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IT FELT like Paris had fallen out of love with the motor show – if last week’s expo in the French capital was anything to go by. The feeling from the uncarpeted concrete hall floors (a sign of budget cuts?) was one of uncertainty over the future of the event. Motor shows are propped up by the brands that pay to attend them, and while there were still some key cars making debuts – Renault’s 4Ever Trophy concept and Jeep’s Avenger were two of the big ones – most car makers were notable by their absence. None of the big German brands made an appearance; Mercedes had the audacity to hold its own event at the same time in the same city. Just two main halls were occupied, with Renault…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Newcomer will join Avenger, Recon and Wagoneer S in line-up ● Jeep’s timelines suggest the Compass is most likely candidate “I want to be in every global SUV segment. The fourth car by 2025 will be bigger than Avenger, which is our baby, but smaller than the Recon and Wagoneer S” CHRISTIAN MEUNIER Jeep Chief Executive Officer JEEP is fast-tracking its way to electrification, and the iconic American brand is planning to use new technologies afforded by its parent group Stellantis to develop fresh, all-electric generations of its popular Renegade and Compass models. The company’s first European-developed pure EV, the Avenger, made its public debut at last week’s Paris Motor Show. It will be the baby in a planned four-EV line-up that Jeep has committed to deliver…

John_McIlroy@autovia.co.uk @johnmcilroy ● Electric 5 concept produces 375bhp ● Tech work almost complete RENAULT boss Luca de Meo says he wants to build a roadgoing version of the company’s 5 Turbo 3E concept car, but that funding the project is the big issue. The Turbo 3E was shown in Paris as a tribute, de Meo says, to the 50th anniversary of the original Renault 5. It is, in effect, based on an Andros Trophy ice-racer chassis, and packs a pair of electric motors at the rear offering 375bhp. De Meo revealed that the firm “has almost found a way of making it work”. Speaking to Auto Express, de Meo insisted that he was “absolutely serious” about a production run. “We’ve almost found the technical solution,” he said, “but now the…

STELLANTIS CEO Carlos Tavares believes that buyers shouldn’t be worried about the personality of EVs in the future, saying the automotive conglomerate’s focus on software and services in partnership with Amazon will better define Stellantis cars. Asked by Auto Express if software and services will become a key differentiator in cars, Tavares said: “I remember that 25 or 30 years ago we had the same question: ‘Can we have the same platform for different brands?’ “With connected services, we can easily change the characteristics of energy management to give you a very different feel, so it’s very easy to differentiate two vehicles from different brands.” “With connected services, we can change characteristics of energy management to give you a very different feel” He said this approach could be applied to…

DACIA used Paris to highlight its new badge and colour scheme. But the big news from the company was that its next generation of Sandero may be offered as an EV as well as a petrol-powered car. The value brand has resisted EVs so far, but Renault tech boss Gilles le Borgne admitted that the next Sandero, due in 2028, could be “a good candidate” for a multi-energy approach, using both the regular CMF-B platform and the closely related CMF-BEV architecture that’s set to underpin the reborn Renault 5.…

FRENCH brand DS is readying an all-new fifth model for its line-up that will break cover in 2024. It could be a sporty crossover that will take styling inspiration from the brand’s Aero Sport Lounge concept (above). The new model will be the first DS based on parent company Stellantis’ forthcoming STLA platforms, and DS CEO Beatrice Foucher told Auto Express at the Paris Motor Show last week that “there are many cars popping up. Not pure SUVs, but a little bit of a lower roof, knowing that when you put batteries in, you increase the height of the car. You have the choice between high, or very high when moving to electrification.” And when asked if a sporty, more flowing crossover could join the line-up, Foucher told us: “Yeah,…