This week's gossip from the automotive industry has news of how Brexit affected Mazda, Hyundai's electric future, future Mini Countryman models, Kia's thoughts on diesels and Honda's views on SUVs.
How Brexit affected Mazda
The biggest impact of the Brexit vote for Mazda has been the fall in the value of sterling. Mazda Europe boss Jeff Guyton said: “The vote has put all importers under certain pressure.” He added that “time would tell” if the election of Donald Trump as US president would affect Mazda and he hoped to “see a regime that supports free trade and a growing economy” when the dust settles.
Read more: Driving a V6-powered Mazda MX-5 Rocketeer, 2017 Mazda MX-5 RF 2.0 160 UK first drive
Hyundai's electric future
Hyundai has confirmed it will have 14 electric vehicles in production by 2020. Its next EV after the Ioniq will be a compact SUV with a range of more than 200 miles. It’s also planning a new fuel-cell model with a greater range than the existing ix35 FCV.
Read more: Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell long-term test review: first report, 2017 Hyundai i30 1.0 T-GDi 120 SE Nav
The future of the Countryman
Don't expect any more Mini SUVs or a coupé version of the Mini Countryman. Boss Peter Schwarzenbauer said Mini does not want to expand its portfolio too far. He believed the Countryman is “the perfect car for the market” in SUV terms.
Read more: Mini Countryman Cooper S v Nissan Juke Nismo RS v Audi Q2 Sport - group test, Electric Mini to launch as fifth 'superhero model' in 2019
Kia's thoughts on diesels
Diesel engines will continue to form a key part of Kia’s powertrain strategy, according to the boss of the company’s UK arm, Paul Philpott. However, Kia’s global boss, Thomas Oh, said: “Kia is well prepared for alternatively fuelled vehicles.”
Read more: 2017 Kia Picanto revealed ahead of Geneva motor show debut, Kia confirms development of hydrogen model due in 2021
Honda and the SUV
The popularity of SUVs will soon decline, Honda Motor Europe’s sales and marketing boss, Jean-Marc Streng, has predicted. “You [can] call anything an SUV and it sells. Soon the SUV market will be crowded – look what happened to MPVs,” he said.
Read more: 2017 Honda Civic 1.0 i-VTEC Turbo SR review, 2017 Honda Civic Type R Black Edition review
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Here's hoping that Honda is
I'd like to have seen...
That would be better than an S-max,,
If Honda produced more