+++ The entire automotive industry in EUROPE will crash if legislation concerning CO2 reductions isn’t revised by the end of the year, Stellantis’s most senior executive in Europe has warned. Speaking at the Munich motor show, Stellantis Europe boss Jean-Philippe Imparato said there was “a sense of urgency” ahead of cross-industry talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Friday and there should be “less discussions, more actions”, which should include a new European-specific category to bring back the sub-€15,000 city car segment. +++
+++ An attractive electric hatchback is set to hit Europe next summer, if HYUNDAI ’s Concept Three goes into production as the new Hyundai Ioniq 3, in the same way as the company has previously done with its show cars. Strip away the Concept Three’s coach-style doors, funky interior and styling extravagances (including big wheels and a pixel-screen front grille) and you’ll have the basis of a Volkswagen ID.3 rival. It could potentially be priced from around €31.000 to position the Ioniq 3 between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s electric car line-up. At 4.288 mm long, the concept is larger than an ID.3, and just 52 mm shorter than Hyundai’s own i30 hatchback. “We wanted Concept Three to have a sporting stance with a clear silhouette defined by aero hatch profile and typical EV-specific proportions with the low front”, Eduardo Ramirez, Hyundai Design Europe chief designer, told. Although Hyundai gives its EVs their own character rather than following the same design language from small to large cars (think how different the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 9 look) the pixel lighting theme that connects all 3 of those cars is widely used on the Concept Three. The large pixel squares on the front, which look like a grille at first glance, are capable of showing the movement of the car’s animated companion, Mr Pix. Meanwhile, the rear lighting is an evolution of the pixel-based displays on existing production cars, deploying parametric pixels that give the light bar a 3D effect rather than the retro 2D lighting on the likes of the Ioniq 5. That front animation is one element that won’t make it through to production, although Simon Loasby, the head of the Hyundai Design Centre, said it’s not beyond possibility for production. “We can do it, but it’s about adding cost into the vehicle and would it move the car on in the eyes of the customer”, he told. “But there is a fun factor to doing it. We get too serious sometimes and it gives impact and is memorable”. The front end also features active air flaps to cool the battery, and a narrow band of LED lights. The rear is adorned by what looks like a pair of central exhaust pipes that on closer inspection are actually speakers designed to “deliver an emotive experience through sound”, according to Ramirez. “This is the first compact car under the Ioniq brand and it’s been a lot of fun developing it”, added Loasby. Playful elements across the car include frequent appearances of the Mr Pix character, and the wording ‘May the downforce be with you’ stamped onto the huge rear diffuser. The diffuser is another element that will be stripped away when the production version, which has been designed in tandem with its more extravagant concept sibling, is revealed next spring. Obviously they had some liberty in designing the concept car, but the dimensions are very close to what you’ll have with the final vehicle”, Hyundai’s European boss Xavier Martinet told. “The exterior is quite close, and the interior will be more traditional, although don’t expect it to be boring”. The concept’s cabin is, according to its designers, supposed to represent a living room, with each item representing an individual piece of furniture. Though no indication of powertrain was given on the Concept Three, which is a styling study rather than running prototype, the production Ioniq 3 is expected to use the group’s 58 kWh battery as a starting point, offering 204 hp and a range of over 440 km. +++
+++ MERCEDES will continue to offer V12 engines into the next decade, its technology boss has confirmed. The arrival of new European emission laws (named Euro 7) at the end of next year put the German firm’s largest combustion engine into doubt. But, speaking at the Munich motor show on Monday, tech boss Markus Schäfer confirmed that Mercedes “will continue to offer V12s”. When asked about the unit being EU7-compatible, Schafer said “I will not say more, but it is coming”, strongly hinting that it will remain available in Europe. He did not, however, give any details on how Mercedes would make the V12 compliant with the new rules, nor did he confirm which model lines would use the engine. Currently, the only Mercedes model to use a V12 is the 612 hp Maybach S680 limousine, but it was previously offered in AMG’s S 65, CL 65 and SL 600 models. It’s possible that V12-engined Mercedes models could be sold only in select global markets in the future. The news that Mercedes is continuing with V12 power comes as it shifts its ICE model strategy. The firm also plans to phase out the controversial 4-cylinder plug-in hybrid drivetrain used in the C 63 and GLC 63 and instead fit those cars with updated versions of today’s straight-6 or an all-new V8. “We have invested quite a lot to update the entire portfolio”, said Schäfer. “On top, we have created a new V8 that has almost finished EU7 compliance. It is a high-performance V8; it’s brand new”. Speaking about the future of the petrol powertrains, AMG boss Michael Schiebe said the brand will continue with them “as long as possible, where regulations allow”. He said: “Of course, in the US, in Europe, the regulation is that you cannot sell combustion engines any more from 2035, and we have to comply with that. But there are other markets at the moment where I don’t expect them to have such a regulation in place, such as the Middle East and China. So we could still continue to sell those engines there in those markets as long as customer demand continues”. +++
+++ The POLESTAR 6 has been put on the back burner as the brand prioritises higher-volume models like the Polestar 7 crossover and Polestar 2 replacement. Polestar CEO Michael Lohscheller told at the Munich motor show that the next priority was to get into the compact SUV segment in Europe with the 7, which will give Polestar the biggest volume potential yet and make the brand more accessible in its pricing. Polestar has also “put a lot of energy into the topic” of the next-generation 2, as the liftback has been the Swedish brand’s most successful model to date. These 2 models are crucial in building volume for Polestar and supporting retailer growth, said Lohscheller, as part of the brand’s switch to a more conventional retail model. Lohscheller confirmed that Polestar still intends to make the 6 in the future, however, as a model that will use a new bespoke architecture shared with the 5 saloon revealed at Munich. But for now the focus is very much on building volume in Europe; a market that is by far Polestar’s most successful globally. More than 75% of Polestar cars are sold in Europe. On his plans for the 7, Lohscheller said he hopes to attract younger customers to the brand with the smaller SUV and also more female customers as he accepts the brand “is quite a performance brand” at the moment and has “many, many more male” than female customers. He said the design would be “very different” to Polestar’s current models and more of a familiar SUV shape “but at the same time, it will be distinguished and really stand out” in the way the 5 stands out against rival saloons. It will have all the Polestar DNA with the right driving characteristics, chassis tuning, and we will bring all these ideas together in a sustainable way”. He wouldn’t comment on recent suggestions that Geely sibling brand Lotus could look to use the architecture of the 5 and 6 or indeed manufacture Polestar models at Hethel. Lohscheller also ruled out the possibility of Polestar models ever using hybrid drivetrains, as it would go against the brand’s positioning to date and the customer base would “absolutely go bananas”. “We’re an EV brand, and so that clarity is really important”, he said. +++
+++ RENAULT will give the Megane a radical “hot hatch” facelift next year, in an effort to revive the EV’s stark downturn in sales. The current Megane launched in 2022 as one of the first of Renault new-age electric cars. While successful at first, after 3 years sales have dipped rapidly: down 67% (to 10.082) in the first half of 2025 compared to the year before. This has coincided with the brand launching newer and cheaper EVs (Renault 4 and 5) within the past year, which have racked up more than 3 times the hatchback’s sale. Now, Renault CEO Fabrice Cambolive has confirmed they want to reposition the Megane as a “hot car”. Speaking at the launch of the new Clio at the Munich motor show, he said: “The Megane E-Tech was our first, first, real EV car since the beginning of ‘Renaulution’. It was launched at a moment where the EV uptake was not so high. “Now, what we are looking for is to have a hot hatch or a hot car. That’s the direction we want to go in”. While he was coy on any technical specifics, Cambolive said the car will get a larger battery, and this is likely to be the 91 kWh pack used in the larger Scenic. In that car, it offers up to 600 km of range, up 140 km on the most efficient current Megane. This need to refresh the hatch was backed by Renault Group design boss Laurens van den Acker, who admitted “we need to sell more of it”. To do that, he added: “We need to do something. If you put a new battery in the car, which is very expensive, and you don’t change the car, then it’s really hard pressed to seduce people to pay more or anything for it. “So we needed to do justify to change underneath the skin by showing something on the skin. And then we thought that what the world was missing was kind of a hot-looking EV. “And so we thought we had nothing to lose, so we’ll just push that”. The facelift will involve a new grille, fresh daytime running lights and a lower and wider stance, although van den Acker would not be drawn into specifics. The new Megane will arrive in the middle of next year. +++
+++ SKODA boss Klaus Zellmer says that the production version of the Vision O estate concept will be offered primarily as an electric vehicle but that the firm “will explore all options” in terms of other powertrain options if regulations allow. The new model is due to arrive early in the next decade, and while the Czech firm has given no technical details and only referred to it as electrified, the production version will be the first Skoda to use the Volkswagen Group’s new SSP platform. While that is primarily an electric platform, it has designed to be highly flexible and the VW Group has confirmed that it will at least be able to accept a range-extender powertrain, as demonstrated by the Cupra Tindaya concept. Asked why the firm showed the Vision O at least 5 years before a production version, Zellmer joked: “It’s because you guys kept on pestering us about what’s happening with the estate BEV”. But he added: “We also needed an answer for that for ourselves. We’ve sold millions of Octavias and Superbs, and that puts an obligation in your business plan”. Skoda first previewed an electric estate 3 years ago, which was due to sit on the current MEB platform, but eventually postponed the project. Zellmer said that was because of the use case for an estate: “For long-distance driving you need autonomous functions in a car, and that will be easier to realise with a new platform”. Asked whether Skoda would offer other powertrains beyond an EV for the next-gen Octavia, Zellmet noted that the speed of the electric transition “has not materialised” at the speed expected. He added: “We have seen different drivetrains coming in, especially plug-in hybrids. Give us some time to answer those questions: with the next platform, we want to keep all avenues open in terms of what is feasible and complexity, and in terms of regulation. The current governmental direction in Europe is that in 2035 it’s the end of petrol and diesel engines, which would mean the new model is BEV-only. But we’ve learned we need to keep avenues open and we need to do what our customers want. The first rule of any business is that if you do what your customers want you will be successful”. Zellmer said that another major challenge that needs to be addressed in the years before the Vision O goes into production is affordability. He said that ensuring the model can be priced similar to the existing combustion car “is one of the highest objectives we have now, because we need to stay in that price bracket or else we’re going to shock people and they’ll go somewhere else”. +++
+++ VOLKSWAGEN is unlikely to reintroduce convertibles or other derivatives into its line-up while it continues to offer both petrol and electric models, according to design chief Andreas Mindt. The firm has traditionally offered one convertible in its line-up, most recently a drop-top version of the previous-generation T-Roc. But asked about plans for a new convertible at the Munich motor show, Mindt said: “The trouble in the whole industry at the moment is that every company has a double portfolio with electric and combustion cars, and that’s a major problem. This is why you don’t see convertibles anymore, because everybody needs to double the portfolio. And that is really bad for investment. So if you have a software update, you have to apply it to double everything. That means nobody has the spare time to do a convertible. When we go to the age where we don’t have double portfolios, when the ICE models are dying out, then you will see a lot more derivatives such as convertibles, and I’m not just talking about Volkswagen but the whole industry”. +++