Autocar January 02, 2020

FEW CARS IN 2020 need to succeed as much as the Aston Martin DBX. When the launch of the SUV comes with the opening of a new factory in which to build it and the minute-by-minute financial scrutiny that is part and parcel of being a listed company, that pressure intensifies. Financial scrutiny and scepticism never seem to have held back Tesla, though, which has a knack of revealing new cars and securing deposits just as the doubting voices make themselves heard. Yet we’re now up to four Teslas revealed but not yet on sale. Time to start delivering. There will be deliveries of two iconic nameplates in 2020, with the reborn Land Rover Defender and the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The debate over the Defender’s styling will seem mild if it can’t…

Toyota and Subaru are ramping up development of a successor to the GT86 and BRZ sports cars – and Autocar has learned that the Toyota version will be rebranded as the GR86. The GT86 and BRZ were launched in 2012, and their future had been in doubt because of relatively low sales. But both companies have committed to developing a replacement, with the Toyota version a key part of the brand’s growing performance car line-up. Toyota boss Akio Toyoda is a major proponent of using performance models to boost the brand’s image under the Gazoo Racing division, which also includes Toyota’s various motorsport programmes. The original GT86 pre-dated the creation of that brand, which started with the GR Supra and will also include the GR Yaris, the first model developed purely by…

Toyota is considering hybrid versions of future performance car models – but only once the weight of the systems are reduced. The Japanese firm is in the process of electrifying all of its models, with a heavy focus on hybrid systems. But the new GR Yaris (first drive, p24) will only be offered with a three-cylinder, 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, despite 80% of Yaris sales expected to be hybrid. Naohiko Sato, chief engineer of the GR Yaris, said that while a hybrid system would fit in the car and was under evaluation, Toyota didn’t believe it was currently suitable for performance cars. “Right now, if we chose an electrified powertrain for a sports car, it would be heavier,” said Sato. “We decided it’s not the right way to go right now. Maybe when…

Mazda says it will never build a ‘big-battery’ electric car, because it believes such vehicles are less environmentally friendly than even conventional diesel-powered models, judged over a whole energy life cycle. Speaking in Portugal at a prototype test drive of the upcoming MX-30 electric car, Joachim Kunz, head of product development and engineering at Mazda Europe, said the firm has studied the CO2 emissions of building a vehicle “from extraction to disposal”. Citing a study by a Japanese university using the average CO2 output of the European grid, Kunz said an EV with a 95kWh battery has such a disadvantage of embedded CO2 at the point of sale that a new Mazda Skyactiv diesel car will probably be more CO2 efficient across its lifetime, even if the EV’s battery pack is not…

JEEP WILL FOLLOW the launch of its plug-in hybrid Renegade SUV with a plug-in hybrid Wrangler and even an electric SUV, company insiders have revealed to Autocar. Although the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model is unconfirmed for right-hand-drive Wranglers, Europe is believed to be a key market for a PHEV model, despite the Wrangler’s modest volumes there. A PHEV model is necessary to dramatically reduce the CO2 that the rugged 4x4 produces, in order to help Jeep and its Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) parent to avoid big fines under the fleet average emissions targets for 2020. Currently, Jeep’s range is a long way from the 95g/km target, even allowing for the weighting of heavier cars, and the Wrangler is one of the most polluting models. Even the most frugal variant currently emits 195g/km of…

The merger between the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will deliver “new, leading and clean mobility solutions” that are affordable for the masses, according to PSA Group CEO Carlos Tavares. The merger, formalised in December and to be processed and finalised over the next 12-15 months, will create the fourth largest car-making group, with around 8.7 million sales worldwide. It is estimated to result in £3.1 billion of cost savings as a result of numerous “synergies”, including shared investment and development in vehicle platforms, engines, components and technology. Answering questions about the shape of the brand’s future line-ups at a press conference, Tavares said the major focus is on products that don’t just meet emissions regulations but that buyers actually want. He said: “We cannot say having zero-emission cars on sale…