A new electric vehicle could be seen on the streets of some European and US streets before the end of the year as the prototype of the Hiriko is unveiled in Brussels. The dome-shaped town-car has been designed to fold in on itself so that when it is parked it will take up less space than a Smart car.

The vehicle has been developed by MIT in the US with backing from a number of Basque businesses and with the support of the Spanish government. If trials later this year are successful, then the two-seater could go into commercial production as soon as the beginning of next year.

Each of the Hiriko’s four wheels is powered by its own motor and steered individually. This makes the vehicle more manoeuvrable, say… Read the full story

by Mia Harris on January 24th, 2012

General Motors is claiming that it sold more than 9 million vehicles in 2011, which means that it has taken back the crown for largest carmaker on the planet from Toyota. A rise in sales of 7.6 per cent meant that it topped Toyota’s sales of 7.9 million cars last year. However, Toyota’s figures were dented by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the widespread flooding which hit Thailand.

Volkswagen has questioned the validity of GM’s figures, claiming that it was in fact the largest car manufacturer in 2011. The German firm said that GM had boosted its figures by including vehicle sales of Chinese firms which it merely holds shares in. Volkswagen said that when it had published its figures of 8.1 million vehicles sold it had not… Read the full story

by Aadyn Taylor on January 20th, 2012

Leading US carmakers Ford and General Motors saw sales rise in China to record numbers during 2011. Although the market has shown signs of a slowdown, manufacturers believe that 2012 will produce similar results. GM reported an 8.3 per cent increase in sales of its own vehicles, and those produced by its partners in China, to 2.5 million vehicles, a record high.

Ford announced that it had managed to sell 519,390 vehicles, which represents an increase of seven per cent. The car makers have managed to attract customers by introducing a number of new models. Sales were given a boost by the Chinese government in 2010 after incentives were introduced to encourage people to purchase new cars.

According to GM’s president of international operations, Tim Lee, the company’s share of… Read the full story

by Mia Harris on January 10th, 2012

Car manufacturer Toyota has announced plans to ramp up production next year by 20 per cent. The company was forced to battle against problems caused this year by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the widespread flooding across Thailand. Toyota said that it would be increasing sales to 8.65 million, and would be pushing up production to 8.48 million vehicles.

The announcement comes after the car maker said year end profits were likely to be closer to 180 billion yen than the 390 billion forecast made in August. According to some analysts, Toyota is being ambitious. Chibagin Asset Management’s Fujo Ando said that factors such as the state of the global economy and the debt crisis in the eurozone were likely to dampen Toyota’s optimism.

Overseas sales for… Read the full story

by Cooper Anderson on December 23rd, 2011

As Qantas reviews its catering business, there is speculation that the airline may be talking to Gate Gourmet, the country’s second largest airline catering business, about offloading its underperforming Riverside business, which is based near Sydney Airport. A spokesman for the flying kangaroo confirmed that the carrier was examining catering operations, but insisted that core aspects such as Snap Fresh and Q Catering were not being put up for sale.

In 2005, when Qantas was being led by Geoff Dixon, the airline put its entire catering operation on the market for $400 million. However, a buyer could not be found for that price.

Industry insiders maintain that Qantas is looking to sell its catering arm, some saying that the asset has been on the books for the past year-and-a-half. Each… Read the full story

by Lily Thompson on December 14th, 2011

Sydney Airport has announced plans to house Jetstar and Qantas, as well as partners including British Airways, under on roof. This would involve the airlines moving all operations to what are presently the T2 and T3 domestic terminals. Australia’s number two carrier would move its operations over to Sydney’s international terminal.

If the plans go ahead, then Qantas could receive around $350 million after handing back leases it has taken out on its domestic terminal, the jet base and the freight terminal. The lease on T3 was due to expire in 2019, and leases on other assets are due to expire the following year.

Under the latest proposals, Virgin Australia would get a new hanger for maintenance work, and Qantas would get a new line maintenance engineering complex. The plans… Read the full story

by Mia Harris on December 6th, 2011

September was a disappointing month for the Australian tourism industry, which is seeing the number of foreign visitors continue to decline as more nationals decide to take their holidays abroad. Martin Ferguson, the Tourism Minister, said the month had been made particularly tough as events such as the Rugby World Cup attracted visitors to neighbouring New Zealand, and Ramadan kept the usual number of visitors from Malaysia and Indonesia down.

September saw 432,200 visitors come in from abroad and 790,600 locals travelling overseas, according to figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The figure is 9 per cent down on the same month a year ago. The number of Australians jetting abroad for their holidays has risen by 10.3 per cent over the year, mainly because of the strong… Read the full story

by Aadyn Taylor on November 11th, 2011

Tourism Queensland is launching a new campaign to attract visitors to the Sunshine State. The authorities are piggybacking the resources boom by claiming that ‘Vitamin Me’, an essence which provides an antidote to negative feelings and stress, occurs in abundance throughout Queensland.

The state has had a difficult year in terms of visitors because of natural disasters, including cyclones and floods, and because of a strong dollar, which has encouraged people to travel abroad. Part of the campaign will be offering Australians the chance to win a holiday worth $10,000. Deals such as ‘three nights for the price of two’ are also being rolled out in the hope that more people will opt to stay at home for their holidays.

Anthony Hayes, chief executive for Tourism Queensland, said the campaign… Read the full story

by Lily Thompson on October 19th, 2011

Dubai Airports has announced plans to increase Dubai International’s capacity to 90 million passengers a year by 2018. By next year, it expects to cater to 75 million travellers. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, has confirmed that the project will receive a cash injection of $7.8 billion.

According to Airports Council International, in the first quarter of the year, Dubai International was only less busy than Heathrow and Hong Kong airports. The expansion plans could potentially make it the busiest airfield in the world. It currently serves 60 million passengers every year.

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, is based at Dubai International. By the end of next year, concourse 3 will be completed which will be used by Emirates’ fleet of A380 superjumbos. Concourse 4 is due… Read the full story

by Aadyn Taylor on July 8th, 2011

Natural disasters around the globe have been bad news for Australia’s tourism and airline industries. Recent problems caused by a volcanic ash cloud created by an eruption in Chile have added to the woes of flooding, cyclones and earthquakes in both New Zealand and Japan. According to John Lee of the Tourism and Transport Forum, the daily cost to the tourism industry could be in excess of A$10 million.

The problem has been made worse by a strong dollar which has resulted in more people travelling abroad than are entering the country. Economic issues in America and Britain have also contributed to dwindling tourism figures.

Qantas announced this week that the disruption caused by the ash cloud from Chile had already cost the carrier more than A$20 million. Alan Joyce,… Read the full story

by Isabella Robinson on June 30th, 2011