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HAPPY New Year – and it has the potential to be a very happy one indeed if you’re one of those people wandering into car showrooms over the next month. The fact is, there may never be a better time to buy a new car than right now, thanks to manufacturers having to register vehicles like crazy in the last few weeks of 2019 – in the hope of selling cleaner ones over the next 12 months and avoiding huge penalties for excess CO2emissions. It’s already clear that the market from which we choose which cars to buy, own and drive is going to be radically different at the end of 2020 from how it is now. More than the proliferation of electrified and pure-electric models and, perversely, the continued…

sean_carson@dennis.co.uk ● Plug-in vRS hot hatch set to match petrol version for power ● 30-mile EV range will offer a unique feature in the class THE newly launched Skoda Octavia is poised to get its widest range of high-performance variants ever, Auto Express can reveal, because the family car’s vRS line-up will include a hybrid version for the first time. The Octavia has always had one of the most varied approaches to what constitutes a hot hatch. As well as hatchback and estate bodystyles, two and four-wheel drive, it’s also been offered with diesel power as a more efficient alternative to the conventional turbo petrol versions. Senior company sources have told Auto Express that this policy will continue with the new model, which was unveiled in November. But in the…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk TOYOTA is preparing a new small SUV that will give the company a rival for the likes of the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur – and it’s likely to arrive in British dealerships within the next 18 months, Auto Express can exclusively reveal. The as-yet-unnamed model is designed to sit below the C-HR, despite the fact that the futuristic crossover is already slightly smaller than the likes of the Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 3008. Toyota believes that having a car closer to the 4.0-metre length of most superminis will appeal to customers put off by the C-HR’s higher price. Speaking to Auto Express, Toyota’s European Executive Vice-President Matt Harrison admitted the company was already considering expanding its SUV line-up at the smaller end of its range. “SUV segments in…

Leaf offers improved value for money NISSAN has reduced the price of the 40kWh version of its Leaf EV (above) by £1,650 across the board. The entry-level Acenta now starts from £26,345, while the high-spec Tekna model is £29,345. This means that all variants of the 40kWh Leaf now fall within the sub-£30,000 P11D price bracket for company car drivers, as well as the zero per cent Benefit-in-Kind tax rating for electric cars due to be introduced in April 2020. One in 10 BMW X5s is hiding its real age THE BMW X5 is the most commonly clocked car in the UK. An analysis of 2.5 million vehicle mileages revealed 11.7 per cent of X5s showing discrepancies. Overall the Vauxhall Combo van was the vehicle most likely to display a…

Alex_Ingram@dennis.co.uk ● Fourth largest maker created ● Comprises 14 different brands FIAT Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) – owner of Alfa Romeo and Jeep – and Groupe PSA – owners of Peugeot, Citroen, Opel/Vauxhall – have officially confirmed the merger of the two companies. It’s a move that creates the world’s fourth largest car manufacturer, behind Toyota, the VW Group and the Renault/Nissan Alliance, and it comprises 14 different brands. The move is advantageous for both firms: it provides PSA access to North American markets, while FCA would potentially be able to make use of PSA’s newer, and electrified, vehicle architectures and stronger presence in Europe. The scale of the future giant will also present new opportunities linked to autonomous and connected-vehicle projects. The new company, which didn’t have an official name…

News Editor, Auto Express THE FCA Group has been very public about its desire to find a suitable partner to merge with over the years. Former boss Sergio Marchionne pursued a tie-up with GM and also flirted with doing a deal with Ford. Neither materialised and, on paper, it makes you wonder why a deal with PSA didn’t happen sooner; where one company is visibly weak, the other firm has real strength. PSA has absolutely no presence in North America, whereas FCA sold around 2.5 million units there across its nine brands. And although FCA has been very slow off the mark with electric and hybrid vehicles, PSA is one of the only companies globally with supermini-sized electric vehicles that are already in showrooms.…