JAGUAR TO REPLACE S-TYPE WITH 'SPORTS SALOON':Jaguar has confirmed it will replace its current S-Type saloon with a new "sports saloon" to be called the XF, next autumn.
"The Jaguar XF is a new sports saloon that will challenge people to think again about Jaguar as daring and different," commented Bibiana Boerio, managing director of Jaguar Cars. Customer deliveries of the new Jaguar XF will commence in spring 2008, dependent on market.
Jaguar has declined to release any other information on the new car, but it is likely to carry some of the features from the R Coupé concept. Engines are likely to be in line with competitors, so we can expect a diesel version comparable with the current 2.7-litre, along with several petrol engines ranging from 3.2-litre and 3.5-litre to possibly even a 2.5-litre unit. Ford's range of engines will be at the engineers' disposal.
VW TO STOP MAKING GOLF IN BELGIUM:Volkswagen has offered workers threatened with layoffs at its Brussels plant the possibility of building a small Audi car from 2009. Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt and Audi head Martin Winterkorn will discuss the project on Friday, union officials said, after a works council meeting near Brussels.
Europe's biggest carmaker said last week it planned to stop making its best-selling Golf in the Brussels plant to cut costs, reducing the factory's 4,900 staff to 1,500. Rumours of the plans prompted workers in Brussels to strike and the industrial action is set to continue this week. Unions hope to draw 50,000 people to a demonstration in the centre of the Belgian capital on Saturday. The new Audi is expected to be the firm's long-awaited rival for the Mini.
CALL TO SELL OFF CHRYSLER:Growing ranks of shareholders in DaimlerChrysler are calling for a spin-off of loss-making Chrysler group, which they say is dragging down the group and damaging management's credibility. But that pits them directly against chief executive Dieter Zetsche and his team, who remain determined to hang on to the Chrysler group and restore it to profit.
NISSAN PLANS ELECTRIC CARS IN THREE YEARS:Nissan plans to develop and start selling subcompact electric cars powered by self-developed lithium-ion batteries in about three years, a Japanese business daily has claimed.
Nissan also plans to develop and sell petrol-electric hybrid cars by 2010 in an attempt to catch up with rivals Honda and Toyota in the field of eco-friendly vehicles, the paper said. In co-operation with its French partner Renault, Nissan will speed up the expansion of its line-up of diesel cars that are in growing demand globally, according to the report.
HONDA PUTS PRICE ON NEW CR-V:Honda has announced prices for its new CR-V, which will come with a new 2-litre petrol engine and its current 2.2-litre diesel. Two specifications will be on offer with prices starting at €42,400 for the manual 2-litre petrol - up €3,485 on the current model - and €43,485 for an automatic version. The diesel version will start at €45,495 and is only available in manual format.