Autocar confidential: Skoda, Aston Martin, Hyundai and Elemental

This week's gossip from the automotive industry has news of Skoda’s new image, a racing version of Elemental’s open-top road car, Aston Martin’s new electric base and the changing face of Hyundais.

Skoda's new personality

Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier took up the job nine months ago and believes he has now distilled what the brand should stand for. “A Skoda should always be more than a car,” he said. “It must be the best car in the segment based on price, space and technology. We stand for a particular kind of understatement that means we can be the right choice for anyone, whoever they are and whatever they do.”

RP1 to hit the track

The Elemental RP1 road car is likely to be developed for GT Cup racing in the future, the company’s bosses have confirmed. “The first job is to get the road car ready and sold, but there’s likely to be demand for a race version and we’d love to meet that,” said company founder John Begley.

Aston prepares for the future

Aston Martin bosses have taken possession of the office block attached to their new factory at the former St Athans air base in south Wales. Next month they will take possession of a ‘super-hangar’ at the site, which will eventually become an assembly plant for electric cars.

Hyundai face

Hyundai’s new ‘cascading grille’ will be introduced across all models in the range, according to design boss Peter Schreyer. He thinks it can be scaled up and down to work on models ranging from the Hyundai i10 to Santa Fe in size to help build brand recognition.