First up there’s something you should know about the Kia Niro. It’s not new. At least, not globally. You see, the Niro has been around in other markets as long as its Hyundai Kona relation, dating way back to 2016, and even the electric version has been available in its Korean home market since 2018.

The car which arrives here is a 2020 facelift of a car which is now five years old, and there are areas in which you can tell. The most obvious giveaway is the lack of the new Kia badge on this car’s nose or steering wheel, but it’s reflected on the spec sheet in less than impressive areas.

Wearing an MSRP of a whopping $70,990, the Niro EV is by no means cheap either as a small SUV or as an electric car. Even the freshly facelifted Hyundai Kona Electric ($66,000) comes in nearly $5000 less in its most expensive form, and in this spec the Niro is even more expensive than its key Tesla Model 3 rival, which offers comparative range and amazing technology.

Frustratingly, the standard equipment is also lower than the Kona Electric, with the Niro lacking things like a wireless phone charger, holographic display, heated seats, or a fully customisable digital dash cluster.

This is important for an electric car, too, because heated seats are more than just a luxury; they are an energy efficient way of warming up the car’s occupants. The Kona Electric not only gets them for the front seat, but in the rear seats, too! To add insult to injury, the EV only gets single-zone climate control.

It’s not all bad news though, as elsewhere there’s some decent stuff. I like the fully integrated 10.25-inch multimedia screen, which comes complete with sat nav, digital radio, and the expected phone connectivity (even if it is wired instead of wireless), and while the digital dashboard isn’t as sleek and customisable as the Hyundai unit, it looks neat.

Elsewhere the Niro EV Sport scores an eight-speaker premium audio system, keyless entry and push-start ignition, 17-inch ‘aerodynamic’ alloy wheels clad in Michelin Primacy 3 tyres, synthetic leather interior trim, LED headlights with auto high beams, and an auto dimming rear vision mirror.

The safety suite is decent, too, and will be looked at later in this review. So, on the value front it’s not great. You get everything a modern car needs, but it’s puzzling there are some major omissions compared to the more affordable and longer-range Kona Electric.

to read more find out at : https://carsguide.com.au/ev/kia-niro-ev-sport-83942

all credits goes to : https://carsguide.com.au/ev/kia-niro-ev-sport-83942

Toyota early June confirmed its new “bZ” electric vehicle brand, for “Beyond Zero,” and the first model under it, the bZ4X Concept, will be hitting Canadian dealerships sooner than you might expect.

Jointly developed with Subaru, the new bZ4X will go on sale globally in mid-2022, riding on an all-new, dedicated electric vehicle (EV) platform. Toyota Canada said it will be roughly the same size as the RAV4, and all-wheel-drive.

Globally, Toyota plans to expand to some 70 electrified models by 2025, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids; and 15 of those will be new, battery-only EVs.

While very little information was given for the bZ4X, the company did say it rides on a battery platform known as e-TNGA, and will have a long wheelbase, short overhangs, an open-concept interior, and optimal interior space. It will initially be built in Japan, but the company will look at other assembly locations if there’s enough demand for it.

Toyota Canada also confirmed that the new, second-generation Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle will go on sale in Canada for the 2022 model year, after launching as a 2021 in the United States. The new model has a smaller and lighter fuel cell; it’s rear-wheel-drive, rather than front-wheel as on the previous one; it now holds five instead of four occupants; and it has a longer wheelbase and new styling.

We might have gotten it earlier, but hydrogen refuelling stations are few and far between in Canada. Toyota said it will sell “wherever there is hydrogen,” which right now is primarily British Columbia and Quebec, but “it will go to other provinces” when refuelling infrastructure is available.

Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles use ambient air and onboard hydrogen to create electricity, which is used to power their electric motors for driving. They emit no emissions other than water vapour, but some hydrogen supplies can be “greener” than others, depending on how it’s made. Toyota said it takes about five minutes to refuel the Mirai with hydrogen.

Some hydrogen vehicles have been available only by lease, but Toyota Canada said the 2022 Mirai will likely be for sale as well. It will have at least two trim levels, including a top-line Limited, and will have new cabin styling from the last-generation model, an available panoramic sunroof, and a suite of driving safety assists.

The new Mirai has an improved fuel cell system and increased hydrogen storage, and has a projected 30-per-cent range increase over the last-generation model. Pricing and full specs will be announced closer to launch.

Full credits to : https://driving.ca/auto-news/news/toyotas-new-all-electric-bz4x-will-land-in-canadian-dealerships-mid-2022

Lordstown Motors, an EV startup based in an Ohio town of the same name, doesn’t have enough money to start building trucks by the end of the year as previously promised. That revelation came in a regulatory filing on Tuesday and was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Lordstown’s inability to start production on its first product raises serious questions about the viability of the company and how long it can continue operating.

Lordstown had originally promised that it would start building its Endurance pickup truck, with a promised 600 horsepower and roughly 250 miles of range, early this year. Fleet customers were supposed to get first dibs at the trucks, and Lordstown said private customers could expect delivery by the end of the year. However, by this spring it was clear production had never begun. The Endurance was unveiled last summer with then Vice President Mike Pence in attendance.

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of trouble at the startup. It was the subject in March of a report from investment research firm Hindenburg Research, which said the company had misled investors and may have been lying about pre-orders for its truck (the company says it has 100,000 pre-orders from fleet customers). Also in March, the Lordstown confirmed it was the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

Even without its apparently serious financial problems, Lordstown was facing new and stiff competition on the EV pickup front. Ford unveiled an EV version of its bestselling F-150 last month and claims to have raked in tens of thousands of pre-orders in the first days after the reveal.

CREDITS TO : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36755400/lordstown-endurance-ev-pickup-production/

Hyundai Motor Co and General Motors Co. said on Monday they are pushing ahead with developing flying cars, with the South Korean company expressing optimism it could have an air-taxi service in operation as soon as 2025.

A GM executive said it could take until 2030 for air-taxi services to overcome technical and regulatory hurdles and reach commercialization.

The zero-emissions aircraft, which take off and land like helicopters and carry passengers and cargo, are being developed by a number of startups as well as aircraft makers and automakers, but they face a long road to profitability.

Hyundai is ahead of its previously stated timetable for rolling out air-mobility vehicles, Jose Munoz, the company’s global chief operating officer, said in an interview broadcast on Monday at the Reuters Events Car of the Future conference.

Munoz, who is also CEO of Hyundai North America, previously said urban air taxis would be in operation at major U.S. airports by 2028 and perhaps earlier. He told Reuters on Monday it could possibly happen before 2025.

“We see this market as a significant growth opportunity,” Munoz said, adding he was “very confident” of the technology’s development.

Hyundai is developing air taxis powered by electric batteries that can transport five to six people from highly congested urban centers to airports.

Is this the future of the Automotive Industry?

Credits to : https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/hyundai-accelerates-flying-car-efforts-offer-services-around-vehicles-coo-2021-06-14/

The Bentayga Hybrid is now available to order for customers in the United Kingdom and Europe. Following introduction in the launch markets of the USA and China, the Bentayga Hybrid continues to bring unrivalled, electrified serenity to the luxury SUV sector around the world.

Following the launch of the Bentayga V8 and Bentayga Speed last summer, the Bentayga Hybrid is the third model in the most successful luxury SUV portfolio the segment has ever seen. The first generation Bentayga Hybrid accounted for one in every five of Bentaygas manufactured, and the introduction of the second generation is likely to increase that ratio – 45 per cent of Bentayga orders in China since launch have been for the hybrid version.

Providing a simplified offer for customers, the latest generation Bentayga Hybrid is available at the same base price as a Bentayga V8 – focusing the customer choice on powertrain preference rather than cost.

Delivering the same level of comfort and luxury, yet with a quieter and more refined driving experience, the Bentayga Hybrid brings a selection of new technologies and connected car services, positioning the new product as the most technically advanced Bentayga to date.

The exterior and interior design emphasises Bentley design DNA across the entire model range, giving Bentley the freshest and most modern product family of any luxury car company. Furthermore, the Bentayga Hybrid is the first step on Bentley’s path to having an electrified offering for every model in the range within the next three years, ahead of Bentley’s first BEV in 2025 and as part of Bentley’s revolutionary Beyond100 strategy that will see the iconic brand become the world’s leading sustainable luxury mobility company.

Introducing the very latest on-board technology and an even more cosseting cabin, the new Bentayga is significantly revised both inside and out from the previous generation. The Bentayga Hybrid is available with a four or five-seat configuration and can be personalised further with a vast selection of optional content including Blackline and Styling Specifications, with Blackline now being ordered on more than a third of customer cars.

The Bentayga Hybrid offers the ultimate in electric luxury, with smooth and silent progress through urban environments, whilst having the grand touring capability to escape the city and explore further. Customers of the Bentayga Hybrid can escape the noise of the city through the refined and acoustically-isolated serenity of the cabin without engine interference, using up to 25 miles of electric-only range (WLTP), before physically leaving the city behind with the comfort of a total combined range of 430 miles (WLTP).

Bentley’s research shows over 90 per cent of customers use their first-generation Bentayga Hybrid on a daily basis or several times a week, and nearly 100 per cent of customers use EV mode, with half of them consistently undertaking journeys of less than 30 miles.

In real world terms, the majority of journeys can be achieved completely in electric only, with zero emissions, delivering more benefits environmentally and building on Bentley’s new reputation for sustainability for the future.

The Bentayga Hybrid is the first of two new Bentley hybrids due to enter production this year, with the next to break cover this summer. The Bentayga Hybrid is available to order in the UK and Europe now, with deliveries beginning in the coming weeks.

CREDITS TO: https://www.automotiveworld.com/news-releases/bentley-new-bentayga-hybrid-launches-in-uk-and-europe/

Spied: 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross 

A spy photographer in Colorado has caught Toyota’s upcoming compact crossover testing on public roads.  

The Corolla Cross, as it is expected to be known in North America, will be Toyota’s answer to the Jeep Renegade, Ford EcoSport, Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-30, and the Chevrolet TrailBlazer.  

Built from an abbreviated version of Toyota’s modular TNGA-C platform, the new model shares DNA with the current Corolla and Prius, as well as the Lexus UX and Honda CH-R. Compared to the RAV4, the newcomer will arrive lower, narrower, and significantly shorter.  

Under the hood, speculation points to a 140 HP 1.8 L four-cylinder paired to an efficient continuously-variable transmission. A hybrid option is also expected, teaming a meeker four-cylinder with an electric motor for a net 170 HP through the same CVT. Neither powertrain is likely to drink much fuel on weekend sojourns from the suburbs to the local Provincial Park. 

The camouflaged Colorado vehicles appear consistent with those already on sale in Thailand, so we aren’t holding our breath for any big surprises. Prospective shoppers should, however, remember that trims and final details will likely change to suit North American market preferences and legislative requirements.  

Production should be starting soon, likely at a new Toyota-Mazda plant being readied in the U.S.  

CREDITS TO : https://www.driving.ca/auto-news/news/spied-2022-toyota-corolla-cross

One of the fan-favorite model of BMW is coming out with a new and updated version. Even as new front-wheel-drive sedan variants crop up around it, the new 2022 2-series will continue to offer a rear-wheel-drive coupe model with either an inline-four or an inline-six engine. BMW has confirmed that the M240i model will offer a more powerful turbo 3.0-liter inline-six with 382 horsepower, while we expect the 230i to continue with a turbo 2.0-liter inline-four with around 250 hp.

So far BMW has only shared details about the M240i’s eight-speed automatic transmission, which has us worried that the more powerful 2er might drop its manual-transmission option. We sincerely hope that a six-speed manual will still be offered at least on the 230i. Both engine choices will be offered with either rear- or all-wheel drive.

More information is coming in late July or early August and the 2-series should arrive at U.S. dealerships by this fall. The rear-drive 230i and M240i xDrive will go on sale first, with the 230i xDrive and rear-drive M240i arriving later, possibly for the 2023 model year.

credits to : https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36441471/2022-bmw-2-series-coupe-prototype-revealed/