We publish a ton of car news stories during the working week (70-odd as a rule), and it can be tough to keep up with everything – which is the rationale behind this weekend list.
In short, here are some key articles from our news desk since Monday of this week summarised, just in case you missed them at the time.
Renault’s retro-inspired return
The reborn Renault 4 has been previewed as a concept this week in Paris, as the brand continues to reboot its storied past to define its electric future.
The Renault 4Ever Trophy has the requisite concept car design touches, but beneath all that clearly shows us what to expect from the production model due by 2025.
The famous Renault 4 badge returns after a 30-year hiatus. Reflecting the times, this new version of the old cheap-and-rugged icon – eight million sales in 100 countries – will be a B-segment electric SUV.
FULL STORY: 2025 Renault 4 EV reboot previewed in Paris
BMW’s new entry EV detailed
BMW has detailed pricing and specs for its new entry electric vehicle, based on the next-generation X1 small SUV.
The BMW iX1 xDrive30 will cost $82,900 before on-road costs when it hits Australia in the first quarter of 2023 – in either xLine and M Sport trim levels.
It will line up against competitors including the Tesla Model Y ($72,300 to $96,700), Mercedes-Benz EQA ($78,500 to $96,900), and Volvo XC40 Recharge ($72,990 to $79,490).
FULL STORY: 2023 BMW iX1 EV price and specs
Grenadier gets going!
Ineos Grenadier 4×4 production is finally underway after a few delays, with cars rolling off the factory line and on their way to customers globally from December.
Australian market demonstrators will get here in time for Christmas, with customer cars to start lobbing here from January 2023.
The hardcore SUV designed to fill the Land Rover Defender-shaped void in the market – original model, not new – is being made at an old Daimler plant in Hambach, France.
FULL STORY: Ineos Grenadier production underway
Great Wall Motor chases Tesla
GWM’s dedicated electric car brand, Ora, has taken centre stage at the Paris motor show with the reveal of the Next Ora Cat (yes, that’s its name) four-door ‘coupe’.
The rapidly growing company’s new flagship EV with four frameless doors is very much designed to tackle the Tesla Model 3, plus the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and BYD Seal.
The new GWM Next Ora Cat was previously unveiled at home in China as the Ora Lightning Cat.
FULL STORY: GWM’s Ora EV brand details new performance four-door ‘coupe’
Hyundai’s grand entrance
Remember the Hyundai Grandeur? It was the company’s flagship sedan in Australia between 1999 to 2011 across two generations.
While it was retired from local showrooms, the nameplate soldiers on at home in Korea, with a brand new version revealed overnight.
Once again the Grandeur will be called Azera in export markets. Before we get into it, there’s no chance of this seventh-generation Grandeur/Azera coming to Australia – we checked.
FULL STORY: 2023 Hyundai Grandeur revealed
Toyota facing more court time
An Australian law firm has sensationally launched a class action against market-leading car company Toyota, alleging it used the same type of diesel defeat devices that set off the Volkswagen ‘dieselgate’ saga in vehicles such as the HiLux and LandCruiser.
Toyota Australia, seemingly flummoxed, says it rejects the claims and will defend the class action in Victoria’s Supreme Court “rigorously”.
The mooted class action is in no way related to another headline-making class action centring on Toyota’s faulty diesel particulate filters (DPFs), the legal basis for which stems from a recent Federal Court decision that found against the carmaker – which it has since appealed.
FULL STORY: Toyota Australia in court over diesel emissions defeat device claims
Cadillac turns back the clock
The 2024 Cadillac Celestiq will attempt to take the American luxury brand into the future and reclaim its past ‘Standard of the World’ glory.
The ultra-luxury electric flagship will enter production in December 2023, and will have a price tag “north of” US$300,000 (A$476,115).
For context, Cadillac’s most expensive model at present is the Escalade-V, which starts at US$149,695 (A$237,616). The Celestiq’s price puts it between V8 and W12 versions of the Bentley Flying Spur Mulliner in the US.
FULL STORY: Cadillac reveals ultra-luxury Celestiq production EV with Bentley pricing
Stellantis chief urges ICE ban pivot
The European Union’s proposal to effectively ban the sale of new combustion-engine vehicles from 2035 will have serious social consequences, claims Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares.
Speaking in Paris overnight, Mr Tavares said there needed to be more negotiations, suggesting provisions to give hybrids a longer shelf life and thereby transition to EVs in more gradual fashion.
“It’s essential,” he said during a news conference at the Paris Motor Show, when asked if revisions to the mooted ban were needed. “The dogmatic decision that was taken to ban the sale of thermal vehicles in 2035 has social consequences that are not manageable.”
FULL STORY: Stellantis says petrol and diesel bans will have major consequences
Strange looking iPhone…
Foxtron has revealed an electric ute and hatchback as well as a production version of its electric SUV.
The company – a spinoff of Taiwanese Foxconn, best known as a contract manufacturer for the iPhone and Xbox – plans to have Model C crossovers on Taiwanese roads in the second half of 2023.
Foxconn confirmed at its annual Hon Hai Tech Day that it’ll produce vehicles in Taiwan, Thailand and the US, with production of the Model B crossover hatchback and Model V pickup to start in 2024.
FULL STORY: Foxtron reveals EV ute and SUVs, sets lofty sales target
Raptor prices set to increase
Ford Ranger Raptors built from March 2023 will cost $1300 more than the current version once they start arriving, with some current order holders likely to be affected.
Raptors classified as model year 2023.5 – common Ford parlance – will therefore retail for $86,790 before on-road costs when they start rolling into dealers before mid-year.
Ford’s dealers have allocations until the end of February 2023, meaning some current order holders who have cars on track for a later build than this will be subject to the price increase – equal to 1.5 per cent – unless they can haggle down their dealer.
FULL STORY: Ford Ranger Raptor price increase, roller shutter option from March 2023
New ASX? Maybe not…
Mitsubishi will launch a new compact SUV some time between April 2023 and March 2024, and this concept car revealed today clues us in on what to expect.
The Mitsubishi XFC Concept will make its premiere at the Vietnam motor show next week – on the surface an unusual choice to stage a premiere.
However it’s important to keep in mind that Mitsubishi has a focus on Southeast Asia, under the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance ‘leader-follower’ global business model.
FULL STORY: Mitsubishi confirms 2024 small SUV, previewed by this new concept
Silent even by Rolls-Royce standards
Rolls-Royce has finally revealed the Spectre coupe, its first electric series production car, ahead of customer deliveries commencing from the fourth quarter of 2023.
The ultra-luxury spiritual successor to the Phantom Coupe has been some 122 years in the works, considering the words of Charles Stewart Rolls himself in 1900.
“The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration. They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged,” he said at the dawn of the 20th century.
FULL STORY: Rolls-Royce Spectre ultra-luxury EV revealed
