+++ The AUDI A4 is an important model for the brand; it served as the primary fighter against the likes of the C-Class and 3 Series. However, when Audi shifted its strategy from ICE to EV, the A4 was temporarily put to pasture, ending official production and sales in 2025. The next-generation model is set for a 2028 release, allowing its competitors to take the stage for now. Certain details about the upcoming A4 have already been announced, but more are coming to light, giving us greater insight into Audi’s plans for the A4’s revival. The A4 has already been announced to return as an EV: A4 e-Tron model. Audi’s Chief Technical Officer, Rouven Mohr, who more or less confirmed that the A4 EV will follow the 2028 launch schedule; no delays are expected so far. He said that for the new A4, the automaker has been utilizing its quicker product-focused development method, which was recently deployed for the Nuvolari Supercar. Mohr went on to say that the A4 will be one of the first mass-market models to feature a new design language first previewed in the Concept C back in 2025. The key here is that while the supercar Nuvolari will sell first, it’s still a limited edition model, making the A4 the true first mass-market car with the new design. To make things more interesting, there will be another sports model based on the Concept C that will enter production before the A4; all 3 cars are set to usher in Audi’s “Strive for Clarity” design language. Funnily enough, Audi also admitted that the next-generation models will improve their interiors, after saying that quality has “slipped” over the years. To rectify the situation, better materials will be used, more physical buttons will be added and lighter screens will be installed in the new Audis. Most importantly, though, the new A4 will also be one of the first models to use the Volkswagen Group’s all-new dedicated platform, the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP), designed to integrate both ICE and EV powertrains. It is said that SSP will allow EVs to charge from 10% to 80% in about 12 minutes, among other benefits and features. +++
+++ DACIA has fully revealed its new petrol-powered Striker crossover and said the Skoda Octavia rival will start from less than €30.000 when it hits The Netherlands in the coming months. The Striker is a high-riding, 4×4-influenced model that, says Dacia, combines “the qualities of an SUV, estate car and saloon”. It is Dacia’s second C-segment model after the closely related Bigster SUV. It will be joined by a similarly sized third model (the shape of which has yet to be revealed) in 2027. Its launch follows a highly successful first 2 years on sale for the Bigster, which became Europe’s best-selling C-segment SUV in the second half of 2025. Dacia design director David Durand said the Striker, which has similar dimensions to the Bigster, will provide a “new and complementary response to current automotive expectations”. The 4.62 meter-long Striker will “deliver the best value for money in the segment”, said Dacia.
Standard equipment on the sub-€30.000 entry car includes a 10.1 inch touchscreen, smartphone mirroring, digital gauges, a rear view camera and electric windows all round. Mid-rung Expression, likely to be around €31.500, adds alloy wheels, dual-zone air-con, auto-hold handbrake, electric wing mirrors and USB charging ports in the rear. 2 range-topping trims, Extreme and Journey, are expected to be priced from around €33.500. Extreme trim is designed for “the great outdoors”, with washable upholstery and rubber mats. Journey trim targets families with kit such as auto bootlid opening, connected nav and six-speaker surround sound. The Striker will be offered with 2 full-hybrid powertrains. The entry-level Hybrid 155 uses a 1.8-litre 4 cylinder with an EV motor in the gearbox and a 48V starter-generator to send 155 hp to the front wheels. The range-topping 150 Hybrid has a 1.2-litre engine driving the fronts and an EV motor at the rear to give a combined 150 hp and part-time four-wheel drive. Aiding its off-roading credentials are a suite of drive modes (including Snow, Mud, Sand and Off Road) and a dedicated hill descent control function. Dacia will offer the Striker with a huge array of add-ons from its burgeoning accessories programme. +++
+++ FIAT is considering launching a hot Abarth version of the Topolino quadricycle in order to boost interest among younger buyers. The tiny 2-seater is part of a wider push by the Italian firm into micro mobility designed to increase uptake among younger drivers. The Topolino is classified as an L6 quadricycle, which means in countries such as France and Italy it can be driven legally on the road by 14-year-olds. Despite that, the average age of a Topolino buyer is in their mid-40s, and a priority is reducing that. To that end, Fiat has recently launched a new Topolino Sport in Italy. This features new exterior colours with racing stripes, a black interior and a removable Bluetooth speaker called the Monsterlino. Fiat is aiming to add more Topolino variants in the future, and CEO Olivier François described a potential Abarth version as “a dream”, adding: “We’re working on it and it may come. It would be a total hit”. Because the L6 quadricycle regulations limit power and top speed, an Abarth Topolino is unlikely to offer extra performance, but it could gain bespoke styling elements. Asked about the prospects for an Abarth Topolino, Fiat’s European chief, Gaetano Thorel, said: “We want to make an Abarth feeling for the Topolino, because we are still trying to boost selling it too young people. It’s amazing: Topolino is the most successful quadricycle in Italy, and if we’re being honest we still don’t catch the heart of 16- and 17-year-olds. I want to gain their hearts, which is why we now have Topolino Sport. An Abarth Topolino could be another solution”. Asked why young people hadn’t taken to the Topolino, Thorel said: “Rome is the city of microcars, but parents buy 14-year-olds the little Ligier. It’s like a status thing: the Ligier feels more sporty with the 50cc petrol engine and the sound and so on, while the Topolino is more gentle”. +++
+++ Despite the apparent popularity of its products in upscale suburbs, JAGUAR LAND ROVER is seeing a decline in the first quarter of financial year 2026/2027 (which started at April 1st and ends on March 31th 2027), with retail sales falling 15.3 percent year-on-year and 13.8 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2025/2026 to 80,000 units. Wholesales weren’t any better, with 79.300 units sold, a decline of 9.2 percent versus the first quarter of 2025/2026 and 13.8 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2025/2026. The cause? “Volumes were affected by temporary supply constraints, including a fire at a major component supplier; market disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East; and the planned wind down of outgoing Jaguar models ahead of the launch of the Type 01”. Jaguar Land Rover says its wholesale volumes increased in the Middle East and North Africa by 4.5 percent, but in North America, they stayed flat. That’s no too bad considering that JLR’s home market, the U.K., saw a decline of 5.9 percent, while Europe dropped 12.1 percent, Overseas fell 20.1 percent, and China dropped a massive 26.2 percent. Note: JLR’s “Overseas” market refers to everything outside of its primary markets of the U.S., the U.K., Europe and China. As usual, the sales JLR did attract came from Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender variants, accounting for 80.8 percent of all wholesale units shifted, up from 77.2 percent in Q1 FY2026 and 77.1 in Q4 FY2026. The Discovery and Jaguar models presumably took the rest, but detailed sales figures will only be available next week. What about retail sales? Things look bad on all fronts here. Retail sales in the U.K. dropped 1.8 percent, while Europe fell 11.4 percent and North America declined 13.1 percent. Overseas sales are down 18.7 percent, and China’s retail buyers closely followed wholesale buyers in looking elsewhere, with sales down 23.9 percent. The Middle East and North Africa was even more shocking, with sales free-falling 41.5 percent. Ouch. What all this means for JLR’s financial state will be revealed next month, when first quarter results are released, but it’s not looking good. The all-electric Jaguar Type 01 with a 6-figure asking price is looking more and more like a risky bet. While Jaguar Land Rover could previously afford to rely on sales of its SUVs to keep it going, that is looking like a less and less stable crutch. Reliability issues, a wrongful death lawsuit, a massive recall for faulty airbags affecting multiple products across 7 model years and the decision to make upcoming electric SUV suitable for a hybrid powertrain as well: all of these factors are costly, and one can’t help but wonder how much patience owner Tata Motors will have. Ford struggled to make Jaguar profitable in the 1990s and 2000s, despite huge investments, before Tata turned JLR into a powerhouse of U.K. manufacturing. Things were looking up toward the end of the last decade, until a massive downturn in China. By the time the effects of the pandemic hit, thousands of jobs were lost, along with billions of dollars, and in 2026, it’s still recovering from a cyberattack that took place in August last year, which cost more jobs. JLR’s brands are iconic, but it’s going to take something special for them to reach the heights they once enjoyed. Hopefully, the deal with Stellantis will prove a prudent choice. +++
+++ PEUGEOT will reveal 2 “striking” new concept cars at the Paris motor show in October, as a preview of the design language and technology that will define its future production cars. Speaking to European journalists, CEO Alain Favey confirmed the unveilings and said the show cars will “show a lot about the future of the Peugeot brand”. He declined to give further details at this early stage but said they will “show the way” for the evolution of Peugeot’s design language and take influence from the brand’s long history. “Our heritage is very important to us, but it’s important in the sense that it gives us ideas for the future, which we will express again at the Paris motor show”. Peugeot has drawn from its past for several concepts in recent years including the E-Legend, which was effectively a modern recreation of the 504 coupé and the more recent Polygon which previews the next e-208 and takes heavy influence from the legendary 205 hatchback. Favey also confirmed that Peugeot won’t use its home motor show to unwrap the new e-208, as had been widely speculated. The second-generation will be launched in the second half of next year and make its debut at a dedicated event shortly beforehand. Peugeot’s new concept cars will give an indication of how it will completely overhaul its model line-up with a view to significantly increasing its market footprint. It aims to sell 1.5 million cars annually worldwide by 2030, up from 1.1 million last year, and will launch 7 new models (mostly new generations of existing model lines) in the next 4 years to support that ambition. Those 7 models are the new e-208, the next-generation 308 hatchback, a trio of C-segment models produced in France and a pair of D-segment flagship models engineered with China’s Dongfeng and not planned for sale in Europe. It’s possible that the new concept cars could directly preview some of these upcoming models. However, some Peugeot concepts in previous years (including the Inception, Onyx and Instinct) have been pure future-looking concepts with no plans for production. +++
+++ The second-generation SKODA KODIAQ arrived back in 2023, picking up where the first one left off by simply being a brilliant large SUV. It remains my favourite option in the class to this day, in fact. Now Skoda is looking to make the Kodiaq even better because we’ve just caught and updated model testing for the very first time. We don’t expect this updated Kodiaq to arrive in showrooms until 2027 given this our first sighting. Undergoing towing tests in the Alps, this camouflaged car shows Skoda is ready to bolster its entry in the large family SUV class. The move should concern the brands behind rival models like the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe and maybe even the Kodiaq’s sister model, the Volkswagen Tayron, though you can bet any upgrades offered on the Skoda will find their way to the VW in the near future. Reshaped headlights and a new front bumper could be in store. The rear lighting signature might become more segmented to take inspiration from newer Skodas like the Peaq, which will essentially act as an all-electric alternative to the Kodiaq when it arrives later this year. Despite the current car having a huge 13-inch touchscreen to accompany a 10-inch driver’s display, physical switchgear is a key element to the Kodiaq’s interior design (and one that helps elevate the Skoda above its rivals). As such we expect the 3 rotary dials (or ‘Smart Dials’) to be retained inside, though new cabin material options and colours might arrive alongside Skoda’s ‘Lounge’ and ‘Design’ grades. As ever the Kodiaq will retain 5 and 7-seat versions. However, the plug-in hybrid variant’s 25.7 kWh battery takes up the space normally used for the third row which means a 7-seat configuration for the PHEV model isn’t available; that’s unlikely to change with the new car. Expect the same array of engines to be offered. +++
+++ Do you remember the TOYOTA PREVIA ? When the MPV scene exploded in the ’90s, Toyota tried to ride the wave with the Previa and it proved to be a quite successful design. It lasted until 1997. Also known as the Estima in Japan and Tarago in Australia, it featured a mid-engined layout that maximized interior space, all wrapped in an egg-like body that’s oh-so ’90s. The first generation was a collaboration between Japanese and American designers. The model spawned 2 more generations. The second-gen was produced from 2000 to 2005, moving the engine to the front along the way. The third and final iteration would run for a whopping 13 years from 2006 to 2019. It was effectively succeeded by the Alphard and Vellfire, which eventually spawned the Lexus LM. Quite the family tree, I must say. Since the Previa’s worldwide discontinuation, there hasn’t been a direct successor. That said, the Japanese market and a couple of others in Asia have alternatives to it. There are the aforementioned Alphard and Vellfire, along with the smaller, narrower Noah and Voxy. Those are actually pretty neat vans, but the slab-sided family buses are nothing like the egg-shaped Previa and Estima. Now, a report from Japan has said that the Previa could return soon. In this case, it’s called Estima for the Japanese Domestic Market. According to MotorFan, it will serve as the more ‘driver-oriented’ family shuttle, whereas the Alphard is more for the chauffeured crowd. Before anyone gets too excited, note that Japanese reports tend to sound overly eager. That said, some reports published years earlier proved accurate, such as the return of the Pajero and Montero. Still, it’s good to be a little cautious. Interestingly, though, Toyota has been going on a trademark spree with the JDM name of Estima. It was registered in Japan last year, as well as in the EU, the U.S, Australia, and New Zealand, to name a few. More recently, it was officially registered in Malaysia and Canada. Of course, this could simply be the company protecting its name, but it doesn’t rule out a comeback, either. MotorFan goes so far as to claim that the revived Estima/Previa will likely come with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. It’s not totally far from reality, as Toyota makes PHEVs, although it’s a little too early to call it right now. The publication also speculated that the minivan will follow the form of its predecessors, but we doubt it’ll retain the mid-engined layout of the first generation. But for the boldest claim, it has to be the premiere date itself. A concept model may be revealed at the 2027 Japan Mobility Show, followed by the production model in 2028. Admittedly, things look a little far-fetched right now, but it could also be the revival that might surprise us. +++