Auto Express 1613

WE’RE only in February, but a contender for the biggest motoring story of the year has already emerged. The announcement that the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars is being brought forward by five years to 2035 is significant enough, while everyone was caught off guard by news that the ban will cover hybrids and plug-ins, too. Then, days later, a government minister revealed that the current electric vehicle grant – bringing a sizeable £3,500 saving on the cost of an all-electric car – could well be scrapped by the end of March. So we have 15 years to buy new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars (and EVs, for that matter). Based on current sales, that equates to 34.5 million new models finding homes – equivalent to…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk ● New hybrid engine and battery tech capitalise on electrification trend ● Fresh platform brings big improvements on the road for Toyota’s hatch FOR many people, the Toyota Yaris is a supermini that’s guilty of being a bit too anonymous for its own good. Never as affordable as a Vauxhall Corsa or a Ford Fiesta, frequently behind on in-car tech compared with a Volkswagen Polo, and almost always dowdy-looking beside a Peugeot 208 or a Renault Clio. And yet the Yaris is the fifth best-selling supermini across Europe and an enormously important car for Toyota, because it accounts for almost one in four of the cars the company sells in the region. So the stakes are high for the new, fourth-generation Yaris, and we’ve had our first chance to…

LUC NUYTS Toyota Europe Yaris project leader Q How have you made such big gains with this Yaris’s chassis compared with the Mk3? A The answer is simple: TNGA. That technology gives us more rigidity and a different layout – different pick-up points for the suspension, and so forth – that all help to increase the rigidity. And we’ve also put in extra reinforcement in a few key areas, such as a strut brace across the engine bay and a solid rail across the dashboard. These are things that we knew we wanted to do but they could only happen with a brand-new platform, like this one. Q It’s unusual to see a car getting smaller for a new generation. A Yes, but the key is the shorter overhangs on…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk ● German firm ready to expand its e-tron portfolio ● New model would use MEB Entry platform “Audi is going to be the one with the widest [EV] portfolio over the next years compared to rivals”FERMIN SONEIRA SANTOS Audi AUDI is planning a huge expansion of its e-tron electric range over the next five years – and now a senior official at the firm has admitted to Auto Express that this wider range will stretch to a small car based on the VW Group’s entry-level EV platform. Known as MEB Entry, the architecture was revealed at the VW Group annual conference last spring. It’s designed to support vehicles of around four metres in length, about the same as a Polo or an Audi A1, while keeping down costs sufficiently…

Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk ● Popular small SUV gets electric boost that’s free for a year ● 28 miles of EV range, charges in three hours from home wallbox VOLVO likes a catchy name for its electrified models. First came Drive-e, then Twin Engine and now we have the Recharge, the plug-in hybrid version of its small and increasingly popular XC40 SUV – and we’ve had an early drive of the car. A pure-electric XC40 is on its way later this year, but the plug-in hybrid is on sale now with prices starting at £40,905 – pricey, yes, but just over £4,000 more than a Vauxhall Grandland X PHEV. Plus, Volvo will throw in a year’s worth of electricity, too. The T5 takes about three hours to top up its 10.7kWh battery on…

KIA has confirmed that a brand-new, fourth-generation Sorento SUV is on the way, and it’s due to be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March. However, the cat is out of the bag, because our spies have already spotted the new model completely undisguised, a good month before the covers are supposed to come off. Caught during what looks like a Kia-run photoshoot – presumably for the car’s official reveal – the design of the Sorento is set to change significantly on the outside. It’ll become boxier, tougher, but more upmarket in appearance. However, the new SUV’s interior remains under wraps and away from prying eyes. Kia has released a teaser image of the Sorento, and it has also confirmed that the car will use brand-new underpinnings. It’s the…