Ford Announce Hybrid Trucks, Nissan LEAF SUV and Audi 4th BEV | 17 Mar 2018
Ford See Hybrids As The Future Of Trucks And SUVs | Beefy Renault Zoe On Sale | LEAF SUV Going Into Production | Audi Q3 Electric For China | VW’s MEB Platform Used For ‘Cute, SUV’ Audi
Saturday 17th March 2018.
There’s SO much going on I didn’t want to make the podcast too long, so I’ve split this weekend into two parts. Today we’ll focus on cars, and on tomorrow’s show we’ll talk about all the things which make them go, such as charging and some energy news.
FORD STICK IT TO TOYOTA
- A couple of days ago I was saying we were due a Ford announcement. Were clearly they were planning one! Ford said they will beat Toyota in hybrid vehicles by 2021.
- The #2 US car maker wants to overhaul their lineup and electrify their model. StrategAy will focus on trucks, SUVs and high performance cars. They will electrify the bulk of their models, especially trucks.
- The legendary Ford F-150 will also be electrified but built into hybrid form and full integrated, to help people make the transition to electric cars. So those truck drivers still get their engines but also all the low-end torque from an EV.
- They say we’ve moved past hybrids being a science project, which sounds a like they’re throwing shade at Toyota.
BEEFY RENAULT ON SALE
- The slightly higher powered Zoe R110 (80kW) is marginally more expensive that the outgoing model. It will cost around £19,000 before the UK government grant.
- The Zoe is a great city car, with lots of range and one of my favourites.
NISSAN LEAF SUV
- The Nissan LEAF SUV is confirmed to be coming at some point in the future, and Nissan say the new crossover will the car that makes BEVs mainstream. Whilst he recognises the job the LEAF is doing the SUV will be a long range, all-wheel drive powertrain.
- It will also include the next generation of the Nissan Pro Pilot technology. And it’s “a few years” away, whatever that means specifically. The interior is notably bigger with lots of useable space thanks to the flat battery under the car.
AUDI SAY ELECTRIC SUV WILL BE ‘CUTE’
- Onto Audi and the Q3 will get an electric version which will be Audi’s 4th pure BEV they make. But it looks like it might be China only.
- Elsewhere the Chairman of Audi’s board said the first Audi car to use the VW MEB platform will have SUV character.
- The competition for that segment is increasing, not only with the news above about Nissan but also pure electric Volvo XC40 and BMW iX3.
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