+++ Testing of the new AUDI Q8 e-Tron is ramping up. The current e-tron name is set to bow out with the introduction of the Q8 e-tron nameplate in a major facelift. Audi’s push towards a full-electric future started with the e-Tron, but since then we’ve seen the new BMW iX, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y all eat into the electric SUV market.The facelifted car won’t receive a dramatic change to the exterior. There will be redesigned front and rear bumpers to help deliver a more aerodynamic package overall. The headlights will also undergo a slight tweak but the Q8 e-tron shouldn’t be too strong a departure from the outgoing e-Tron. Given that the e-Tron is being put under pressure, it’s not surprising Audi is launching a significant update in 2022. The new car, now called “Q8 e-Tron”, will still be based on MLB Evo, a converted combustion-engined platform. The compromises of this platform have been exposed, not only by competitors but also by the lower, sleeker e-tron GT 4-door coupe, which sits on a bespoke electric architecture shared with the Porsche Taycan. The forthcoming Q6 e-Tron, which sits on the next-gen PPE platform, is also likely to have a significant advantage over its larger sibling. However, Audi’s board member for technical development, Oliver Hoffman, has revealed earlier this year that the e-Tron will get significant upgrades to its electrics and battery when it is facelifted in the second half of next year: “It’s important to keep the car fresh, and therefore we are developing a big update in terms of range and charging time”. Hoffman declined to discuss specific figures, but the increased energy density could allow Audi to beef up the maximum battery capacity to more than 100 kWh. This, combined with increased efficiency from its electric motors, could give the e-Tron range comfortably north of its current maximum, 453 km. A figure of more than 500 km is almost certainly Audi’s target. The updated e-tron isn’t likely to match the Q6 e-Tron’s expected 350kW recharging speed (that’s based on 800 volt technology that isn’t stitched into the existing model’s platform) but Hoffman’s admission that charging speeds will also be updated would indicate that an increase from the current 150kW rate is part of the plan. The updates will allow the e-Tron and e-Tron Sportback to continue on sale for a conventional 7-year life cycle, before they are replaced by cars based on the Volkswagen Group’s forthcoming SSP architecture. Audi boss Markus Duesmann has confirmed production of the e-Tron’s successor will commence in Brussels in 2026, and it will be called Q8 e-tron. However, Autointernationaal.nl understands that Audi will now use the significant facelift being lined up for the e-Tron to introduce the name change earlier than first planned. Audi executives are keen to quickly align the rapidly growing e-Tron line-up along the brand’s traditional numerical naming convention, according to reports in the German automotive media. The facelifted e-Tron will take on the Q8 e-Tron name, to end any potential confusion about the model’s positioning. +++
+++ The latest teasers of the CADILLAC Celestiq are here, and we get to see a little more of the stunning and expensive Caddy this time around. The main photo of interest is the first one in the above gallery that reveals the rear end and part of the Celestiq’s side. Dramatic lighting comes from both the top and bottom, as Cadillac integrates lights in places you wouldn’t normally see on a car. For example, led light extends from the underside of the rear bumper, right from the rearmost point of the wheel arch. Then, the top light extends deep into the side of the car, similar to what we’ve seen on the Cadillac Lyriq. The sloped roofline is gorgeous, and of course the centerpiece in the rear is a light-up Cadillac crest. We’ve already seen one photo of the wheel, but this new shot allows a much clearer look at the wheel and a fleeting glance of the front grille and front lighting. The front lighting scheme looks to mirror the Lyriq with its grille full of LEDs and a vertical daytime running light signature. Zooming in on the wheel photo, we can read the tire size on the sidewall (285/35 R 23). It’s running a 285-section-width Michelin Pilot Sport EV tire, and this large tire is wrapping an intricately designed 23-inch wheel. On the inside, the Celestiq features a 2-seat rear configuration with a full center console of controls in the center. The starry lights on the door panel are pretty to look at, and the red leather sure is, too. The last interior photo we have to look at is from the cargo area, and it shows off the massive amount of screen real estate Cadillac is pumping into the Celstiq. The rear passengers get their own headrest-mounted screens alongside a central control screen between them. But then in front, it looks like the entire dash is a screen. We can’t see all of it, but it appears as though this screen might stretch from one pillar to the other. The screens themselves have a couple details hidden within them. For example, the little screen in the center console between the driver and passenger features a fingerprint scanner on the display that reads “profile syncing”. We’ll just assume that the Celestiq features a fingerprint reader for loading up your specific drive profile. And finally, the large screen indicates an 80% battery charge with 10 minutes remaining for a full charge. That would require some extra-speedy charging to get to 100% that quickly, as cars typically slow their charge rates down dramatically when they are near a full charge. Cadillac says the Celestiq will be revealed in full on July 22, so expect to see the full car with all the details soon. +++
+++ MERCEDES is progressing with the development of its latest all-electric car: the EQE SUV. I’ve seen it testing in prototype form and expect a full reveal to be near, with the EQE SUV going on sale in 2023. The EQE SUV will be Mercedes’ fifth all-electric high-rider, sitting between the EQC and newly unveiled EQS SUV. It will draw comparisons to those two cars as well as the EQE and EQS saloons in terms of styling, technology and powertrains. The German firm has been out testing the new EQE SUV earlier this year and from what we can make out under the camouflage. Features such as the smooth front facia and slim LED headlamps will be common design traits seen on the brand’s other EQ-badged vehicles. The grille will house radars and sensors for the EQE SUV’s driver assistance technologies. Cooling will be provided by a shallow vent below the main grille, which we anticipate will have some form of active vane that can shutter the opening for better aerodynamics. Like our previously spied prototypes, these winter test cars feature a set of low-drag alloy wheels, which should help to eke a few more miles out of the EV’s battery pack. The steeply raked windscreen and ultra-smooth surfacing should also benefit range, too. Inside, I’m expecting plenty of similarities with the forthcoming EQE saloon. So, buyers should also be offered Mercedes’s MBUX Hypercreen infotainment system, which debuted on the EQS. The system comprises a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, a 17.7-inch central display and an extra 12.3-inch touchscreen for the passenger. Rather than the MFA2 platform the EQA and EQB use, the EQE SUV will sit on EVA2 architecture which is an EV-bespoke platform used for the electric-only EQE and EQS saloon. The EVA2 platform is highly modular, and Mercedes is expected to launch a broad range of powertrains and battery options across the EQE range. In fact, the German brand has already filed trademarks for a whole host of badges, including AMG monikers from EQE 43 to EQE 63, suggesting that high-performance variants are in the works. Mercedes has already revealed powertrain details for the car’s saloon relative in EQE 350 guise. This will use a 90kWh (usable) battery to power a motor on the rear axle, which produces 292 hp and 530Nm of torque. Performance figures for the EQE 350 haven’t yet been released, but Mercedes quotes a range of up to 659 km from a full charge. Don’t expect an EQE 63 SUV to get the larger 120 kWh battery from the EQS however, as Frank Wundrak, the vehicle-testing head at Mercedes has said it won’t fit within the EQE’s platform. The EQE saloon also offers support for 170 kW DC rapid charging, which can top the battery up to full capacity in just 32 minutes. When connected to a slower 11 kW AC charger, the same charge takes 8 hours and 25 minutes. Mercedes also offers the saloon with an optional 22 kW AC on-board charger, reducing this time to just over 4 hours, and the firm has partnered with providers such as Ionity and Shell Recharge to give its future EV drivers convenient access to rapid charging stations. Speaking about the company’s future, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius, said: “At Mercedes, we are going from EV-first to EV-only for our new architectures and cars. On a global level, the pace of change in the markets will vary, of course. A little faster here, a little slower there. But the transformation to battery electric cars is unstoppable. And it will pick up speed everywhere. We are accelerating our ramp-up in R&D activities to serve an all-electric era. Investments in new technologies will be significantly increased and pulled forward. This includes expanded activities in battery cells and systems”. Mercedes has already launched a range-topping EQS SUV this year, which will eventually spawn its own Maybach variant. The G-Class will go also all-electric in 2024 with a model called EQG confirmed, and in 2025, the firm will launch its next-generation MB.AE platform as it shifts towards becoming a pure-electric manufacturer. +++
+++ PAGANI has no plans to make electric cars after conducting a 4-year study into whether they would be suitable for the brand. Company boss Horacio Pagani thinks that EVs are too heavy and lack emotion, and that most of the energy they use is not sustainably produced. He also believes that the climate impact of supercars is so small that their use of an internal combustion engine, however big, is in a broad context largely irrelevant. “In 2018, I created a team working on fully electric cars”, he told at the recent Milan Monza motor show. This team’s primary responsibility was looking at global homologation for Pagani to create such cars, particularly for the US, and for safety, both of which could be delivered. However, “in 4 years, we never found interest in the supercar market for an EV”, said Pagani. He added: “At the moment, 90% of energy is produced without renewables. It’s silly to think that only a few supercars in the world with ICEs can have a negative impact on the climate when 90% of energy is produced in a bad way”. Pagani’s studies also showed that it would need to use a 600 kg battery in an EV, which is more than half the Huayra R’s total weight (1.070 kg). However, Pagani also believes that the performance of electric cars is excessive. “I own a Tesla to understand EVs, and it’s not necessary to have such high performance in them”, he said. “The challenge is to make an EV that gives good emotion like a normal ICE. Pagani isn’t going to do something just with good performance, as you can do this now, but to give emotion to the driver. The idea should be to make a lightweight car, but this is the biggest challenge. The dream would be a 1.300 kg EV, but this isn’t possible”. Mercedes-Benz provides the marque with its V12 engine and other key systems, and Pagani said his firm has access to this technology if it needs it. He believes that Mercedes continues to be an ideal partner and enjoys working with the German giant. “Mercedes is a big company, but you can still sit in front of a few people who decide, speak to them and be listened to”, said Pagani. He added that the style and visual drama of his cars remains hugely significant, as does making them approachable to drive. “If you work only on the dynamics, all the cars end up the same”, he said. “Spend time on the fashion and the style and you get something wonderful. Our target is to make the cars easy to drive. Gentlemen drivers are able to drive the Huayra R very easily”. Other philosophies include providing exceptional customer service, enabling buyers to take their car on track and ensuring that it remains accessible on the road; something Pagani believes Ferrari does best of all. Also important is making Pagani cars easy to live with, exemplified by the 10.000 km service intervals on the engine, despite it being a V12 revving all the way to 9.000 rpm. “We don’t want extreme cars”, said Pagani. “We want easy cars that aren’t nerveracking for gentlemen drivers”. Pagani is also proud of the residual values of his cars, the company having built 450 or so examples of the Zonda and Huayra over the past 2 decades. “Some Zondas are now 10 times the initial price”, he said. “The Cinque is now 20 times”. The firm’s waiting list has for the past decade remained at around 3 years and it has already found buyers for the first 100 examples of the new Pagani C10, which it will unveil in September. “These have all been sold even before it has been revealed”, said Pagani. He added, however, that he never gets complacent about demand and remains respectful of market conditions that could affect his company, because many of its customers work in financial services. “We’re a success, but a lot can happen suddenly”, he said. “There’s a difference between success at the moment and foresight of the future”. To that end, he invests a huge amount in R&D, typically around 20% of revenue. “We’re one of the top companies that invests in the future. We usually invest 20%. Last year, it was 14%”, said Pagani. “It’s like a race: you can stop, but when it restarts, you’re at the back. Even if you have no new car, you’re investing”. Pagani currently builds around 1 car per week, up from around 1 car per month a decade ago. +++
+++ POLESTAR said first-half sales of its electric vehicles more than doubled and it remained on track to achieve its full-year target. Sales at the Swedish EV maker, founded by China’s Geely and Volvo Cars, and now a publicly traded company, rose almost 125% to about 21.000 cars in the first 6 months of the year, up from 9.510 in the same period last year. As a result, Polestar reaffirmed its full-year target to delivering 50.000 vehicles. “When it comes to order intake, we are on a very safe track to make the numbers that we’ve put out for 2022”, Polestar chief executive Thomas Ingenlath said in an interview. “Even now in July, we are already on safe ground with that. The big uncertainty in the plan is always unforeseen Covid-19 lockdowns”. In May, Polestar slashed its 2022 delivery forecast by 15.000 units, citing the Covid-19 lockdowns in China. The lockdowns caused supply chain disruptions for semiconductors and components widely used in EVs. Polestar sold about 29.000 vehicles last year and is targeting 10-fold growth to 290.000 in 2025. Polestar, which launched the low-volume Polestar 1 hybrid performance car in 2017, still plans to launch the Polestar 3 electric SUV in October, Ingenlath said. The Polestar 3 will be built at Volvo Cars’ plant in South Carolina. Polestar sells the fully electric Polestar 2 car and plans to launch a new vehicle annually for the next 3 years. The Polestar 4 SUV Coupe is scheduled to follow in 2023 and the Polestar 5 (a 4-door GT) in 2024. +++
+++ RENAULT ’s next-generation all-electric line-up looks set to embrace the brand’s stars of yesteryear, with the Renault 4 badge tipped to reappear. The French firm’s decision to bring back its famous nameplate will result in a retro-styled, practical EV designed to sit alongside the returning Renault 5. The Renault 4 had a production run that spanned 31 years, during which more than 8 million were sold. It was designed in response to the Citroen 2CV to provide simple, practical and cheap transportation to the growing number of car owners in the 1960s. Last year, Renault unveiled a new concept car called the ‘AIR4’ with assistance from mobility company TheArsenale. It was built to celebrate 60 years since the Renault 4 was launched. The body is a clear homage to the original Renault 4, but with led headlights and a more rounded appearance. We expect the all-electric production car to hark back to the old car too, but perhaps not quite as much as the AIR4. Pictures of a proposed Renault 4 design have also been uncovered on a trademarking website, as well as a new version of the Renault logo featuring the number 4, adding further authority to the rumours that a production model is on the way. The new Renault 4 will join the reinvented Renault 5 in the brand’s retro-themed electric car line-up and, judging by these patented images it’ll retain plenty of the original car’s design cues, sharing the classic car’s boxy shape, round headlamps and upright front end. The production Renault 4 is touted to corner the same niche as its legendary predecessor, but with electric power. It should also be more practical than Renault’s current EVs, sporting a large boot, a pared-back cabin and potential scope for a commercial van variant. The new Renault 4 is part of an aggressive push towards electrification; Renault has already launched its all-new, pure-electric Mégane E-Tech and says it will introduce a total of 10 new EVs by 2025. 7 of them will be Renaults, and the other 3 are likely to be Alpines, as the sports car brand moves to full electrification from 2024. Renault believes it will have the greenest sales mix in Europe by the middle of this decade, when over 65 percent of its line-up will be fully electric or electrified. And it says up to 90 percent of its models will be pure-electric by 2030. The brand’s chief executive officer Luca De Meo recently confirmed that there would be more retro-inspired models in the future line-up after the well received launch of the Renault 5 Prototype. “There have been so many products that made history, so it would be a pity not to reconnect with that long history and tradition. We’re not here to only look in the rear-view mirror, we’re here to reinvent things and I think the Renault 5 is a good example”, he told. “A lot of people say to me, ‘why are you doing retro design?’ This is not retro design, it’s just reinvention of a concept. In our library we have a lot of things that we can reinvent”. When the original R5 was launched, it borrowed its mechanicals from the R4. This time around, though, the roles are expected to be reversed. The upcoming Renault 4 is expected to use the same CMF-BEV platform as the R5 to help keep costs down. Renault has hinted of a maximum range of 400 km for cars using its CMF-BEV platform, which has been designed specifically for cheap, small electric cars and comes with a standardised 1346 hp electric motor. Traditionally the R4 was priced slightly below the R5, but with the cost of the technology and Renault hinting at a sub €27.000 price for the R5, I expect Renault to aim for similar prices for its retro twins. If the concept is well received, De Meo could give the project the green light to go on sale shortly after the new 5’s debut, meaning first deliveries in late 2023 or early 2024. +++
+++ Panasonic Holdings will invest several billion dollars in a factory in Kansas to supply a new high-capacity battery for TESLA ’s electric vehicles. The Japanese conglomerate aims to triple or quadruple EV battery production capacity by fiscal 2028 from the current level of roughly 50 gigawatt-hours per year. Earlier in June, news came out that Panasonic was looking at potential factory sites in Kansas and Oklahoma to supply batteries to the U.S. electric automaker’s plant in Texas. Panasonic already has a factory in Nevada that supplies smaller batteries to Tesla. The company, which has been Tesla’s battery supplier for more than a decade, also said it had shipped samples of its more powerful 4680 format battery to the electric-car maker. The new battery is about 5 times bigger than those that Panasonic currently supplies, meaning the U.S. electric automaker could be able to lower production costs and boost vehicles’ driving range. +++
