+++ AUDI is plotting a move even further upmarket, pushing the brand into prestige territory with even posher replacements for the A8 and Q7/Q8 that sit at the top of its line-up. The Grandsphere concept revealed in 2021 hinted at a future ranger-topper that could move the A8 into luxury territory, with the potential for an even larger and more luxurious SUV as well, as previewed by the 2022 Urbansphere concept. And the VW-owned firm is now laying the groundwork to be perceived as even more luxurious and expensive. “We are making a step upwards in terms of premiumness, increasing the prestige, desirability and perception of the brand, and more interested in the quality of business than the quantity”, Audi’s new UK boss Jose Miguel Aparicio told. Aparicio said the raft of new products in the larger sectors, including new A6 in petrol and electric form, and new Q6 e-Tron and Q5 SUVs, shifts the customer base. “We are significantly increasing the centre of gravity in terms of price because we are more present in these sectors; the number of customers in C and D segments we want to approach is increasing”, he said. “That means a significant increase in price, and in order to do it successfully we really need to create this brand attraction and desire. The essence for this is product innovation, but we also have to offer a premium customer experience to them; we are talking about making an evolution, moving upwards”, he continued. According to Aparacio, there is space below Bentley in the Volkswagen Group family for Audi to slide upwards in perception without encroaching on its luxury sibling. “Luxury is covered by Bentley and Porsche, and in the premium market there are many segments and many ways of bringing a proposition to a customer”, he said. “It’s not a fundamental change, it’s an evolution and has to be followed by adjustments to the customer experience; it’s something we have to do with our retail partners”. The shift to EVs has given brands a fresh chance to change how they are viewed by customers, which is an opportunity and a threat, according to Audi’s UK boss. “A new era is starting and the rules are changing, so we cannot assume that those ones that were premium in the past will also be the winners for the future. We have to earn that status”, he said. “It’s important to ensure that we have the value in the product range, that we have the customer experience that really grants us this premiumness for the future in an EV battery-electric-vehicle world”. That opens the door to the Grandsphere and Urbansphere becoming a reality, although it will be towards the end of the decade before they have a chance of hitting the roads. +++
+++ FIAT ’s not giving up on the city-size car class, with confirmation the Italian brand will build a new baby Panda, or Pandina, in the coming years. It will join the funky Grande Panda and its larger range siblings that we broke news of last year, and pack a hybrid powertrain largely to satisfy European markets. Fiat’s CEO Olivier François told: “We will do an A-segment Panda, maybe not this year, or next, but after that”. The news came during the launch of the Grande Panda, a new generation of B-segment Panda models. The very telling ‘Grande’ moniker suggests that a smaller sub-4-metre version that’s closer to the mould of the original Panda is also on the cards. The A-segment Pandina will be 3.6 metres long, around 30 cm shorter than the Grande Panda, which will rule out basing it on the same underpinnings as most of Fiat’s future models. François told: “The Smart Car platform was perfect for Fiat, but I can’t go any smaller than 4 metres, which is the Grande Panda”. Instead, Fiat will use the 500e architecture to create the Pandina, but fitted with a petrol-hybrid powertrain. Despite the 500 being designed initially with an electric motor, Fiat has re-engineered the platform to fit a hybrid engine due to customer demand and softening EV sales. This will help keep a cap on the cost per unit, and therefore retain a competitive purchase price for Pandina customers. It will almost certainly feature the same 1.2-litre hybrid powertrain that will be available in the 500 Ibrida later this year. But Fiat is very clear about all the pitfalls of building a modern city car, with significant challenges as the market continues to evolve. François said: “A-segment cars in Italy are a must, but all cars have to be global and there’s just not that much of a market for cars of this size elsewhere, which makes it a challenge”. In order to make the sums work, the Pandina will be designed to be simple and cost-effective. While not aesthetically driven by the Centoventi concept of 2019, François told: “It will have the same philosophy as the Centoventi. It needs to be simple, innovative. What can we leave out? What do we actually need inside? This will help keep the costs down”. The Pandina will join the upcoming Volkswagen ID.1 and Renault Twingo in the next generation of compact, clever and efficient A-segment models. The key difference is that at least initially, Pandina will also offer that hybrid powertrain, bringing costs down compared with its all-electric rivals. But the fact that it shares its core underpinnings with the all-electric 500e will mean that if markets warm up to electric cars again, or legislation forces them into it, the Pandina will be ready and waiting to accept a BEV powertrain with relatively little effort or expense. Regardless of powertrain, the A-segment is still a very difficult place to make a profit, and François was blunt in saying: “In order to make money from it, we’ll need to sell them in huge numbers, but I’m confident that we will”. +++
+++ HYUNDAI will unveil its first solid-state battery next month, promising longer range and faster charging from packs that are sized similarly to today’s offerings. On 9 March, the Korean firm will open its new Uiwang Research Center in Gyeonggi, where the next-generation batteries will be tested on a pilot production line. There Hyundai will show the solid-state pack, dubbed the “dream battery”, for the first time. An EV using one of these batteries is expected to begin testing within the year and mass production of these packs is pencilled to begin in 2030. Solid-state batteries are regarded as a holy grail for EVs. Compared with today’s lithium ion packs, the make-up is simplified: the liquid is replaced by a solid block, which is lighter than its counterpart and can carry more energy within the same capacity. The solid element is also less reactive than the liquid, so it’s much less likely to ignite if punctured or heated. This means, in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 for example, range could double from what is offered from today’s 84 kWh pack or the weight could be halved and its 510 km range kept the same. What’s more, the arrival of these batteries would make Hyundai self-sufficient when it comes to battery supply. Currently it buys in packs from CATL, LG Energy Solution and more. +++
+++ ISUZU , known most in the U.S. for its popular Trooper SUV in the 1980s and 1990s, is making a comeback in the market, announcing today it plans to produce commercial vehicles at a plant near Greenville, South Carolina. In a press release, Isuzu said it acquired a 1 million square-foot facility on 200 acres. The company plans to invest about $280 million in the operation, hire about 700 workers and produce up to 50.000 vehicles a year. While the statement commits to building commercial vehicles, Isuzu could expand to other products. “We plan to use a flexible manufacturing methodology that can accommodate demand for gasoline cars, while keeping in mind the transition toward electric passenger cars in the long term”, it said in a statement. “The plant will be optimally designed for our needs, streamline our processes, provide us flexibility to react to changing market conditions, and position us for even greater growth in the North American market”, Noboru Murakami, president of Isuzu North America Corp., said in the statement. Isuzu left the U.S. light-vehicle market in 2009. The company’s best U.S. sales year was 1986 when it sold 127.630 vehicles. Of course, the Japanese are using this news to demonstrate confidence in the U.S. market and avoid president Donald Trump’s proliferation of tariff threats on U.S. trading partners. +++
+++ KIA will reveal the production version of the EV4 and a concept version of the EV2 later this month. The duo will make their debuts at Kia EV Day, the Korean brand’s annual showcase event that takes place this year on 27 February. The EV4 will arrive next year and rival the likes of the Tesla Model 3 and Volkswagen ID.3. It will be sold in both hatch and a fastback bodystyles, with the former the main target for the European market. It is based on the same E-GMP platform used by Kia’s existing electric cars, including the EV3, EV6 and EV9, as well as various Hyundais. Given that it is positioned towards the lower end of that line-up, it is expected to share powertrains with the EV3. That car is currently offered solely with a 204 hp motor mounted on its front axle. Two batteries are available, with the entry-level 58 kWh option yielding 430 km of range and the 81kWh pack 590 km. The EV2 concept will preview the production version of the EV2; a new electric hatchback earmarked for launch in 2026 at a price of at around €29.000. The small, high-riding hatchback will rival the new Renault 5. The production version will share a platform with the EV4. +++
+++ Stellantis-backed LEAPMOTOR will launch a total of 4 cars in Europe before the end of 2027, including an MG4-rivalling family hatchback and a pair of new SUVs. China-born Leapmotor was founded in 2015, forming a strategic alliance with Stellantis in October 2023. The venture gives Stellantis access to Leapmotor’s battery and EV tech, as well as its low-cost production methods. In turn, the European conglomerate will enable Leapmotor to get a foothold in the hotly contested western market. Following the T03 and C10, will be the B10. This C-segment SUV will rival models such as the BYD Atto 3 and, at the upper-end, the Volkswagen ID.4 and forthcoming Skoda Elroq. It’s set to go on sale towards the end of 2025. Next year, the B10 will be joined by a similarly sized family hatchback, designed to take on the MG 4, as well as base versions of the VW ID.3 and Renault Megane E-Tech. A smaller hatchback will also arrive in 2026, with its sights set on the BYD Dolphin, as well as Stellantis’s own range of electric superminis, namely the Opel Corsa and the Peugeot 208. Given Leapmotor’s budget billing, this car could feasibly start from 20.000 euro.The final Leapmotor to arrive in Europe will be a small B-segment SUV. Leaving arguably its most important model to last, the company will finally enter the burgeoning small-SUV market some time in 2027. Assuming it’ll follow the firm’s existing naming conventions, the BYD Atto 2, Opel Frontera and Citroën ë-C3 alternative, should be called A10. To be competitive, it’ll need to undercut the most basic Citroën, which currently starts from 24.290 euro in the Netherlands. All future models are expected to take design inspiration from the more modern-looking C10 and B10, with slim headlights joined by a dark perspex strip. While the T03 is new to Europe, it’s been on sale in China for a number of years; Dally told he expects updates for this model in due course, which should bring the 20.000 euro EV in line with the rest of the range. +++
+++ NISSAN was deep in trouble when rival Honda offered a lifeline: a $60 billion tie-up that would help both Japanese automakers compete against the Chinese brands upending the car industry. But the merger talks unraveled in a little more than a month due to Nissan’s pride and insufficient alarm about its predicament, as well as Honda’s abrupt decision to revise the terms and propose that Nissan become a subsidiary, according to 6 people familiar with the matter. +++
+++ RENAULT is considering offering a steering yoke in future cars, but will pursue the technology only once buyers have sufficient trust in its reliability. The company is using its new one-off Filante streamliner to test the technology, with a 2-spoke yoke fitted around a central instrument screen. This controls the wheels through an electronic connection, rather than a traditional steering rack, using electric motors to provide feedback such as increased weight or bumps. The removal of the column “liberates a lot of space on the interior”, Renault concept car design boss Sandeep Bhambra said. “It’s something that we are looking at for future cars, but it’s not that easy to put something so innovative in a production car”. Asked what exactly had slowed development of the system, given that Lexus and Toyota have given a similar set-up the green light for production and Tesla already sells the Cybertruck with steer-by-wire, Bhambra said: “mostly customer acceptance” and asked: “How many people actually buy those Toyotas or Lexuses?” Renault interior design boss Stephane Maiore added that the company doesn’t have enough customer feedback about steer-by-wire “for the moment” but that it would use the Filante to “explore the technology and work on it”. Speaking at the Filante’s public debut at the Rétromobile classic car show, Renault design boss Gilles Vidal elaborated: “I’m not sure the customer actively demands by-wire. And if we give that, it needs to be super reassuring in terms of ‘is it still nice to drive and safe to drive, and what’s the feeling about it?’. That will be the first question. Once people are reassured, we will deliver even more, even better. So that’s how the public will understand it, and that’s the path they will take to maybe agree to it, and like it and love it, possibly”. Notably, the Filante also forgoes traditional throttle and brake pedals in favour of video game controller-style triggers mounted on the rear of the steering spokes. Maiore told this was conceptual and highly unlikely to make it into any future cars, however. +++
+++ SMART ’s sleek #6 flagship will be unveiled later this year as the brand’s quickest and most advanced model to date, packing reserves of 650 hp in its most potent form. The rakish four-door saloon will be positioned as a rival to the Tesla Model 3, a car it will have a similar footprint to. It has been designed with a focus on range so will feature the slipperiest body of any Smart model to date. This will allow it to offer “well over 600 km” of range in its most efficient form. The saloon, which is twinned with the Zeekr 007, will be shown for the first time in the second half of 2025 before reaching European showrooms in early 2026. While predominantly developed as an electric car, the #6 will also be offered with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain as part of a move to fill sales gaps in markets where EVs have yet to take off. Secrecy still surrounds the styling of the new saloon, which like all of Smart’s current models has been designed by a team at Mercedes-Benz headed by Smart design boss Kai Sieber. However, it will adopt a distinctive raked roofline together with detailing and surfacing treatment similar to the #1, #3 and #5. Like those cars, the #6 will also feature frameless doors and wheels that range from 19 inch to 21 inch. Smart’s maiden saloon is based on the Geely-developed PMA2+ platform, a structure derived from the Chinese car maker’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) for EVs that underpins models such as the Polestar 4. PMA2+ can use 400 Volt and 800 Volt electric architectures; the latter of which is set to provide the #6 with a charging capability of up to 400 kW. As with the #1, #3 and #5, it also forms the basis for both single-motor rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor four-wheel-drive powertrains. Insiders at Smart’s HQ in China suggest power outputs will be largely in line with those of the #5, with rear-wheel-drive models offering up to 340 hp and 4-wheeldrive models boosted to 650 hp. Heading the #6 range will be a hot Brabus model to challenge the Tesla Model 3 Performance. Packing 4-wheel drive and up to 650 hp, it is expected to deliver 0-100 kph in less than 3.5 seconds and a governed top speed of 200 kph. A choice of batteries will be offered: a 75 kWh LFP unit for 400V rear-drive models or a 100 kWh NMC pack for 800 Volt rear- and four-wheeldrive models. +++
+++ American tariffs on electric vehicle battery cells and materials imported from China more than tripled to 25 percent last year and this is pressuring VOLVO to find a domestic battery source for its U.S.-made EX90. Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan recently said the higher tariff “takes a bite” out of the profit on the EX90, which is assembled in Ridgeville, South Carolina, with batteries from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL). +++