News & Views

The huge costs and inefficiencies associated with our current transport model are self-evident. The majority of vehicles sit idle, and when moving only a small proportion of the energy released from burning a fossil fuel is to actually move the vehicle (most energy is devoted to overcoming the inertia of the vehicle itself). To this we can add the social and economic costs of accidents and congestion. As one of the world’s most urbanized and motorized nations these inefficiencies are particularly pronounced in Australia.

Throughout human civilisation there’s been a need to transport freight. This has evolved over time as new technologies were introduced and widely adopted.

The freight task for the pyramids was powered by humans, elephants got Hannibal over Alps, while the horse and cart kept freight moving until the discovery of steam as a source of power. The invention of the internal combustion engine then led to the emergence of diesel powered trucks as the dominant mode of transport in the twentieth century.

Almost half of Australian road transport fleets are now using telematics systems. Although they’ve become business critical for many operators, there’s still much work to be done before the current focus on effective fleet management is replaced by service innovation. So how will the industry get there?

Looking for some 2017 numbers? Click here for the year in review

We’ve shifted into high gear into 2017 and we’re nearly a quarter of the way around the track.   To know where we’re going it’s crucial we understand where we’ve been. It’s time to review 2016’s automotive sales and the impact of ongoing changes in the Australian car industry. In our review of the VFACTS annual sales data we summarise key trends in the automotive industry, highlight the winners and losers and pose the question: Are we reaching peak automotive?

Understanding Australian road transport on the road to 2025

Cast your mind back to the mid-eighties, early nineties. Developments in technology moved at a far slower pace, and as a result, good examples of tech hung around for a while.

The latest automotive industry research reveals how digital channels are changing the automotive finance customer journey.

2016 looks to be another record year for the Australian automotive industry, with new vehicle sales set to surpass the record set in 2015. With interest rates at historically low levels, car ownership is more affordable than ever before and total automotive lending commitments in the 2015-2016 financial year reached more than $15.5 billion.

Automotive industry news is a buzz over the fact that Uber now has a fleet of autonomous, self-driving vehicles in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. When a customer gets in, they see an iPad mounted between the front seats that first welcomes them, shows the route the vehicle plans to take to get them to their destination, and also the progress along the route with the vehicle’s speed.

Is a luxury car in your future? Perhaps a Ferrari, a Tesla, or maybe a Porche? ACA's Dr. Steve Nuttall, recently chatted with Stuart Bocking, on 2UE radio to discuss the growing number of luxury car purchases in Australia and other trends in the auto world to watch for.

“If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.” - Bob Dylan