Auto Express 1545

THERE has been a distinct change of tone from car industry bosses in their messages to our Government and EU negotiators over Brexit. PSA chief Carlos Tavares (above), responsible for Vauxhall and its Ellesmere Port and Luton plants, plus Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Opel, was blunt when I asked him what his thoughts were on the current situation. “My message to Mrs May and [EU chief negotiator] Monsieur Barnier is that no deal is unacceptable,” he said. “In the interests of British and EU citizens we must have a deal.” No deal would also mean prices would rise and the number of available models reduce, says Tavares. JLR boss Dr Ralf Speth has been similarly strident in recent weeks and he told me in Paris: “It’s becoming more and more…

● New Nissan Juke rival due within 12 months; petrol and diesel power ● Sits on biggest version of MQB A0 platform as part of new-Skoda boom Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn “It will adopt angular bodywork and sharper surfacing, because it’s aimed at style-conscious buyers” SKODA’S forthcoming compact SUV will be on sale within 12 months and will be the most practical and spacious model in its class, according to the boss of the Czech firm, Bernhard Maier. The Nissan Juke rival and spiritual successor to the Yeti crossover will be revealed early next year, ahead of arriving in showrooms in the summer. It will be the third SUV in Skoda’s expanding range, slotting beneath the larger Karoq and Kodiaq models. Under the skin will be the VW Group’s new MQB A0…

ELSEWHERE at Skoda, the firm’s first all-electric model will be offered in a choice of body styles, CEO Bernhard Maier confirmed to Auto Express. The fully-electric SUV, previewed by the Vision E concept (right), is due in the second half of 2020, based on the VW Group’s new MEB platform. Skoda is aiming to offer both practicality and style-focused variants of its first EV. Maier told us last week at the Paris Motor Show: “It will be our first purpose-built EV and we will offer it in two body styles. We are at the final crossing where the design freeze is done.” Asked how the two models would differ and which would arrive first, Maier added: “The first will be very close to the size of the Kodiaq, with all…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods “Spy shots confirm project has reached an important milestone, with 4x4 on road in production bodywork” WE’VE known that a new Land Rover Defender has been in the works for a few years now, but these brand new spy shots are confirmation that the project has reached an important milestone: the 4x4 is now on the road and in production bodywork, ahead of a planned release in 2020. The latest pictures serve up our first proper look at its size and shape compared with the shortened Range Rover Sport cloaked mules seen before. They also show Jaguar Land Rover’s executive director of engineering, Nick Rogers, behind the wheel – another sign that the project has reached a serious stage of development. The five-door test car has a large,…

IN just a few weeks Porsche will pull the covers off its new 992-series 911 at the Los Angeles Motor Show, but we’ve been riding along as the development cars are signed off in San Francisco. Every new 911 is significant, but this one takes the rear-engined icon into the future, with new technology, a revised drivetrain and driver aids, all while retaining the sports car’s signature driver appeal and usability. The shape is obviously familiar – Porsche knows better than to mess with its lines too much – but more of that shapely body will be constructed from aluminium in a bid to maintain the same weight as the outgoing car. We’re riding in a Carrera S coupé, which uses a 3.0-litre turbocharged flat-six engine that produces 444bhp and…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods “Citroen is planning a much more radical approach, which includes a pure-electric version of its family hatchback” THE next-generation Citroen C4 hatchback will have a pure-electric option in 2020, Auto Express can reveal. The old C4 was culled last year, with a toned-down C4 Cactus currently filling a dual role as a C-segment family hatch and crossover. Its replacement had been expected to use the same EMP2 platform as the Peugeot 308, but Citroen is instead planning a much more radical approach, which includes a pure-electric version of its family hatchback, as previewed in our exclusive image. At the Paris Motor Show, Citroen CEO Linda Jackson revealed that the new C4 is at the top of the firm’s agenda. “We haven’t actually said when the C-segment hatchback is…