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THERE are always obvious themes at the Geneva Motor Show and aside from the predictable push towards electrification, two things stood out clearly for me as I walked round the stands and spoke to execs at last week’s event. Firstly, there was a great deal of uncertainty. On Brexit. On Donald Trump’s proposed trade tariffs. On the future of diesel, with some wildly differing views being offered. And on Vauxhall, with PSA boss Carlos Tavares again stating: “We need to significantly reduce manufacturing costs.” Secondly, the opulence on display was simply breathtaking. Geneva has always been a show that lends itself to this, being based in one of the world’s main financial centres. But this year was something else, with an array of new models that wouldn’t look out of…

• Rugged all-electric 4x4 could arrive in showrooms by 2021 • Twin motors give supercar acceleration and 250-mile range James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods “Porsche claims the car sprints from 0-62mph in less than 3.5 seconds; faster than a Tesla Model X 100D” ESTABLISHED automotive brands are waging a war against Tesla with an army of all-electric SUVs. Porsche joined the fight by unveiling a new electric crossover concept in Geneva that could make production in 2021 to be a rival for the Tesla Model X. Called the Mission E Cross Turismo, it’s a taller, more rugged variant of the brand’s low-slung, four-door Mission E coupé, complete with a more practical estate-shaped rear end, too. Porsche’s official line explains that it’s a ‘concept study’, which “presents a picture as to what a Turismo…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler “Lagonda models could provide autonomous transport for well heeled hotel customers” ASTON Martin used last week’s Geneva Motor Show to launch its new Lagonda luxury brand, and Auto Express can reveal the first model will be an SUV, rather than the saloon car unveiled at the Swiss expo. Hidden away at the back of the Lagonda show stand were 40 per cent scale models of an SUV and coupé, and it’s understood that the former will be the first standalone Lagonda model. Previewed in our exclusive images, the SUV will launch in 2021. The saloon is likely to follow in 2023, by which time solid-state batteries should be available to give both models a realistic electric vehicle range of more than 400 miles. Wireless charging will also be…

AUDI e-TRON DUE 2018 THE e-tron will play a key part in what will be a strong SUV market push from Audi in the coming years, and it just happens to be all-electric. We’ll get to see the finished item later this year, but deposits are being taken now. Audi claims it’ll have a range of 311 miles on a single charge. BMWiX3 DUE 2019 BMW has confirmed that an all-electric variant of the X3 is in the pipeline, and trademarks reveal that it’s more than likely to be badged iX3. The decision to produce fully electric variants of existing members of the X line-up is at odds with rival brands; Audi and Mercedes will do unique vehicles. MERCEDES EQC DUE2019 MERCEDES will launch its all-electric EQ sub-brand with an…

“It has more than enough on tap to feel brisk, even rapid when you want it to” John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy THE Jaguar I-Pace is arguably the most radical vehicle in the firm’s history; the first proper Tesla rival from a mainstream brand and a pure-electric model that’ll be in dealers before the Audi e-tron or Mercedes EQ C. Now Auto Express has had a brief chance to get behind the wheel of a production version, on the eve of its public debut at the Geneva show. Seeing the I-Pace in the metal, the first thing that strikes you is what a clever bit of design it is. Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum has tried to exploit the advantages of using a bespoke allelectric platform, while minimising the disadvantages of having to…

CEO, Jaguar Land Rover THE I-Pace will be judged a success if Jaguar uses all of the production capacity it has planned for the car – and it will make money if it does that, says JLR boss Dr Ralf Speth. The all-electric model isn’t being built in the UK but at manufacturing outsourcing specialist Magna Steyr’s factory in Graz, Austria, where the MINI Countryman was produced until 2016. Speth declined to name the numbers of I-Paces that Jaguar has contracted Magna to build, but he stated: “For us the car will be a success if we achieve our installed capacity, and we have a quite clear agreement on that.” When asked if selling all of the contracted vehicles would result in the I-Pace making a profit, he replied: “It…