Auto Express 1709

IF many folk in and around the car industry are to be believed, young people just aren’t as interested in cars and car buying as previous generations. Personally, I don’t see that – plenty of young people need cars to get around, even if they’re not all rushing to take their tests soon after their 17th birthdays. Car makers, it seems, are desperate to attract younger buyers to their new models – especially electric ones. So this week I’m pointing the finger at two of them, who seem less than bothered about selling to young folk. Meet Callum Gibson (above). He’s my nephew and I’m proud to say he’s doing rather well for himself. At 24, he’s bought his first house, and his current car, a SEAT Leon, is coming…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk “A larger SUV with three rows of seats is set to sit alongside the RZ, which goes on sale this year” ALONGSIDE sister brand Toyota’s announcement, premium Japanese marque Lexus also unveiled three new EV concept models that preview the manufacturer’s drive towards a fully electric line-up by 2030 – as well as teasing further details of its production-ready RZ SUV. Toyota Motor Corporation CEO Akio Toyoda highlighted that Lexus will target one million EV sales globally by the end of the decade, with battery-powered cars accounting for 100 per cent of sales in Europe by the same point, outlining the initial wave of models that will help the brand achieve this. Key to Lexus’s goals will be its SUV line-up, with a larger model that could be available…

2021 has been tough. Will things improve in the next 12 months? SO 2021 turned out to be another pretty frightful year, and again the motor industry has taken its share of the hurt. It’s now two years since those chilling images from Wuhan in China first appeared on news reports, and we’re still living with the effects of the pandemic. With no one seemingly able to predict when things will return to normal – or even what our new normal might look like – planning a new or used-car purchase isn’t as straightforward as it was. On top of the pandemic issues, semiconductor shortages have hit car production, cutting the supply of new models, and in turn forcing used car prices to startling heights. What will 2022 bring? We…

FOLLOWING sister Stellantis brands DS and Peugeot, Vauxhall has added more range to its Corsa-e and Mokka-e EVs thanks to an updated specification, and cut both cars’ starting price by £3,000 in response to the government plug-in car grant reduction. The Corsa-e (now from £25,805) and Mokka-e (£29,365) have benefited from an official range boost of four and six per cent respectively. That means the supermini’s range is up to 222 miles from 209 miles, while the crossover is boosted from a claimed 201 miles to 209 miles. It’s thanks to optimisation of both cars’ heat pump (the system that warms and cools the cabin) to make it more efficient; Vauxhall claims the improvement will be particularly noticeable during the winter months. A longer final drive means the cars’ electric…

ADDRESSING owner feedback on its Golf 8 family hatch, Volkswagen has updated the car’s infotainment for 2022, with faster voice control, improved accidental-touch recognition and more processing power. The tweaks apply to cars equipped with the Discover Pro system, while the standard set-up also gets a usability boost. The software update will be available as a free upgrade to existing Golf owners. From next year, VW’s ID. electric models will also receive a software upgrade, improving charging capability to 135kW on the larger 77kWh-battery versions.…

Handling tweaks and new colour for MX-5 MAZDA MX-5 updates for 2022 include a new Kinetic Posture Control (KPC) chassis system – tech that applies the brake to the inside rear wheel when cornering to further boost agility. A Platinum Quartz Metallic paint finish is also available. Other than these tweaks the MX-5 (above) is unchanged, with a choice of 130bhp 1.5-litre and 181bhp 2.0 engines. It’s also available in soft-top and RF bodystyles, with prices starting from £24,755 and £26,665 respectively. Cable-free electric-car charging goes on trial INDUCTIVE cable-free charging for electric cars could be moving a step closer, as tech company char.gy launches the first public trials. Drivers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire who use the hiyacar rental app are being invited to use a car adapted for cable-free charging,…