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CHOOSING our Car of the Year is the toughest decision we have to make each year. It has to be a model that genuinely sets new standards in its class or even defines a new one. And it’s a decision where cold, hard analysis wins through and any sentiment has to be set to one side. This year’s winner is genuinely groundbreaking – not least in its all-electric powertrain. You can read the full details on Page 92, but to let you into a little secret, its closest rival for our overall title was another game-changing electric car… So we’ve already reached an age where affordable and desirable electric cars can go for hundreds of miles on a single charge. And we know that the choice of electric cars is…

• Next hot supermini to benefit from electrified platform • Boss says it’s important firm doesn’t build standalone EVs John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy PEUGEOT is lining up a pure-electric 208 GTi to sit alongside the regular petrol hot hatch in the range when the new generation of the supermini arrives next year, Auto Express has learned. The brand is gearing up to introduce an all-new version of the car at next spring’s Geneva Motor Show. This will switch to a new CMP (Common Modular Platform) architecture that offers much-improved efficiency, cheaper build costs and, crucially, the scope for pure-electric variants. A pure-EV version of the next 208 has always been on the cards since PSA announced that its platform would come in two versions: CMP (also known as EMP1) and e-CMP. Now…

“It’s only the fourth car from McLaren to wear the LT badge, short for Longtail, which is reserved for the company’s most extreme models” Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn McLAREN’S aggressive new model roll out continues with this, the 600LT. A rival for the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, it will be built in ‘strictly limited numbers’ and cost from £185,500. Sitting at the top of the Sport Series model range, the 600LT is only the fourth car from McLaren to wear the LT badge, short for Longtail, which is reserved for the company’s most extreme models. It follows on from the 675LT, which appeared back in 2015, and adopts that car’s mantra of more power, less weight and optimised aerodynamics. Under the skin the 600LT is based on the 570S coupé, but McLaren…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler “We want to be faster in electrification. So we’re not planning diesel in any new cars. The XC90 will follow this”HÅKAN SAMUELSSON Volvo CEO VOLVO’S next-generation XC90 SUV, due in showrooms in 2022, will drop diesel engines completely from its range, relying on fully electric and hybrid petrol versions only, Auto Express can reveal. Volvo’s decision to ditch diesel began with the new S60 saloon in June as the Swedish brand begins its transition from internal combustion engines to hybrid and electric vehicles. By 2025 Volvo predicts 50 per cent of models sold will be fully electric. Speaking to Auto Express at the unveil of the new S60 compact executive at the new Volvo plant in Charleston, South Carolina, Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson told us: “We have to…

“The oil firm estimates there will be 12 million EVs on UK roads by 2040, up from around 135,000 in 2017” OIL giant BP has announced it intends to buy the UK’s biggest electric vehicle charging supplier, Chargemaster. The Luton-based company operates the Polar charging network, with more than 6,000 charging points in the UK. BP has 1,200 filling stations around the country and says it will roll out ultrafast chargers, including 150kW rapid units capable of delivering 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes, across its forecourts within the next 12 months. The oil firm estimates that by 2040 there will be 12 million EVs on UK roads, up from around 135,000 in 2017. David Martell, Chargemaster chief executive, said: “The acquisition of Chargemaster by BP marks a…

TESLA’S forthcoming pick-up truck will have an all-electric range of up to 500 miles and feature a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive set-up, according to the company’s CEO, Elon Musk. Once again posting on Twitter to drip-feed details of the new pick-up, Musk also claimed that 240-volt outlets for heavy power tools will feature, which will be run from the vehicle’s battery. Elsewhere at Telsa, the company also recently set up a temporary production site in Fremont, California in a bid to help reach Model 3 production volumes of 5,000 cars per week.…