THE AUTOMOTIVE YEAR: 2012 Car company of the year

2012 Car company of the year

Marton Pettendy – Managing Editor
This one could easily go to Toyota Australia, which has regained the market share it lost following last year's natural disasters, or a number of other Japanese car-makers including Nissan and a steamrolling Mazda – both of which have also increased their share of the local motor market by a significant margin this year.

Renault has also boomed from a low base, which is arguably a greater achievement than the stellar performances of Jeep and Land Rover, which continue to ride the nation's SUV wave.

Kia deserves an honourable mention for its 25 per cent sales spike (and for also embarrassing its bigger sister brand Hyundai in terms of share growth).

But my 2012 car company gong goes to Volkswagen, which has returned to mainstream prominence with an array of well-built, well-suited models at the right price – despite a downturn in its bread-and-butter Golf. And with Mk7 Golf on the horizon, this is no flash in the pan.

Ken Gratton – News Editor
Kia is achieving some outstanding results by addressing the needs of individual markets. With the benign overview of parent company Hyundai, Kia has lifted sales right around the world through a combination of getting the product right and applying marketing nous. Both the Korean companies appear to be kicking goals in notoriously nationalistic and parochial Europe by developing and building cars there. They're forging ahead of the Japanese in those markets.

In Australia Hyundai may be bumping up against the glass ceiling of sales but Kia is on the cusp of pushing a Japanese company – Honda? – out of the top 10.

Between word of mouth and cleverly targeted advertisements, Kia's local sales continue to grow apace. Grand Master Flash appearing in the Sportage TV commercial and the use of Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' for the Rio were not only entertaining, they were conspicuous among other automotive commercials that didn't achieve the same eyeballing.

Matt Brogan – Road Test Editor
You know you’re on a good thing when your four-year-old small car is still out-selling its newer rivals. In fact, Mazda's 3 outsells everything, period. Ditto when your new SUV [CX-5] shatters all expectations and your upcoming mid-sizer shows a strong chance of doing the same!

The model mix just works, and Mazda Australia makes success look easy. There’s not a category this company competes in where it doesn’t perform strongly.

Feann Torr – Staff Journalist
Nissan for having the courage to take a few risks, most notably with its decision to sink tens of millions of dollars to make V8 Supercars interesting to casual viewers again. And though it’s well overdue, the Pulsar name is finally back too (albeit late January, 2013) and the new car is shaping up very, very nicely, with sharp pricing and what is said to be a ripper new 1.8-litre petrol engine.

The Pulsar SSS hot hatch has been confirmed as well, and it's looking increasingly likely we'll see a few Nismo-badged hotties too, all of which is evidence that Nissan is willing to invest in the local market to deliver cars that Australians want.

If Nissan brings back the 200SX it'd be the icing on the cake!

Bruce Newton – Contributor
i45, Veloster, i30, Santa Fe... Hyundai is now delivering consistently decent vehicles. Not world beaters, but definitely worth considering on merit, not just price.

Michael Taylor – Contributor
From Ferrari to Lamborghini, from Maserati to Pagani, I live in a land of supercars. And my car company of the year is… Dacia.

The brand began life selling rebodied, second-hand Renault tech into Eastern Europe and has encroached steadily into mainstream Europe. Now it's even in the UK and it's a matter of time before it hits Australia.

Its models are competing with second-hand cars, more than new cars, which justifies their three-star crash ratings. They're honest and the tech is proven and the cars aren't even ugly. Dacia does a ridiculously honest car at a ridiculously honest price.

Dacia's part of a pincer movement (with the Koreans on the other arm) that is crushing Peugeot, Opel, Ford, Fiat, Citroen, Seat and even parent Renault for profit and volume. And in the process it asks some difficult questions about what people really want and need in cars versus what car companies have been giving them.

Gautam Sharma -- Contributor
Four years ago it seemed all but certain Chrysler was on the verge of extinction under the pall of bankruptcy. Remarkably, the now Fiat-controlled company is turning over a tidy profit, with Chrysler's 2012 forecast pointing to a net profit of about $1.5 billion on net revenue of just under $65 billion. In fact, Chrysler's strong sales in its home market have now made its balance sheet stronger than that of its Fiat parent company – driven by the success of models such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Charger, which have been joined this year by the Alfa Giulietta-based Dodge Dart and V10-powered SRT Viper.

It’s a remarkable turnaround that barely seemed imaginable in 2009.

Jeremy Bass – Contributor
The past year has been the best of times and the worst of times for Toyota. On the downside was the rain of blows to its reputation with more recalls, and anti-Japan riots in China saw it suspend production. It has also been toughing it out with BMW to retain its title of the world’s most valuable automotive brand – who holds that crown now depends on whose study you read.

And yet, it came good with an instant sports classic in the 86, and at a rabbit-out-of-a-hat price. It expanded its Prius lineup dramatically. The Camry Hybrid took a great leap forward, and Lexus closed the gap with the Germans a little more with a new GS line-up.

It’s leading the US industry out of a massive slump, recording a 42 per cent rise in sales year on year in September, some way ahead of Honda at 31 per cent. And on the local front, it's been geeing up sales of its Altona-built product with calls to patriotism in troubled times and zero per cent finance deals. The only fly in the ointment perhaps will be Mazda3 pipping HiLux for the title of Australia's top-seller...

Mike McCarthy – Contributor Emeritus
More than just a Hollywood fiction, Back-To-The-Future is the everyday experience at Morgan. Hand-made in modest volumes Morgan's time-travelled vehicles may be, but in an industry geared to and dominated by giants, Malvern's finest proves small can be strong, small can be smart, and good guys can win.

Morgan, remember, has been around for more than 100 years already. Uniquely, the first 25 years were solely about three-wheeled models. That phase ended in 1936 with the 4/4 sports car (four wheels/four cylinders).

And public awareness has gone ballistic in the last two years with the rebirth of the Morgan Three-Wheeler. Production grew strongly in 2011 without denting demand and sources suggest Morgan's 2012 production will top 1200 vehicles -- about half of them Three Wheelers.

Local release seems about a year away, because making the Three Wheeler ADR compliant, with crash tests and all, is a big deal for a company of Morgan's miniscule size and resources.

Fortunately, formidable hurdles don't daunt Morgan. Its heart and heritage are up to the job.