Latest automotive analysis
Comprehensive coverage of the automotive industry's latest, breaking news brought to you by just-auto's leading network of international journalists.
Can new owner fix ailing Qoros with fresh models?
23 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Last year was a trying one for Qoros with only 64,200 cars delivered to buyers in China, the brand's largest market. The first quarter has been far, far worse, with wholesale deliveries amounting to a mere 824 vehicles. There has been a cash infusion from the new owner but clearly, new models are an urgent requirement.
Skoda SUV concept world debut at Shenzhen show
23 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Škoda is the first brand to announce a world premiere for China's next major motor show, which takes place in June.
BYD surges ahead of Mercedes and Toyota in China
18 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
BYD only just scrapes into the top 20 makes list of the Chinese market but it remains the number one in New Energy passenger vehicles. The brand offers a broad line-up of EVs and PHEVs and with more to be added this year, may remain in the lead even as rivals add ever more electrified models.
2019 New York auto show - list of world premieres
18 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
The media preview of the 2019 New York International Auto Show took place on 17 April: just-auto lists all the world debuts below.
Auto Shanghai 2019 - world premieres list
17 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Auto Shanghai took place across 12 halls, each of which has two levels, with total floor space of 360,000 square metres quoted by the organiser. There were 136 scheduled press conferences on 16 and 17 April plus multiple events which took place in the days (and weeks) beforehand as OEMs attempted to have their brands' voices heard in the welter of announcements.
Interior design and technology – Ford Focus
17 Apr 2019 | Matthew Beecham
The fourth-generation Ford Focus emerged last year, marking the brand's 20th anniversary. As in the previous generation, the model is available with sedan, hatchback and estate body styles. A crossover SUV trim level, known as the Active, is also available with the hatchback and estate body styles. While the Active’s ever-so-slightly raised driving position (3cm compared to the standard Focus) and rugged trim adds off-road appeal to the carmaker’s most popular family car, such features are not new to the car industry or Ford. It joins the Active versions of the Ka+ and Fiesta. Continuing QUBE/just-auto's review of interior design and technology trends, we climb aboard an Active to take a closer look.
Europe - Kia poised to outsell Hyundai
17 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Europe looks set to soon become the world's first region in which Kia is more successful than Hyundai. This is one of the many trends visible in ACEA's passenger vehicle registrations data for Q1 which also show an overall 3.3% decline for the quarter.
Citroen Berlingo - because not everybody wants an SUV
15 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Even the richest of manufacturers frequently have money-saving JVs for light commercials, particularly in Europe. Groupe PSA, allied with Fiat Chrysler for large vans, also now supplies Toyota with the Proace Verso. One size down, a modified version of the same EMP2 platform is used for the Peugeot Rifter, Opel Combo and Citroën Berlingo triplets.
Mercedes-Benz Cars outlines future procurement strategy
10 Apr 2019 | Dave Leggett
Mercedes-Benz Cars says it is taking the next step in the implementation of the CASE strategy and is making its supplier network 'even more international'. It is also using Blockchain technology for greater supply chain transparency and to reinforce sustainability aims.
FAW begins premium push with Hongqi and Bestune
9 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
FAW seems content to see its own brand slide rapidly in China but the opposite is happening with two of its other divisions. Bestune, renamed from Besturn, is flourishing, as is Hongqi and there are some intriguing future models not too far away.
Early success for Groupe PSA with new Peugeot 508
8 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Škoda's experience with the Superb proves that a non-premium brand can succeed in Europe against the might of the C-Class, A4 and 3 Series. With Groupe PSA having taken Citroën out of this segment, albeit temporarily, Peugeot is trying its luck with the 508. So far, results are encouraging.
Interior design and technology – Volvo XC40
8 Apr 2019 | Matthew Beecham
The XC40 marks a number of firsts for Volvo. It’s the carmaker’s first ever compact SUV and the first model to be built on the carmaker’s CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform. Its chunky lines, concave grille and sculpted doors give it certain amount of street swagger too. But what of the interior of this premium small SUV? Continuing QUBE/just-auto's review of interior design and technology trends, we take a closer look.
4 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Doesn't it seem a long time ago that we thought of SEAT as a maker of small cars? The addition of the new 4.7m long Tarraco means the brand now has a third SUV, putting it in competition with the VW Tiguan Allspace, Skoda Kodiaq and Peugeot 5008 for the first time.
Full steam ahead for hydrogen in Korea
3 Apr 2019 | just-auto.com editorial team
While the rest of the world seems fixed on driving up the use of electric and hybrid vehicles to help reduce emissions and energy consumption, the South Korean government is putting forward a transportation policy based on hydrogen power.
2 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Kia Motors might be the official number two brand in the Hyundai Motor Group empire yet it doesn't always behave that way, outselling Hyundai in many countries and gaining on the H-logo brand in others.
Will the latest Audi TT be the final one?
1 Apr 2019 | Glenn Brooks
The just-updated TT has perhaps three more years of production remaining. Audi is already hinting though that the model's future is in question. Might this Golf-sized hatchback and roadster disappear in 2022 or could it instead go electric for the fourth generation?
2019 Seoul motor show - world debuts list
29 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Concepts, prototypes and production models which were world premieres at the biennial 2019 Seoul motor show are discussed below.
Genesis plunges - can Hyundai luxury brand recover?
27 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
It started as an experiment. Would Hyundai succeed as a maker of high priced cars outside its home base? Too soon to say would be the most accurate answer. That's if sales volume of at first Hyundai Genesis cars and now Genesis cars is the only measure of success.
ANALYSIS - Hyundai future models
26 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Strong in the USA, South Korea, India and many European countries, Hyundai still cannot crack the Chinese market. In the first two months of 2019, it remains well outside the top ten and is a way smaller brand even than Mercedes, BMW and Audi. At least there was good news in February as sales rose at long last.
Interior design and technology – Mercedes-Benz C-Class
25 Mar 2019 | Matthew Beecham
What would you expect to see in a premium car interior? Forget rear seat heaters, think wellness retreats. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class spec list takes driver comfort to a new level by offering something called ‘Energising Comfort Control’. Debuted on the S-Class, it links the air-con, fragrancing, seat heating/cooling/massage function, audio and ambient lighting to improve driver comfort and even lift their mood. All in all, the fourth-generation C-Class has some 6,500 components new to the range. Continuing QUBE/just-auto's review of interior design and technology trends, we slipped inside the luxurious interior to see what stands out.
ANALYSIS – SsangYong future models
21 Mar 2019 | Mike Vousden
We investigate SsangYong's future model strategy – under parent Mahindra & Mahindra, it's pushing to become a global competitor with its wide range of SUVs after years of being a niche player.
2019 LA auto show - BMW 2 Series GC world debut
20 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
BMW has announced initial details of a future model, the 2 Series Gran Coupé, noting that it will not be fully revealed until the Los Angeles auto show in November.
Electric SUVs and 1100hp Battista - Pininfarina future models
19 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
xMahindra subsidiary Automobili Pininfarina GmbH has now shown its first model, the Battista, in public. The hypercar, still more than a year away production, is promised to be the first in a multi-vehicle series.
Frankfurt IAA world premieres list - Kia Ceed crossover
19 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Kia Motors Europe has confirmed that it will add a Ceed-based crossover to its line-up of models. The public debut should be at the IAA Cars in Frankfurt.
Interior design and technology – Infiniti QX30
18 Mar 2019 | Matthew Beecham
Since its European launch in 2016, Nissan's luxury brand Infiniti has used the QX30 to attract a new type of premium car buyer. Yet last week, we learned that Infiniti will abandon western Europe to focus on markets in which it is more successful. Production of the Q30 and QX30 is to cease by July 2019 at Nissan’s factory in Sunderland, UK. The company did not cite Brexit. Continuing QUBE/just-auto's review of interior design and technology trends, we take a closer look inside one of the last few produced.
India's quiet achiever - the rapid rise of Mahindra
18 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
The battle for third place in the Indian market for passenger vehicles is hotting up, with both rivals drawing on foreign subsidiaries to expand their ranges. Tata is well placed to attack the country's traditional number three brand from later in 2019 as new models come on line. For now though, Mahindra is pulling ahead thanks to ever more Ssangyong-derived SUVs.
Model Y is revealed - but what will Tesla do next?
15 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Following the presentation of the long-awaited Model Y, now is the perfect time to have a look at what Tesla Incorporated might be planning next.
FireFly engine sparkles in freshened Fiat 500X
14 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
From variable valve timing and common rail diesels, to the more recent TwinAir two-cylinder petrol units, Fiat has long been an innovator in small capacity engines. So it shouldn't be surprising to discover that the new FireFly Turbo series which is part of the refreshed 500X transforms this crossover.
Subaru Forester and its e-Boxer hybrid future
11 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Rarely do I try any vehicle for the first time right at the end of its life cycle. In the case of the Subaru Forester that is exactly what has just happened. It was a handy way of discovering why well in excess of a million have been bought during the last six years.
Cupra convinces - how SEAT created a premium brand
7 Mar 2019 | Glenn Brooks
Cupra is off to a decent start. SEAT claims to have sold 3,600 Cupra Atecas so far this year. With the sole model in demand and due to be joined by others later in 2019, the experiment to evolve what had been a sports trim level into a brand is working.
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