Fast Lane: Electric VW with 700km range, 3.8-second Polestar, Chery’s sodium-ion battery

A VW to rival Tesla’s Model S

Volkswagen’s new electric saloon is between the size of the Passat and the Phaeton. Two variants will be available – with the more premium dual-motor variant offering a range of up to 700km on a 91kWh battery. This variant will have ventilated seats with massage function and a panoramic “smart glass” sunroof.

Slated to launch in Europe and China in the third quarter of 2023, and the rest of the world from 2024, the ID7 will go head to head with cars such as the Mercedes-Benz EQE and the BMW i5. It measures almost 5m long and has a wheelbase of nearly 3m, making it slightly bigger than the VW Passat and about the size of the Tesla Model S.

Polestar 4 landing end-2024

Polestar has unveiled its impossibly sleek Polestar 4 coupe-sport utility vehicle. The much-anticipated beauty is 4,839mm long, 2,139mm wide (including mirrors) and 1,544mm tall, with a 2,999mm wheelbase. It weighs between 2,232kg and 2,351kg, depending on variant and equipment. It offers a 500-litre boot and a 15-litre “frunk”.

Equipped with a 102kWh battery, it can accept charging of up to 22kW AC or 200kW DC. For styling, it has no rear windscreen, allowing the glass roof to stretch further back, and increasing rear headroom. In its place, there is a camera system.

In terms of size and pricing, it sits between the Polestar 2 and Polestar 3. Slated to arrive in Singapore by end-2024, the car comes in two forms. A dual-motor 400kW/686Nm version hits 100kmh in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 200kmh. A single-motor 200kW/343Nm one reaches 100kmh in 7.4 seconds and a top speed of 180kmh.

Maserati’s electric Grecale

Maserati’s second electric car is the Grecale Folgore, which arrives on the market one year after the hybrid and petrol Grecale sport utility vehicle. Equipped with a 105kWh battery, it has 410kW and 820Nm of torque on tap, allowing it to reach 220kmh.

Aside from a modified grille, rear diffuser and illuminated side vents, it looks similar to the combustion-engined Grecale. Wheel sizes range from 19 to 21 inches.

Hybrid with 30 driver assistance systems

Renault’s new Austral E-Tech hybrid packs a 200hp drivetrain and promises a fuel efficiency of 3.9 litres/100km and a range of nearly 1,100km.

While there are no immediate plans for it to come to Singapore because of the stratospheric certificate of entitlement prices (it qualifies for the costlier Category B), it could come when premiums return to saner levels. The car should be good for not-so-good drivers as it offers up to 30 advanced driver assistance systems.

VW EVs to go rear-wheel drive

In what is an emerging trend, Volkswagen has announced that its next generation of electric cars will be rear-wheel driven. VW says this will offer higher performance as well as improved efficiency, translating to longer ranges.

Volkswagen is planning to deliver the first vehicles with the new drive configuration in a 210kW/550Nm vehicle by the end of 2023. This follows a similar move by Volvo and Polestar.

$1.13m 911 GT3 RS at Porsche World Roadshow

The Porsche World Roadshow kicks off in Singapore to mark Porsche’s 75th anniversary. The event will take place from May 19 to 23 at Changi Exhibition Centre, where 26 Porsche models will be lined up. The star will be the latest 911 GT3 RS. It is priced from $1,131,288 before certificate of entitlement.

There will be driving experiences across the 26 models. The newly facelifted Cayenne will not be part of the line-up here.

Chery the first to use CATL sodium-ion battery

Chinese car brand Chery will be the first to use battery-maker CATL’s new sodium-ion batteries, according to CNEVPost, a China-based electric vehicle news portal.

With a range of up to 400km, sodium-ion batteries are said to be cheaper than lithium-ion ones and can be made without exotic materials. They also perform better in low temperatures and offer faster charging. The new technology allows manufacturers to “break through resource bottlenecks”.

MG confirms electric roadster production

MG has confirmed production plans for its electric sports car. To be called Cyberster, the two-seat roadster brings back MG’s “sporting bloodline”.

With its distinctive long bonnet, low nose and curvaceous surfaces, distinctive scissor doors and Kammback rear design, the Cyberster could arrive in Singapore by 2025.

BMW’s most powerful, quickest electric model

BMW has unveiled a more powerful i7 electric limousine. The i7 M70 xDrive will be the Bavarian marque’s most powerful and quickest electric model.

Equipped with a motor at both the front and rear axle generating 485kW, it promises a century sprint of 3.7 seconds and an electronically restricted top speed of 250kmh.

First electric Maybach

The Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 sport utility vehicle is the first electric model to wear the Maybach badge. Promising extremely low noise, vibration and harshness levels, the car has adaptive all-wheel drive, adaptive air suspension with continuously variable damping, and rear-wheel steer.

To increase ground clearance, the vehicle level can be raised by up to 35mm. The car has an output of 484kW and a range of up to 600km. It promises a 0-100kmh sprint time of 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 210kmh.

Ineos to make electric 4x4 with Magna

Ineos Automotive, maker of Land Rover-like sport utility vehicles, says it will launch an electric 4X4, which it will develop with automotive supplier Magna. The car will be built at Magna’s Graz facility in Austria in 2026.

The zero-emission vehicle will be smaller than the Ineos Grenadier, with “world-class, off-road performance capable of conquering the formidable Schockl mountain close to Magna’s Austrian headquarters”.

Smart’s first sport utility coupe

Smart’s first sport utility coupe, the Smart #3, is its biggest car yet. The micro-car specialist says the #3 was designed based on Mercedes-Benz styling philosophy, while keeping “state-of-the-art connectivity as the guiding principle”. It says the car is in keeping with its vision for the best solutions for future urban mobility.

Jaguar Land Rover is now JLR, dropping Land Rover brand

Jaguar Land Rover, to be known as JLR from now, will be investing £15 billion (S$25 billion) over five years in its industrial footprint, vehicle programmes, artificial intelligence and digital technologies. According to its next-generation electrification road map, JLR will start to invite applications for client orders for its all-electric Range Rover from later in 2023.

In addition, the company will be moving to a House of Brands, covering Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar. This means the Land Rover brand is dropped after 75 years.

Rolls-Royce unveils electric Spectre in Shanghai

The Rolls-Royce Spectre electric luxury coupe was unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show this week. The car is the BMW-owned British marque’s first modern battery-powered model as it prepares to become fully electric by the end of 2030. The show car is in a new paint colour called Morganite, named after a rare gemstone. The Spectre promises a range of 520km, and a power consumption of 21.5kWh/100km.