In this week's round-up of automotive gossip, Peugeot works to save the A-segment, we hear why individuality is important to BMW and more.
Peugeot's city car safeguard
Peugeot will work on making electric cars cheaper to preserve the city car segment and ultimately create a Peugeot 108 replacement. Current city cars can’t meet stricter CO2 laws without costly electrification. “The A-segment will exist, but we will try our best to make EVs more affordable,” said boss Jean-Philippe Imparato.
BMW's indy aim
BMW aims to give each of its models a more individual look. “Customers don’t want to feel like they’re driving a scaled-down BMW X5 when they drive an BMW X3, and the 4 Series shouldn’t feel like a small 8 Series,” said design boss Domagoj Dukec. “Else the 4 would feel like it were for people who couldn’t afford an 8. We have customers who could afford a Rolls-Royce yet buy a 1 Series.”
Afternoon delight
4pm is the most popular time to buy a Tesla online in Europe, during a 3-6pm ‘rush hour’. Three-quarters of Teslas are sold online. The busiest day is Tuesday, just ahead of Wednesday. In the Netherlands and Germany, more than 50% of people buy without a test drive.
Ami could come to the UK
The quirky Citroen Ami two-seat electric car has been industrialised for left-hand-drive only, CEO Vincent Cobée has revealed, but it may still come to the UK. “There’s no reason why this structure couldn’t exist in right-hand-drive in rapid-development mode,” he said. “If the UK team believes there’s a business case, we will gladly consider it.”
READ MORE
Citroen Ami is electric two-seater for £17 per month
2020 BMW 4 Series Coupe revealed with dramatic new look
BMW design chief: New 4 Series grille will be 'brand-shaper'
Join the debate
Add your comment
Tesla
More than 50% of people buy a Tesla without a test drive? The hype around these cars is obviously the biggest selling factor.
Tesla
Maybe a ride as a passenger is enough to convince. p.s. have you seen their share price recently, compare it with BMW's over the last 5 years and you may be a bit less negative around BEV's or Tesla future
SmokingCoal wrote:
More than 50% of Ferrari owners also never test drove their cars.
Hype? Well even if Teslas were wantonly bad cars I'd still buy one simply because of their vastly superior charging network.
So what happened to last week
So what happened to last week's Autocar Confidential?