Alright, everyone, welcome to our latest episode of The Full Brief. Today, we’ve got a stacked lineup of stories, so let's dive right into The Hot Topics of the day. Charlotte, you wanna kick this off?Absolutely. First up, Kia Corporation’s president and CEO, Song Ho-Sung, made a special trip to New Zealand. This visit really highlighted Kia’s commitment to the Kiwi market, especially with their upcoming Tasman Ute and EV4 models.Yeah, it’s such a confidence boost for the local team, right? I mean, the head honcho coming down here isn’t something you see every day.Definitely not. It’s also interesting to see automakers doubling down on New Zealand as a key market for both EVs and utes.Speaking of EVs, Chery is bringing its Super Hybrid technology to New Zealand with the Tiggo 7 and 8 SUV models. These are facelifted versions with a 1.5-litre engine and an 18.3-kWh plug-in battery. Plus, get this—it takes only 19 minutes to charge from thirty to eighty percent.Nineteen minutes? That’s awesome. And, with a range of ninety kilometers on EV power alone, it’s pretty practical for daily drives.Okay, now switching gears just for a second——pun intended?Of course! Let’s take a quick moment to thank today’s sponsor.So, today’s podcast is brought to you by Autocheck.Stop paying too much for vehicle checks. Get your comprehensive vehicle reports for less!Check out Autocheck.co.nz, your trusted vehicle data provider.Okay, back to the news. Now, onto “The Best of the Rest.” Jack, wanna take the lead on this one?Sure thing. Big news from JAC Motors—they’re expanding their dealership network here in NZ. They’ve added three new locations in Napier, Auckland’s North Shore, and Hamilton, all to support the rollout of their T9 ute, which they’re calling the “JAC of All Trades.”I love that nickname. Plus, they’re partnering with Fieldays, so they’re clearly targeting a rural audience.Exactly. Now, the "In Other News" section. Charlotte?Alright, this one’s tough. A Hawke’s Bay car dealer, Steve McKinnon, has had to shut his business after delays in the public health system left him battling stage three bowel cancer. The system failed him, missing the 42-day diagnostic target by over a year.Man, that’s rough. It just shows how interconnected health and livelihoods are.Yeah, it’s heartbreaking. Anyway, on a more optimistic note, Contact Energy’s trialing tech to help EV owners charge during off-peak times. Reducing demand on the grid while saving customers money—smart concept, right?Totally. And now onto International EV news. So, Dodge is shaking things up with their Charger Daytona R/T. It seems the base version won’t make the cut for 2026, but there’s talk of other trims focusing on performance instead.Yeah, Dodge says it’s due to tariff pressures and a need to reassess their strategy. Definitely a wait-and-see situation.Okay, finally, our One Liners today. First up, Hyundai NZ’s renewing its national golf partnership to support the sport from grassroots to professional levels.Bentley unveiled the Bentayga Aoraki Edition, inspired by Mount Cook. It’s their first NZ-themed car.King Charles is adding a $265,000 electric Lotus to his car collection. Must be nice, right?And Honda NZ has confirmed pricing for their first pure-electric car, the e:N1. It’s their EV take on the HR-V, but with a bespoke platform.Alright, that’s a wrap for today’s episode. As always, head over to thefullbrief.nz to click through to all the articles we talked about, and subscribe to our daily email while you’re there.And thanks for listening! We’ll see you next time.

Episodes

NZ Automotive News - 20th May 2025