Paris motor show: Europe rebounds
By: Glenn Brooks, Friday, October 01, 2010, AutomotiveWorld.com
The capacity of the global car industry to reinvent itself can occasionally be breathtaking. As visitors to the Paris motor show this week will see, manufacturers have seemingly all hit the reset button, with revolutionary technology and a wave of new models the result.
Having trumpeted the early repayment of emergency loans extended to them by the state during the economic crisis, both Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen are keen to prove to French taxpayers that their assistance was worthwhile. Major investments in R&D are behind the multiple diesel-electric and plug-in models displayed by Peugeot and Citroen, while Renault is using the Paris show to preview a future Clio EV as well as the production version of the tiny Twizy, a low-cost quadricycle.
Much of the fuss over the new EVs on the Renault stand succeeded in drawing attention away from the Latitude, shown for the first time in France. Like the Koleos, this successor to the Vel Satis is built in Korea, something Renault's home market unions are none too happy about. Can the Latitude succeed when all big Renaults of recent memory have failed? It may just do, finding itself a handy niche in the target markets of the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and Russia, if not in Western Europe.
The Opel Meriva, Kia Venga and Hyundai ix20 will not be much troubled by this new Toyota
One of the more unusual aspects of the 2010 edition of the Paris show was the fact that some of the world's largest manufacturers had little in the way of new models. Toyota revealed the Verso-S, which, despite claims to the contrary is not an all-new vehicle for Europe but a rebadging of the second generation Ractis, soon to be launched in Japan. There will be neither a diesel option, nor stop-start for the standard 1.3-litre petrol unit, so the Opel Meriva, Kia Venga and Hyundai ix20 are unlikely to be threatened by this little Toyota MPV.
Volkswagen too looks set to have a quiet Paris Mondiale, a scheduled mid-life update for the Passat being the only news of note. Elsewhere in the VW empire, Skoda displayed a plug-in Octavia, while those who have been predicting the demise of the SEAT brand could point to the following supposed evidence: a concept car that had previously been seen at Geneva (albeit updated) plus no sign whatsoever of the long-awaited Tribu SUV, nor of replacements for the León and Altea.
Audi, by contrast, almost stole the show with its quattro concept, a lower case q-challenged reinterpretation of the iconic Sport Quattro. More likely for production was another design study, the e-tron Spyder. Instead of the wankel engine range extender that featured in last year's A1 e-tron concept, Audi chose to showcase its diesel expertise with a biturbo V6 back-up motor for the larger e-tron Spyder concept. Expect future production versions (coupe and roadster) to be plug-in hybrids, carrying the R4 e-tron model name.
Audi showcased a biturbo V6 diesel range extender while Mercedes-Benz revealed a four-cylinder S-Class
Another German premium brand further demonstrated the different directions in which America and Europe seem to be headed. While the existing Mercedes-Benz S-Class sells perfectly well with V6 hybrid, V8 and V12 gasoline engines in the United States, its largest global market, we Europeans will soon be able to buy the first ever four-cylinder S-Class, the S 250 CDI.
Significant a development though it is, the 2010 Mondiale de l’Automobile won't be best remembered for the launch of a dinky diesel in a big Benz. No, the most memorable car at Paris was Tata Motors' 75th birthday gift to Jaguar. Despite looking like something created by Daniel Simon's fabulously fictitious Cosmic Motors, the C-X75 concept's miniature jet turbines are said to be headed for eventual production. And the icing on Jaguar's cake? Tata has just taken a shareholding in Bladon Jets, the company that builds them.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Automotive World Ltd.
Published on Friday, October 01, 2010
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