Car News

The new Volvo XC40 has been accidentally revealed by the company's Hungarian affiliate a week ahead of the car's official unveiling. With its launch scheduled for September 21, European time, Volvo posted a teaser video, with the XC40 dimly lit and artfully obscured, to its social media accounts.

BMW’s high-performance division says it is keeping an eye on up-and-coming manufacturers that are now competing in its segment, while admitting the recently launched Alfa Romeo Giulia QV is the closest rival to the M3 dynamically. Speaking to Australian media in Munich, the boss of BMW’s M Division, Frank Van Meel, said the company sees the changing landscape as a welcomed challenge more than a threat, even if it is always keeping itself aware of newcomers to the segment.

Korean luxury brand Genesis may be offering some performance-oriented petrol engines in its model range, but the company’s chief has suggested petrol power isn’t the answer for the ultimate in performance. Manfred Fitzgerald, senior vice president of Genesis, told media at the launch of the all-new Genesis G70 in Korea that he believes electrification will kill the traditional perception of a performance car.

Australian buyers purchase more Volkswagen hot hatches per capita than almost every other market worldwide, giving the company's local arm an excuse to roll out new models and special editions over the next year or so. Around 25 per cent of all Golfs sold here, for instance, wear GTI or R badges. In response, the company is about to launch the cheapest Golf GTI in 14 years, and a new entry stripped-back grade of the R.

BMW says that its range of upcoming and current electrified vehicles embody the brand’s dynamic focus, and that it will not sacrifice these characteristics in search of faster acceleration for the sake of numbers. Speaking to Australian motoring media at the Frankfurt motor show, Klaus Fröhlich, member of the board of management at BMW, said that all electric vehicles from the German brand have to provide the same emotional appeal a BMW powered by an internal combustion engine.