Latest from David Jolley

The Wagoneer S will be the first Jeep model to sit on parent Stellantis’s new STLA Large architecture, which will house a 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack capable of launching the car from 0-60 mph (97 kph) in 3.4 seconds.

The mild-hybrid Avenger 4xe, which has two electric motors, will compete against the Dacia Duster, Toyota Yaris Cross and Volkswagen T-Roc.

Opel says the second-generation Grandland, which is longer than the current model and adds an electric variant, will help it win new customers.

Tesla's registrations grew by 76 percent in a German market where the share of battery-electric cars was 17.7 percent, narrowly behind the share of diesel vehicles.

UK sales of EVs rose 35 percent in November, the fourth consecutive month of growth.

Tesla was among the big winners, with its registrations up 93 percent. The EV maker's share of the market is 2.2 percent.

Hyundai's luxury brand appointed industry veteran Lawrence Hamilton as its new Europe boss.

Russia's top-selling brands all reported strong results last month, with sales at market leader Lada rising 43 percent and No. 2 Hyundai up 44 percent.

Tesla had the biggest monthly gain, followed by Smart and Suzuki. Among the losers were Honda, Ford, Mitsubishi and Volvo.

Ford is one of only a few automakers still offering pickups in Europe and its only model, the midsize Ford Ranger, is currently the best-selling pickup in the region.