+++ BMW will completely overhaul its current combustion-powered line-up, starting with a heavily updated 5 Series, to bring these models into line with a range of incoming Neue Klasse electric cars. The new-era EVs will begin with the unveiling of the iX3 at the Munich motor show in September and this will kick-start a rapid-fire refresh programme for BMW, which is working to ensure its current-generation models are not outpaced by newer siblings. The next 3 Series will follow shortly after the iX3 and use the same EV-first architecture, which, in time, will be the base for all BMWs. Before then, though, BMW will redesign and substantially upgrade models that are not yet due for replacement, to ensure a coherent, logical line-up. The first of these will be the 5 Series, due next year. Although the 8th generation saloon was launched in 2023, recent spy shots reveal that it is already preparing to undergo a significant refresh. This update, which is also destined for the M5, is centred on a striking, prominent new nose that will bring its design into line with the Neue Klasse models. While nothing has been confirmed, an interior makeover could be on the cards too, given BMW is set to roll out its new Panoramic iDrive set-up. This features a new dashboard, an extended head-up display, a redesigned steering wheel and an angled 17.9 inch touchscreen, plus the removal of physical buttons. The system will first be used by the iX3 and then adopted by all BMW models. Given it is only a mid-life facelift, the 5 Series will continue to sit on the same CLAR architecture; in the future, all BMWs will use the firm’s new electric-first NK platform. Power, too, will come from the same units as today: either a 207 hp mild-hybrid or a 299 hp plug-in hybrid system. Both employ the same 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine. The M5 is also likely to retain its PHEV set-up that puts out 725 hp. Following the 5 Series revamp, there will also be a new X5 and updated versions of the 2 Series, X2, 7 Series and X7. Product boss Bernd Körber clarified that Neue Klasse refers to “the next generation of all cars and all toolboxes when it comes to engine, digital, ADAS etc”. He added: “We will launch the Neue Klasse on a BEV-purpose platform with iX3 and 3 Series, but then the rollout will be within 3,5 years across the entire portfolio”. So while the new iX3 and 3 Series will look radically different from the rest of the line-up initially, BMW will quickly implement a more uniform approach to styling and functionality. According to BMW Group design boss Adrian van Hooydonk, this is because the new-era BMW models shouldn’t make the current cars appear like a previous generation. “We will make sure that the form language that we are developing now, and starting this year at the IAA Munich show with the first of the Neue Klasse vehicles, will be rolled out over the entire product portfolio, leaving no car behind”, he said. “Of course, it would not be good for us or for our customers if there would be a new type of BMW and a ‘classic’ type of BMW. We’re going to change the look and feel of the BMW brand”. He added: “There will be a family resemblance but each car will have its own distinct character traits, just like we have today. But everything will look very new in a short space of time. We’re not only launching 1 car now in September: it will be the beginning of a whole range of new vehicle launches in the next 2 to 3 years. We’re going to renew pretty much the whole product line-up”. Van Hooydonk said this all-encompassing decision was made in recognition of automotive technology and design advancing faster than ever before. “Why are we making this much change in design? Because the technology is changing this much. Society’s appetite for change has sped up”, he said. The 1 Series is likely to be the next car after the X5 to be replaced by a Neue Klasse model, probably in 2028. Core models including the 2 Series, 7 Series, X1 and X2 that were introduced only 2 to 3 years ago will get a heavier-than-usual facelift by 2029, with the new design language, interior arrangement, powertrain technology and technical functionality. It remains to be seen exactly what the future holds for older model lines such as the 4 Series and 8 Series. There has been no indication yet that new generations are in the works but they are likely to be too close to the end of their natural life cycles to warrant such a significant and expensive round of updates. +++
+++ HYUNDAI ’s Ioniq series have sold over 500.000 units globally, the group said, reaching a milestone for the first time since its launch of the Ioniq 5 in 2021. According to the company, it had sold a cumulative 514.588 units of its Ioniq series, consisting of the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 9, as of last month. The series, which began with the launch of its very first Ioniq 5 in 2021, saw its sales gradually increase year after year, with 65.906 units sold in 2021, 114.548 in 2022 and 169.812 in 2023. Sales dropped to 121.375 last year amid a temporary drop in demand for electric vehicles, with signs indicating a potential rebound this year. Last month alone, 16.368 vehicles from the series were sold; up 41 percent compared with the same period last year. The most popular among the series was the Ioniq 5 and its high-performance version, the Ioniq 5 N, which have together sold 407.607 units, accounting for 80 percent of the total accumulative sales. “We will strive to keep up the popularity of the Ioniq series in the global market by strengthening its commercial value and expanding its market base”, a company official said. +++
+++ Raise your hand if you saw this coming. After exiting the United States a couple of years ago, the purely electric MX-30 is also dead in Europe. I noticed the model’s absence from several configurators across the Old Continent, so I contacted MAZDA to find out what’s happening. Sure enough, the small crossover without a combustion engine has been quietly retired. Here’s what Monique Clark from the company’s PR office told me: “The MX-30 BEV has been removed from sale in Europe and all examples have now been sold. The Mazda has ceased production for Europe. However, the award-winning MX-30 R-EV continues to be available for customers who want the EV driving experience with the range confidence provided by the rotary engine generator”. Europeans can still buy the MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV, a mouthful of a name for the range-extending version. It’s the only production vehicle with a rotary engine, though it doesn’t drive the wheels. Instead, the small 830 cc naturally aspirated single-rotor unit acts as a generator to charge a 17.8 kWh battery pack. Mazda doesn’t sell this version in North America, where a more powerful two-rotor setup is in development for an unspecified model. Plot twist: the rotary MX-30 isn’t the only flavour with a combustion engine. In Japan and other markets, it’s also offered with a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter gasoline engine featuring mild-hybrid technology. Mazda started production of the small crossover and its RX-8-styled suicide doors about 5 years ago. Mazda is launching a larger EZ-60 in China with a range-extender, though not a rotary one. It’s expected to reach other markets, especially since the EZ-6 sedan has already been rebadged as the 6e in Europe. Similarly, the EZ-60 could be renamed CX-6e for Europe and other regions. But because these vehicles are made in China, they’re unlikely to be sold in the US due to newly imposed tariffs. Although the MX-30 will be remembered as Mazda’s first mass-produced EV, there was one before it. In 2012, Mazda launched the Demio / Mazda2 EV subcompact hatchback in Japan as a limited series of about 100 units. However, all were leased to local governments and corporate clients near the company’s headquarters in the Chugoku region. Mazda’s first dedicated electric vehicle platform will be ready in 2027, and a “full-scale launch of EVs” will begin a year later. +++
+++ Money-losing Japanese automaker NISSAN is banking on its latest “e-Power” technology for a turnaround. A kind of hybrid, e-Power comes equipped with both an electric motor and gasoline engine, much like the Toyota Prius. It’s different from a Prius in that it doesn’t switch back and forth between the motor and engine during the drive. That means the car always is running on its EV battery, ensuring a quiet, smooth ride. “Nissan has a proud history of pioneering innovative technology that set us apart”, Chief Technology Officer Eiichi Akashi told reporters on the sidelines of a test drive at its Grandrive course outside Tokyo. The advantage of e-Power vehicles is that they never need to be charged like EVs do. The owner just fuels up at a gas station and the car never runs out of a charge. Nissan, which racked up a 670.9 billion net loss for the fiscal year through March, sorely needs a hot-seller, especially in the lucrative North American market. But the U.S. market is proving a big headache for all the Japanese automakers because of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. To achieve a turnaround, Nissan is working on reducing costs, strengthening business partnerships and redefining its line-up. That’s where e-Power fits in, according to Akashi. Yokohama-based Nissan announced earlier this month that it’s slashing about 15% of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, and reducing the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17, under an ambitious recovery plan led by its new Chief Executive Ivan Espinosa. Nissan officials did not give a price for the upcoming e-Power models. The only other automaker offers a similar technology is Suzuki. E-Power is already offered on the Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail model in Europe, and the Note in Japan. The upgraded version will be offered in the new Rogue (X-Trail) in the U.S. Nissan, a pioneer in EVs with its Leaf, which went on sale in 2010, is also preparing beefed up EV models. It’s also working on a solid-state battery which is expected to replace the lithium-ion batteries now widely used in hybrids, EVs and e-Power models. Analysts say Nissan is in danger of running out of cash and needs a partner. Speculation is rife its Yokohama headquarters building will get sold, or one of its Japan plants will be turned into a casino. Nissan started talks last year with Japanese rival Honda for a business integration but announced in February that it was dropping the talks. +++
+++ OPEL has hinted at a more rugged version of the incoming Frontera with a new concept car that turns the conventional electric crossover into a trail-hunting 4×4. Named the Frontera Gravel and based on the electric version of the family car, it gains several key elements aimed at helping it tackle the wilderness. Up front, it receives a tow winch and extra LED light bars, while the car’s rear haunches now feature extra storage panniers. It also gains a chunky roof rack with a spare tyre and further storage, and the wheels are shod with aggressive BFGoodrich all-terrain tyres. Inside, the interior configuration matches that of the regular Frontera, but it has been reupholstered with orange contrasting elements to match the car’s exterior livery. Opel CEO Florian Huettl said it “embodies Opel’s commitment to making electric mobility versatile and accessible… with respect for the environment”. Although Opel has yet to state any production plans for the Frontera Gravel, the car’s modifications are ultimately minimal and could in theory constitute a special-edition variant of the crossover. Sibling brand Fiat recently showed its vision of a 4×4 version of the Grande Panda, which shares its Smart Car underpinnings with the Frontera. It is possible that Vauxhall could use the electrified rear axle from that car to give its model four-wheel drive – although the Fiat uses a hybrid powertrain, whereas the Frontera Gravel has a battery-electric powertrain. Such a model would more clearly carry the torch from the new Frontera’s 1990s ancestor, which was a 4×4 based on Japanese brand Isuzu’s Mysterious Utility Wizard. +++
+++ PEUGEOT will reveal a hot GTi variant of the electric e-208 supermini on the eve of the Le Mans 24 Hour race next month. The brand has confirmed that its long-mooted Alpine A290 rival, officially confirmed by Peugeot boss Alain Favey earlier this year, will be unwrapped on 13 June. It has given no details, but says it will be “fun to drive, agile, powerful: built to deliver an unforgettable driving experience”. It will be the first GTi model since the previous-generation Peugeot 308 went off sale in 2021 and Peugeot’s first sporty pure-electric car. Speaking to media recently, Favey said: “I’m in a position to confirm that we will reintroduce the GTi on the e-208 as soon as possible. We’ve made the decision that Peugeot GTi will be reintroduced”. He added that it is a “signal” about “what it means to reconnect to our past, our history” and that it would link the French brand’s road cars to its involvement in motorsport, particularly the World Endurance Championship, in which it fields the 9X8 hypercar. “We want to continue to nurture the reputation of the brand for driving sensations and the fact that our cars produce particular driving sensations, either as a driver or as someone that is being driven in the car”, Favey said. As for a broader GTi line-up or a sporting model with a combustion engine, Favey suggested it will depend on customer feedback. He said: “We will start with the 208 and are definitely listening to your inputs, or what our customers will say as well. We don’t exclude that there might be other executions of the 208 GTi under the GTi badge, but for today there’s absolutely nothing planned in that sense”. Confirmation of the GTi badge’s return comes after Favey said that he would consider it as one of his first jobs since taking over as Peugeot CEO in February. It’s possible that a lighter and lower-set e-208 equipped with the same powertrain could cut that to below 6.0 seconds. Both the Abarth and the closely related Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce are also offered with a punchier 280 hp motor, leaving room for a special edition in the vein of the previous 208 GTi by Peugeot Sport. Green-lighting the e-208 GTi for production is also likely to result in a hot version of the Opel Corsa Electric, given that the 2 models are twinned and Opel has already confirmed plans for a hot Mokka GSE using the Abarth 600e’s powertrain. +++
+++ TOYOTA is looking at building the GR Corolla hot hatch in the United Kingdom in a bid to cater to massive demand in the US. The Japanese company is considering spending $50 million to establish a new line at its factory in Burnaston, Derbyshire. The factory already produces the regular Corolla hatchback and estate for the European markets. The new line would give it the capacity to build around 10.000 examples of the GR Corolla annually, for export to the United States. Toyota’s Motomachi plant in Japan, the so-called GR Factory, responsible for output of the GR Corolla, GR Yaris and GR86, is currently at full capacity. It assembled 25.000 cars last year, of which around a third were Corollas. Burnaston already has a ready supply of Corolla bodies and ancillaries and that makes it a “natural choice” to accommodate additional production of GRs. Although the plan to boost GR Corolla production through the United Kingdom has not been informed by US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, the decision surely benefits Toyota on that front. The United States currently charges a tariff of 25% on all cars imported to the country from abroad, including Japan. However, the United Kingdom recently agreed to negotiate a deal that will cut the fee for its exports to 10%, within a national quota of 100.000 cars. Final details have yet to be confirmed but at present Toyota would have to pay a smaller fee on British-built GR Corollas than those from Japan. The prospect of adding production in the United Kingdom also lends weight to the possibility that the GR Corolla (currently offered in only a handful of markets, including the US and Japan) could be set for a launch in Europe. Prototypes were last year spotted testing at Germany’s Nürburgring, hinting at a launch. A spokesperson suggested it was standard procedure to test global products at the circuit but did not deny the prospect. Toyota currently sells the GR Yaris and the GR Supra in Europe, the GR86 having been killed off in that market by the European Union’s GSR2 safety regulations. The Supra is soon to follow.Regardless, the reported plan to produce GR Corollas in the United Kingdom will come as welcome news to staff at the Burnaston plant, which last year built its 5 millionth car since opening in 1992. A spokesperson for Toyota told that the company could not comment on the report at this time. +++