GAC AUSTRALIA has reversed its decision to delete seatbelt pretensioners and rear-seat belt reminders from its new entry-level Emzoom Premium, confirming the safety equipment will return to Australian-market vehicles from MY27 production.

 

The backflip follows criticism from independent vehicle safety authority ANCAP, which described the deletion of seatbelt pretensioners as a “retrograde step” and urged the Chinese manufacturer to reconsider the specification of its cheapest SUV.

 

GAC announced the Emzoom Premium last week at $22,990 driveaway – $4000 below the existing Emzoom Luxury and equal with the MG ZS Vibe as Australia’s cheapest new SUV.

 

However, achieving the lower price involved removing several features fitted to the Luxury grade, including front- and rear-seatbelt pretensioners and a rear-seat belt reminder system.

 

Other deleted equipment includes the panoramic sunroof, ventilated and electrically adjustable driver’s seat, front parking sensors, surround-view camera, and rear windscreen wiper.

 

ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg criticised the move, saying pretensioners had been commonplace in new vehicles since the mid-1990s and remained a fundamental occupant-protection measure.

 

“Offering a lower purchase price should not come at the expense of proven, fundamental occupant protection features that are already available on other Emzoom variants,” she said.

 

GAC Australia has now acknowledged concerns raised by customers and industry stakeholders and confirmed that both features will return.

 

In a statement, the importer said the omission reflected the specification of the Emzoom Premium in other international markets rather than a decision unique to Australia.

 

“It has since been confirmed that these features are not standard equipment on the Emzoom Premium grade in other global markets, contributing to their exclusion from the Australian specification,” it said.

 

“GAC International has now confirmed that both safety features will be reinstated for vehicles produced for the Australian market from Model Year 2027 production, with arrivals expected from November.”

 

The change will not, however, arrive in time to be of benefit to the first batch of Emzoom Premium vehicles due to reach Australian dealerships from early September.

 

Those MY26 plated vehicles will continue to be supplied without seatbelt pretensioners or rear-seat belt reminders, meaning there will be a short period in which two otherwise similarly positioned Emzoom Premium specifications are offered in Australia.

 

GAC’s current Australian specification sheet confirms the Premium uses front- and rear-seatbelts with force limiters only, while the more expensive Luxury combines pretensioners and force limiters and includes a rear-seat belt warning system.

 

Neither pretensioners nor rear-seat belt reminders are currently mandated under the Australian Design Rules, although ANCAP places considerable emphasis on occupant restraint performance when assessing vehicles.

 

The Emzoom has yet to receive an ANCAP safety rating.

 

ANCAP said the model remained a potential candidate for testing and could be independently selected for assessment even if GAC did not nominate it.

 

GAC said it would continue reviewing its Australian product specifications to ensure its vehicles met customer and industry expectations.

 

“Providing vehicle specifications that meet, and where possible exceed, the expectations of Australian customers and industry experts remain a priority for GAC,” it added.

 

“We will continue to review and enhance our product offering to ensure our vehicles align with market expectations and customer needs.”

 

MAZDA’S new 6e electric liftback has secured a five-star ANCAP safety rating, recording 93 per cent scores for both adult and child occupant protection.

 

The five-star result applies to both locally available GT and Atenza grades, which went on sale in July priced from $49,990 plus on-road costs and $52,990 + ORC respectively.

 

ANCAP awarded the rear-wheel drive battery-electric model 37.39 points from a possible 40 for Adult Occupant Protection, equating to 93 per cent, with maximum scores recorded in side-impact and far-side-impact assessments.

 

Child Occupant Protection also scored 93 per cent, or 46.0 points from 49, while the Mazda recorded 74 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection and 79 per cent for Safety Assist.

 

ANCAP said the 6e is equipped as standard with dual frontal, side chest-protecting, curtain, and centre airbags, the latter designed to reduce the risk of injury between front-seat occupants in a side-impact collision.

 

Standard active-safety equipment includes autonomous emergency braking with car-to-car, pedestrian and cyclist detection, junction and crossing functionality, back-over and head-on intervention.

 

Lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, emergency lane keeping, and speed-sign recognition are also standard across the range.

 

Mazda Australia national manager of product and business strategy Daniel Wakelam said the result provided an important endorsement for the brand’s first mainstream electric sedan.

 

“We are extremely pleased that the Mazda 6e is backed by a five-star ANCAP safety rating – a significant endorsement of the engineering and technology that has gone into developing our first mainstream electric sedan,” he said.

 

“Customers can confidently make the transition to electric vehicles, knowing that the Mazda 6e delivers award-winning design, engaging driving dynamics and the utmost safety they have come to expect from the brand.”

 

The Chinese-built Mazda 6e uses a 78kWh lithium iron phosphate battery feeding a rear-mounted 190kW/290Nm electric motor, with Mazda claiming up to 560km of WLTP driving range and a 30-80 per cent DC recharge time of about 15 minutes.

 

The ANCAP rating applies to all Australian and New Zealand variants of the Mazda 6e and carries a 2025 date-stamp, expiring in December 2031.

 

AS CAR cabins have become increasingly screen-heavy, Renault has decided to buck the trend seen throughout the wider automotive industry, with physical buttons to remain in the brand’s interiors according to its Australian general manager Glen Sealey.

 

Speaking to local media at the Australian launch of the Renault Symbioz – which features a selection of physical controls for key functions in its cockpit – Mr Sealey said that buttons and physical controls are a “founding principle” for the French marque.

 

“Buttons have always been a founding principle for Renault,” he said.

 

“Renault is a brand for life, and keeping things simple, keeping your eyes on the road, and shortcut buttons are important.

 

“It’s easier to change your radio station, move your sources, change your volume, or (make changes) from your steering wheel.

 

“The brand’s often being criticised for that, saying it’s a bit odd and it’s a bit weird. But once you use it, it becomes invaluable in keeping your eyes on the road.”

 

Mr Sealey says that Renault’s focus on physical buttons is based around safety.

 

“The philosophy of the Renault brand is that safety comes from keeping your eyes on the road and your attention on the road,” he added.

 

“Not ‘you can have a fantastic 12.0-inch high-resolution screen that has menus in there over here that you’re always having to go over and touch’.

 

“The Renault philosophy is keep shortcuts as much as you can with buttons, which is more expensive, by the way, and also to utilise technology to make sure it’s simple, user friendly, and familiar.”

 

When asked if physical buttons would be around for the long haul, Mr Sealey went on to say they would be – as would voice control functions.

 

In the case of the latter, the recently launched Symbioz’ compatibility with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto connectivity, and Google Built-In services allows drivers to interact with Siri and Google’s own voice command function.

 

Screen-heavy interiors have come under increased scrutiny in the automotive industry in recent times. 

 

Earlier this year, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) proposed regulation changes that would mandate the inclusion of physical buttons for key vehicle functions, including lighting, the horn, the vehicle on/off button, gear selection, ADAS features, wipers, window demisting, and emergency calling.

 

Independent safety body ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program), has had a similar response. In its factsheet regarding the 2026 changes to safety testing protocols, ANCAP stressed the importance of having physical controls available for drivers.

 

“It’s time to bring back buttons and stalks and remove some of the complication (and distraction!),” ANCAP’s factsheet reads.

 

“From 2026, we’re asking car makers to either offer physical buttons for important driver controls like the horn, indicators, hazard lights, windscreen wipers and headlights, or dedicate a fixed portion of the cabin display screen to these primary driving functions.”

 

Renault isn’t the only car manufacturer out of Europe that is prioritizing physical buttons.

 

As previously reported by GoAuto, Audi is shifting away from screen-focused interiors for its product line-up going forward, placing greater importance on tactile controls.

 

Some car makers have also bucked the trend of haptic touch buttons as opposed to traditional push buttons.

 

For example, physical steering wheel controls were reintroduced for the MK8.5 Volkswagen Golf after the haptic buttons used in its pre-facelift predecessor were met with heavy criticism.

 

At the top end of the market, Ferrari also made a similar move last year when it introduced the Amalfi to replace the Roma.

 

Earlier this year, the Italian performance marque also revealed a retrofit kit adding physical buttons to the Purosangue and 12Cilindri’s steering wheels.

VOLKSWAGEN Group will slash its sprawling global model portfolio by as much as half and cut the complexity of individual vehicle ranges by up to 75 per cent as it seeks to rein in development spending and restore profitability.

 

The German giant – encompassing Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Cupra, Seat, Porsche, Bentley and Lamborghini among others – says the overhaul will concentrate investment on fewer, more profitable vehicles while reducing the costly duplication that has accumulated across its brands.

 

The move forms a central plank of Volkswagen Group chief executive Oliver Blume’s Future Plan, which targets a substantially leaner organisation by 2030, including production capacity aligned to around nine million vehicles annually.

 

Volkswagen says its model range will be progressively reduced by up to 50 per cent and equipment complexity by as much as 75 per cent.

 

It represents a significant reversal of the strategy that helped make Volkswagen one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers, with the Group historically filling almost every conceivable market niche and frequently offering several closely related models across different brands.

 

According to an internal Future Picture 2030 document reported by Automotive News Europe, Volkswagen Group chief financial officer Arno Antlitz and development chief Werner Tietz argue that cutting this complexity will allow the company to maintain its technological competitiveness while spending substantially less.

 

The pressure to do so is considerable.

 

Volkswagen invested €34.4 billion ($A61b) during 2025, including €19.4 billion ($A34b) on research and development in its Automotive Division. Its investment ratio stood at 11.8 per cent of sales – a level Volkswagen itself acknowledges is well above many competitors.

 

At the same time, earnings have been squeezed. Volkswagen Group’s 2025 operating result fell 53 per cent to €8.9 billion ($A15.7b), producing an operating margin of just 2.8 per cent.

 

Conditions remain difficult in 2026. First-half revenue was broadly unchanged at €158.1 billion ($A279b), but operating profit slipped 11.6 per cent to €5.9 billion ($A10.4b), leaving an operating margin of 3.8 per cent against 4.2 per cent a year earlier.

 

Vehicle sales fell 8.4 per cent to four million units.

 

Mr Antlitz said Volkswagen must now lower its cost per vehicle through simpler products, structures and processes, while focusing available equipment more closely on features customers actually value.

 

For the core Volkswagen passenger-car brand, that is expected to mean greater emphasis on high-volume nameplates including Golf, Tiguan, T-Roc, and Passat, alongside strategically important electric models.

 

Models occupying narrower or overlapping niches appear more vulnerable, with vehicles such as the coupe-styled ID.5 electric SUV and Taigo previously identified as possible candidates for rationalisation.

 

Audi has already begun trimming the edges of its portfolio, moving away from lower-volume vehicles including the A1 and Q2, while further consolidation could reduce the number of body styles and Sportback derivatives offered.

 

Skoda appears comparatively well insulated owing to its already streamlined and profitable range, while the future direction of Seat remains less certain as sibling marque Cupra assumes greater strategic importance within the Group.

 

Porsche could likewise reduce the extraordinary number of configurations offered across some model lines, particularly the 911, as Volkswagen increasingly questions whether every derivative generates sufficient return to justify its engineering, certification, production and inventory costs.

 

Importantly, the strategy is not simply about removing nameplates.

 

Volkswagen wants the vehicles that survive the rationalisation process to receive a greater share of available engineering resources, shortening development times, and allowing technologies to be deployed across multiple brands and platforms more quickly.

 

Mr Tietz said greater platform and module standardisation, wider use of artificial intelligence and faster development processes would allow Volkswagen to put more innovation into fewer vehicles.

 

AI is already a significant part of that strategy. Volkswagen has outlined plans to invest up to €1 billion ($A1.8b) in artificial intelligence by 2030 across vehicle development, manufacturing and IT infrastructure, estimating the technology could ultimately generate savings of as much as €4 billion ($A7.1b) by 2035.

 

The rationalisation also sits alongside much deeper structural change inside Volkswagen.

 

The Group says previously announced programs will remove around 50,000 positions across Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and software division Cariad by 2030, including approximately 35,000 jobs at Volkswagen AG, while existing capacity reductions and other measures are expected to produce more than €6 billion ($A10.6b) in annual net savings by the end of the decade.

 

Volkswagen had previously built capacity for around 12 million vehicles annually but has not delivered more than nine million vehicles in any of the past three years. Its latest plan will formally align production capacity with that lower level, including further adjustments in Europe and China.

 

The company is also examining greater regionalisation of development and manufacturing, potentially including European production of vehicles or technologies originally engineered in China.

 

For Australian buyers, Volkswagen has given no indication which locally offered models or variants may ultimately disappear, and the cuts will be implemented progressively rather than through a single portfolio purge.

 

However, the direction is clear – fewer niche models, fewer powertrain and equipment combinations, greater commonality between brands, and substantially more development money concentrated on vehicles capable of delivering meaningful volume or margin.

 

For a company that spent decades building one of the broadest model portfolios in the industry, Volkswagen’s next competitive advantage may come from offering considerably less.

 

MERCEDES-BENZ Australia has recalled almost 59,000 passenger cars and SUVs over a manufacturing defect that could prevent affected vehicles from automatically selecting Park, potentially allowing them to move unexpectedly after the driver exits.

 

The recall covers 58,822 Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG vehicles manufactured between 2018 and 2026, spanning nine model lines and numerous variants.

 

It was published by the federal Department of Infrastructure on August 12 under recall number REC-006695 and Mercedes-Benz campaign number RC5219.

 

Affected vehicles include versions of the A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, CLA, CLE, EQA, GLA, GLB and GLC, as well as high-performance Mercedes-AMG derivatives including the A35, A45 S, C43, C63 S E Performance, CLA35, CLA45 S, GLA35, GLA45 S, GLC43 and GLC63 S E Performance.

 

According to the recall notice, a manufacturing defect means the door-lock microswitch may be vulnerable to water damage and could fail.

 

Should that occur, the vehicle may not recognise that a door has been opened, preventing its automatic Park function from operating as intended. The system ordinarily selects Park when the driver opens the door under certain operating conditions.

 

The Department of Infrastructure warns that failure of the automatic Park function could result in unintended vehicle movement, increasing the risk of an accident and potentially causing serious injury or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.

 

Mercedes-Benz has advised owners to manually select Park using the gear selector and apply the parking brake before leaving the vehicle, in accordance with instructions contained in the owner’s manual.

 

Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Mercedes-Benz Australia in writing and asked to arrange an appointment with an authorised dealership. Repairs will be performed free of charge once replacement parts become available.

 

The extensive campaign includes petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles, with the EQA 250, EQA 250+, and EQA 350 4Matic among the affected models.

 

Mercedes-Benz Australia maintains an online recall information service and directs owners to its authorised retailer network for recall and repair assistance. Its Australian recall page also continues to highlight separate safety campaigns, including earlier brake booster and Takata airbag recalls.

 

Owners wanting further information on the latest campaign can contact the Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Centre on 1300 762 718, while a complete list of affected Vehicle Identification Numbers is available through the federal Vehicle Recalls database.