Alright folks, welcome to the Full Brief, it's time to dive into today's Hot Topics. Let's get started with the latest in the New Zealand automotive industry.First up, Mitsubishi had quite the celebration! Morrison Mitsubishi Sockburn snagged the 2025 Supreme Diamond Dealer award, part of a ceremony honoring top performers nationwide. And get this—their sales and market share actually increased last year, despite the market dropping by 14 percent.Yeah, it's impressive. They’ve kept a solid third-place with a market share of 11.7 percent and over fourteen thousand registrations. Absolute powerhouse performance.Next, Suzuki New Zealand teamed up with stop-motion expert Adam Rowland for a stunning ad featuring the Swift. This isn't your typical car commercial, folks—it’s all handcrafted, frame by frame. No CGI at all.A real car in stop-motion? That’s crazy! It’s like the Swift has its own personality, zipping through these mini sets. Wild stuff.Exactly, and it really embodies Suzuki’s playful spirit, don’t you think? Now, moving to Christchurch—Turners Auto Retail is expanding fast. Their new Moorhouse Avenue dealership is the second of three branches opening in the city with over two hundred cars ready for sale at any time.Yeah, and with another branch opening in July, they’re really staking a claim in the South Island. Makes sense too, right?Definitely. Oh, and speaking of Christchurch, Blackwells Motor is teaming up with Chery New Zealand to introduce the popular Chinese marque in July, with exclusive dealerships in Sockburn and central Christchurch. It’s all about those feature-packed Tiggo SUVs.Interesting move. Last on the Hot Topics list, VIA’s sounding the alarm about clean car policies. They’ve released a paper criticizing the Clean Car Standard, claiming it’s actually backfiring—aging the fleet and increasing emissions. Big claims, right?True, and they’re pushing for some big changes, including better access to fuel-efficient hybrids and introducing transparent fuel levies. A huge conversation starter for sure.Now, let’s switch gears for a moment with a quick shoutout to our sponsor.Today’s podcast is brought to you by Autocheck. Stop paying too much for vehicle checks! Get your comprehensive vehicle reports for less. Head over to Autocheck dot co dot nz—your trusted vehicle data provider.Alright, moving right along. Now the Best of the Rest for the day! Starting with VinFast over in Indonesia. They debuted the right-hand drive VF 6 SUV at the Indonesia International Motor Show and have some interesting buy-back policies for EVs, offering up to ninety percent value after six months.Yeah, and with a network of seventy service centers and dealerships, they're clearly pushing hard in a growing market. That buy-back policy shows real confidence in their product.Absolutely. Now, In other News today... BYD has appointed Kate Hornstein as the new Chief Marketing Officer for Australia and New Zealand. She's been crucial for BYD’s rise in Australia, driving over forty thousand vehicle sales.And here in NZ, their distribution remains with Ateco Group, which seems to have a strong system in place. Now, El Cheapo Cars has been fined over a hundred grand for breaches under the CCCFA. On top of that, they have to compensate borrowers over three hundred and forty K.Tough day for them. Let’s switch to International EV news! Voltpost just unveiled their first lamppost EV charger in Oak Park, Illinois. Talk about innovation.It’s such a smart use of existing infrastructure. It’s affordable, accessible, and could totally revolutionize how we think about public charging.And now, finally, our One Liners for today... Lotus has refreshed the Eletre and Emeya line-up with more customization options.Alpine debuts the A390, its second all-electric model. A sporty, five-seater fastback with some serious AWD punch.Yeah, plus BMW’s Museum is opening “Belle Macchine,” an exhibition on Italian design. Who knew?And Bridgestone’s been named New Zealand’s most trusted tyre brand yet again—for the ninth straight year.And that’s a wrap! Don’t forget to subscribe and check out thefullbrief dot NZ for all the articles we talked about today. See you next time!

Episodes

NZ Automotive News - 30th May 2025