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THE pace of change in the industry is ferocious, as this week’s issue again testifies. But amid the hi-tech development, is there a more remarkable car on sale than the Fiat 500? Incredibly, it was 10 years ago this week that we first tested the then new 500. The reborn city car lost out to the MINI, but impressed sufficiently for us to say: “It signifies a new era for Fiat.” Our reasoning was perfectly simple. “It’s a machine that makes people smile when they see it; even those who don’t have much interest in cars,” our test reflected. History has proven just how spot-on that assessment was. A decade and one major facelift – in 2015 – down the line, what is ostensibly the same car continues to find…

▪ Model 3 comes in two specs ▪ EV range of up to 310 miles Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn IT’S the world’s first mass-market electric vehicle, according to Tesla. Following years of speculation, the new Model 3 has finally rolled out of the company’s Fremont factory in California and on to customers’ driveways. It becomes the third pillar in Tesla’s plan, alongside the Model S saloon and Model X SUV, to help accelerate the shift towards sustainable energy and electric vehicles. The Model 3 is based on a new platform and will initially be offered in two specs: Standard and Long Range. At the Model 3’s launch event, Elon Musk, Tesla’s enigmatic boss, confirmed that in standard spec the Model 3 has a claimed range of 220 miles and should sprint from…

THE hype behind the new Tesla Model 3 is a marketeer’s dream. And it’s been achieved with zero marketing spend by billionaire Elon Musk. So does it live up to the hype? At the customer handover event at the start of the month we had the chance to take a brief spin behind the wheel around the company’s factory in Fremont, California. From the outside, it’s not hard to see the design correlation between the Model 3, Model S and Model X, but the fun starts before you even get in. The Model 3 is one of the only cars in the world that doesn’t need a key for entry; instead it uses your phone’s Bluetooth function, or an RFID key in the shape of a credit card. Inside, there’s…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods THE introduction of the new Tesla Model 3 (Page 8) fires the starting gun on a new era of more affordable cars from the cult Californian electric car company, and next on the hit list is a small crossover called the Model Y, which will arrive in 2019. It will be a crucial step in Tesla’s second ‘master plan’, which will see the brand expand beyond its current line-up with an all-electric pick-up truck, a new Roadster and a move towards heavy-duty transport with Tesla trucks and buses. By doubling its SUV portfolio with the smaller, cheaper offering, Tesla is lining itself up to enter a booming marketplace. Alongside the recently launched Model 3, the Model Y will be an important step on the road towards the firm…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy SKODA is gearing up for a double electric onslaught by the start of the next decade, launching a pure-electric hatchback and a coupé-SUV that’s likely to become the most expensive vehicle in the brand’s 122-year history. The Czech manufacturer will launch its electrified vehicle strategy with a Superb plug-in hybrid and an electric version of its Citigo in 2019. But it will really push ahead with its dedicated EV plans a year later, with the production version of its Vision E concept, which was revealed at this year’s Shanghai Motor Show. It’ll be one of the first cars to appear on the VW Group’s new MEB chassis architecture, which has been designed to accommodate all-electric powertrains. Volkswagen’s I.D. will be the first MEB car, with an Audi variant…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn THE way consumers own and use their vehicles is on the cusp of a revolution as car manufacturers across the industry evaluate ways of introducing autonomous tech and mobility to younger generations and those living in crowded cities. Today’s core sales model, of one family or one consumer owning a vehicle, looks to be under threat as makers around the world look at ways to target customers who would typically not consider buying a vehicle because of where they live or their income. One of the biggest disrupters to the idea of car ownership are so-called millennials who, according to Richard Balch, Ford’s Smart Mobility boss in Europe, “don’t feel the need to own everything in their lives”. He added: “The leasing type model and the pay-per-use model…