Car News

As part of Fiat Chrysler's presentation to investors overnight in Italy, the company has revealed its latest plans for Alfa Romeo, which it still hopes to fashion into a serious long-term competitor to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. Given sedan sales are shrinking, it's perhaps no surprise to learn plans for a BMW 5 Series competitor based on the Giulia platform have been shelved.

As expected, Sergio Marchionne's last five-year plan as head of Fiat Chrysler will broaden the Jeep range, and push the brand into more market segments than ever before. At investor conference in Balocco, Italy, the Italian-American company has confirmed it wants to build a long-rumoured A/B-segment Jeep to slot in underneath the Renegade, which is currently the smallest Jeep and measures 4.23 metres long.

McLaren Automotive has been handed the keys to its new Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Yorkshire, where it will eventually manufacture the carbon tubs central to its range of sports-, super- and super-sports cars. According to the company, its new facility will make more efficient the manufacturing process for its light, strong MonoCage and MonoCell chassis – once it's outfitted with the right hardware, naturally.

US President Donald Trump seems poised to escalate his trade wars, and looks to be opening up a new front in the automotive sector against dominant Germany luxury brands. The US President has told Emmanuel Macron, French President, he will keep going with his trade policies until there are no more Mercedes-Benz vehicles rolling down New York's Fifth Avenue, diplomats in Europe and the US have told Wirtschafts Woche.

A prototype believed to be the upcoming Audi SQ2 has been spied again in Europe, this time inside and out. While this vehicle looks like a standard version of the Q2, there are some clues indicating underneath the understated skin is a powerful little beast. Key changes include the quad-tipped exhaust out the back – a trademark of current Audi 'S' models – along with the bigger brakes behind the alloy wheels branded with the 'S' logo.