely to unsettle incumbent media players who last year participated in the brand’s near-$A1 billion spend.

The parent of the car-maker, Daimler, announced this week that it had started a review – its second this year. It follows a six-month review that ended in March

this year with the selection of Publicis Groupe for its global creative account.

To handle the account, Publicis created a bespoke agency, Publicis Emil. It will be headquartered in Berlin and headed by former Saatchi & Saatchi executive Justin Billingsley.

Publicis Groupe chief executive and chairman Arthur Sadoun described the pitch as the largest in the world over the past 18 months.

In an article in AdNews, he said: “It is one of the most significant wins for the group in years.

“It is living proof that the new model we have put in place to become the market leader in marketing and business transformation is actually working.

“Publicis Emil will deliver a truly end-to-end way of working with Mercedes-Benz in 37 countries.”

The agency is named after

Emil Jellinek, an Austrian entrepreneur credited as a “Daimler transformation partner”.

Mercedes-Benz spent about $950 million on global media in 2017, according to French consultancy COMvergence.

Although it is not among the top 10 car-makers by volume, it is one of the most prestigious brands in the world.

AdNews reports that Omnicom Media Group’s

boutique agency Foundation handles the Mercedes media buying and planning in Australia. This contract, which Foundation won in late 2015, expires next year.

Last month, Mercedes-Benz Cars Australia launched an outdoor installation in conjunction with its partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria’s NGV Triennial exhibition.

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AADA: Australian car buyers to pay $1.3 billion in purchase taxes despite no local industry

Budget ‘a missed opportunity’


By NEIL DOWLINGn A RETENTION of outdated taxes and the flow-on impact of slowing the adoption of safety improvements for consumers have been highlighted by Australia’s key car dealer body in answer to this week’s federal government budget.

The Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) said the federal budget has retained inefficient new-car

taxes and missed the opportunity to reward consumers and local businesses with lower-priced new vehicles.

“The first budget since the cessation of local passenger vehicle manufacturing provided the government with an opportunity to modernise the taxation regime for new cars,” said AADA CEO David Blackhall.

“Unfortunately, both the

passenger-vehicle tariff and the luxury-car tax remain on the books and will collectively generate almost $1.3 billion in 2018-19, significantly more than previously forecast.”

Mr Blackhall said that the sale of new cars brings significant social benefits “as they are safer, more environmentally friendly and more fuel efficient”.

“Improving road safety, reducing vehicle emissions

and bringing down energy costs are all government priorities and these taxes hinder progress towards these goals,” he said.

“Increased taxes on the sale of new cars by various levels of government simply force consumers to pay more and in the process hurt many of the people working in the automotive industry, such as sales staff, finance providers

and workshop technicians,” he said.

On tax cuts, Mr Blackhall said the AADA supported the government’s ongoing commitment to extend company tax cuts to firms with turnover of more than $50 million due to the very low profit margins dealers make compared with their turnover which includes the price of the cars they sell.

Continued next page

David Blackhall



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“Due to the high value of their stock, new-car franchised dealers often have high turnover, but much lower profit margins. A corporate tax cut would benefit local car dealers and the tens of thousands of people they employ.”

The federal budget comes a week after the Victorian state budget that also drew the ire of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) for its lack of a focus on labour skills.

The VACC said the state budget “missed an opportunity to focus on quality skills training, provide better support for automotive apprentices and review payroll tax threshold”.

The Victorian budget was

delivered on April 30 by state treasurer, Tim Pallas.

While the VACC welcomed positive announcements for infrastructure, schools, health and communities, it said increased TAFE infrastructure funds may be misdirected and that the government should make it clearer that funds should be allocated for the delivery of quality training and this focus should take precedence over creating more facilities.

The treasurer also announced a 50 per cent reduction in vehicle registration fees for apprentices but the VACC said that “early indications are that the discount will only be available for building trades apprentices”.

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“Improving road safety, reducing vehicle emissions and bringing down

energy costs are all government priorities and these taxes hinder

progress towards these goals.”- AADA CEO David Blackhall



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