Auto News 5

News 16 May, 2019

The new Ford Focus ST Estate arrives with petrol and diesel choices, generating 276bhp and 187bhp respectively

Hyundai Motor Group says it has developed an intelligent 'Smart Air Purification system' that monitors interior air quality to automatically filter the air inside a car. The system works to enhance in-car air quality by introducing a new automated monitoring system, which continually checks interior air quality until it achieves an 'Excellent' status.

Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor this month applied for a licence to produce electric vehicles in Thailand, according to local reports.

Britain has unveiled a GBP28m (US$36m) National Centre of Excellence in the Midlands city of Coventry to develop electric car battery technology.

News 15 May, 2019

Volvo won’t rule out producing models below 40-series, as small and premium markets converge more and more

VW says that less than one week after the start of pre-booking for the ID.3, more than 15,000 registrations have already been received for the first model in the new full-electric ID. family.

The updated Skoda Superb is the first Skoda production car to feature full LED Matrix headlights and dynamic lighting functions, the VW Group-owned brand says.

The Philippines new vehicle market was up slightly in April 2019, by 0.8% at 25,799 units from 25,583 units in the same month of last year, according to member wholesale data released jointly by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA).

News 15 May, 2019

The Subaru’s WRX-based Levorg estate gets a fresh face, a new 2.0-litre flat-four engine and a CVT

News 15 May, 2019

Special edition road signs featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck are available to download online

Geely-owned Polestar has confirmed that leading battery makers CATL and LG Chem will supply batteries for the company's electric performance cars, as part of multi-billion dollar agreements signed by Volvo Car Group.

Last month, its deliveries numbering only 6,175 vehicles, Renault Samsung slid down the Korean sales chart even further, dropping to position seven behind Genesis. What will majority shareholder (80%) Groupe Renault do about its subsidiary's worrying decline?

A flat Russian market is failing to hold back the growth of Lada which, with a 22% share, is way ahead of number two make Kia. Crucially, Renault is putting in more money to maintain the momentum and various new models are not far away from release.

The eighth generation is only months away from being officially revealed and still the Golf continues to dominate its segment. What's more, this remains far and away the best selling vehicle in the European region. Volkswagen has even been adding new variants, the latest and likely final one being the Touring Car Racing version of the GTI.

Pirelli has confirmed its presence in Brazil through a reorganisation of its manufacturing structure to accelerate focus on high value products and improve the competitiveness of its sites in the country.

South Korean battery manufacturer SK Innovation has announced plans to invest KRW580bn (US$488m) to build a second electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in China, as it looks expand its presence in the world's largest and fastest growing market for these products.

Toyoda Gosei has invested in Imuzak, a start-up located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, with strengths in optical design and assessment, to accelerate its development of interior and exterior modules for autonomous driving.

Renault has inaugurated its Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab to devise and test different smart, autonomous, electric and shared public and private mobility services to supplement existing transportation systems in the Paris-Saclay area.

News 15 May, 2019

JLR boss suggests that going it alone over EVs is the firm’s preferred option, while other industry players seek partnerships