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SENIOR car industry figures were in London last week for the annual two-day Financial Times Future of the Car Summit. It’s a chance for leading CEOs to get their company message across – or, in the case of Jaguar Land Rover boss Dr Ralf Speth (above), an opportunity to deny rumours that his company could soon be bought by French giant PSA, which already owns Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Opel/Vauxhall. But when it came to the crunch question on whether he was aware that talks had taken place between PSA and JLR’s current owner Tata, Speth’s response was limp at best. “There are rumours,” he acknowledged, “but I cannot really confirm any of these discussions.” There is an increasing belief that JLR might well benefit from a switch of owner. Acquisition by…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram ● Popular SUV is bigger inside despite being same size as old model ● Discovery Sport gets new platform and tech from latest Evoque FIVE years after the launch of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, the firm’s biggest-selling model has been updated. This is no mild, mid-life facelift, however; the exterior design might look similar to the outgoing car’s, but this revamped version is heavily reworked under the skin, with an overhauled platform, new interior tech, and a range of mild-hybrid and plug-in drivetrains. Like the new Range Rover Evoque, it sits on Land Rover’s fresh Premium Transverse Architecture – a thorough redevelopment of its predecessor’s platform. This allows for a structure that’s 13 per cent stiffer than in the previous car and means 21-inch wheels can be fitted for the first time…

SENIOR car industry figures were in London last week for the annual two-day Financial Times Future of the Car Summit. It’s a chance for leading CEOs to get their company message across – or, in the case of Jaguar Land Rover boss Dr Ralf Speth (above), an opportunity to deny rumours that his company could soon be bought by French giant PSA, which already owns Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Opel/Vauxhall. But when it came to the crunch question on whether he was aware that talks had taken place between PSA and JLR’s current owner Tata, Speth’s response was limp at best. “There are rumours,” he acknowledged, “but I cannot really confirm any of these discussions.” There is an increasing belief that JLR might well benefit from a switch of owner.…

Sean_Carson@dennis.co.uk @sean_carson_ ● New car due on sale next year ● Far lighter than current model THE launch of a new Corsa is about as big as it gets for Vauxhall. Britain loves superminis and the Corsa is a perennial best-seller, even though the current model can trace its roots all the way back to 2006. That means it’s way past time for an all-new Corsa, a project that was kick-started around two years ago when Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) bought Vauxhall and European sister Opel from General Motors. The all-new car is due next year and to get an idea of what we can expect, we’ve driven two prototypes. This sixth-generation Corsa (we knew the original as the Nova, but it was called Corsa in Europe) is based on PSA’s small-car architecture, known as the Common Modular…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk @AxleIngram ● Popular SUV is bigger inside despite being same size as old model ● Discovery Sport gets new platform and tech from latest Evoque FIVE years after the launch of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, the firm’s biggest-selling model has been updated. This is no mild, mid-life facelift, however; the exterior design might look similar to the outgoing car’s, but this revamped version is heavily reworked under the skin, with an overhauled platform, new interior tech, and a range of mild-hybrid and plug-in drivetrains. Like the new Range Rover Evoque, it sits on Land Rover’s fresh Premium Transverse Architecture – a thorough redevelopment of its predecessor’s platform. This allows for a structure that’s 13 per cent stiffer than in the previous car and means 21-inch wheels can be…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Electric crossover is likely to share stand with brand’s ID.3 hatchback VOLKSWAGEN will showcase the next car in its ID. line-up with a pure-electric family SUV at September’s Frankfurt show. The German brand started pre-orders earlier this month for the first editions of the initial model in the EV range, the ID.3 hatchback. VW’s sales and marketing boss Jürgen Stackmann (right) revealed that the production version of that car would make its debut in Frankfurt – but he also suggested that the second ID. vehicle, which is likely to be called ID.4 or ID.5, would at least be previewed at the event. “The next car you will see as an indication in Frankfurt,” Stackmann explained. “At that show you will see ID.3 and we’ll also give you an idea of what’s coming…