The automotive industry in Asia is growing at an unprecedented pace and is home to two of the world’s largest and fastest growing car markets; China and India. Autocar with nine local language editions published monthly in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam has an unrivalled footprint in the region. The jury consists of two of the most senior journalists from each of the Asian editions of Autocar who span the entire region from Mumbai to Tokyo, Beijing to Jakarta.

The cars eligible for the Autocar Asian Car of the Year 2012 must be commercially available in three or more markets in Asia in which Autocar is published, in series production and should have been launched between 1st October 2010 and 31st September 2011. In all 45 cars fitted these criteria and the final shortlist was reduced to the six overall best cars for the judges to vote on. The cars that made it onto the inaugural 2012 shortlist are the Audi A6, the Ford Fiesta Saloon, the Kia Sportage, the Volkswagen Jetta, the Volkswagen Passat and the Volvo S60. The final overall winner will be announced in March 2012 and awarded their trophy at the Beijing Motorshow on 23rd April 2012.

Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor of Autocar India and the Autocar Asian Car of the Year 2012 Judges Chairman said, “Autocar invented the road test over 80 years ago and reviewing cars is in the DNA of the brand. We believe we are the best placed to judge any car and these awards will be objectively acknowledge which cars are worthy of the consumer’s money”

Edward Marr, Haymarket’s Head of Licensing Development in Asia and Autocar Asian Car of the Year 2012 Coordinator said, “Interest in cars in Asia has never been greater and with nine market-leading editions of Autocar in the region we feel 2012 is the right time to come together as a group to work on a project that recognises the best car available whilst also tapping into the knowledge and experience of our world-class editorial teams in the region.”

For more detailed information about the Autocar Asian Car of the Year Award 2012 visit http://aacoty.autocarindia.com/. Additionally all Asian editions of the magazine will be covering the Autocar Asian Car of the Year 2012 from their February to May 2012 issues.

Autocar UK the original car weekly launched in 1895 and credited with inventing the road-test in 1928 is also published in; China, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Middle East, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. The magazine’s website www.Autocar.co.uk contains the same mix of news and reviews along with the web’s best motoring videos.

Autocar

The September 2011 cover-dated special issue showcases 100 of Autocar’s best road tests chosen from the over 5000 carried out since 1928 with a focus on five of best cars tested of all time; the Jaguar E-Type, the McLaren F1, Morris Mini Minor, Porsche 911 GT3 and the VW Golf.

The 100th issue also contained a supplement re-producing, in full, the first 12-paged issue of The Autocar from 1895, complete with a Japanese translation.  The inaugural issue debates the correct term for the new horseless carriage, finally deciding on the magazine’s eponymous title, whilst also covering latest news from the emerging industry in the UK, US and Europe.  It also correctly predicts a time which will see “roads monopolised by cycles and autocars and the horse in a state of freedom roaming the trackless plain”, is a slightly off with “the horseless carriage, (powered) with electricity… will at no distant date be a popular vehicle” and directs readers who wish to “take” the magazine to place and order at Messrs W. H. Smith and Son.

Digital editions of both the English and Japanese versions of the first issue can be downloaded at Autocar Japan’s website: autocar-mag.com.

Autocar Japan was launched under licence from Haymarket Media Group by Tokyo based Neko Publishing in June 2003.  The Japanese language magazine with a monthly circulation of 30,000 copies is Europe’s only motoring magazine brand with a presence in the market.

Kenji Sasamoto, founder of Neko Publishing said, “We are extremely pleased to have reached this fantastic. It has been a difficult year for Japan and both the automotive and magazine industries and so it especially exciting to be able to publish such a fantastic issue of Autocar Japan to celebrate the 100th issue and to remind readers of all that is great about their passion for cars.”

Edward Marr, Heard of Licensing (Asia) at Haymarket Media Group said, “We are really pleased with the package Neko have produced for the 100th issue of Autocar Japan. Neko Pubishing, lead by Sasamoto-san have been a fantastic partner in Japan and we look forward to issue 200 and beyond.”

Autocar UK the original car weekly is also published in; China, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Middle East, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.  The magazine’s website Autocar.co.uk contains the same mix of news and reviews along with the web’s best motoring videos.

“There is a great appetite for deeper data and analysis on the key growth markets of Asia, both from within the region and from those outside the region looking in”, said Agnew. “Haymarket Intelligence will provide annual reports on the core areas of those markets, but will also be responsive to providing insights on new trends as they arise.”

Agnew will report to Tim Waldron, Managing Director, Haymarket Media Asia.

“We have long believed in the importance of premium content, no matter what the delivery platform,” Waldron said. “Haymarket Intelligence will add a significant capability to each of our brands. This not only fills a clear need we hear about from our customers, but also complements the content we can offer in our magazines, websites and conferences”.

Contact Details:
Robert Agnew
Director, Haymarket Intelligence
Haymarket Media Ltd
23/F The Centrium
60 Wyndham Street
Central
Hong Kong

Robert.agnew@haymarket.asia

FinanceAsia

The site will mirror most of the content we publish at FinanceAsia.com and translations of our daily news stories will also be delivered each weekday lunchtime in a newsletter that readers can subscribe to here.

“Our English website has never been more popular and we’re confident that there’s also a big appetite in China for our timely coverage and in-depth analysis of Asia’s financial markets,” said Nick Ferguson, editor of FinanceAsia.com. “We’ve been developing this site since last year, in artnership with CLS Communication, and hope that Chinese readers find it useful.”

The number of unique visitors to FinanceAsia’s website hit a record level in March, as global interest in Asia’s economic growth continues to rise. Readership surveys specifically show that people want to read more about China. So, this month we are including a supplement dedicated to the internationalisation of the renminbi with our May magazine. “We continuously try to produce content that is cutting edge and what our readers need to help them stay ahead of their competition,” said Lara Wozniak, editor of FinanceAsia.

For example, we have expanded our offering to include the development of new distribution channels such as mobile apps and last year we launched our Corporate Treasury News website.

With the launch of our Chinese website, we are now hoping to satisfy the other side of that demand: the increasing interest in China for news about the rest of the world and, in particular, the Asia region.

Effective April 12, Jolene Otremba will join the magazine as features editor. With over seven years’ journalism experience, including three years in an editorial capacity at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, Otremba will lead the development of Campaign’s monthly sector and media reports. She takes over the features role from David Blecken, who now moves to the new position of insights editor after nearly four years with the company.

Campaign has also made two new journalist hires. Emily Tan, previously a marketing reporter at The Edge newspaper in Malaysia, will relocate to Hong Kong. She will cover industry news across Asia-Pacific, working alongside Rhandell Rubio, who joined the magazine in March.

In addition to these hires, Campaign is in the process of hiring a Singapore-based reporter to support Southeast Asia editor Magz Osborne, as well as a Chinese-speaking reporter to cover the Greater China market alongside Benjamin Li.

Elsewhere, Marie Green will continue in her role as online editor, with Zara Horner as sub-editor.

The first issue of Autosport Asia, cover-dated April 2011, hit the newsstands in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau last week just before the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The magazine is priced SG$7.95 (US$6.30) in its home market with similar cover prices reflecting local dynamics in its other main markets.  The magazine will be led by COO and Editor-in-Chief Owen Leed, who has been involved in motorsport in Asia for over 10 years.

The magazine is produced in Singapore using content from the UK edition, with additional Asian content produced by a team of motorsport contributors in each of its major markets.

Haymarket’s Head of Licensing Development (Asia) Edward Marr said: “Interest in motorsport in Asia is growing rapidly, with six grands prix in the region in 2011.

“There are also growing regional and local motorsport championships and established races such as the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix, all of which offer a wealth of news and features that have not been covered by a dedicated Asian motorsport title until now.”

Owen Leed of Bespoke Media, said: “There was no single product in the region that was reporting motorsport with the impact and authority that Autosport is famous for on the UK.

“Asia is the largest growth market for motorsport in the world today so it was clear there was a gap in the market in which to launch Autosport Asia.  The magazine’s presence here now reflects the importance of motorsport in the Asia both regionally and internationally.”

Rob Aherne, Autosport’s Publisher in the UK, said: “Owen and his team have done a terrific job with the inaugural issue. This is a hugely promising partnership and we look forward to seeing where it takes us.”

Autosport is published weekly in the UK and celebrated its 60^th anniversary in 2010 and is known as the motorsport industry bible, while Autosport.com is the world’s biggest online motorsport news site with popular Apple and Android mobile apps.

The annual Autosport Awards have been championing the sport’s stars since 1988, and the Autosport International Show is held at the NEC in the UK every January.  Haymarket also publishes motorsport magazines F1Racing, which is licensed worldwide, and Racer in the US.

The ‘Best Title’ award – also known as the ‘Gold Lizzie’ – is the most coveted award across all categories in Australia’s business and technology press, in a field that included the ABC, major metropolitan newspapers and magazines.

Earlier in the evening, iTnews was awarded “Best Business Coverage” in a field of finalists that included the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, BRW, CIO and CommsDay.

The publication also won “Best Website” in a field of finalists that included The Sydney Morning Herald, Gizmodo and ZDNet.

Five journalists from the iTnews team were also recognised as finalists in a record number of categories.

The awards cap off an incredible period of growth for the iTnews brand, with Brett Winterford winning Editor of the Year in the 2009 Bell Publishing Awards and Ry Crozier winning Best News Journalist at the 2009 MediaConnect Awards.

In 2011, the brand has branched into events with its first breakfast briefing at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel, and also hired veteran journalist John Hilvert to report from the press gallery at Parliament House.

“This is a fantastic achievement by the iTnews team, and proves that investing in the best editorial talent drives the best results,” said iTnews publisher Rhys Williams.

“It is especially encouraging to see a website title triumph over the well respected and larger national dailies and international online titles, who have traditionally owned this space. Congratulations to Editor, Brett Winterford and the entire iTnews team – they all work extremely hard and are deserving of this recognition.”

This award is another “Title of the year” accolade for Haymarket Media, coming after Australian FourFourTwo won ‘Best Title’, ‘Best Website’ and ‘Integrated Brand of the Year’ at the 2010 Publishers Australia awards in November 2010.

This will be a hub for lovers of fine music, a place where you can get the latest news about musicians and music, the reviews of the most exciting new CDs and DVDs, interviews with touring artists – everything our readers are used to getting in the magazine, but in a fresh, constantly renewing format.

ABC Classic FM broadcasts are a big part of what we do at Limelight, and we’ve repackaged the ABC Classic FM listings to make them really user-friendly, so it’s easier to find out when the music you love is being broadcast.

Concertgoers will love our comprehensive Event Finder, which lists every classical music concert across Australia. So whether you live in Melbourne or Mount Isa, you’ll be able to find all the performances happening near you. We’ll also have the latest news on musicians, recordings and performance from Australia and overseas as it happens.

In our Reviews section, readers will be able to access all our authoritative CD, DVD and film review database, and enjoy audio and video samples of the works.

We’ve also got some terrific blogs from some of Australia’s most respected musicians, including Guy Noble and Brett Weymark, so readers can get fascinating insight into Australia’s music scene.

The Limelight website is going to be the new homepage for music and arts lovers: it’s a site that is not dumbed-down, is full of interesting words, sound and video, and is a true reflection of the country’s artistic and musical life.

We’d love to have our readers’ comments on how it can be improved. You can write your comments on the site, or send an email to letters@limelightmagazine.com.au.

Also, if you’d like to get weekly updates on what’s new on the Limelight site, you can register for our newsletter and become part of our community.

If you like fine music and great performances, www.limelightmagazine.com.au is your site.

This will be followed by Champions Thailand published as stand-alone 100 paged monthly magazine by Siam Sport the Kingdom’s largest sports media company who also distribute the UEFA Champions League 2010-2011 Official Licensed Panini Sticker Album in the market and who’s subsidiary Inspire Entertainment already publish Haymarket’s Stuff Thailand.

The launches coincide with this season’s UEFA Champions League entering the knock-out stages where 16 of Europe’s best teams and players will battle it out for a place in the final which will be held in Wembley Stadium, London on 28th May where the winner will be crowned champions of Europe.

Cormac Bourne Director of Haymarket Network’s Sport Division said, “This is fantastic news as Haymarket continues to build the global reach of Champions magazine in key regions for the UEFA Champions League.”

Champions was launched by Haymarket and UEFA in 2003 and is also published in English, Spanish, Korean and Japanese editions.

The first issue of Autocar Vietnam cover-dated February 2011 will go on sale country-wide this week just before Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year holiday, priced VND34,500 (US$1.77). The magazine will be published monthly and also available soon as a digital edition on Zinio and cover the local and international motoring scenes, lead by editor Nguyen Van Trung with a team split between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Haymarket’s Licensing Manager in Asia, Edward Marr who’s efforts to secure a licence partner for the magazine were followed in 2010’s BBC TV documentary Theo’s Adventure Capitalist: Vietnam said; “We are really excited to be launching Autocar in Vietnam. The timing is perfect as the motoring sector there is growing and has huge potential. We are also very pleased to be working on a second launch with Le Media. It is fantastic to have secured the deal after appearing on television working on the project which has been in the making for a few years, proving that doing business in Asia is really about timing and developing the best relationships.”

Le Quoc Vinh, Chairman and CEO of Le Media said, “Recent years have seen a lot of car brands enter the Vietnamese market for the first time and consumers need to be armed with the best and most up-to-date information possible when choosing a new car. The market is now ready for the launch of the first international automotive magazine and we are very confident that developing our partnership with Haymarket who have such a long pedigree in the automotive sector will help us become the leading motoring media brand in Vietnam very quickly.”

Publisher of Autocar Alastair Lewis said, “We are really delighted that Autocar is now such a dominant brand in Asia. 2011 promises to be a landmark year for Autocar in Asia and the UK with iPad apps, our up-coming 5,000th Road Test and the re-launch of our website, Autocar.co.uk all happening in the next few months.”

Autocar’s Asia editions are published in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The launch is backed-up with a TV ad campaign -