All posts by Francis Mitterrand

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SEAT will not develop new cars

For a long time there were rumors that the Volkswagen Group, as the owner of SEAT, could shut down the Spanish brand. However, the information was partially correct, as it was confirmed that SEAT has a new task, but that it will not develop new cars. From now on, it will be done by the Cupra.

“The future of SEAT is the Cupra. The Volkswagen Group will continue to invest heavily in the Cupra and increase these investments,” said Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer. He also said that Cupra has become extremely attractive to customers and that it is the fastest growing brand in Europe.

Spanish car manufacturer was founded in 1950 and represents the pride of Spain. It will keep the name and the main task of the company in the future will be alternative mobility. Given that SEAT already has the MÓ range of electric scooters, this task seems ideal.

SEAT has been struggling with sales results for a long time, so the company decided that it is time to take a different path. When it comes to current production, SEAT will continue to produce cars for the next few years, but will not produce new generations of those models.

In 2018, SEAT created the Cupra brand as its independent high-performance branch. Since then, the company has been producing originally designed, exciting and attractive cars that have been well received by the market. In the first six months of 2023, Cupra sold 107,300 cars, 56.9% more than in the same period of 2022 (68,400). These are historic results and an indication that the decision to shift focus to Cupra was expected.

Source: Volkswagen Group

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Mercedes-Benz is developing a smaller version of the G-Class

After yesterday’s presentation of the Mercedes-Benz CLA Concept, the German automaker could soon launch a smaller version of the G-Class. This news was confirmed by the CEO of Mercedes-Benz Ola Kallenius.

During Kallenius’ speech about the upcoming smaller SUV, a teaser of the future, new G-Class was shown in the background. He confirmed that the new G-Class will be fully electric and that the development of this model is not an easy task, especially due to the fact that the expectations are high and that the company fully understands how much responsibility it has. He also added that the car will be easily recognizable and equally fun to drive on all terrains.

At the beginning of the year, there were rumors about this model, which have now been confirmed by the CEO of Mercedes-Benz. At that time, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt wrote about the arrival of the new G-Class on the market in the next three years. However, Mercedes has not confirmed when the car will be unveiled.

Although there is not enough information for now, it is assumed that the car will be developed on the MMA platform, which is not exclusively developed for electric cars, but can also be used for cars powered by internal combustion engines.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

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2024 Renault Scenic E-Tech

In 1991, Renault presented a new concept car, the Renault S.C.E.N.I.C, and five years later this multi-purpose vehicle entered production. After four successful generations, the French car manufacturer decided to present the fifth generation but as an electric SUV, the Renault Scenic E-Tech.

With a length of 4.47 meters, a width of 1.86 m, a height of 1,571, it has a wheelbase of 2.78 m, which is 10 cm longer than the Megane E-Tech. Environmentally sustainable materials were used in the construction, while the natural leather in the cabin was completely removed. 24% of the materials are recycled, including the bonnet which is made from 80% recycled aluminium.

Inside, there is a new 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, and a 12-inch centrally located screen with OpenR Link multimedia system. The extremely spacious car offers 545 liters of luggage space, or 1,670 liters with the rear bench folded down. The Android Automotive OS 12 operating system is also standard, so passengers will be able to use more than 50 Google applications.

When it comes to the powertrain, buyers will be able to choose between two versions with 170 hp (125 kW) and 206 lb-ft (280 Nm) of torque, and 220 hp (162 kW) and 221 lb-ft (300 Nm) of torque moment. More importantly, the Scenic E-Tech will be offered with two types of batteries: a 60 kWh battery that provides a range of 420 km and an 87 kWh battery for a range of 620 km. Thanks to the 150 kW rapid charger, a 30-minute charge enables two hours of driving.

Source: Renault

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2024 Renault Scenic E-Tech