+++ AUDI Sport, the division responsible for the Audi’s hot RS models, is planning to grow its range further beyond the familiar sports cars, saloons and coupes with an expanded line-up of RS SUVs. Heading the range will the RS Q8, a flagship performance version of the Q8 luxury SUV priced around the 150,000 euro mark. Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann told: “Today we have a product line-up which we are working on which will be expanded in more prestige segments and bodystyles which are sellable around the world, SUVs”. He wouldn’t confirm which models are on the way, but suggested that a version of the new Q8 range-topper, seen in our exclusive image, is the first model we’ll see. “The Q7 is now in a phase of its lifecycle which, in my opinion, to be profitable is too late to step in”, said Winkelmann. “But a lot of markets are demanding bigger cars”. The Audi Q8 Sport Concept displayed at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show hinted at what the car will be like, combining high performance with top-of-the-line luxury for Audi’s wealthiest customers. It will feature the same platform as the upcoming Lamborghini Urus, and possibly the same turbo V8. It’s sure to use petrol power, in any case, as Winkelman added: “Diesel is not compatible with a world car; there are countries where you cannot sell the diesel. The other key aspects for us are comfort, quality and safety. Here we don’t compromise and even if we do SUVs they have to have all of this”. +++
+++ Germany is set to become the first country in the world to legally allow level 3 AUTONOMOUS driving in public cars: the ability to take your hands off the wheel while in motion. According to Peter Fromm, Audi large car boss (who is responsible for the new A8 which offers numerous self-driving functions) the country is likely to permit such driving on certain roads in 2018. “We expect that Germany will allow this next year for specific roads such as the A9 from Munich to Nürnberg”, he said. “We will only release the technology in countries who have given us permission to use it”. Fromm added that in a situation where the A8 crosses a country border, the car’s system alerts the driver and switches the system off. Once level 3 autonomy is in play in the A8, the responsibility for the car’s actions will lie with Audi, not the user. +++
+++ GENESIS , like most major players in the luxury segment, has opted for the sensible albeit boring alphanumeric naming practice popularized by the German marques. With automakers offering so many models these days, such a naming practice makes it possible for customers to easily and quickly identify where in the product hierarchy a particular vehicle sits. Genesis uses the letter “G” plus a number to denote its sedans, with the higher the number the higher the vehicle’s positioning. At the top of the current range is a G90. Below it sits a G80 and soon a G70 will arrive. Trademark filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office show Genesis has reserved the G60 name as well. Genesis indicated that its SUVs will use a “GV” and a number for their names with the reveal earlier this year of the GV80 concept, a mid-size SUV to rival the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE. The “G” is for Genesis while the “V” is for the extra versatility of an SUV. A search of various trademark filings shows Genesis has reserved the GV60, GV70 and GV80 names, but curiously no GV90, suggesting we won’t see a Genesis SUV in the full-size category. I know Genesis is also planning at least one coupe to help fill the void of the discontinued Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Genesis is yet to reveal its naming strategy for coupes but trademark fillings suggest the names will use a “GT” combined with a number, with the “T” here likely indicating the touring aspect of luxury coupes. Here, Genesis has reserved the GT60, GT70, GT80 and GT90 names. So far Genesis has only confirmed it will have 6 distinct vehicles on sale by the end of 2020. The G90 and G80 sedans are already on sale and will be joined by the G70 small sedan later this year. According to a product roadmap that leaked in 2016, over the next 3 years Genesis will add a mid-size SUV, a small SUV and a small coupe. These 3 newcomers are likely to be a GV80, GV70 and GT70, respectively. +++
+++ Clearly, it is a big month for HYUNDAI in Düsseldorf, Germany, where it puts on a double world premiere with the all-new i30 N Performance hatch, as well a brand-new model in the C-segment, the i30 Fastback. The Korean automotive giant also uses the occasion to outline the brand’s proposed domination of the European car market, when Thomas Schmid, Senior Vice President & COO of Hyundai Motor Europe, told a large gathering of journalists: “Hyundai intends to become the top selling car company in Europe by 2021”. “Our newest products are a significant driver for our ambition to launch 30 new products and derivatives across Europe by 2021, which is why we are calling it the road to 2021”, he said. Europe is a massive market for Hyundai, and with current production capacity sitting at 600,000 cars per annum, the company is clearly expecting success. Take the Tucson, the fastest selling model, which has sold more than 250,000 units since 2015. Hyundai is also selling cars online, as it strives to appeal to new buyer groups in a bid to becoming more customer centric. In fact, in Europe and the UK, 50 percent of customers at digital retail stores buy their cars online at home. “With the latest digital platform, we sold over 100 cars in just a few weeks”, said Schmid. “We want to make things easy for people, which is why we are number one for customer satisfaction in Europe. And to that we have devised four cornerstones as a business strategy. Number one is our SUV line-up. Two, is future mobility, and three is what we call our DNA models: the ‘I’ family, while four is our high emotion models, ‘N’. “Our SUV family is highly successful, and enriches our brand and make it more desirable. And, of course, our all-new model, the Kona, is our 4th and most compact SUV and is currently launching in many markets around the world. But in 2018, we will also launch an electric version of the Kona. “In the future, we will expand our SUV line-up with new products in new segments. With our second cornerstone, future mobility, we are at the forefront of the Eco car segment. In Europe, we are selling more fuel-cell cars than all other brands combined. But again, in 2018, we’ll launch a new fuel-cell SUV that will use a dedicated platform. Hyundai will also launch its first pure electric car-sharing program in a major European metropolitan area. The ‘I’ family represents the core of the Hyundai brand in Europe, as well as a vitally important sales driver”, Schmid said. “Our newest model is now a third-generation success story, with almost 1 million units sold. And we have made massive progress in connectivity, interior design and driving dynamics. And, in terms of safety, the latest i30 is top in its class, equipped with the best safety package available today. It’s also the first in its segment to score 5 stars under EuroNCAP’s new and revised ratings scheme. It’s also about design, which has become the number one reason why customers choose a Hyundai”, added Schmid. “The fourth and final cornerstone centres both on design and performance. ‘N’ puts the emotion in our brand. And today, we are not only revealing our first ‘N’ car, but also an entirely new body type for the C-segment; the i30 fastback. These new models also mean Hyundai will have the biggest line-up in the segment, which will only strengthen our brand further”, he concluded. +++
+++ MERCEDES in the coming years will introduce a family of new electric cars under the EQ sub-brand. There was a chance Mercedes might have been blocked from using the name in China because local automaker Chery has been selling an electric car called the eQ since 2014. However, the 2 automakers released a statement that they have reached an agreement on the usage of the name for their respective electric cars. Chery will focus on using the designations eQ and eQ1, as well as further numerical continuations thereof, in China and the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Mercedes will use EQ with alphabetical supplements. Mercedes provided the example of EQC as the name of one of its upcoming electric cars. In addition, Mercedes will be free to use the EQ Power designation for hybrid cars while Chery’s hybrids will use the eQ TEC designation. Mercedes will also use the EQ Power+ designation to denote high-performance hybrids. The Mercedes AMG Formula One team is already using EQ Power+ for its 2017 F1 race car, and Mercedes-AMG’s GT concept unveiled at the 2017 Geneva auto show also wore a EQ Power+ badge. Mercedes used the 2016 Paris auto show to launch its EQ sub-brand with the unveiling of the Generation EQ concept car. The striking SUV concept is thought to preview the first of Mercedes’ EQ electric cars, an SUV similar in size to the GLC and labeled the EQC. Test mules for the vehicle have already been spotted. The market launch is expected in 2018. +++
+++ Groupe RENAULT registrations worldwide (including Lada) increased 10.4% in the first half of the year, in a market up 2.6%. Group market share now stands at 4.1% (up 0.3 points on 2016). The Group and the Renault and Dacia brands set half-year sales records. The group sold 1,879,288 vehicles, the Renault brand 1,342,320 vehicles and the Dacia brand 332,845 vehicles. Renault Samsung Motors sales rose 12.5% and those of Lada rose 12.2%. “We set a new record with sales of over 1.88 million vehicles in a 6-month period. Our sales volumes and market share increased for all our brands and in all Regions. Our strategy of range renewal and geographical expansion continues to produce results” said Thierry Koskas, member of the Executive Committee and Group Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing. In Europe, group registrations continued to grow faster than the market. They increased 5.6% in a market up 4.4% to a total 1,025,146 in the first half of the year. The Group took a 10.8% share of the European market, up 0.1 points. The Renault brand alone posted growth of 4.3%, for a market share of 8.2%. Renault benefited in particular from the complete renewal of the Megane family in 2016. Clio 4 is the second best-selling vehicle in Europe, while Captur ranks as the number one crossover in its category. Renault maintained its lead in the electric vehicle segment with a market share of 26.8%. Sales volumes increased 34%. Registrations of Zoe, Europe’s top-selling electric vehicle, rose 44%. The Dacia brand posted a first-half-year sales record in Europe with 245,453 vehicle registrations (up 9.3%) and a 2.6% share of the market. These results were driven by the performance of Sandero phase 2, launched in late 2016, and Duster. In France, the Renault brand achieved its best half-year performance in passenger cars in 6 years. Twingo, Clio, Talisman and Espace all led their respective segments. Dacia topped its sales record with Sandero, the leader in the market of passenger car sales to retail customers. Zoe remains the clear leader in the electric vehicle market, accounting for almost 70% of electric passenger car sales in France with over 9,200 registrations; a year-on-year increase of over 42%. Outside Europe, all the Regions increased their sales volumes and market share. Group registrations rose 16.8% in a market that grew 3.4%. Groupe Renault strengthened its positions with the success of its range: QM6 and SM6 in South Korea, Kaptur, Vesta and Xray in Russia, Koleos in China, Megane Sedan in Turkey and Oroch in the Americas. In the Africa-Middle East-India region, Group registrations rose 19.3% for a market share of 6.4%, up 1.1 points. In Iran, sales rose 100.3% for a market share of 9.8% (up 4 points) thanks to the success of Tondar and Sandero. In India, Renault continues to rank as the number-one European car brand, with a market share of 3.3%. In North Africa, group sales grew 10.1% in a market down 8.3%. The Group took a 43% share of the market, up 7.2 points. In Eurasia, registrations rose 8.6% in a market that grew 2.5%. The market share of the Group, now including the Lada brand, increased 1.4 points to 24.5%, notably through strong momentum in Russia. Returning to growth for the first time in 4 years, the Russian market grew 6.9% in the first half of the year. The Group increased its sales by 14% (including Lada). Lada sales grew almost twice as fast as the market, increasing 12.8% for a market share of 19.5% (up 1 point), driven by the success of the new Vesta and Xray models. The Renault brand claimed an 8.5% share of the market, up 0.7 points. Kaptur registrations totaled more than 14,140 units for the half-year period. With the consolidation of Lada sales volumes, Russia now stands as the group’s number2 market. In the Asia-Pacific Region, registrations increased 50.5% in a market up 3.6%. In China, Renault sold nearly 36,000 vehicles (compared with 9,771 in first-half 2016), of which 21,000 New Koleos, launched in late 2016 and produced locally. Renault Samsung Motors posted a 12.5% increase in South Korea in a market that contracted 4.2%. The brand’s market share came out at 6.9% (up 1 point) thanks to the success of the latest product launches (SM6 and QM6). In the Americas Region, sales grew 14.6% in a market up 8.3% for a market share of 6.5%, up 0.4 points. Sandero, Logan and Duster Oroch confirmed their success. Groupe Renault continued to take full advantage of the market recovery in Argentina, increasing its registrations 45.6% in a market that grew 34%. Market share increased 1.1 points to 13.3%. Renault has benefited from the local production of Sandero and Logan since the end of 2016. The market in Brazil grew 4.2% in the first half of the year. The group took advantage of the trend, reporting a 5.1% increase in sales and a 7.4% share of the market. In 2017, the global market should see growth of around 1.5% to 2.5%. The European market is still expected to grow 2% over the period. The French market is expected to expand by 2%. Outside Europe, the Russian market could grow by more than 5% and the Brazilian market by 5%. The growth momentum is expected to continue in China (+5%) and India (+8%). In the second half of the year, the Group will continue to take full advantage in Europe of its renewed range and internationally of the momentum of Koleos in China, Kaptur, Xray and Vesta in Russia, QM6 and SM6 in South Korea, and the new SUV range in Latin America. Groupe Renault therefore confirms its 2017 sales objectives with growth in sales and market share in Europe and outside Europe. +++
+++ “It will be rare for a car to be produced in 10 years’ time that is not autonomous”, said TESLA CEO Elon Musk at the annual summer meeting of the National Governance Association, which is the representative body for state-funded school governors and trustees throughout England. Musk did not say which level of autonomy he meant, but levels three and four are, at this stage, the most commonly cited. Tesla’s Autopilot system currently falls into level three (hands-off autonomy that requires the driver’s attention), and the firm has ambitions to adopt level four: hands-off and eyes-off autonomy, from which the driver can retake control if necessary. Musk’s claim follows Tesla’s field-leading progress in getting autonomous cars on the road. He has also said half of all vehicles produced in 10 years’ time will be powered by electric motors only. +++