AHG has completed its acquisition of a truck centre in Laverton, Victoria, from Mercedes-Benz Australia. The existing Marwen Drive dealership will be rebranded as Daimler Trucks Laverton and over the next 12 months will be relocated to a new greenfields site on Boundary Road by AHG’s property partner Charter Hall. AHG also operates Daimler Trucks dealerships in Perth, Newcastle and Brisbane. AHG now has 188 franchises at 108 locations in Australia and New Zealand.

TOYOTA Australia has extended its sponsorship of the Australian Football League (AFL) until at least the end of the 2019 season. The three-year deal – which makes Toyota a sponsor for 16 years – is in addition to its sponsorship of the Adelaide Crows for the same period, meaning its relationship with the Crows will be for 29 years. Toyota also sponsors Cricket Australia and the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams.

FORD Australia will employ 23 graduates for 2017 as part of its investment in its design centre. The Ford Graduate 2017 program will employ people in product development, marketing, sales and service, and finance skill teams at the centre. Ford reintroduced the program in 2015 which has seen skilled staff in design and engineering at its Victorian facilities including the Asia Pacific product development centre in Broadmeadows, research and development centre in Geelong and the proving ground in Lara.

MAZDA Australia has debuted its first high school student-focused training program to ensure a better understanding of the car industry. The company hosted 70 Shelford Girls’ Grammar School year 10 students to Mazda’s head office in Mulgrave to better understand a vehicle’s engine, tyres and electrical systems. The training involved changing tyres, tyre pressures, the differences between automatic and manual cars and how to check water, coolant and oil levels, and also highlights the many and varied career opportunities available in the automotive industry. Mazda said it wanted students to appreciate the modern car and car ownership, while also drawing attention to careers in the automotive industry.

THE German government has accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of using an emission “cheat” device to switch off exhaust treatment systems. It sent letters to the European Commission and the Italian Transport Ministry claiming four FCA vehicles were found to have increased emission levels. The German tests claim to have found a “special nitrogen oxide catalyst which is being switched off after a few cleaning cycles,” according to WirtschaftsWoche magazine. The vehicles include the Fiat 500X, Jeep Renegade and Fiat Doblo van fitted with Fiat’s latest 2.0-litre diesel. An FCA spokesman said its cars conform to current emissions rules and do not contain defeat devices.

AUDI of America will launch the Q7, A4 and A4 allroad with a new traffic-light information system that alerts the driver of the signal timing. It is part of Audi’s growing vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) system that will lead to better traffic flow through major roads that use traffic lights. The car receives real-time signal information from the advanced traffic management system that monitors traffic lights. The link between vehicle and infrastructure is routed via the on-board data connection and servers from traffic management company Traffic Technology Services.