Auto Express 1721

Visit autoexpress.co.uk for all the latest new cars news ELECTRIC cars dominate the contenders for the World Car Awards this year, according to the list just published by the organisers. The three rivals for the overall World Car of the Year title are the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (above), the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Kia EV6 – all brilliant and all electric. When it comes to World Luxury Car, only the Genesis GV70 uses a good old internal-combustion engine; it’s up against the BMW iX and Mercedes EQS. Electrification is rife in the World Urban Car category with the Vauxhall Mokka and Toyota Yaris Cross – the Volkswagen Tiguan a surprise third contender. Surely you can rely on World Performance Car to forego electrification? Not quite. Against the BMW M3/M4…

sean_carson@autovia.co.uk • Three new models to join Mustang Mach-E • Electrified Puma set to join small SUV line-up in 2024 FOLLOWING its announcement of a new ‘Model e’ business division focusing on developing new EVs, Ford is going all in when it comes to electrification, launching three new all-electric SUVs by 2024. These will include a ‘Medium-sized Crossover’ previewed in our exclusive main image, a sleeker version of this – dubbed the ‘Sport Crossover’ by the company – and an all-electric version of its Puma compact SUV. Auto Express understands that the as-yet-unnamed, five-seat, mid-sized model will be more of a conventional SUV than a crossover. It’ll also be smaller than the firm’s Mustang Mach-E and will have a different attitude from that car’s. As part of the Blue Oval’s…

FORD’S push towards electrification could have implications for its long-serving and much-loved Fiesta supermini. The compact hatchback is based on the same platform as the Puma, but while the electric version of the crossover could be based on an adapted version of this architecture, it might be harder to make it work in a lower, smaller and cheaper car like the Fiesta. But Ford needs an affordable small EV, which adds credence to the idea that future small electric models will share underpinnings with compact electric vans. There is a third possibility: the brand has already culled the Mondeo name in Europe to focus on SUVs in the future, so could the Fiesta name die out too? Asked about an electric Fiesta, Stuart Rowley was coy, saying “This will not be the…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods EIGHTEEN months from now, MINI will introduce the fourth generation of one of Britain’s most popular models – the MINI Hatch. Massive changes are coming with this iteration of the BMW-owned brand’s take on the British icon, and Auto Express has been to Sweden to try the all-new MINI for the first time from the passenger seat. The three-door version of the hatch will be built in China and launch as a fully electric model on a brand-new platform, developed in Europe by BMW specifically for MINI. A petrol version of the car with a five-door option will also be offered, with the same exterior dimensions and styling, but built at the brand’s plant in Oxford on an evolution of the current ICE car’s platform. Here, we’re trying…

ALONGSIDE the new hatchback, MINI will introduce a similarly sized electric SUV based on the same platform. It will also be produced in China from 2023. As the mystery member of MINI’s next-generation line-up – we’ve now ridden in the Hatch prototype, and the new Countryman has been spied – little is known about the car other than that it will complement the new three-door electric Hatch by offering five-door versatility. It’s almost certain to share the new Hatch’s battery and powertrain options, so like the Hatch, a maximum range of about 250 miles on a full charge should be possible. MINI has explored the possibility of a small SUV closely aligned to the core Hatch in the past, with the Paceman. This three-door crossover was produced from 2012 to…

James_Brodie@autovia.co.uk @JPBrods • SUV slots beneath Levante • Electric version due in 2023 ITALIAN manufacturer Maserati has revealed the new model that it hopes will kick-start its revival: the Grecale, a new mid-size SUV to rival the Porsche Macan. The Macan is a strong seller for Porsche, and Maserati hopes that the Grecale will pull off a similar trick. It’s based on a heavily updated version of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio’s Giorgio platform, enabling not just petrol versions, but also a fully electric model, which will be the first in the brand’s ‘Folgore’ electrification plan (see below). Going on sale in the second half of 2022, the Grecale incorporates elements of the MC20 sports car’s design in an SUV package, with what the brand calls a more ‘vertical’ design language.…