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Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news AS dealers threw open their doors to welcome a surprising number of eager customers back into showrooms, so the bosses of dealer groups and car companies accelerated their plans to offer end-to-end digital sales channels. That could see dealers becoming ‘try’ rather than ‘buy’ outlets, and customers – if they want – only interacting with retailers over the internet. A few dealer and car company bosses have admitted that they had been “caught napping” when it comes to their digital offerings during lockdown. Not so the Managing Director of Ford, Andy Barratt. However, when I caught up with him recently, he did reveal that Ford’s upcoming online sales channel – due to launch later this summer – could mean job losses…

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for your daily news updates Behind the wheel of Honda’s hybrid-only supermini Plus, we spend time with SUV-inspired Crosstar variant John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy FOR such a humble, inoffensive vehicle, the Honda Jazz certainly does a good job of splitting opinion. To its fans, it’s the supermini that is clever enough to behave as a small family car when required. For countless others, it’s a conservative small car designed for an older generation. In fact, the Jazz is designed to be both of these things. It’s just that in the UK in particular, it has struggled for almost 20 years to break out of this love-hate relationship – although Honda insists that sales numbers for the outgoing version stood up well in a market under pressure from small SUVs. Still,…

HONDA knows that small-car buyers are increasingly tempted by baby SUVs, and the firm is trying to cater for some of them with the Jazz Crosstar. It’s a jacked-up version with body cladding and roof rails to give it a pseudo-4x4 look – even though there’s not even the slightest pretence of off-roading ability. The Crosstar is only offered in rangetopping EX trim, and you’ll pay an additional £1,250 for it over a regular Jazz EX, making it £22,635. For that you get a beefed-up sound system with a subwoofer, water-repellent seat fabric – a sign of how Honda is pitching this model to those with an ‘active lifestyle’ – plus the option of a contrast paint finish on the roof (£950 extra). However you lose the heated steering wheel…

2021 Elise will be petrol But future cars will be full EVs Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn LOTUS is undergoing the biggest shake-up in its 72-year history, and it will shift its focus to developing a fleet of fully electric sports cars, Auto Express can reveal. Lotus has been under the ownership of Chinese car giant Geely since 2017, and it has already demonstrated its intent with the launch of the electric Evija hypercar. However, that is a car that will cost in excess of £2.4million and only 130 examples will ever be built. Now bosses have hinted that next year’s replacement for the Elise could be the firm’s last to use a petrol engine. The company’s CEO, Phil Popham, has suggested that the next generation of Lotus sports cars will skip hybrid…

ONCE Lotus has an established its fleet of electric sports cars, the company will look to broaden its product range with the addition of saloons, GT cars and possibly even SUVs. “We’re not focusing on SUVs at the moment,” Popham revealed to Auto Express, “but we are not discounting any segment: crossovers, sporting sedans, GTs. But what we have to do is say what makes it distinctly a Lotus.” Being part of the Geely group gives the firm access to a multitude of platforms, powertrains and technology. However, Popham was clear that any future Lotus had to stay true to the brand’s core values. “How can we illustrate what we are focused on, what we are famous for – aerodynamics, performance, light weight,” he said. “How can it be a…

Showrooms prepped for sales More remote options offered Hugo_Griffiths@dennis.co.uk @hugo_griffiths CAR dealers have officially reopened, marking a significant turning point on the road to recovery for coronavirus-struck England, as car dealers were allowed to open their doors for the first time since the lockdown was introduced on 23 March. With around 4,900 new-car showrooms in the UK employing 590,000 staff helping to sell more than two million cars a year, the previously paralysed car industry welcomed the relaxation of the rules with open arms. Dealers across the country have invested heavily in personal protective equipment (PPE) and introduced measures to help keep showrooms clean, safe and socially distanced, while also expanding their click-and-collect and online sales. To document the occasion, we headed to Trust Ford in Epsom, Surrey, to see…