Newsflash

+++ BENTLEY is planning an all-electric flagship as the classic British brand aims to reposition itself as a marque with strengths in both luxury and technology. The Crewe-based manufacturer has already announced its entire range will be available with an electrified powertrain by 2025. But work is under way on a pure Electric Vehicle (EV) that will harness some of the developments in the forthcoming Porsche Mission E and help Bentley to offer green credentials alongside its traditional craftsmanship. With the firm’s boardroom fresh from a complete shake-up, and Brit Adrian Hallmark named as the company’s new CEO, Bentley has plenty of options on the table as it gears up to go electric. But the brand’s design director Stefan Sielaff told what could be the “most realistic” option. “A full electric Bentley is something I am extremely convinced we have to do”, he explained. “The next step for sure is an electric, unique Bentley that isn’t based on an existing car but a completely fresh and new development, with electric propulsion and obviously different proportions following the function. It gives us a great chance to establish a completely new design language for the company”. Bentley has already given us a taster of its all-electric future in the form of the EXP 12 Speed 6e Concept, seen at 2017’s Geneva show. That 2-seat electric sports car concept was spun neatly off into the more conventional, hard-top EXP 12 Speed 6 Coupe show car; but it’s unlikely to form the basis of the brand’s electric flagship, according to Sielaff. “It should be a 4 or 5-seater and it should also have the possibility to carry a little bit of luggage, maybe not for 5 people”, he added. “I think we need to make sure that this family member is obviously new, and not imitating another concept we have already in the portfolio. But definitely more than 2 seats; that’s something I am convinced of”. With a 2-seater in effect ruled out, Bentley’s EV project is at a potential crossroads: all-electric SUV or something lower and more in tune with the brand’s heritage. Sielaff believes it should be the second of those options. “We are still in the phase of trying to define what it could be”, he said. “But nevertheless I think it should be a vehicle that contains a certain coupe-style or sportivity, and also a certain elegance. I don’t think it should be something that is raised high, like an SUV”. This points to Bentley’s future EV being a 4-door coupe, satisfying both the design head’s desire for something low, coupe-shaped and seating at least 4 people, while not being based around a previous concept or a current Bentley model. As with Porsche’s Mission E, Sielaff thinks that Bentley’s four-seat coupe EV should strike a balance between unmistakable Bentley design cues and a shape made possible by the lack of an internal combustion engine. A short dash-to-axle ratio is desired, as is a slightly lower nose that retains a grille. “I think we have to definitely adapt the proportions to the technical demands, and make a new statement”, Sielaff said, explaining that the EV, with its less traditional Bentley bodystyle, will be aimed at new and younger buyers more than traditional customers. “But nevertheless this is then the fine art of doing all this. It has to be at first glimpse a Bentley”, he added. Sielaff declined to name a date for the car’s arrival, but he stated: “It will happen not so far in the future”. With the PPE project between Audi and Porsche aimed at developing an electric platform for higher-riding cars, the J1 architecture used by the Porsche Mission E is the most likely candidate to underpin the electric Bentley. Previous Bentley CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer told last year that the J1 platform was the firm’s best bet, unlocking a range of up to 500 kilometres and a power figure approaching 600 hp. He also suggested that wireless charging is something Bentley will be focusing on with its upcoming EVs, because dirty, wet charging cables aren’t considered to be in keeping with the brand’s luxury values. +++

+++ A new small JEEP model is in the product planning pipeline for a possible launch in the next 5 years. The compact-sized Jeep would become the entry point into the Jeep range and be priced below the Renegade, suggesting a starting price of around 22,000 euro in The Netherlands. “A smaller car than the Renegade is very interesting to us and we are actively looking at the project now”, said Jeep CEO Mike Manley. Jeep could spin the new small model off the Renegade platform, which is also used by the Fiat 500X, but its compact dimensions are likely to demand a new, lighter platform. “We’ve seen the general move in Europe towards smaller SUVs, and there could also be a market in Latin America”, added Manley. The new car is unlikely to be sold in China, however. Manley says demand in China for smaller SUVs is focused on domestic brands, which offer strong value for money. The platform strategy at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) suggests that the small Jeep would share its platform with a Fiat model, with the next-generation Panda city car a possible contender. The obvious route to market is for Jeep to develop its own body and interior on the running gear of the next-generation Panda 4×4. Details are expected to be revealed on 1 June in Jeep’s next 5-year plan, for 2018-2023, which will be one of the items in a major FCA business announcement. FCA boss Sergio Marchionne will announce 5-year plans for the group and each of its brands: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati and Ram. Another possible announcement on 1 June could be Marchionne’s replacement if he retires at the end of 2018, as he has previously planned. +++

+++ NISSAN will aim to sell 1 million electrified vehicles each year by 2022, building on the success of the all-new Leaf. The plans, called ‘Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022’ include 8 all-electric models, and China-specific Electric Vehicle (EV) sub-brands. Philippe Klein, Nissan’s chief planning officer, said: “Our strategy is dedicated to positioning Nissan to lead the automotive, technology and business evolution. Our efforts are focused on delivering Nissan Intelligent Mobility, encompassing the three core elements of electrification, autonomous drive, connectivity and new mobility services”, he added. Nissan expects electrified vehicles to account for 40 percent of the company’s sales in Europe and Japan by 2022. This figure will rise to 50 percent by 2025. As part of this, Nissan will launch a product offensive in China this year, led by a new Leaf-based C-segment EV. In addition, Nissan is planning a more affordable small SUV, created via a Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance joint venture eGT New Energy Automotive. 2 further derivatives are also being prepared. Elsewhere, Nissan has stepped up plans for its ProPilot technology, suggesting the autonomous hardware will feature in 20 models across 20 markets by 2022. Like it’s electric tech, Nissan hopes to sell one million ProPilot-equipped vehicles each year by 2022. In other news, sister brand Infiniti has announced plans to launch electrified cars in 2021. Within 4 years, it expects said models to account for 50 percent of global sales. +++

+++ PEUGEOT , the PSA Group’s most successful brand, grew its sales significantly by 10.4% last year. In stark contrast to the performances of siblings Citroën and DS, whose sales declined 7.5% and 38.5% respectively, Peugeot sold 2,119,845 cars across the 12 months. That’s more than two-thirds of PSA’s total. Buoyed by this strong performance, Peugeot chief executive Jean-Philippe Imparato tells how he plans to ride the wave of growing SUV demand while also preparing his brand for an increasingly electrified future. “A key reason for last year’s success is that 45 percent of our global demand came from outside of Europe – that’s up from 38 percent in 2015. The target for the year 2020 is to grow this to 50 percent because I consider it very important for our global sales targets. If you look at the results for the 3008 model (259,300 units were sold last year), it shows we are also well placed in the SUV segment. People are asking for more SUV products like this and they are following us as we move into a more upmarket position. In 2017, we had more than 150 percent of the SUV sales that we’d had in 2016, so we know to push the SUV strategy harder. We will show you this year that we have some very interesting SUV projects. It will also help us to grow globally. In the 1960s, we built a reputation of reliability with SUVs in many markets. In the 21st century, I want to do things the same way: there is not a country or region I don’t want to be in. We recently opened in Vietnam with the 3008 and, each time I can do a new operation, our SUV line-up will head it. I want Peugeot to be a leader in electrification so, by 2019, 8 percent of our model line-up will be electrified. And, by 2020, 50 percent will offer electrified variants. The electric transition for Peugeot is not in the future, it is now. In the coming 10 years, I believe it is right to produce a dedicated electric model, but, in the next few years, I will have a modular platform because this will help us get maximum coverage of all the markets. It will give you the 4 energies: electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel. I also want to create a full ecosystem of services for electrification. If you want to go on holiday or drive 1.000 kilometres, you must have a mobility solution to complete the ecosystem. Owners would not only have the one car, you would have access to our mobility ecosystem. We will absolutely hit our CO2 targets for 2021. And I don’t need to launch a dedicated electric car and make a loss to hit the targets; I will launch a mix of powertrains to protect my operation. I want to make a profitable and sustainable business plan, with the correct mix of powertrains in order to cope with the regulations without losing money. We will be ready with our global ecosystem to meet the targets not just in 2021, but 2025 and 2030 as well”. +++

+++ PORSCHE says full-electric and hybrid-electric cars will account for 25 percent of sales by 2025 but there will not be a battery-powered version of its iconic 911 sports car. The 911 will get a high-performance plug-in hybrid version but it will never be fully electrified, CEO Oliver Blume told reporters at the carmaker’s annual results conference here earlier this month. The plug-in hybrid will not be available when the latest-generation 911, code-named 992, launches this year even though it was developed to allow space for a high-voltage battery, Blume said. “We are waiting for the further evolution in battery technology so you should not expect a plug-in version in the coming years. It’s currently planned when the 992 is refreshed”, he said. Blume said Porsche was considering whether to build a full-electric version of its 718 Boxster or Cayman entry level line, but did not need to act yet. “We launched the 718 Boxster and Cayman in 2016”, he said. “We are not yet at the point where we have to decide how things will progress”. Porsche’s first full-electric car, the Mission E sedan, will launch next year. The automaker gave a new performance detail, saying its 800-volt electrical architecture, originally a development for its Le Mans race car 919 Hybrid, will give drivers a 100 km range after just four minutes of battery recharging. Porsche confirmed will build more variants of its Mission E, including one based on the Mission E Cross Turismo unveiled at the Geneva auto show, which is expected in 2021. Porsche also plans to build a network of 400 fast-charging stations in Europe by 2020, as well as offer customers home-charging solutions. It will also develop cordless charging stations that use electromagnetic induction. Audi revealed last week plans to build a third electric vehicle after on Porsche’s Mission E platform, which is called the J1. Initially the fastback, to be called e-tron GT, was to be built on Audi’s own EV architecture, but sources at the company said the higher battery floor needed for an SUV body style wasn’t ideal for a sedan. Porsche and Audi are working together on a new EV architecture, dubbed PPE (Premium Platform Electric). So far no cars have been announced yet but Blume said its Leipzig, Germany, plant has a good chance of being equipped to build PPE models, suggesting a PPE-based Macan was a possibility. Long term, parent Volkswagen Group has assigned Porsche the task of developing its third purpose-built electric-vehicle architecture for sports cars and supercars called SPE that may also be used by Audi and Lamborghini that will be developed solely by Porsche. Porsche is still hesitating over whether to resume offering diesel models. Blume said he wanted to wait and see how customers cope with the current lack of a diesel in their range. “Whether to stop offering diesels permanently is a decision customers will make”, he said. “Our intention is to come with a diesel, but we will have to wait and see what happens over the year”. Diesels only account for 12 percent of Porsche sales, Blume said. He hopes that Porsche can tempt its customers to opt for a plug-in hybrid. About 60 percent of all Panameras ordered by customers in the EU are plug-in hybrids. Blume said Porsche will contribute to offer only gasoline-electric hybrid cars. “Diesel plays a subordinate role at Porsche, and when we launch a plug-in hybrid it will always be in combination with a gasoline engine”, he said. Blume said the company was not considering starting production in the U.S. despite President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. He also said there was no truth to reports that Porsche was in talks to build cars in China with parent Volkswagen Group’s local JV partner SAIC. “Engineered and Made in Germany remains an important seal of approval for our customers”, he said. Porsche’s global deliveries rose by 4 percent to a record 246,000 last year. Operating profit increased 7 percent to 4.1 billion euros with its operating margin rising to 17.6 percent from 17.4 percent the year before. Rapid volume growth in recent years has been largely driven by adding the compact Macan in the popular SUV segment. +++

+++ A plug-in hybrid version of the next-generation Leon will kick-start SEAT ’s push for electrification in 2019. The new Leon variant will be followed by the brand’s first electric car in 2020. It will be twinned with the 2019 Volkswagen ID hatch, thanks to shared VW Group MEB underpinnings that will also be used by Skoda’s first purepose-built electric SUV, which will itself take inspiration from its Vision E concept. “Seat is taking a step forward in boosting electric mobility”, the brand said, “and our first electric vehicle will feature a range of 500 km”. This range is the same figure quoted by Skoda and VW for their upcoming electric vehicles (EVs). The 2020 model is predicted to be Seat’s first pure EV because an electric version of the Mii, which was expected as a twin to the upcoming Skoda e-Citigo and updated Volkswagen e-Up, is now understood to be less of a priority. Seat R&D boss Matthias Rabe said that model is “less concrete”. The car is described as being taller than the VW ID but lower than Skoda’s electric SUV, suggesting it’ll ride like a crossover. Seat’s first EV will come at the tail end of an aggressive range expansion that will soon see the introduction of the Tarraco SUV, a relation of the Skoda Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan. The current Toledo small hatchback is likely to be axed shortly after this. But Seat will quickly add another all-new model to the range when a pure-electric SUV is launched as a cousin to Skoda’s EV SUV. The electrified range will coincide with a new design direction for Seat. It will begin with the 4th-generation Leon next year, according to design boss Alejandro Mesonero. He told last year that the Leon’s design would be “a bigger step” than the company has taken since the relaunch of the brand with the current Leon in 2012. “Sometimes you need to take a bigger step so as not to be obsolete. We’re ready very soon for the next, bolder step in design”, he said. The next Leon will also get what Rabe described as “fantastic technology and fantastic user interface” as part of what insiders suggest will be class-leading infotainment, set to be rolled out across the rest of the range after its introduction. Seat is also keen to stress that it “will remain committed to internal combustion engines” when expanding its plug-in range. It will also offer internal combustion engines fuelled by clean-burning compressed natural gas. Seat chairman Luca de Meo revealed the new model offensive at a press conference to announce Seat’s 2017 financial results, headlined by a second year of profitability. Turnover rose 11 percent, while after-tax profit increased 23 percent. “We can be happy with the 2017 results”, stressed de Meo, “but we shouldn’t be satisfied. Now it’s time to look to the future with the ambition to grow”. Total deliveries of new cars in 2017 were 468,000 vehicles, the highest since 2001; the payback for 3 billion euro of investment in the past 4 years. Cashflow, the accountant’s favourite measure of a company’s business strength, also grew substantially by 24 percent in 2017. “This is almost three times as much as in 2013 and demonstrates the company’s financial sustainability”, Seat said. +++

+++ SKODA is planning to shake up its family car line-up in 2019 by offering an all-new version of its Rapid Spaceback as an alternative to the Octavia and also the likes of the Opel Astra and Ford Focus. The existing Rapid has suffered poor sales outside of Skoda’s home market in the Czech Republic. Equally, while the Octavia has been a success, the car’s extra length over conventional family hatchbacks has put off some buyers. Now I can reveal that the brand is switching to a 2-pronged attack on the likes of the Astra, Focus and Volkswagen Golf; and that central to this is the realignment of the Rapid Spaceback, away from a value-orientated proposition with cheaper materials and towards a more conventional family hatchback. The next Rapid will lose the ‘fastback’ car. Only the Spaceback will survive; and even then, Skoda is likely to make its styling more conventional, previewed in our exclusive images, perhaps losing the current car’s distinctive glass tailgate. It may also drop the Spaceback title. The current edition sits on a modified version of the VW Group’s PQ26 platform, but its successor will use the MQB A0 set-up designed for smaller cars, such as the new Seat Ibiza and Volkswagen T-Roc, plus the next generation of Skoda’s own Fabia. Crucially, though, Skoda has secured the right to use a longer version of MQB A0 than anything else within the VW Group, and this will support 2 new cars: the next Rapid, and the crossover previewed by the Vision X concept displayed at the recent Geneva Motor Show. That car is said to be a close preview of the production model, which could be called Amiq or Anuq. As such, the Vision X’s wheelbase is deeply significant, because at 2.645 mm, it’s 25 mm longer than the current Golf’s. Assuming the next Rapid shares these dimensions, it should have enough cabin space to be a proper family car, and hefty improvements in interior quality should transform it into a genuine sister vehicle for the Octavia, instead of feeling like a stablemate to the Fabia. The engine line-up for the next Rapid will comprise the VW Group’s latest petrol motors, including a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder unit with everything from 95 hp to 115 hp, and a 1.5-litre motor with up to 150 hp. A 1.6-litre diesel is likely to feature in the line-up, too, plus it’s conceivable that the car could be offered with a mild-hybrid petrol-electric set-up that uses a 48V-powered belt-driven starter-generator to lower CO2 emissions. Alain Favey, Skoda’s global sales and marketing boss, confirmed at Geneva that the marque is taking a different approach with the next Rapid. “Despite what is happening with SUVs, family hatchbacks are a sector that is very important; still the heartland of the European market, I would say”, he said. “Right now our position in this market is extremely weak, it has to be said, because of the current Rapid Spaceback. So you will see next year that we will launch a new Rapid into this segment. It will sit alongside the crossover previewed by Vision X, but we’re really working hard on ensuring that it appeals to a different type of customer. We think we should be able to get some more traction into this ‘Golf’ segment”. He added: “There is a gap, right between Fabia and Octavia, that we have been trying to fill with Spaceback, and it hasn’t been doing very well. We really think with the car coming next year that we can do this better. The Octavia has a saloon profile, at least, and it should remain that way, but that leaves space for an obvious family hatchback, above the Fabia but below the Octavia. That’s what we are working on”. The new Rapid will also allow Skoda to nudge the Octavia slightly further upmarket. It’s believed that CEO Bernard Maier is taking a personal interest in the next generation of the car, due in 2020, and that it will get a more sophisticated cabin and introduce a few new technologies to the Skoda brand. +++

+++ VOLKSWAGEN is backing its upcoming wave of new electric vehicles (EVs) with the introduction of a home charger wallbox for customers alongside its plans for 400 new European fast-chargers. Speaking at VW’s annual media conference, company chairman Herbert Diess said the new home boxes and European EV chargers would be available by 2020; just in time for the launch of the brand’s first purpose-built EV, the ID hatch. “Our aim is to make driving electric vehicles as simple, comfortable and clean as possible”, said Diess. “We will supply private households with charging solutions; our wallbox for home use at 300 euro will be affordable for everyone”. The fast-charging network is being rolled out via a consortium named Ionity that features BMW, Daimler and Ford. Fifty chargers have already been installed and 50 more are due before the end of this year, with each offering up to 350 kWh of power; more than double that of Tesla’s Superchargers. VW will also equip its ID models, which will include the ID Crozz SUV in 2022, with technology that can automatically connect to these chargers, negating the need for users to log in or digitally connect their car to infrastructure. “We are making our IDs so intelligent that every vehicle will become a moving credit card”, said Diess. “You will be able to recharge without thinking about paying. The vehicle will do it for you”. VW’s major electric push, which CEO Matthias Müller admitted has accelerated in pace since the diesel scandal, will see 9 of its production sites equipped with capability to build EVs by 2020. This number will grow to 16 by 2022, when the ID Crozz lands. Diess said the brand expects to make “up to 1.500 ID and ID Crozz per day” at its Zwickau plant in Germany alone; the site is soon to be converted into VW’s flagship EV factory. He said his confidence isn’t just based on projections but is backed by recent demand, which has seen VW’s EV sales treble in the past year. “Our electric vehicle sales were 3 times more popular in 2017 than 2016 and the e-Golf nearly sold out” said Diess, “so it’s clear customers are willing to switch to EVs once the price is right”. Müller said the brand would launch “practically one new electric model per month” from 2022. He said that around 300 new electrified VWs are due on roads by 2030, many of which will be added to existing model ranges. +++