+++ The next generation AUDI Q3 is due in 2018. The redesigned Q3 is expected to be longer and wider than the current edition, significantly increasing cargo space. Audi is reportedly on track to launch its next-generation Q3 by mid-2018. The revamped Q3 is expected to grow as Audi attempts to create a wider gap above the Q2, which serves as the new smallest crossover in the Q family. The new Q3 will be longer and wider with a stretched wheelbase. Overall height is said to remain unchanged, likely giving the crossover a sportier car-like stance. Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform architecture is expected to be used for the redesign, potentially shedding weight. The lineup will get more efficient engines and a new SQ3 variant with around 400 horsepower. The current-generation Q3 is still a strong performer in the US market, though its seven-percent gain in the first half of the year pales in comparison to the double-digit rise sustained by the larger and more expensive Q5 and Q7. +++
+++ Should new, leaked information prove true, then the 2020 FORD Bronco may be a very different animal than what most loyal fans have expected. The Ford Bronco has long been known for its big, hulking off-road appeal, but a report from GearPatrol has an anonymous Ford engineer on the record to quash those hopes. At this point, I will serve up more than a few grains of salt to help you digest this information. According to the report, the reborn Bronco may be much more like a Jeep Wrangler rival. The unnamed source says multiple departments have been tugging in different directions to pen what the new Bronco should be. As a result of too much input, the 2020 Bronco is reportedly undergoing its third design phase after the previous design was said to look “too much like a Wrangler”, per the source. “If you’re familiar with the Ford Troller, out of Brazil, that’s the basic concept, but it’ll look like a four-door version of that”, the anonymous source added. Unlike the Broncos of yore, a 2-door variant is not in cards. The source also said the Wrangler is absolutely being benchmarked, adding, “They want it comparable to the Wrangler in every way, except rock crawling. That’s based on some of the concerns with the frame”. The Bronco is expected to share the 2019 Ford Ranger’s architecture. The conversation didn’t stop there. The Bronco may be powered by Ford’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 engine. In the Ford Fusion Sport, the V6 produces 325 horsepower, which seems like appropriate power. Ford is also said to be considering a hybrid variant. A very brave new world that would be. As mentioned, I’ll take this all with a grain of salt. However, this information may give us the clearest picture yet of what to expect from Ford’s reborn icon. The Jeep Wrangler has sold very well, and it looks like it may have something to worry about in the near future. But that’s only if Bronco enthusiasts embrace the nameplate’s potential new direction. +++
+++ The head of MERCEDES – Benz Vans has hit back at questions over whether the new X-Class will be seen by customers as a rebadged version of the Nissan Navara. Volker Mornhinweg told media at the international debut of the Mercedes-Benz pick-up that the new model is the result of an alliance between companies, something that is common in the commercial vehicle space, and insisted there’s a lot more to the German company’s offering than just a change of badges between it and its donor vehicle, the Nissan Navara. “Worldwide, I’m talking about the globe, Earth, in the light commercial vehicle business it’s a common approach to work with partners. That’s all over the place. A lot of companies are working together quite successfully”, Mornhinweg said. “The reason for that is because, over years, Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) makers have figured out that if we’d like to be, price-wise, attractive, we have to work in some areas together. “We can’t achieve, in our LCV segment, the huge amount of numbers as the passenger cars can. One car can sell millions of units, and if you move millions of units, you can come to a quite attractive cost situation. “Therefore in the LCV segment, it’s quite common. It’s a kind of spirit of this, because partnering in the passenger car segment is not quite that common. In the LCV business it’s quite common, it’s a kind of natural move to think about these pick-ups”, he said. Mornhinweg insisted that the company used the benefits of the Daimler tie-in with the Renault-Nissan Alliance, including a broad spread of manufacturing bases, including one plant in Spain and another in Argentina, to make a stronger business case for a dual-cab, dual-purpose vehicle like the X-Class. “For us, we had the target that we would like to introduce our product to market in a short-term notice. Second, it’s a global product, so you cannot only build up one facility, an investment in one plant is huge. We have to have that in different places”, he said. “Therefore we discussed it with Nissan. They were keen, they were willing, to work together with us when we started the discussions some years ago. Especially Nissan, they have a long tradition in doing pick-ups, and we the basis the Navara, overall, was usable for us, and so we had it done”. When asked if buyers would be able to, or would care about, the fact the brand’s much coveted three-pointed star now has pride of place on a dual-cab ute more commonly associated as being one of the budget offerings in the segment, Mornhinweg made it clear that he thought the X-Class brought enough differentiation to the market to stand out on its own merits. “If we had done it just as a double badge (or a re-badged product) as you kind of see in the LCV business, then maybe we would have another discussion. I fully understand that. It’s hard to say it’s a double badge”, he said, referring to the fact the X-Class brings a completely revised interior, wider track, revised suspension and a new V6 drivetrain among other changes. +++
+++ The new NISSAN Leaf is to have one e-pedal. The Japanese brand claims its new electric car will revolutionise driving. You may need to re-learn how to drive the new Nissan Leaf. The Japanese company claims the second-generation electric car will revolutionise the way people drive thanks to what it is calling the e-pedal. The news comes ahead of the car’s unveiling in Japan in September. Nissan claims the e-pedal will allow drivers to do 90 percent of their driving without touching the brake pedal. That’s because Nissan says drivers will be able to use the e-pedal to bring the car to a complete stop without touching the brake. Pressing it down will accelerate the car, lifting off will slow it down and releasing it will make the car stop. The company claims it will make it “simpler and more engaging” to drive, reducing the need to move your feet. However, that is similar to most electric vehicles with regenerative brakes, so it is unclear how Nissan’s e-pedal is significantly different from its competition. +++
+++ PEUGEOT Sport officials have not ruled out adding hybrid power to its next generation of hot hatches, following in the tracks of the brand’s 308 R Hybrid concept of 2015. While the current 308 GTi received just cosmetic and driver aid changes as part of a foreshortened mid-life update, the next-generation car could benefit from an electric motor to supplement its petrol engine. Peugeot Sport manager of vehicle technology Patrice Delannoy told that the next 308 GTi will benefit from an updated powertrain, and acknowledged that a hybrid version is under consideration. “We have not decided which way to go”, he said, “But one of the future ways is to make a sportscar based on a hybrid”. The 308 GTi currently runs a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is capable of producing more than the 270 hp it is currently endowed with. The brand’s Racing Cup car, for example, makes more than 306 hp from the same engine by simply using a larger turbocharger unit. As well, Peugeot previewed a triple-motor version of the 308, known as the R Hybrid, at the Shanghai motor show in 2015. The wild one-off used a pair of 115 hp electric motors front and rear to supplement the stock 1.6-litre engine, producing 500 hp and 730 Nm in the process. Ditching the front motor would lower the power output to around 400 hp; still more than enough to make it the most powerful hot hatch in existence. It is understood that the R Hybrid’s Achilles heel was its robotised manual gearbox, and that the high torque levels generated by a petrol/electric combination meant that no automatic transmission in the PSA group could be slotted in behind the potent powerplant. However, the 3008 SUV will be offered in a petrol/electric hybrid guise in 2018, and will be equipped with an auto transmission. Delannoy, who worked on the project, suggested that the next generation of GTi would benefit from a revised version of the company’s modular EMP2 chassis that would not only be stiffer, but would be modified to accept both a dual-clutch gearbox and a limited-slip differential; something the current version of the EMP2 cannot do. He reiterated, though, that no final decision had been made about the next generation 308. “It’s possible to make a hybrid, but it’s not decided”, he said. +++
+++ Earlier this month, we learned that France has made moves to ban diesel and gasoline fueled cars by stopping them from entering the city. More than that, they plan to completely get rid of these cars by 2040. Also, it is not just France that has plans on reducing greenhouse gas emissions as other European countries including the Netherlands and Germany may follow suit. Having said that, how will automakers cope with this? Well, they only have one choice and that is to develop all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars and push them out to the market quickly. And that is exactly what PORSCHE has in mind. We all know that the whole Volkswagen Group is in trouble due to the emission scandal it faced, and the company will have to pay over $25 million for it as well as buy back the cars it has sold. This is why Porsche may have to totally drop diesel engines by 2020. Therefore, the German company should soon make a decision whether their latest diesel-powered cars will truly be the last. Keep in mind that this will affect their current production line and perhaps their long-term plan. But they are already getting accusations of using steering movements to cheat emissions. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said in an interview that they are looking into the issue indeed, however, they have not decided on it yet. As of now, they are looking at the development of hybrid and electric vehicles that will be offered in the next decade instead. And then they will decide on the plan for diesel engines. Last month, German prosecutors did an investigation to see whether Porsche staff had been involved in designing the illegal engine-control software, and if Cayennes were given the said software. In terms of figures, only 15 percent of Porsche’s global sales come from diesel-powered cars; that is 15 percent of 237,778 cars in 2016. BMW, on the other hand, sells more than double the number of Porsche when it comes to diesel sales in the US and abroad, at 35 percent. Now, Porsche has a new Cayenne that will be making use of a diesel engine, that is scheduled to make its debut very soon. I know this as prototypes have been spotted during testing and these were not fully camouflaged. The new Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid with the same hybrid powertrain as the Panamera will also be added to their current lineup. +++
+++ Reiterating a pledge made at the start of the year, VOLVO Car said it forecasts record sales in 2017 after the Swedish auto maker posted a 23% rise in second-quarter net profit, driven by strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China. “Globally, we expect the pace of growth generated in the first half of the year to continue”, Chief Executive Håkan Samuelsson said. “We are confident we will report another record year in terms of sales”. The company said second-quarter net profit rose to 1.56 billion Swedish kronor ($187.8 million) from SEK1.27 billion last year, as operating profit rose 34% to SEK3.29 billion. Revenue rose to SEK54.47 billion, compared with SEK42.18 billion a year ago, as high demand for its XC60, S90 and V90 models was coupled with support from favorable exchange rates, it said. First-half net profit rose to SEK3.81 billion from SEK3.10 billion a year earlier, while sales for the period totaled SEK99.06 billion. The auto maker, owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said car sales increased by 9.2% in the quarter to 148,493 units, with China being the standout market. First-half car sales rose 8.2% from a year ago. Volvo said it outperformed the market in the Asia-Pacific region, China in particular, while in Europe it continued to see strong demand for its cars. During the first half of 2017, the company added market share in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, following healthy growth in several important markets, it said. The Americas region returned to growth during the second quarter after delivery constraints in the first, Volvo said. The company expects to report solid full-year growth in the region. “Looking ahead to the end of 2017, we will continue to grow, driven by strong demand and fueled by increased production capacity in our plants. And as we complete this significant transformation, our direction forward is on a solid track”, Samuelsson said. +++