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Toyota Supra with 4-cylinder engine is dead

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A month ago, there were rumors that Toyota might stop offering its sports car, the Supra. Now it’s official. According to information from the company, the Supra powered by a four-cylinder engine will no longer be on offer from 2025.

The Supra first appeared on the market in 1978, and by 2002, four generations of this grand tourer had been produced. In 2019, the fifth generation developed in cooperation with BMW arrived on the market. It shares the platform and many parts with the BMW Z4 (G29), which will also soon be discontinued. It was offered in options with 4- and 6-cylinder turbocharged engines.

There are several reasons for the shutdown of this model, and one of them is the poor sales results in the first three months of 2024 when Toyota managed to sell only 484 units of this model, which is a drop of 44.4 percent compared to the same period in 2023 (871 units).

Thus, the Toyota Supra remains only with a turbocharged 3.0-liter 6-cylinder engine with 382 hp (285 kW) and 368 lb-ft (499 Nm) of torque, paired with an automatic or manual transmission. That is enough for acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). The version with manual transmission reaches 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds.

Source: Toyota

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Toyota Supra with 4-cylinder engine is dead
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Dacia Spring costs 3,500 euros more due to new EU tariffs

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At the beginning of the year, the redesigned Dacia Spring arrived on the market, and two months later it was announced that it will cost 10,990 euros. However, the latest information says that due to the new EU tariffs, this car will cost 3,500 euros more.

In 2023, the EU launched an investigation into the privileged position of electric vehicles produced in China due to subsidies. It was suspected that China is helping domestic companies in various ways to export their cars to the European market at lower prices and thus endangering European manufacturers. In order to respond to the growing pressure and resentment of European companies, the EU decided to introduce additional tariffs of up to 38.1%, which will come into effect on July 4. For example, BYD will pay 17.4 percent, Geely 20 percent, and SAIC, which with the help of former British brand MG is by far the biggest seller in Europe, will pay 38.1 percent. Other brands that were cooperative will pay a 21 percent duty, and those that refused will pay 38.1 percent.

This decision is already showing its impact on car prices, so the Dacia Spring will have a new starting price of 20,400 euros from autumn. On the French market, the price increase will be even higher. Thus, an electric car on the French market would be more expensive by almost 4,000 euros compared to the current starting price.

Dacia is not the only victim of the new EU tariffs, Tesla will also increase the prices of their cars. In some EU markets, the Tesla Model 3 will cost 8,500 euros more, with a starting price of 49,490 euros (subsidies not included).

Source: Reuters

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Changan plans to produce cars in Europe

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In March, Chinese automaker Changan unveiled the first ever car with extended range technology (EREV), the Changan Hunter. Now the company has announced that it plans to start car production in Europe.

Last year, Changan launched a global strategy to expand into the global market with the potential construction of factories abroad. The first move was to expand into the South American market, where the focus is on cars with internal combustion engines, and the plan is to sell around 200,000 units by 2030.

Now the focus is on the European market where they plan to offer exclusively battery vehicles. It can be said that Changan is trying to react quickly to the recent decision of the European Commission to introduce additional tariffs (of up to 38.1%) on cars manufactured in China. Other Chinese companies could follow suit, and some of them have already done so. For example, BYD aims to be among the top five best-selling brands in Europe by the end of the decade and the plan is to build a factory in Hungary with an initial capacity of 200,000 units per year. Also, Leapmotor has announced that it will assemble its small electric car, the T03, in Poland.

It should be noted that some information suggests that the EU may change tariffs on Chinese EVs. Thus, producers who cooperated during the investigation would have lower tariffs (20.8% instead of 21%), while those who refused to cooperate will have tariffs of 37.6 percent instead of the original 38.1 percent.

Source: Changan