Automotive News Europe - September 22, 2010 - 8

Automotive News Europe | Paris Auto Show Guide

Paris show marks
The 2010 Paris auto show will mark the start of the electric vehicle era as global automakers unveil EVs aimed at the mass market, but there are also key debuts in the volume and luxury car segments. Renault will use the event to roll out EVs that will go on sale starting in mid-2011 as part of the French company’s ambitious bid to become the first volume automaker to make EVs accessible to the mass market with 200,000 annual sales within six years. French rival Peugeot will debut the world’s first production diesel-electric hybrid car in the 3008, while Honda will show its Jazz as a gasoline-electric hybrid. The many EV debuts will include batterypowered scooters from BMW’s Mini and Daimler’s Smart divisions, and Kia’s quirky Pop city car concept. Outside of EVs, volume makers will highlight new contenders in the key compact segment including the Citroen C4 and its upscale DS4 variant. Also debuting are the European versions of the new Ford Focus and an Opel/Vauxhall Astra coupe concept. Mercedes-Benz and Audi will show new coupe-styled four-door sedans that will go head-to-head in a growing and highly profitable niche. Toyota, Chevrolet and Hyundai will unveil new minivans. About 100 debuts are expected at the show, which features more than 300 automotive companies from over 20 countries.

ALFA ROMEO
Alfa Romeo will show a 235-hp sporty variant of its new Giulietta compact hatchback called the Quadrifoglio Verde. The Giulietta, which replaced the 9-year-old 147 in European showrooms this summer, also gets a new six-speed dry dual-clutch transmission. An Alfa MiTo will also debut with a 1.4-liter MultiAir fuel-efficient engine and stop-start technology coupled with the same dual-clutch transmission.

AUDI

A7 will share debut with potential Boxster rival
Audi will debut an EV concept that could preview the brand’s new R4 small sports car, alongside the new A7. If built, the R4 would be a Porsche Boxster rival and a smaller sibling to Audi’s R8 supercar. The R4 could be sold with electric and conventional drivetrains, German autopress said. The concept will be a convertible version of the e-Tron coupe seen at the Detroit auto show earlier this year. Audi plans to market EVs under the e-Tron sub-brand starting in 2012 and will start field testing 20 A1 e-Tron cars around Munich, Germany, next year. The cars will be linked to a network of 200 charging stations. The A7 coupe-styled four-door sedan, which debuts in Paris, is the latest new model in a product expansion that Audi hopes will help the company topple BMW as the world’s No. 1 premium brand. The elegant sedan will be positioned between the A6 and A8 and will arrive in European showrooms in November, with prices starting at 51,650 euros in Germany. U.S. sales begin in mid-2011. U.S. prices haven’t been announced. The A7 will compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLS, Porsche Panamera and the BMW Grand Coupe, which will launch in 2012. Audi will also give show debuts to special editions of its R8 supercar – the R8 Spyder V8 and the R8 GT, of which only 300 will be made, priced at 193,000 euros.

Audi A7

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ANE Executive Edition Sept. 22, 2010. Volume 1, Issue 1

Automotive News Europe - September 22, 2010

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