Our reporters empty their notebooks to round up a week in gossip from across the automotive industry
As we chat to the motoring industry’s bigwigs this week, we hear how Tesla made life easier for Byton, how Audi will differentiate between each of its SUVs and more.
Fiat Pandas to market demand
It may be ageing but sales of the Fiat Panda have risen substantially this year, thanks to the popular new City Cross model. The high-riding, snappily dressed version looks like a four-wheel drive (a version you can still buy) but isn’t.
Volkswagen: diesel’s not dead… yet
Volkswagen sales and marketing boss Jürgen Stackmann says the brand isn’t giving up on diesel yet. “There is nowhere the date [we give up on diesel] is written,” he said. “We believe diesel is great for certain vehicle types and long-distance drives, with unparalleled efficiency. We’re the only manufacturer that has actually grown its diesel mix. We’ll give it a strong shot for EU7.”
Ingolstadt draws up a plan
Audi’s ever-growing SUV range makes varying the design of each model vital in order to identify its place in the line-up, according to Jakob Hirzel, exterior design leader of the recently facelifted Q7. “It’s about character, and identifying where it makes sense to make them different,” he said. “It’s a much bigger line-up now, so it’s a challenge to make sure they all make sense.”
Byton boards the Tesla train
Tesla’s early success helped lay the groundwork for other electric car makers, according to Byton CEO Carsten Breitfeld. “They did a great job to build up this premium electric brand. They changed the perceptions of people,” he said. Hiring designers and engineers for the upcoming M-Byte SUV was that much easier because “no one is questioning the potential of electric cars any more. No one would say an electric car is something boring”.
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Byton M-Byte SUV gearing up for production
New Fiat Panda could launch as early as 2021
Source: Autocar
