Latest automotive analysis
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Geneva motor show world debut list - Honda electric city car prototype
23 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Global debuts for the 2019 Geneva motor show are listed below. The latest addition to just-auto's roster of world premieres is an official announcement from Honda of a 'new electric vehicle prototype'.
ANALYSIS - Porsche future models
23 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
As Porsche terms it, 2018 saw "a new peak in deliveries". The quarter million mark was exceeded, the year on year gain being four per cent. WLTP was, and continues to be, a major problem for the company though, European sales having crashed in recent months.
Audi future EVs - should Elon fear e-tron?
22 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
The first in two features which cover what Audi is up to worldwide looked at the division's current and next generation cars. The second of the two now turns not only to what's ahead to fill out the Q1 to Q9 range of SUVs but also examines the strategy for expanding the line of e-tron electrified vehicles.
Future Audi cars - the fightback begins
21 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Even with the downturn in China, Audi still sold over 575,000 vehicles in 2018, way more than either Mercedes or BMW. Things are also good in the US, where the brand delivered in excess of 220,000 SUVs and cars. Europe, however, is a disaster. That's due to Volkswagen AG having been ill-prepared for WLTP. Plus, it will take a while yet for all current models to be approved as compliant. What though, is coming down the pipeline in terms of fresh, future models? Lots, is the short answer.
25 years on comes the fifth generation Toyota RAV4
18 Jan 2019 | Graeme Roberts
It seems hard to believe Toyota's RAV4 is 25 years old and entering its fifth generation. Seems only a few years ago I had my first go in the little three-door launch model with its cheeky look a larger Toyota iteration of Suzuki's Vitara, a two-litre petrol engine, side opening rear door and tailgate mounted spare wheel.
ANALYSIS - Future models for SEAT and Cupra
17 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Buoyed by a young model range and the addition of multiple crossover/SUVs, SEAT made 2018 its best year yet for vehicle sales, finally breaking a record set in 2000. Crucially, the company is making decent money too, something which had eluded it for a long time.
ANALYSIS - Audi A6 Avant 40 TDI
16 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Volvo's success with the V90 proves there is strong demand for premium-priced estates in certain mainly northern European countries. Which is why Audi sees a worthwhile opportunity for its latest A6 Avant in not only Sweden and Germany but Britain too.
2019 Detroit auto show - the world debuts
15 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
All the production vehicle and concept world debuts at the 2019 North American International Auto Show are listed below.
ANALYSIS - Kosmiq and other future Skoda models
14 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Handsomely profitable and with a record 1.253 million vehicles delivered in 2018, the news only keeps getting better for Škoda. The Czech make has built solid foundations on a small number of category-busting cars, most of which sit outside the size norms of conventional segments and sell in big numbers. Its SUVs are now doing the same and more models on the way.
11 Jan 2019 | just-auto.com editorial team
OEMs, tech companies and suppliers announced multiple vehicle and technology world premieres at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS - Future Volkswagen pick-ups and SUVs
11 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Last year saw Volkswagen adding or replacing a large number of SUVs, especially in China and Europe. This second part of a series which looks at the Volkswagen Group's current and future models now collates what is already on sale with selected highlights of the VW brand's secret crossover, SUV and pick-up plans.
CES – Harman ignites next era of car connectivity
10 Jan 2019 | Matthew Beecham
Just over a year ago, Harman International became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics. Focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, the pair have since leveraged their combined teams and resources to drive future mobility forward. They are again using this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to reveal a variety of novel connected car solutions that support their joint mission to become the leader in connectivity and autonomous driving. We are at CES this week where Harman has taken over the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and filled its conference rooms with the very latest connected car and autonomous driving solutions. So let’s take a closer look at what’s on offer.
ANALYSIS - Future Volkswagen cars including EVs
10 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
This year will arguably be the most important yet for Volkswagen Passenger Cars. Details of specific collaboration plans with Ford will be announced, possibly as soon as next week's Detroit auto show.
CES - Kia readies for the post-autonomous era
9 Jan 2019 | Graeme Roberts
What to do once autonomous cars are everywhere and no human driving is required?
Hands-On Tech - Mitsubishi Outlander
7 Jan 2019 | Cat Dow
This month in our Hands-On-Tech (HOT) reporting series*, we put the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV’s system to the test. Taking you through the top-spec connectivity features offered by manufacturers in detail, this HOT report series looks to benchmark the connectivity functionality of each manufacturer based on various test criteria. Its hybridised powertrain has put the Outlander PHEV some five years ahead of its peers, yet elements of the in-cabin connectivity—awkwardly called Smartphone Link Display Audio (no acronym)—feel like a throwback to the eighties, much like its name.
ANALYSIS - The reinvention of SsangYong
7 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
SsangYong likes to be thought of as Korea's equivalent to Jeep. A long history of building rugged four-wheel drive vehicles can play well to buyers in many countries. Now, following a period of consolidation after the post-bankruptcy years of rebuilding its image, SsangYong is trying a push into premium priced market segments. Can it work?
Dauch now heads Delphi Technologies
7 Jan 2019 | Graeme Roberts
Delphi Technologies has named Richard (Rick) Dauch, 57, as chief executive officer, effective today (7 January, 2019).
Defiant Volkswagen gives Touareg a new diesel
3 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Unlike the previous Touareg, the new model won't ever be truly global, as Volkswagen will not offer it in North America. That means the major markets should be China, Russia and Europe. So is it the right size for Europeans and how will buyers respond to the brand's decision to boost rather than reduce the model's diesel engine choices?
Dongfeng Motor future vehicles
2 Jan 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Even though full-year numbers aren't yet in, it's fair to say Dongfeng didn't have the best 2018. As at 30 November, Chinese market deliveries numbered 401,346, ranking it below Roewe, but even with a 49% drop for that month, it was at least a stronger performer than either Beijing Auto or Chery Auto.
2019 outlook - China key to Asia market performance
21 Dec 2018 | Staff reporter
New vehicle sales in the Asia-Pacific region this year are expected to decline for the first time since the 1997-98 regional financial crisis, to a little more than 43 million units, and the outlook for 2019 is mixed at best. China clearly has a massive influence of the regional market these days and declining sales in the second half of the year was responsible for the region’s overall negative performance in 2018.
I-Pace - a preview of Jaguar's electric future?
21 Dec 2018 | Glenn Brooks
Probably because of how far worldwide sales of the XE and XF have fallen, nowadays JLR rarely alerts the media to its brands' performance by model. Which makes some of us wonder just how strong demand for the Jaguar I-Pace may or may not be.
Honda and Everus future models and platforms
18 Dec 2018 | Glenn Brooks
The recent spotlight on the future models plans of Acura now shifts to the namesake brand of the luxury division's parent: Honda. There is also a look at Everus, the new electric vehicles brand for China.
Interior design and technology – Kia Ceed
18 Dec 2018 | Matthew Beecham
The third iteration of the Kia Ceed, previously known as Cee’d, arrived on our shores last August. Like its predecessors, the C-segment hatchback has been designed and engineered in Europe. Continuing QUBE/just-auto's review of interior design and technology trends, we take a closer look at the latest incarnation to discover what’s new.
Future models analysis - Acura
17 Dec 2018 | Glenn Brooks
A new two-part series looking at the future model plans of Honda Motor Company begins with a sneak-peak at what the firm is said to be planning for its luxury division into the 2020s.
Nissan re-engines rather than renews the Qashqai
13 Dec 2018 | Graeme Roberts
Competition is hotting up in the European C-SUV sector as Honda unveils a new CR-V, with a hybrid to come, and Toyota loads its own ammunition in the form of a redesigned RAV-4, with the arsenal again including hybrid.
Will new 2HX CR-V give Honda Europe the boost it needs?
13 Dec 2018 | Glenn Brooks
What Honda claims is 'the world's best selling SUV' is newly available in European countries, some two years since the 2HX series model went on sale in the USA. Major changes over the former 2WS include the option of a seven-seat layout, the deletion of the diesel engine and the choice of turbocharged petrol powertrains, one of which is a hybrid.
ANALYSIS - New Product Development (NPD) bulletin
11 Dec 2018 | Glenn Brooks
just-auto's New & Future Vehicles Editor, Glenn Brooks, provides a summary update on our latest intelligence surrounding OEM strategies and future new product, extracted from just-auto's product lifecycle database (PLDB)
Daihatsu and Perodua future vehicles
11 Dec 2018 | Glenn Brooks
The latest in a series of articles which looks into the future model plans of TMC's divisions follows a recent look at what's coming for the Toyota and Lexus brands. Now it's the turn of Daihatsu under the spotlight as well as Perodua, a firm in which it holds a minority stake and which bases its vehicles on Daihatsu designs.
Will Kia succeed with multi-model Ceed plans?
10 Dec 2018 | Glenn Brooks
Kia Motors Europe is just weeks away from an annual sales record by crossing the half-million mark. In Britain, KME's best market, the brand will get close to six figures, the year-to-date total being 91,954 cars, some 6,000 ahead of Hyundai. The increasingly sought-after third generation Ceed is the new growth driver, building on the strong performance of the Sportage.
5 Dec 2018 | Cat Dow
This month in our Hands-On-Tech (HOT) reporting series*, we put the Skoda Connect system to the test. Taking you through the top-spec connectivity features offered by manufacturers in detail, this HOT report series looks to benchmark the connectivity functionality of each manufacturer based on various test criteria. Skoda’s J-segment crossover impresses with a stylish design and responsive features.
