Latest from Luca Ciferri
The Stellantis subsidiary will equip the Junior small premium car with a system that couples a 136-hp, 1.2-liter turbocharged gasoline with two 29-hp electric motors.
Toyota executives say battery-electric cars priced at €20,000 that VW and Renault will launch have potential but the automaker is taking a wait-and-see approach to electrification in the minicar segment.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda, who wants EVs to be fun to drive, was the catalyst behind adding a system to the revised midsize SUV that replicates the feel of having a manual transmission.
Toyota should be able to meet Europe's CO2 reduction targets in the next three years thanks to new battery-electric cars, but says the 2025 pooling agreement with Tesla is a 'precaution.'
CEO Olivier Francois expects the Grande Panda to become the Stellantis subsidiary’s bestseller by winning over customers in Europe, South America and Africa.
One option would be to phase in the targets, while another would let automakers average emissions over a four-year period. The EU is debating whether to ease the 2025 targets.
The electric minicar will compete with Chinese budget electric cars such as the BYD Seagull and Leapmotor T03.
The Chinese automaker wants a bigger piece of Europe’s largest segment, small SUVs, which is poised for big growth for electric variants as VW and Renault prepare to launch more affordable models.
BYD has struggled to make an impact in Europe but its ambitions are bold. Local production and a wider scope of offerings will give the Chinese automaker a major boost.
The BYD Atto 2 will start at less than €30,000 in Europe. EVs and PHEVs have not yet made a major mark in the small SUV segment, but a number of low-cost entrants could change that this year.
