Record March despite supply disruptions

Vehicles are fast-tracking to customers.

Toyota Hilux was the top-selling model in March.

CONSTRICTED new vehicle supply continues to hamper distributors – though last month’s registrations count might suggest otherwise.

Last month 15,498 new vehicle were registered. It’s the highest March count since record-keeping began back in the 1970s.

That this tally represents a massive 86.3 percent up on the same month last year is easily explained – the country went into the Covid-19 Level 4 in March of 2020, so distribution, sale and delivery was highly restricted. April last year was also bleak, with 1039 registrations, a 90 percent fall on April of 2019.

Last month’s accrual follows a record February, when 12,488 registrations were notified. Year to date the market is up 27.6 percent (9046 units) compared to the first quarter of 2020.

And all this is despite supply disruption, resultant from Covid-19 though a global shortage of semiconductor is also influencing. This is a rebound from manufacturers having cut chip orders as vehicle sales fell last year. They have found themselves at the back of the queue when the market rebounded. The entire global car industry buys about $US37 billion worth of chips.

“A year on from our first Covid-19 lockdown, our sector is still operating under disrupted supply arrangements and supply shortages,” says David Crawford, chief executive of the distributor organisation, the Motor Industry Association.

“As shipments arrive, vehicles are going straight through Customs, distributor pre-delivery inspections and entry compliance, to the franchised dealer and on to the new owner, who invariably has been on a wait list.”

Most popular vehicle last month was the Toyota Hilux, which continues to enjoy buoyant sales following a massive facelift late last year. In March it recorded 1019 registrations to claim a 19 percent share of the commercial market. Arch-rival Ford Ranger accounted for 828 sales to sit in second spot, with Mitsubishi Triton third on 691.

In the passenger segment the Mitsubishi Outlander again led the way with 467 registrations, comfortably ahead of the Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4.

Of the total of 15,498 registrations, 424 (2.7 percent) were pure electric vehicles. There were also 150 PHEVs and 855 hybrids sold during the month.

Toyota remains the overall market leader with a 15 percent market share, followed by Mitsubishi on 11 percent and Ford on nine percent.

Clean car ambition timeframes challenged

New vehicle distributors agree the CO2 count has to fall, but say the pace of proposed change will be problematic.

NZ-new EV availability is ramping up, with this BMW iX (above) among confirmed 2021 entries, but the industry points out that left-hand-drive markets are prioritised, which hurts planning for this country.

NEW vehicle importers support a clean car standard but believe the mooted deadline of 2025 is impossible to achieve and have labelled electric vehicle uptake forecasting as a fantasy.

The Motor Industry Association, which speaks for new car distributors and has more than 44 members covering 81 different marques, is more partial to a 2028 deadline, as suggested in a Climate Change Commission report.

However, it is also particularly scathing of the commission’s considerations about the pace of EV uptake in New Zealand, saying its modelling “enters the realm of fantasy and wishful thinking.”

This is the MIA’s biggest concern, though it is also questioning the agency’s projections about when EVs will achieve price-parity with conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, saying that forecast is also seriously awry. Predictions of low emission vehicles also run ahead of what the MIA believes is possible.

“We consider that the commission’s target of 50 percent of vehicle imports to be electric by 2027 are overly optimistic, as are the projections for price parity.”

It highlights that the world’s EV makers are primarily concerned with meeting demands in markets where hard-and-fast deadlines for reduced emissions and ICE car availability has been established. It also points out that with the exception of the United Kingdom, which plans to ban new ICE cars from 2030, these are predominantly left-hand-drive markets, so as result production for right-hand-drive countries is limited at best.

The Association also believes the commission undervalues the role of carbon sinks, synthetic fuels – that could keep internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in circulation - and hydrogen technologies.

The latest comment comes after a number of high-profile local distributors, including Toyota New Zealand and European Motor Distributors – which holds rights to all brands held by Volkswagen Group, an electric vehicle production juggernaut likely to overtake Tesla next year (yet is unable to begin supply to NZ until 2023) - have called on the Government for a feebate scheme to sit alongside its clean car legislation, fearing that without it new EVs will struggle to see similar demand.

The MIA’s criticisms and alternate proposals are contained in a comprehensive report responding to the Government having announced, in January, an emissions standard which, if approved, will take effect from next year and also the commission’s subsequent draft report lending opinion about what it believes New Zealand must do.

The deadline for submissions about these matters is today.

The Government’s standard will require new and used car importers to meet incrementally lower emissions targets, falling to 105 grams of CO2 per kilometre average by 2025, from a present average of 171g/km.

The commission has subsequently recommended the Government deploy an end-date for petrol and diesel internal combustion cars, proposing 2032 as appropriate.

In a covering letter to the MIA’s submission, chief executive David Crawford says new vehicle importers supports need for cleaner vehicles, but says the timeline for a lower CO2 average is too rushed.

“Unfortunately the Government’s timeline of 2025 is impossible to reach with resulting penalties becoming a financial impost against all new vehicles including low emission vehicles.”

“Additionally, the transport policies in the draft report focus on vehicles entering the fleet which is only a small portion of the in-service fleet. We need policies to focus on not just only those entering the fleet, but also to target existing vehicles. This will garner a faster rate of emission reductions than just focusing on vehicles as they enter the fleet.”

Additionally, the transport policies in the draft report focus on vehicles entering the fleet which is only a small portion of the in-service fleet, he says. 

“We need policies to focus on not just only those entering the fleet, but also to target existing vehicles. This will garner a faster rate of emission reductions than just focusing on vehicles as they enter the fleet.”

In an executive summary, the MIA says the commission should have been “more technology agnostic, and not favour one technology over another, but enable the transport industry to develop innovative solutions” to meet reduced CO2 targets.

Crawford says the commission’s thought that technological breakthroughs will be crucial to enable the agricultural sector to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions does not give consideration to the potential for new technological breakthroughs for the transport sector.

David Crawford.

“The MIA believes the (commission’s) draft advice report needs to give greater weight to the role that synthetic fuels (including e-fuels) could play in reducing emissions from the current ICE fleet.

“ ….we also consider the report has underplayed the potential for hydrogen propulsion, not only for heavy vehicles but also light, in addition to battery technology. There is also no evaluation of the role e-motorcycles/scooters can play in reducing emissions.”

It believes discussion of ICE bans is premature if synthetic fuel can be produced. It suggests the country should invest in the production of such ‘e-fuels’  “and we have an opportunity to do so.

“For example, once the extension to the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter contract has run its term in 2024 then that electricity could be utilised to make e-fuel to lower emissions of the entire NZ fleet of light and heavy vehicles.”

It also moots the use of wind turbines to assist in the creation of hydrogen, a process which is already signed off for trial, and is excited by the development of second generation biofuels which are sourced from various bio-stock (wood, for one) to make a crude bio-oil from which petrol and diesel can be produced.

In a recent commentary, Crawford noted “these second generation biofuels are known as ‘drop-in’ fuels which are 100 percent compatible with existing ICE engines and fuel management systems.”

Landmark ladies of motoring

These women helped shape automotive history.

Beatrice Shilling’s story is one of two wheels and wings.

MOTORING has felt like a man’s world for as long as many of us can remember, with men dominating roles across the industry.

By latest estimate, just 0.04 percent of mechanics in the were females, just six women have got behind the wheel for a Formula One Grand Prix weekend, and a mere two of taxi drivers are women.

To acknowledge March 8 being World Women’s Day, today’s story highlights the achievements of pioneering female figures in motoring. (This material was provided by insurers Hegarty’s and USwitch).

Beatrice Shilling

An engineering genius, motorbike racer and World War II hero … Shilling’s story is one of two wheels and wings.

In 1932, when she graduated from the University of Manchester with an honours degree in engineering, she was listed as ‘Mr’ on her student record card, female titles were not yet a recognised option.

In 1934, she became the second woman to be awarded a Brooklands Gold Star when she recorded two laps at over 101mph, and later became the circuit’s fastest female racer ever with a lap speed of 106mph.

When World War II broke, Shilling was working for the Royal Aircraft Establishment.

Her invention of a restrictor valve that prevented RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes from stalling and falling from the sky during steep dives, saved the lives of many pilots, and arguably helped win the Battle of Britain.

Odette Siko established Le Mans records that remain unbeaten.

Odette Siko
This Frenchwoman made motorsport history as the first woman to race the Le Mans 24 Hours on the 21st June 1930.

Competing alongside Marguerite Mareuse in a Bugatti T40, they made it home in seventh position – a result that’s yet to be beaten by an all-female team.

In 1932 Siko claimed fourth spot overall and class win aboard an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 with Louis Charaval – another record finish for a woman that still stands today.

Minnie Palmer

In 1897, Minnie Palmer became her own chauffeur.

Distinguishing herself as the first woman in England to drive and own her own car, the American-born actress took delivery of a French-made Rougemont automobile.

It was 31 years before women achieved the same voting rights as men, but Palmer’s move proved that the sexes could be equals behind the wheel – a significant milestone on the road to the social and political emancipation of women.

Dorothee Pullinger, at far left, with the Galloway, a car designed for women.

Dorothée Pullinger

An  engineer and entrepreneur, who designed a car for women, built by women.

She’d been refused entry to the Institution of Automobile Engineers on the grounds that “the word person means a man and not a woman” – a decision that was later reversed.

By the early 1920s Pullinger was manager of Galloway Motors, a car factory run by a female workforce that adopted the colours of the suffragettes. An on-site engineering college offered women apprenticeships that lasted three years, rather than the usual five for men, because it was believed women were faster learners. Pullinger designed and developed the Galloway – the world’s first car specifically for women.

Gear levers were placed inside rather than outside the car so that they were easier to reach, the seat was raised, storage space was added, the dashboard was lowered, and the steering wheel was smaller. It was also one of the first automobiles to introduce a rear-view mirror as standard.

Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt

The first British female racing driver who set records and taught royals how to drive, Londoner Levitt was described as “the fastest girl on earth” when she set a new world speed record for women of 91mph.

She did it in a six-cylinder Napier during a speed trial at Blackpool in 1906. Three years earlier she had been garlanded with the title of Britain’s first female motor racing driver, and also set the world’s first water speed record when she achieved 19.3mph in a 40-foot steel-hulled, Napier-engine speedboat.

In 1905, she set another record, for the “longest drive achieved by a lady driver” for a return journey to Liverpool from Britain’s capital.

Her accomplishments made her a media sensation. In her 1909 book, The Woman and the Car: a Chatty Little Handbook for All Women who Motor or Want to Motor she advised women to carry gloves, chocolate, and a revolver in the drawer under the driver’s seat.

Margaret Wilcox
For early adopters of the motorcar, driving was open-air enjoyment in its purest, and for some months of the year, frostiest, form.

On November 28, 1893, Wilcox patented a solution: the world’s first in-car heating system.  

It took decades for car makers to warm to her idea, which was considered a luxurious optional extra even when fully enclosed bodywork and glass windows became more widespread, but finally, in 1929, the Ford Model A became the first vehicle to offer in-car heating at the point of manufacture.

For Wilcox, the design also represented a turning point in her career as an inventor; it was the first to be patented in her own name rather than her husband’s, a practice which had been law in the United States until 1809.

Mary Anderson never profited from her invention … the windscreen wiper.

Mary Anderson
You can see clearly now because inventor Mary Anderson spotted a problem that needed solving, to clear ice from the windscreen a driver had to open the window, chilling the cabin in the process.

Anderson’s solution was a spring-loaded arm with a rubber blade that would move back and forth across the glass to wipe it away. The design patented in 1903 but her invention wasn’t an instant hit with car companies, who believed it would distract drivers. She never profited from her invention.

Bertha Benz, the original road tripper.

 Bertha Benz

Early one August morning in 1888 Bertha Benz set off in her husband’s car, without permission, spare fuel, or a map, to make the 106km journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany.

Her husband was Karl Benz, and the car was the world’s first. Karl was convinced his invention wasn't ready for the open road, but Bertha believed it was ready for the world, and that the world was ready to see a woman setting its new course.

 When she ran out of fuel, she purchased ligroin (a petroleum-based solvent) from a pharmacy in Wiesloch – now considered the first petrol station in history.

When the engine overheated, she used water from ditches and streams to cool it. When a fuel line became blocked, she cleaned it with her hat pin. She even used her garter as insulation material and paid a cobbler to cover the brake shoes in leather and in doing so invented the world’s first brake lining.  

Pat Moss, left, had the utmost respect of her brother, Sir Stirling Moss.

Pat Moss
"What she managed to do was amazing, actually," said Sir Stirling Moss, when asked about his younger sister.

High praise from a man who was not noted for his championing of women in motorsport.

Moss built her formidable reputation on outright wins and podium finishes at international rallies throughout the 1950s and ‘60s.  

Her maiden event took place in 1953, when she competed in her Morris Minor convertible at the age of 18.

She went on to be crowned five-times European Ladies Rally Championship winner and the Coupe des Dames on the Monte Carlo Rally eight times, she also won the gruelling 1960 Liege-Rome-Liege Rally in a fearsome Austin Healey 100/6 and went on to finish second at the Coupe des Alpes.

Her biggest achievement was winning the Tulip Rally in 1962 in the newly introduced Mini Cooper.

 Vera Hedges Butler
In 1900 Vera Hedges Butler was the first British woman to pass a driver’s test, but she had to go to Paris to do it. Assessed on her ability to pull away, steer and stop, she also had to demonstrate her knowledge of what to do in the event of a breakdown.

In Britain, compulsory testing wasn’t brought in until June 1, 1935.

Alice Ramsey

An expert driver with an unrivalled passion, she founded, and became the President, of the First Women’s Motoring Club in the United States.

Building her profile, her enthusiasm resulted in an offer from motoring company, Maxwell to drive from New York to San Francisco.

Always one to say yes to a challenge, Ramsey accepted and became the first woman to navigate the country at a time when roads weren't developed properly. Throughout her drive she had to maintain the car, so managed to fix broken brake pedals and clean spark plugs, amongst other things. 

Florence Lawrence

The ‘first movie star’, Lawrence not only had a love for acting, but also a fondness for motoring.

Growing increasingly frustrated with the number of accidents that were caused by not knowing if the car in front was just slowing down, or turning left or right, she created two iconic elements; auto-signalling arms which were essentially flags which were operated from inside the vehicle, and a stop sign that flipped up at the back of the car when the brake pedal was depressed.

Both creations led to the development of electric indicators and brake lights that are a legal requirement nowadays. 

WILMA Russey, New York’s first taxi driver, knew how to attraction attention.

Wilma K Russey

The first woman to be licensed as a New York taxi driver, Russey became quite the local celebrity when she took on the position. Never one to disappoint or shy away from the limelight, she is said to have received a tip from her first customer due to her leopard skin hat.

Charlotte Bridgewater

Charlotte Bridgewater built on Mary Anderson’s invention and created the electronic wiper. Although they didn’t work well at the time, they are obviously now common on vehicles.

Hedy Lamarr … Hollywood actress, also a founder of GPS.

Hedy Lamarr

An actress first, Lamarr worked alongside George Antheil during the Second World War to develop a non-jamable radio guidance system that allowed ships to guide their torpedoes effectively.

Despite not being widely recognised at the time, this technology is the founding of Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth.

Dr Gladys West

This mathematician came to prominence after she was part of an award-winning study that proved the regularity of Pluto's motion relative to Neptune. But it was what she did next that landed her in the automotive history books. 

Dr West began working with satellites and programmed an IBM computer to deliver precise calculations to model the shape of the Earth. Using complex algorithms which accounted for variations in gravitational, tidal, and other forces that distort Earth's shape, her data became the basis for the GPS we still use today.

Michelle Christensen

It wasn’t until 2005 that the industry hired a female exterior designer.

Hired by Honda nearly 20 years ago, she was surrounded by cars from a young age and developed an interest, which resulted in her designing a number of prominent cars, including the second-generation Honda NSX.

Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in US motorsport.

Danica Sue Patrick

One of the few high-profile female racing drivers, Danica is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing to date.

She began driving professionally in the late 1990s and has taken part in hundreds of races in the NASCAR and IndyCar series.

Mary Barra runs General Motors.

Mary T Barra

The first female Chief Executive Officer of a major automotive company, Barra has been at the helm of General Motors for more than seven years and became the chairman of the board of directors in 2016.

Her appointment as the CEO brought her to the forefront of the industry and as such, she’s now one of the most recognisable names – not only in motoring, but in business, with Forbes and Fortune Magazine including her on their lists of powerful women.

Alexandra Hirschi

Also known as Supercar Blondie, Hirschi is an award-winning Australian presenter and social media personality. Best known for her automobile videos, she has over 45 million followers worldwide, and regularly works with luxury brands to promote their new releases.

 # More information: https://www.uswitch.com/car-insurance/guides/female-driving-confidence-iconic-women-in-motoring/

Record February belies continued shortages

Straight off the ship and into driveways – that’s the pattern showing in a big month of new vehicle registrations.

Toyota Hilux kicked dirt into Ford Ranger’s face in February

LAST MONTH’s record run of new vehicle sales isn’t a sign that New Zealand’s distributors are overcoming a severe shortage of stock to sell – it’s because every vehicle arriving here is being snapped up by waiting customers.

There are still big backlogs of customer orders, and as a result new vehicle stock reserves are still less than 50 percent of normal, says the Motor Industry Association.

“Essentially all new vehicle arrivals are going straight from the wharves to the distributors to the dealerships to the customers,” says MIA chief executive officer David Crawford.

“February’s new vehicle sales figure of 12,488 registrations was the strongest for the month of February ever, but it could have been even better - New Zealand is still facing a cocktail of supply constraints.”

These include some factories remaining on go-slow due to issues surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, shortages of various vehicle parts, and big delays in getting new vehicles shipped to New Zealand.

Despite those issues, February was still a very healthy month for new vehicle sales. They were 9.2 percent up on February last year, and year-to-date the market is up 7.6 percent or 1865 units on the opening two months of 2020.

If the trend continues, March and April will be a welcome change from the same months of last year when sales fell to almost nil thanks to the effects of Covid-19 – the national Level 4 lockdown here, and the lack of vehicle manufacturing internationally.

A feature of the MIA figures for February were some significant changes in what vehicles are the most popular.

Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand’s runout programme for Outlander seems to be going well.

The Toyota Hilux cleaned out arch-rival Ford Ranger to lead the commercial sales race, its 804 sales taking a commanding 21 percent market share, well ahead of Ranger’s 15 percent.

And in the SUV/passenger vehicle segment it was the Mitsubishi Outlander that grabbed top spot from the Mazda CX-5 with 595 registrations – helped along by 133 sales to a fast-recovering rental car industry.

Compact SUVs strengthened their lead over from medium SUVs as the most popular vehicle type. Led by such product as Kia Seltos and Sportage, Mitsubishi ASX and Toyota C-HR, the segment grabbed a 22 percent market share with 2778 registrations. Year-to-date the compact SUVs now hold a 24 percent share, well ahead of the 19 percent held by the medium SUVs.

Toyota remains the market leader for all new vehicle sales with a 16 percent share, but Mitsubishi has improved to 13 percent thanks largely to continued popularity of its Outlander and ASX models, and Triton ute. Ford and Kia share third spot with 8 percent market shares.

“The February market has benefitted from recent stock arrivals and a resilient local economy where New Zealanders continue to spend on new vehicles what might otherwise be spent on international travel,” says Crawford.

The top 10 sellers for February: Toyota Hilux, 804 registrations; Mitsubishi Outlander, 595; Ford Ranger, 549; Mitsubishi Triton, 474; Kia Sportage, 370; Kia Seltos, 364; Mazda CX-5, 360; Mitsubishi ASX, 319; Suzuki Swift, 311; Toyota RAV4, 284.