First Bentley EV pushed back to 2026 in favour of new PHEVs
4 HRS AGO - First Bentley EV, previewed by EXP 100 concept, will not directly replace any current Expand
4 HRS AGO - First Bentley EV, previewed by EXP 100 concept, will not directly replace any current car
Bentley delays new electric model line to late 2026; range of V8-engined plug-in hybrids to come first
Bentley has revised its launch plans, investing more into plug-in hybrids and delaying its first EV to late 2026.
The British luxury brand's first EV had been due in 2025 as the first of five new EVs due at a rate of one per year when first announced in 2022.
A standalone model in the range, it will now be revealed at the end of 2026 with the first deliveries sneaking in by the end of that year.
The later arrival of this EV means that the subsequent EVs – which will replace the existing cars in Bentley’s range – have also been pushed back, as part of a rollout that will end not in 2030 as planned but by 2033.
Bentley plans to become a full EV brand by this date.
This is all part of an investment programme that is “locked and loaded” and will not be “rowed back from”, according to CEO Adrian Collapse
Audi Q6 E-tron brings 388 miles of range and up to 510bhp
19 HRS AGO - Prices will start at £68,975 for the Q6 E-tron quattro, rising to £92,950 for the SQ6
New Expand
19 HRS AGO - Prices will start at £68,975 for the Q6 E-tron quattro, rising to £92,950 for the SQ6
New electric SUV ushers in new era of Audi EVs based on advanced 800V architecture
The new Audi Q6 E-tron represents a “technological leap”, the brand's boss Gernot Döllner has claimed, as its first model built on a high-tech new platform.
The BMW iX3 and Jaguar I-Pace rival will be launched with a choice of dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrains, including a range-topping SQ6 E-tron with up to 510bhp. When it goes on sale in the UK in April, prices will start at £68,975 for the Q6 e-tron quattro, rising to £92,950 for the SQ6.
It will sit between the Q4 E-tron and Q8 E-tron in Audi’s bespoke electric SUV line-up. But while the new SUV’s exterior styling is a relatively conservative development of those existing models, the technology it features promises a significant step forward from the firm’s previous EVs.
The Q6 E-tron uses the advanced new Premium Performance Electric (PPE) platform that Collapse
Fisker Ocean production stops for six weeks as funding talks continue
1 DAY AGO - Fisker says around 1000 Oceans have been produced so far this year
EV firm secures $150m from an Expand
1 DAY AGO - Fisker says around 1000 Oceans have been produced so far this year
EV firm secures $150m from an existing investor but rescue talks continue with a large car maker, said to be Nissan
Fisker is pausing production of the Ocean SUV for six weeks as it looks to secure crucial financial backing, amid doubts over its ability to continue operating.
The move comes as the EV firm announces some $150 million in funding from an existing investor, who remains nameless.
The money will be provided in the form of convertible notes, which are subject to interest upon repayment, and is "subject to certain conditions", including Fisker filing a detailed financial report (known in the US as Form 10-K) for the 2023 financial year.
The funding will be allocated in four tranches.
Fisker said it remains in talks with a "large auto maker" over a financial deal, which could take the form of pure investment or a strategic development or production partnership.
It has still not named this manufacturer, Collapse
Nio names new mass-market EV brand Onvo ahead of May launch
1 DAY AGO - Onvo EVs could follow Nio-badged cars onto market in Europe
Chinese EV maker goes after Tesla Expand
1 DAY AGO - Onvo EVs could follow Nio-badged cars onto market in Europe
Chinese EV maker goes after Tesla with new volume brand, which will launch L60 crossover in May
Nio CEO William Li has confirmed the Onvo name for the Chinese EV maker’s new volume market sub-brand, ahead of its launch in May.
The Onvo brand is an extension to the Nio portfolio, targeted at more price-conscious family car buyers.
Its first model is set to be a Tesla Model Y rival, planned for delivery to Chinese customers by the end of 2024.
The Onvo name – Ledao in Chinese – was trademarked by Nio in 2022. Up to now, Nio has referenced its new brand as Alps – an internal working title used during its inception and the development of its debut car, the L60.
“The name was chosen carefully and Nio finalised the English and Chinese names in the second half of 2023,” said Li.
He stressed that Onvo is a "mass-market brand" but “not a low-to-mid range brand".
Earlier this month, Li said the first Onvo would be cheaper than the Collapse
First Bentley EV will feature unique distinctive design
1 DAY AGO - The brand's first EV will be one of five; its design details are being finalised
Robin Page Expand
1 DAY AGO - The brand's first EV will be one of five; its design details are being finalised
Robin Page talks to Autocar about 2025-bound EV, as well as future concepts and working with VW
Bentley’s design director of the past five months, Robin Page, can be reasonably described as a Bentley ‘lifer’, even though he was busy designing Volvos for a decade immediately before he took up his current role.
Page worked in Bentley’s Crewe HQ for 17 years of his early career, rising to become head of interior design between 2001 and 2013, the crucial years that produced the seminal Continental GT and launched Bentley into the modern era.
Now Page returns at another vital moment, just as the company gears up to launch, in 2025, the first of five electric models that will make up its model range by 2030.
To complicate matters, Bentley has recently had several design bosses arrive and depart in short order, so this is as much a time for steadiness as high creativity, as he tells Autocar in an exclusive Collapse
On the scene at the M25 closure: did it really cause traffic chaos?
2 DAYS AGO - The M25 is completely closed between junctions 10 and 11
The first daytime closure of part of Expand
2 DAYS AGO - The M25 is completely closed between junctions 10 and 11
The first daytime closure of part of the M25 was set to affect millions of drivers. Our man assesses the fallout
The first-ever planned full closure of a stretch of the M25, Britain’s busiest motorway, this weekend had sparked warnings of traffic chaos. Intrigued to know how south-west London’s infrastructure would cope with the potential chaos, we decided to pay a visit.
On the scene at the M25 diversion: Saturday 16 March
Concorde, the Intercity 125 and the M25 motorway. Three icons of British transportation, but only the latter remains in heavy public use. The plane didn’t last too long beyond the turn of the century, and the train has been relegated to regional use rather than the cross-country routes it was designed to serve. The motorway hasn’t seen a change of use, though - unlike the others, it simply can’t afford to.
Whether you’re heading into the city itself or trying desperately to avoid it, there’s no escaping Collapse
Mazda 2 Hybrid
3 DAYS AGO - When is a Mazda 2 not a Mazda 2? When it's a Mazda 2 Hybrid…
You don’t have to look that hard at Expand
3 DAYS AGO - When is a Mazda 2 not a Mazda 2? When it's a Mazda 2 Hybrid…
You don’t have to look that hard at the new Mazda 2 Hybrid to recognise that it’s not actually a Mazda 2. Sure, it’s a compact, practical, Japanese supermini, but the lines, styling and key details are quite different. Strip away the effort at some fancy dress and it’s very similar, in fact, to the Toyota Yaris.That’s not a coincidence, of course: the Mazda 2 Hybrid is essentially a rebadged Yaris, the product of a partnership between the two Japanese firms – one that, bizarrely, includes a rebadged Mazda 2 being sold as a Toyota Yaris in America. Anyway, there’s no shame in such a deal. It gives Mazda access to proven hybrid technology that, as a relatively small manufacturer, it would be prohibitive to develop in-house, and a model that will help to grow sales of its small cars, while it provides Toyota with a welcome source of income and some extra volume for its production. It just means it risks not being a Collapse
Mercedes Vision EQXX breaks own efficiency record with 8.4mpkWh
4 DAYS AGO - This was the advanced Vision EQXX concept's third epic efficiency test
The concept travelled Expand
4 DAYS AGO - This was the advanced Vision EQXX concept's third epic efficiency test
The concept travelled 627.6 miles across the Arabian Peninsula at an impressive average of 8.4 miles per kWh
The Mercedes Vision EQXX electric car concept has broken its own range and efficiency record, travelling 627.6 miles across the Arabian Peninsula with an impressive efficiency average of 8.4 miles per kWh.
It was the car’s third long-distance road trip, following two previous attempts in Europe, and the second time the sleek sports car has travelled for more than 1000km (621 miles).
This time, the Vision EQXX travelled 1010km (627.58 miles) in 14 hours and 42 minutes (12 hours 45 minutes in motion), at an average speed of 42.6mph (49.3mph in motion).
At the end of the test, the car’s on-board computer claimed a remaining range of 192 miles, indicating a total range of 819 miles. Mercedes says the 8.4mpkWh average is equivalent to 282mpg in a petrol-fuelled vehicle.
The EQXX’s previous drives, from Collapse
Honda and Nissan considering partnership on electric cars
4 DAYS AGO - Japanese giants may join forces to fight off “very aggressive” new competitors
Japanese titans Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Japanese giants may join forces to fight off “very aggressive” new competitors
Japanese titans Honda and Nissan are considering a partnership to reduce the cost of developing electric cars and advanced driver assistance technologies.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding and will soon begin investigating areas where they can most effectively cut costs through collaboration. This includes the joint procurement of key components to exploit economies of scale.
They added in a joint statement that any deal will primarily concern EV parts and software platforms and it may “further accelerate efforts toward carbon neutrality and zero traffic-accident fatalities”.
Nissan president and CEO Makoto Uchida said “Honda and Nissan face common challenges” and they “aim to find win-wins for sustainable growth”.
The prospective partnership comes as Japan’s car industry bids to ward off a new breed of fast-moving companies dedicated to electric cars, such as BYD and Collapse
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Motorists to receive compensation after regulator finance probe
8 HRS AGO - The Financial Conduct Authority is looking into so-called DCAs
Lenders braced to pay millions in Expand
8 HRS AGO - The Financial Conduct Authority is looking into so-called DCAs
Lenders braced to pay millions in compensation on car finance deals, with Lloyds having set aside £450m
Millions of pounds of compensation payments are being readied by lenders after an investigation was launched into the mis-selling of car finance over more than a decade.
The issue concerns so-called discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs), sold between 2007 and 2020, that allowed dealers and brokers to adjust lenders’ interest rates to reward themselves with commission payments on hire purchase and personal contract purchase deals.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which launched the probe, believes that up to three-quarters of deals were on a DCA basis. Up to 10,000 customers had complained about DCAs and two cases had been upheld by the time the FCA called a halt to more appeals while it investigates.
The ongoing probe bears resemblance to the PPI scandal in which lenders have so far paid around £38 Collapse
Lunaz Applied Technology: bin lorry electrifier enters administration
20 HRS AGO - UK firm folds before starting production of converted diesel HGV; classic car electromodding Expand
20 HRS AGO - UK firm folds before starting production of converted diesel HGV; classic car electromodding business unaffected
Commercial vehicle electrification firm Lunaz Applied Technologies (LAT) has entered administration, with the loss of around 40 jobs.
Autocar understands the three-year-old firm, founded in 2021 as an offshoot of classic car electrification specialist Lunaz, has folded after failing to obtain the necessary funding to begin production of its electric bin lorry, dubbed the Lunaz Upcycled Electric Vehicle.
However, Lunaz retains the intellectual property relating to its HGV electrification process and plans to restart the programme when the market environment is more hospitable.
The electromodding division - known for its zero-emission reworkings of classic Bentleys, Jaguars and Range Rovers – remains in operation and is understood to be unaffected by the move.
A spokesperson told Autocar: "The Lunaz Group is currently restructuring its business to rescope timelines for the Collapse
Official pics: Mercedes-AMG tests bespoke EV super-saloon
1 DAY AGO - The new AMG GT 4-Door will be tasked with taking on the Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air
Electric Expand
1 DAY AGO - The new AMG GT 4-Door will be tasked with taking on the Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air
Electric saloon will be the first model to sit atop the performance division's dedicated AMG.EA platform
Mercedes-AMG’s first dedicated electric car is nearing completion ahead of its launch next year, with new images of the 1000bhp Porsche Taycan rival giving the best look yet at its sleek, aero-optimised design.
Equipped with innovative drivetrain technology that is likely to make it the firm’s most powerful road car yet, the new super-saloon will in effect be a replacement for the V8-engined GT 4-Door Coupé.
Mercedes’ performance division previewed the rakish four-seater in 2022 with a radical concept dubbed Vision 2025, which gave clues to how AMG plans to differentiate its own sporting EVs from the mainstream equivalents offered by its parent company.
The concept was clearly more performance-focused than models such as the Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS saloons, with a much lower and sharper Collapse
Audi SQ8 E-tron 2024 long-term test
1 DAY AGO - Hot electric SUV is four years old now. Post-update, is it still worthy of flagship status?
Why Expand
1 DAY AGO - Hot electric SUV is four years old now. Post-update, is it still worthy of flagship status?
Why we’re running it: To see whether a recent update has kept Audi’s flagship EV at the leading edge
Month 1 - Specs
Life with an Audi SQ8 E-tron: Month 1
Welcoming the SQ8 E-tron to the fleet - 21 February 2024
Audi makes no bones about calling the S08 E-tron its EV flagship, and when you approach it for the first time, everything about its appearance backs that up.
It is big, imposing and very well made, has a magnificent paint job and greets the world with the sort of large and aggressive fizzog (high-tech lights, blacker expanses of grille), that upmarket German cars generally use to advertise their pre-eminence.
Subtle it isn't, which is what 1 remember thinking as I stood and contemplated it as the vehicle for my next few months' motoring. But I had to admit that the raked rear roofline of the Sportback version definitely improves and lightens its lines and reduces its bulk without Collapse
Aero testing the new Ariel Atom 4R in Catesby tunnel
2 DAYS AGO - Prior and Cropley tested the Atom with a series of sprint runs
Catesby is a 1.7-mile disused Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Prior and Cropley tested the Atom with a series of sprint runs
Catesby is a 1.7-mile disused railway tunnel turned aero test facility - we help Ariel get some drag coefficients
If you need convincing that minimising aerodynamic drag is vital in cars, all you need to know is that above about 40mph, a car’s aero load is the main retarding force for its engine to overcome, exceeding stuff like mechanical drag and rolling resistance.
Since most cars can do much more than 40mph, another fact comes starkly into play: that aerodynamic drag rises as the square of speed. Double the speed and you need four times the power. Treble the speed and you need nine times the power.
A car that needs 40bhp to do 40mph needs around 360bhp to do 120mph. No wonder creators of both road and race machinery spend big money to keep drag as low as they can.
Yet even this is elementary stuff. A modern car also needs downforce for high-speed stability and on-rails cornering, plus more subtle diversions of its Collapse
Why UK speed limits are confusing for pick-up drivers
3 DAYS AGO - The Raptor may be seen as a performance car, but 50mph is its limit here
A confusing mess of Expand
3 DAYS AGO - The Raptor may be seen as a performance car, but 50mph is its limit here
A confusing mess of speed limit types leaves some vehicles with an unusual exception - Matt Prior explains
Well, this is a little embarrassing.
When I previously suggested that all drivers should be regularly reminded of their responsibilities on the road, reader Phil Townsend wrote to suggest that I ought not to be overtaking cars doing 60mph on dual carriageways in my Ford Ranger Raptor because its speed limit is also 60mph on such roads, owing to it being a light commercial vehicle.
Light commercial vehicles – vans and so on – have different speed limits to cars, as you may know, and indeed as I knew. They’re the same as cars for speed limits up to 50mph, but as for national speed limit roads, they’re limited to 50mph on single carriageways (not 60mph), 60mph on dual carriageways (not 70mph) and then revert to 70mph on motorways.
There are exceptions to this rule. Car-derived vans, such as the Toyota Collapse
Jaguar I-Pace owners angry as smart charging ability removed
3 DAYS AGO - Manufacturer says limiting third-party access to cars is to "keep clients’ data as safe as Expand
3 DAYS AGO - Manufacturer says limiting third-party access to cars is to "keep clients’ data as safe as possible”
Jaguar I-Pace owners are angry at JLR for abruptly pulling third-party access to its cars, ending the EV's ability to work with smart charging technology.
This means owners will now, in essence, see their energy bills soar, because they will no longer be able to remotely charge their EVs to preset amounts at the most economical times.
Smart energy tariffs such as Intelligent Octopus Go – which can achieve rates equivalent to 2.4p per mile by remotely regulating the car's charge – are no longer compatible with the I-Pace.
Apps for popular chargers such as the PodPoint Solo and Ohme Home Pro, which can also regulate charging times themselves, are also now redundant.
However, JLR said that those who use its recommended Octopus Go tariff are unaffected, as it requires no data access. This differs to Intelligent Octopus Go as it has set times for cheaper pricing and owners are required Collapse
Drivers to be affected as M25 section to close this weekend
4 DAYS AGO - Major route will close to demolish a bridge; diversion set up between Addlestone and Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Major route will close to demolish a bridge; diversion set up between Addlestone and Cobham
Drivers are expected to be affected as a stretch of the M25 will close for for the entire weekend from today.
The closure has led National Highways to set up a main diversion between Addlestone and Cobham, passing through Sheerwater, West Byfleet and Cobham itself.
Drivers have been warned to “only travel if absolutely necessary” during the first of five closures that will happen between now and September.
England's roads authority has urged motorists to make alternative arrangements if they are due to pass through the area during the affected period, with some warning drivers not to follow their sat navs.
Where is the M25 closing this weekend?
With huge delays expected, the five-mile stretch of motorway will be closed in both directions from junction 10 (A3 Wisley) to junction 11 (A320 Chertsey Interchange) from 9pm on Friday, 15 March to 6am on Monday, 18 March.
Is there a Collapse
Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV
4 DAYS AGO - Has S-Class luxury been successfully packaged into a modern-day high-rise EV?
When considering Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Has S-Class luxury been successfully packaged into a modern-day high-rise EV?
When considering the Mercedes EQS SUV, you find yourself wondering about what is a continuing quandary for the ‘legacy’ car manufacturers: how do you maintain your identity when there are no engines to establish it, and when the traditional rules of vehicle design no longer apply in quite the same way as they have done for 100 years?It clearly has an impact on model hierarchies, as they get frantically rejigged and renamed.The Mercedes S-Class is a well-understood concept: a luxury limousine that’s equally suited to being chauffeur- or owner-driven. The electric Mercedes EQS, while impressive in a number of ways, is more of a technical showcase and less of a prestige saloon. Strictly speaking, it is a hatchback and not a saloon at all.As we will find out, the EQS SUV doesn’t follow tradition any more than its hatch-saloon counterpart and is something rather different from the ‘tall electric S-Class’ that Collapse
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JLR to recruit 250 electrical technicians in Range Rover and EV push
13 HRS AGO - Among the new roles, 40 will be tasked with creating next-generation battery technologies
New Expand
13 HRS AGO - Among the new roles, 40 will be tasked with creating next-generation battery technologies
New roles, part of a £15bn investment, join 300 additional positions created by British car maker last year
JLR is recruiting 250 electrical engineers to work on a host of new EVs arriving by 2030, starting with the electric Range Rover later this year.
These new positions join an already announced new 300 technician roles, all funded by JLR’s £15bn Reimagine strategy fund, created to transition the firm into the electric era.
Based across its Gaydon Engineering Centre and Whitley Future Energy Lab, 40 of the roles will focus on the electrical architecture and battery technologies that are pivotal to these next-generation EVs.
This includes working on advanced energy storage systems, battery cell design, cell stack assemblies and software systems.
This area in particular will futureproof the company, said cell design manager Freddy Gunnarsson, offering owners “unique driving and charging Collapse
New MG 3 is the UK's cheapest full hybrid car at £18,495
23 HRS AGO - Hybrid combines 1.5-litre petrol engine with electric motor to give 192bhp and 313lb ft
Bosses Expand
23 HRS AGO - Hybrid combines 1.5-litre petrol engine with electric motor to give 192bhp and 313lb ft
Bosses say all-new supermini can "sweep up" would-be Ford Fiesta buyers and far outsell its predecessor
The new MG 3 has been priced at £18,495, making it the cheapest full hybrid car on sale in the UK, ahead of the Renault Clio and the Toyota Yaris.
MG has also revealed specification details for the supermini, which is open for order now with deliveries set to begin imminently.
Its new Hybrid Plus powertrain – MG's first non-plug-in hybrid offering – combines a 101bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a 107bhp electric motor to give a combined 192bhp and 313lb ft,
That makes it markedly more potent than the Clio and Yaris hybrids - and quicker too, with a 0-62mph time of 8.0sec.
Whereas the old 3 variously offered a five-speed automated manual or four-speed automatic gearbox, from launch the new car drives its front wheels through a three-speed auto, with a manual option coming Collapse
Sign up: Automotive leaders to debate EV future of aftersales
1 DAY AGO - How will electric era change the world of aftersales? Some of the biggest names in the industry to Expand
1 DAY AGO - How will electric era change the world of aftersales? Some of the biggest names in the industry to take a look
So much of the talk around electric cars has been on the initial purchase, and what needs to be done to help people make the decision.
Once that decision has been made and that new electric car has been delivered to the customer, what happens next? Enter the world of aftersales, which we will be looking at the future of within the electric era.
Sign up to Leaders' Summit: future of aftersales
How will the manufacturer’s or dealer’s relationship change with owners compared to an internal combustion engined car? What new opportunities does it open up for all parties? How will manufacturers manage their relationship with customers? Do EVs make aftersales more or less profitable? What does it mean for servicing, repairs and insurance? How do car makers convince a buyer to stay with them for their next EV?
We’ve brought together some of the biggest names in the industry for a Collapse
BMW Neue Klasse SUV concept confirmed for 21 March unveiling
1 DAY AGO - New SUV will take design influence from Vision Neue Klasse concept
New Vision Neue Klasse X will Expand
1 DAY AGO - New SUV will take design influence from Vision Neue Klasse concept
New Vision Neue Klasse X will preview future of the brand’s SUV line-up, as one of six EVs arriving from 2025
BMW will provide a first look at the future of its SUV line-up on 21 March, when it unveils the new Vision Neue Klasse X concept.
The German brand confirmed the reveal date on social media with a teaser image showing the car’s side profile, revealing it to have a similar silhouette to the current iX.
The concept is expected to closely preview the first of six cars based on BMW’s Neue Klasse EV platform that will arrive from the latter half of 2025.
A bold, five-seat SUV set to succeed the existing iX3, the bold five-seat SUV will pack close to 600bhp in its most potent form.
It will be joined by the radical i3 saloon, which was previewed as the Neue Klasse concept at the Munich show in September.
Unveiling the future of the Sports Activity Vehicle. Mark an X in the calendar, see you on March Collapse
Maserati Grecale Folgore
2 DAYS AGO - Big SUV relinquishes V6 engine as Italian luxury brand initiates electric transition
Electric Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Big SUV relinquishes V6 engine as Italian luxury brand initiates electric transition
Electric cars struggle to excite enthusiasts, so Maserati has used some powerful imagery to sell its inaugural crop of EVs: lightning, or folgore if you’re Italian.The first of them to arrive is the Maserati Grecale Folgore, a large (4.8m-long) SUV that has been on sale here in V6 and four-cylinder turbo petrol forms (and viewed with tempered admiration by Autocar) since 2022.There’s a lot of weight on its broad shoulders, not just because it sets the tone for the Italian luxury brand’s switch to electric power but also because it will be the volume seller – well, at least relative to the impending Maserati Granturismo Folgore coupé and Maserati MC20 Folgore supercar.That might be why, unlike the standard Maserati Grecale, which was very late to the D-segment SUV party, the Grecale Folgore has arrived promptly to fight it out with the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV and the closely related inbound Porsche Collapse
Driving 100 laps of the M25 in the 1999 COTY-winning Ford Focus
3 DAYS AGO - We wanted to do a year’s worth of driving in one week to see how it coped. It excelled
While the Expand
3 DAYS AGO - We wanted to do a year’s worth of driving in one week to see how it coped. It excelled
While the original Ford Focus is now renowned and loved, when it won COTY we gave it a much harder time
When we first announced the Ford Focus as European Car of the Year in our 18 November 1998 issue, would we have predicted, 25 years on, that it would remain the contest’s most significant winner, in our judging panel’s opinion?
Well, we must have had an inkling, because the test that Autocar conceived to welcome Ford’s new wunder-model into the market was as audacious as the Focus was groundbreaking.
Then editor Patrick Fuller tasked the road test team, which I’d recently joined, to take one of the first Focus press cars and accrue as many miles as possible in a week. Perhaps as a joke, some bright spark suggested 100 laps of the M25 – or roughly 12,000 miles.
But after the guffaws subsided, the idea somehow stuck, and thanks to a nicely timed embargo, Autocar was able to run the full story on Collapse
Volkswagen close to final design of £17k ID 1 electric car
4 DAYS AGO - Successor to the VW e-Up is scheduled to go on sale by the end of 2027
Company to decide on one Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Successor to the VW e-Up is scheduled to go on sale by the end of 2027
Company to decide on one of four proposals for the price-leading Renault Twingo rival due in 2027
Volkswagen is set to sign off the final design of the Volkswagen ID 1 imminently, brand chairman Thomas Schäfer has said, with four proposals being debated for the £17,000 entry-level electric car.
Conceived as a replacement for the 11-year-old e-Up, the new model is planned to go on sale across Europe by the end of 2027 at a price equivalent to around £17,000.
Speaking at the company’s annual accounts press conference, Schäfer confirmed Volkswagen will decide within the next few weeks what direction the ID 1 will ultimately take.
“The working title is ID 1 and the vehicle is planned for 2027. We’re in the middle of it all. We know what the car should look like,” he said.
The ID 1 will directly rival the fourth-generation Renault Twingo, which is planned to be launched in 2026 as an electric hatchback with styling Collapse
2025 Skoda Epiq is rugged urban EV for sub-£25,000
4 DAYS AGO - The Epiq name is derived from the ancient Greek word ‘epos’
New entry-level SUV is due on sale Expand
4 DAYS AGO - The Epiq name is derived from the ancient Greek word ‘epos’
New entry-level SUV is due on sale next year at less than £25,000, targeting reborn Renault 4 and Fiat Panda
The next model in Skoda’s electric car offensive is a new entry-level SUV called the Epiq, due on sale next year at less than £25,000.
Revealed in concept form as part of Skoda’s annual press conference, the Epiq is a rugged, 4x4-inspired sibling to the Cupra Raval and Volkswagen ID 2 superminis that will square off with the likes of the next Fiat Panda and reborn Renault 4.
It's the second of six new EVs due from Skoda in the coming years, the first being a compact crossover called the Elroq, which will be closely related to the Volkswagen ID 3 and effectively serve as an electric alternative to the Karoq.
That car will be revealed in production form in the coming months and has been earmarked to receive a sporting vRS version.
Skoda has revealed few details of the Epiq so far, apart from its target price of Collapse
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