March 3, 2008 www.autonewseurope.com · PAGE 17

Geneva: Green and getting greenerAutomakers will showenvironmentally friendly technologies for mass market

Paul McVeighAutomotive News Europe

The Geneva show halls will be awashwith cars of every color this year. Butonly one shade really matters: Green.

Pressured by EU legislators to cutCO2 emissions and by consumersworried about climate change, au-tomakers need to show they meanbusiness when they talk about reduc-ing the automobile’s effect on the en-vironment.

And that’s what they are expectedto do in Geneva.

Major auto shows have been rapid-ly shifting focus from big cars with bigengines to lighter and smaller carswith more full-efficient powertrains.

The trend was clear a year ago inGeneva. It was reinforced last Sep-tember at the IAA in Frankfurt. Andgreen technology was again featuredprominently in January in Detroit.

But the 2008 Geneva show, the 78thto be held in the Swiss city, could bea historic turning point. The showwill not just feature a growing arrayof environmentally friendly cars andtechnologies.

It will provide a vision of how thosetechnologies are likely to move fromthe premium segments, where mostinnovations start, to the volume carsectors, where most cars are bought.

Getting serious

This year’s Geneva exhibition willprovide some strong examples ofhow volume carmakers are gettingserious with their efforts to curb CO2. � Ford will highlight a version of its

new Fiesta small car with CO2emissions of less than 100g/km.The news is significant because thesmall-car segment is Europe’slargest and Ford’s sub-100g/km Fi-esta will offer car buyers a low-emissions car at an affordable price.

� Volkswagen will show a concept ofa Golf diesel-hybrid that the com-pany says will burn only 3.4 liters ofdiesel per 100km.

� Fiat’s 500 Aria, powered by a 1.3-liter diesel, will show how new tech-nologies can help bring CO2 emis-sions down to 98 grams/km from111g/km for the cleanest 500 nowon sale.

� Toyota will introduce the iQminicar and the Urban Cruisersmall SUV. Both models are aimedat reducing Toyota’s average CO2emissions in Europe.

More premium technologies

Premium carmakers will also showin Geneva that new technologies,previously reserved for their top-of-the-line models, are going into high-er-volume products.

Forget the hype about hybrids.Measures such as downsized enginesand weight reduction will be moreimportant in helping the Germanpremium carmakers make the big re-ductions in CO2 emissions that EU

lawmakers are demanding. BMW and Mercedes-Benz will

have hybrid cars on show in Geneva,but the emphasis will be on thebreadth of technologies they will de-ploy in the near-to-medium term.

Mercedes will debut the first pro-duction cars that feature its new fuel-saving BlueEfficiency technologies.BMW will show an X5 SUV with fur-ther developments of its EfficientDy-

namics technologies.With the focus on green technolo-

gies, Nissan has not chosen the besttime to introduce its luxury Infinitibrand or its G-TR supercar in Europe.

But Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn saysInfiniti is not looking for huge mar-ket share in Europe. He wants to re-duce Infiniti’s dependence on itsmain North American market andgive the brand a global footprint.

Ghosn’s other job is CEO of Re-nault. One of the most closelywatched launches in Geneva will bethe unveiling of a concept for the newMegane. Renault makes most of itsprofits from the Megane and its mini-van sibling, the Scenic.

With the current Megane’s salessliding steeply, Ghosn needs the new,third-generation Megane to be a hit.

Industry watchers say the currentMegane’s quirky styling was a turn-off for some buyers in the conserva-tive lower-medium segment.

Geneva visitors will study the con-cept to see if Renault’s designers haveheeded Ghosn’s demand that theyplace functionality and customertastes ahead of extravagant stylingfor new models.

Dacia announcement

Renault says it will make a majorannouncement about the future of itsRomanian brand Dacia in Geneva.Dacia, which makes the hit Loganlow-budget car, is increasingly im-portant to the French carmaker. By2011, Renault aims to sell 1.4 millionLogans annually.

Initially launched as a low-costsedan for developing markets, theLogan is becoming a model familywith station wagon, pickup and vanvariants. Dacia will show its Logan-based Sandero hatchback in Geneva.

Two Chinese brands will be inGeneva. BMW partner Brilliance Jin-bei Automotive will show large-seg-ment and lower-medium cars thatwill appear in European showroomsin the summer.

BYD Auto, which sold 2,566 cars in Russia last year, will announce its ambitious sales plans for the restof Europe.

Tata Motors’ stand in Geneva nor-mally is one of the less frequenteddisplays. This year, auto executiveswill head there to examine the Nano,a modern, roomy vehicle that will be the world’s cheapest car when it launches in India by the end of the year. ANE

Center stage

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The Tata Nano will bethe world’s cheapest carwhen it launches in Indiaby the end of the year.

Ford’s new Fiesta has asleek design to make itstand out in the hotly con-tested small-car segment.

The Dodge ZEO conceptis powered by a 200-kilowatt electric motorthat produces 268hp.

Dodge

Ford

Tata

Key world production debuts

�Alfa Romeo 8C Spider � Ford Fiesta� Ford Kuga�Honda Accord � Infiniti FX� Lancia Delta� Renault Koleos� Skoda Superb� Toyota iQ� Toyota Urban Cruiser�Volkswagen Scirocco�Volvo XC60

Key world concept debuts

�Opel Meriva � Renault Megane � Seat Ibiza� Saab 9-1X� Volkswagen Golf TDI Hybrid

Three to see

The 78th Geneva auto show will feature green cars, cheap cars and fast cars. For the show debuts from A to Z, see Pages 18 to 23.

Guide to the Geneva auto show

20080303-0017-ANE.qxd 2/29/08 12:31 PM Page 17

PAGE 18 · www.autonewseurope.com March 3, 2008

Geneva auto show

Audi will show a diesel version of its TTsports car. The TT roadster and coupe willget a 168hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel.Sales will begin shortly after the show.The carmaker also will unveil its fourth-generation A4 Avant. The station wagonwill be sleeker and sportier than the cur-rent model because it has a lowerroofline and more aggressively styledheadlights and taillights. Like the new lower-premium A4 sedanthat went on sale last November, the A4Avant also has LED daytime runninglights as standard. The car’s high-techoptions include adaptive cruise control,lane-departure warning and blind-spotwarning systems. The A4 is Audi’s best-selling car in Europe. Audi also will give its new A3 convertiblea show debut.

The car will have a folding softtop andwill challenge BMW’s 1-series convert-ible. Audi aims to build 20,000 A3 cabri-olets a year in Gyor, Hungary.

The car goes on sale in western Europethis month, priced at €27,950.

James Franey

BMW will debut a mild hybrid conceptbased on its X5 premium SUV. The carwill be packed with BMW’s latest Effi-cientDynamics technologies to cut CO2emissions and improve fuel economy.Powered by a four-cylinder 204hp, 2.0-liter diesel engine, the concept has CO2emissions of 172 grams per kilometer andfuel consumption of 6.5 liters per 100km.Among its fuel-saving measures are astop-start function that turns off theengine when the car is at a standstill anda generator that recycles energy frombraking to boost torque, accelerationand power electrical devices.A high-capacity lithium ion battery in theconcept’s trunk stores energy capturedduring brake regeneration.The concept also has solar cells covering1 square meter on the roof. The cellsgenerate power to operate devices suchas audio equipment, a mobile phonecharger or a cool box.The concept’s mild hybrid module isbased on technology developed by BMWin its hybrid partnership with rival Daimler.

The concept also will debut a new eight-speed transmission developed with ZF.BMW will also give the fourth-genera-tion M3 convertible a world debut. It willbe the first M model to feature aretractable hardtop instead of a softtop.The M3 convertible is the third high-per-formance version of the 3-series rangefrom BMW’s M in-house tuning divisionfollowing the coupe and a sedan.The M3 convertible is powered by a420hp 4.0-liter gasoline engine mated toa seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. IBMW’s X6 and 1-series coupe will have

European debuts after they were firstshown at the Detroit auto show in January.The X6 is a SUV/coupe crossover basedon the X5. It will target customers whowant a high-ride vehicle like an SUV butalso sporty, coupe looks. The X6 will goon sale in Europe starting May 31. X6prices in Germany will be between€56,800 and €73,800.The 1-series coupe will go on sale inEurope shortly after the Geneva show withprices in Germany starting at €28,550.

James Franey

Chevrolet

Citroen

BMW will debut fuel-efficient X5 SUV

Debuts for diesel TT and A4 Avant

8C Spider to lead US launch

Cadillac

Alfa Romeo will unveil the 8C Spider, aconvertible version of its flagship 8CCompetizione coupe that went on sale inEurope last October. The 8C Spider will go on sale in Europe ear-ly next year, priced at about €200,000. The8C Competizione costs €165,000 in Italy.The 8C models will lead the Italian sportscar brand’s return to North America. The8C Competizione will go on sale in the US

starting in July. US sales of the 8C Spiderwill begin early next year. Alfa also plansto start selling its 159 and Brera cars inthe US by the end of next year.Alfa will build just 500 units of the 8C Spi-der. The carmaker also plans to build just500 units of the 8C Competizione despitereceiving almost 2,000 orders for thecoupe. Both cars are based on a shortenedversion of the Maserati GranTurismo.

They use an Alfa version of Maserati’s405hp 4.2-liter V-8 engine with displace-ment increased to 4.7 liters and horse-power to 450hp.The Junior, Alfa’s first small car, will notbe shown. It will go on sale starting inSeptember and will be unveiled in Turinin June.

Luca Ciferri

Chevrolet expects its Aveo small car to become its best-selling European car this year, overtaking the Matiz, thebrand’s top seller last year with a70,877 volume, according to JATODynamics. Helping Aveo sales will be a three-doorhatchback that debuts in Geneva. The five-door Aveo hatchback wasunveiled at the IAA in Frankfurt lastSeptember. Both cars are built in General Motors’ joint-venture FSO

plant with UkrAVTO in Warsaw, Poland.The Aveo replaces the Kalos in westernEurope. Chevrolet plans to build100,000 Aveos annually in the Warsawplant.Chevrolet also will show its Corvette ZR1supercar. With a top speed of 320kph,the Corvette ZR1 will be GM’s fastestproduction car. Powered by a 620hp 6.2-liter, V-8 engine, the ZR1 will go onsale in Europe later this year targeted atPorsche 911 and Ferrari 599 buyers.

Citroen will show its new C5 in sedanand station wagon variants. Citroenwants to sell 150,000 units a year of thenew C5, about 3,000 more than thecurrent version sold in its peak year. In2002 the C5 had its best year with salesof 146,678 units. This followed thearrival of the station wagon variant. But quality problems have hurt C5sales. Citroen sold 47,845 C5s in Europelast year, according to JATO Dynamics. The C5 mainly will be aimed at businessfleets and will compete with cars suchas Renault’s new Laguna, the Volkswa-

gen Passat, Ford Mondeo andOpel/Vauxhall’s forthcoming Insignia.The new C5 is longer and heavier thanthe current car.Unlike the model it will replace, it has a trunk instead of a hatch. The C5 sedan will go on sale just after theGeneva show. Station wagon sales begin in the sum-mer. The wagon will be sold under thename C5 Tourer. Citroen also will debut a new passengerversion of its Berlingo, a car-derived vanbased on the C4 Picasso platform.

8C Spider

A4 Avant

Cadillac will show a hybrid version of itsEscalade premium SUV that will go onsale in the US in the summer. The Escalade hybrid has a 6.0-liter V-8 gasoline engine and an electricmotor that can power the car at lowspeeds in cities. Also on show will be a near-production

concept for a CTS coupe that likely willgo on sale in Europe starting in mid-2009 to help the US luxury brand com-pete better against BMW, Audi andMercedes-Benz. Cadillac also will showits second-generation CTS-V high-per-formance sedan and Provoq zero-emis-sion fuel cell concept.

China’s BYD Auto will unveil a hatch-back variant of its F3 sedan called theF3R. The lower-medium F3R could besold in Europe. BYD plans to sell cars inwestern Europe within 12 months,industry sources say. BYD also will dis-play its F1 small car, large-segment F6and gasoline-electric and plug-in elec-tric cars. BYD has two car assembly

plants in China with a combined300,000-unit annual capacity. Last yearits unit sales in Russia, its only Europeanmarket, rose 51 percent to 2,566.

Aveo

C5 Tourer

BYD

X5 Vision EfficientDynamics

F1

Want another copy?For a printer-friendly PDF version of the Geneva preview, go to:www.autonews.com/geneva

March 3, 2008 www.autonewseurope.com · PAGE 19

Geneva auto show

Brilliance Jinbei Automotive will unveilproduction versions of the BC3 coupe,BS4 sedan and a face-lifted BS6. Sales of the BS6 stopped last July andAugust after the large-segment sedandid badly in crash tests conducted by 11 national auto clubs, including Ger-many’s ADAC. Brilliance has redesigned 65 BS6 parts toimprove its safety. Spanish independenttester IDIADA crashed BS6 prototypes toEuroNCAP standards and says the sedanwould get a three-star rating. Production of the BS6 and BS4 will startin April or May at Brilliance’s factory inShenyang, near China’s border withNorth Korea. In Germany the BS6 willcost €19,900 and the BS4 €16,900. Thecars will start arriving at European dealersin the summer.

Douglas A. Bolduc

Chrysler will give a European debut to itsEcoVoyager, a minivan concept poweredby a 268hp electric motor and a smallfuel cell stack. The electric motor has a range of 60kmon a single charge. The fuel cell stacksupports the motor and extends therange to about 480km. The EcoVoyager was first unveiled at theDetroit auto show in January.

James Franey

Dacia will unveil the Sandero, a five-door hatchback version of its Logansedan. The Sandero will go on sale inwestern Europe in the summer pricedabove the Logan sedan, which starts at

€7,200 in Germany. The Sanderoalready is built in Brazil and sold inSouth America. European models willbe built in Dacia’s factory in Pitesti,Romania.

EcoVoyager

DaciaBrilliance to expand lineup

Chrysler will show electric minivan

BS4

Kuga, Fiesta will lead the way for FordFord will launch two new cars, the Kuga andFiesta, that will play an important role inkeeping the carmaker profitable in Europe.The Kuga will be the brand’s first Euro-pean-developed SUV. Its task will be towin new customers in the fast-growingmedium SUV segment.The Kuga will replace the US-built MaverickSUV, which sold just 2,553 units in Europelast year, according to JATO Dynamics.Ford will build 45,000 Kugas this year in itsSaarlouis, Germany, plant.With the Kuga, Ford will be the latest car-maker to challenge the Toyota RAV4’sdomination in the medium SUV segment. Volkswagen, Peugeot, Citroen and Opelhave launched RAV4 rivals in the past 18months and Renault will debut its Koleosmedium SUV in Geneva. The Kuga will go on sale from June with prices starting at about €27,000 in Germany.Ford has given the new Fiesta a sleek,aggressive design to make it stand out inthe hotly contested small-car segment.Its look is closely related to the Verveconcept that the automaker unveiled atthe 2007 IAA in Frankfurt.The new Fiesta will have a variant withCO2 emissions of less than 100 gramsper kilometer. The version will be thelatest Ford after the Focus and Mondeoto be sold under the ECOnetic labelthat the company uses for its mostfuel-efficient cars.ECOnetic models use measures such asaerodynamic changes, longer gear ratios,tires with low roll resistance and low-fric-tion oil to improve fuel economy.With nearly 373,000 Fiestas sold inEurope last year, according to JATODynamics, the Fiesta is Ford’s No. 2 sellerin Europe after the lower-medium Focus.

Fiesta production will begin in Ford’sCologne, Germany, factory in the autumnand in Valencia, Spain, early next year.The new Fiesta also will be built and sold

in China starting later this year and inNorth America starting in 2010.

John Revill

Kuga

Fiesta

Dodge will show its ZEO concept for anelectric-powered sports car. The 2+2 caris powered by a 200 kilowatt electricmotor mounted on the rear axle that

produces 268hp. Dodge says the ZEOconcept’s 64 kilowatt per hour lithiumion battery pack gives it a range ofabout 400km.

Dodge

Fiat will show contrasting versions of its500 minicar in Geneva. One will be the500 Aria, a concept car that will show-case fuel-efficient technologies. The other is the Abarth 500, which is asporty version of the highly successfulproduction 500. Powered by a 1.3-literdiesel engine, the 500 Aria has featuressuch as a stop-start system and an auto-mated manual transmission with longergear ratios. That will help cut CO2 emis-sions to 98 grams per kilometer from111g/km emitted by the cleanest 500currently on sale. Fiat has not saidwhether it will build the 500 Aria.

The Abarth 500 will go on sale in July,priced at €18,000, about €3,500 morethan the second-most powerful 500,the 100hp Sport variant with a 1.4-liternormally aspirated engine. The Abarth 500 is powered by a 135hpturbocharged 1.4-liter gasoline engine.Fiat has not released details of its CO2emissions.Fiat reintroduced the Abarth brand with the Punto Abarth at last year’sGeneva show. By 2009, the Italian carmaker hopes to sell about 10,000Abarth 500s a year and about 7,000 to 8,000 Punto Abarths.

Fiat

Fioravanti’s Hidra concept showcases asafe design for vehicles with alternativepowertrains. The five-door concept has a large spacein the middle for hydrogen tanks if it ispowered by a fuel cell powertrain or forbatteries if the car has a hybrid propul-sion system. This means the potentially dangeroustanks and batteries are better protected

in case of a road accident. Their low cen-ter of gravity also means the car’s han-dling is good.

Fioravanti

Hidra

ZEO

500 Aria500 Abarth

Sandero

PAGE 20 · www.autonewseurope.com March 3, 2008

Geneva auto show

Honda has added sophisticated technolo-gy to its new Accord to make it moreattractive to luxury-car buyers. The Japan-ese carmaker will debut sedan and stationwagon versions of the upper-medium carin Geneva. One new feature is electricpower steering linked to the car’s elec-tronic stability control. The system helpsthe driver to steer correctly in difficult dri-ving conditions. The new Accord sedanhas a sloping rear end to give it a fastbacklook. The station wagon looks sleekerbecause the current version’s square rearend is replaced by a tapered tail. Thesedan will go on sale starting in June, fol-lowed by the station wagon threemonths later. Both cars will be offeredwith 2.0- or 2.4-liter Euro 5-compliantgasoline engines or Honda’s new, second-generation 2.2-liter diesel engine, which is

more fuel-efficient than the currentengine and comes with a particulate filter. Honda also will give European debutsto its FCX Clarity, the world’s first pro-duction hydrogen fuel-cell car and itsCR-Z hybrid sports car concept.The FCX Clarity, a four-seat sedan, willbe available to lease in the US this sum-mer at $600 (about €400) a month.The CR-Z concept is a design study forHonda’s planned hybrid sports car.

Hyundai’s HED-5 concept previews asix-seat minivan planned by the Koreancarmaker. Based on the lower-mediumi30, the minivan likely will go on sale inEurope starting in 2010. The concept uses lightweight materialsto cut CO2 emissions by 29 percentcompared with similarly sized models.Hyundai did not release details of the materials but it cooperated withsuppliers Recaro, Bayer and LG to develop the concept. Hyundai also will show fuel-efficientvariants of its new i10 minicar including

a hybrid concept and an 800cc gasolineengine. The i10 replaces the Atos andwill go on sale shortly after the show.A face-lifted Matrix minivan also will debut.

Infiniti will unveil flagshipInfiniti is ready to challenge BMW, Mer-cedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus in Europe.Nissan’s premium brand, which was intro-duced in the US 20 years ago, is beingexpanded globally. Infiniti will give its sec-ond-generation FX flagship a world debutin Geneva. It plans to sell three modelsfrom its five-car lineup in western Euro-pean markets starting in October. Nissan’sEuropean technical center in London hasgiven the cars a harder suspension andstronger brakes to cope with the fast

speeds on Germany’s autobahns. The FXwill target the Porsche Cayenne andBMW’s X5 and X6 models. ChallengingBMW’s X3 will be the Infiniti EX while theG sedan and coupe will rival cars such asthe BMW M3 and Audi A5. Infiniti will notsay whether its other models – the QXSUV and the M upper-premium sedan –will come to Europe. Infiniti was launchedin Russia last year.

Bettina Mayer

After its Detroit auto show debut inJanuary, Jeep gives its Renegadeconcept a European intro-duction in Geneva. TheRenegade has a lithiumion battery pack pow-ering twin electricmotors, one attachedto each axle. Therange is extended bya 1.5-liter, three-cylin-der diesel.

Hummer needs a small SUV to helpboost its modest European sales. TheHX concept previews what could beHummer’s smallest vehicle. It is about the same size as the JeepWrangler. Hummer says the HX is thebrand’s most fuel-efficient model. Its 3.6-liter V-6 gasoline engine can run on environmentally friendlybioethanol fuel. If built, the HX likely would go on sale asthe H4. Last year Hummer sold 1,208

vehicles in Europe, up from 698 the year before, according to JATODynamics.

Italdesign Giugiaro’s Quaranta concepthighlights ways in which new technolo-gies can be used to produce a fast, fuel-efficient sports car. The 3+1 seater ispowered by Toyota’s gasoline-electrichybrid technology and can reach speedsup to 250kph. It also has solar panelsthat can power the cockpit air condi-tioning system and recharge vehicle’selectric battery. Quaranta means 40 inItalian. Italdesign Giugiaro chose thename for the concept to mark the com-pany’s 40th anniversary.

Kia aims Soul at young buyers

Kia will unveil three versions of its Soulconcept for a boxy crossover aimed atthe “young and young at heart.”The concepts are updated versions of adesign study Kia first unveiled at the2006 Detroit auto show.Kia has only released details of one of thethree Geneva concepts, the Soul Burner.It says the Soul Burner is the “bad boy” ofthe three concepts with a satin-black fin-ish and gloss dragon tattoos.Kia says the production Soul will offeroptions that will allow buyers to person-alize the car, a perk that it hopes willappeal to younger buyers.

The production version of the five-seathatchback/SUV crossover will debut atthe Paris auto show in October. The carwill go on sale in Europe starting in thespring of 2009.Kia is not saying if the production modelwill be called the Soul.The Korean carmaker also will show itsnew Eco-Cee’d range in Geneva. Eco-Cee’ds will be fuel-efficient versions ofthe Cee’d lower-medium car. The Eco-Cee’d will have stop-start technology,six-speed manual transmissions withlonger gear ratios and improved aerody-namics to reduce fuel consumption.

Kia will sell five- and three-door versionsas well as a station wagon variant of theEco-Cee’d starting in December.At the 2007 IAA in Frankfurt, Kia showeda three-door Eco-Cee’d powered by a1.6-liter diesel engine that reduced fuelconsumption by 17 percent to 3.9liters/100km and CO2 emissions by 8.4percent to 104g/km compared with theequivalent standard model.Face-lifted versions of Kia’s Sportagemedium SUV and Picanto minicar alsowill debut.

John Revill

Honda

Hummer

Hyundai

Jeep

Accord station wagon

FX

Phot

o:A

utom

edia

Land Rover will give a European debut tothe LRX concept that was first shown atthe Detroit auto show in January. If built,the model would give the Land Rover asporty looking three-door entry-level

offering. Based on a shortened version ofthe Freelander platform, the LRX is thefirst vehicle to be done under the aus-pices of new design director GerryMcGovern. It previews new styling cues

for the brand. Land Rover also will show a60th anniversary edition of its iconicDefender SUV.

Tony Lewin

LRX

Land Rover will show entry-level SUV

HX

HED-5

Quaranta

Renegade

Italdesign-Giugiaro

Soul

March 3, 2008 www.autonewseurope.com · PAGE 21

Geneva auto show

Lancia aims to attract buyers from thelower- and upper-medium segmentswith its new Delta.In the lower-medium segment, the Ital-ian near-premium brand wants to winback customers similar to those whobought 664,221 units of the first- andsecond-generation Delta cars that weresold between 1979 and 1999.In the upper-medium segment, Lanciawants to attract people who bought theLybra station wagon that was discontin-ued in 2005.

To attract lower-medium buyers, Lanciahas designed the Fiat Bravo-based Deltaas a sleek, sporty-looking hatchback. It has also stretched the Bravo’s wheel-base by 100mm to 2700mm and lengthby 165mm to 4500mm to offer morepassenger and luggage space than inmost lower-medium hatchbacks toappeal to station wagon buyers.The Delta is the first all-new Lancia sincethe introduction of the Musa minivan in2004. The car will play a major role in thebrand’s ambitions to double its annual

sales to 300,000 units by 2010. Lanciahopes to sell about 70,000 Deltas a year,about half of them in its Italian homemarket. The Delta goes on sale in ContinentalEurope starting in June. A right-hand-drive version will be launched in the UKby year-end, marking Lancia’s return tothat market after a 14-year absence.Lancia plans to sell 10,000 Deltas outsideEurope, including Japan and Australia.

Luca Ciferri

For the first time, Mazda will sell a three-door variant of its Mazda2 small car. TheJapanese carmaker hopes the three-doorwill attract younger buyers because it willbe sportier and cost less than the five-door that went on sale in September.

Lexus will give a European debut to theLF-A roadster that was first shown at theDetroit auto show in January. The con-cept previews a potential range-toppingsupercar for Toyota’s luxury brand. Lexusalso will launch its F badge for high-per-formance cars in Geneva.

Mitsubishi’s Proto-type-S conceptpreviews thedesign of theLancer five-doorhatchback thatwill go on salestarting later thisyear. The concept’s aggressive-lookingfront end and wide, low proportionsshowcase the Japanese carmaker’s newsportier design.

Nissan willshow its newGT-R supercarand Muranomedium SUValongside thequirky Pivo 2 concept. Powered bya 480hp, 3.8-liter, V-6 gasoline engine, theGT-R will be the brand’s top model when itgoes on sale in Europe in March 2009.European sales of the second-generationMurano will begin in October. Nissan saysthe zero-emissions Pivo 2 electric car con-cept is an innovative solution to futuretransport needs. The concept has by-wirebrakes, steering and drivetrain as well as arotating cabin so the driver can always faceforward in the direction of travel.

Lamborghini will unveil a new Gallardowith a more powerful engine. The GallardoLP560/4 will go on sale starting in Junepriced at about €180,000 in Italy, €15,000more than the current Gallardo coupe. TheLP560/4 will have a 560hp, 5.2-liter V-10engine, compared with a 519hp, 5.0-literV-10 in the current model.

Lamborghini

Lexus

Mazda

Mitsubishi

Lancia’s Delta will target 2 segments

Delta

Pivo 2

Nissan

Prototype S concept

Mazda2 3-door hatchback

PAGE 22 · www.autonewseurope.com March 3, 2008

Geneva auto show

Mercedes-Benz will debut the first production cars that feature its new fuel-saving BlueEfficiency technologies.The BlueEfficiency label is Mercedes’answer to BMW’s EfficientDynamicstechnologies.Mercedes also will unveil a mild hybridconcept of its new GLK class.Mercedes will unveil versions of its high-volume C 180 Kompressor, C 200CDI and C 350 CGI sedans that will be sold under the BlueEfficiency label.To reduce fuel consumption and CO2emissions by up to 12 percent, the carsfeature downsized engines, better aerodynamics and lighter constructionmaterials .Fuel-efficient versions of its existing line-

up will be more important than hybridcars to help Mercedes cut its average CO2fleet emissions in Europe.Mercedes says the CO2 emissions of itsVision GLK Bluetec Hybrid are lower thanany production SUV currently on sale at157g/km. The concept uses 5.9 liters ofdiesel per 100km.Powered by a 224hp, 2.2-liter dieselengine, the GLK Bluetech Hybrid conceptuses fuel-saving features such as brakeregeneration and stop-start.Mercedes will unveil the production GLKclass at the Beijing auto show in April.Sales start in Europe in October and inthe US next January.The GLK class will be built in Mercedes’plant in Bremen, northern Germany.

Mercedes also will show its new CLC-classentry-premium coupe, which goes onsale in Europe in June with prices in Ger-many starting at €28,113. Mercedes willassemble the CLC from kits at its under-used factory in Juiz de Fora, Brazil.Mercedes also will debut new high-per-formance versions of its SL coupe from itsin-house tuner AMG. The SL 63 AMG andmore powerful SL 65 AMG will be the firstMercedes cars to feature a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission for fastershift times.The SL also will be shown inGeneva with a face-lift that includes arestyled hood, front fenders and head-lights and a new single-bar grille.

James Franey & Matthias Krust

To maximize sales of its new 308 lower-medium car, Peugeot will show newvariants in Geneva. The 308 RC Z will bea near-production concept for a two-seat sports car that Peugeot will launchas a low-cost rival to Audi’s TT coupe.The French brand also will debut a sta-tion wagon variant of the 308, calledthe 308 SW. The 308 SW will go on salestarting in the summer with five- and

seven-seat options. The 308 SW’swheelbase is 100mm longer than thehatchback. Its panoramic roof is 27 percent larger than the glass roof on the 307 SW that it will replace.

Pininfarina’s Sintesi concept for acoupe-styled four-door car shows howto produce a vehicle with a bulky fuelcell powertrain and still offer thelegroom normally found in premiumcars. The concept has an extremelylong wheelbase at 2990mm. In the Sin-tesi, Pininfarina has placed an electricmotor into each of the wheels, whilefour fuel cell stacks are positioned on

the vehicle frame near the wheels. Acentral tunnel houses a biofuel tankand a reformer that transforms the biofuel into hydrogen.

New Seat design director Luc Donker-wolke’s fresh styling direction for theSpanish brand will be shown on acoupe-styled concept for a new Ibiza inGeneva. The fourth generation of Seat’sNo. 1 seller likely will have some of thesharper lines and well-defined shapesthat debuted on the Tribu SUV concept

at the 2007 IAA in Frankfurt. The Gene-va car will be a near-production con-cept. A five-door production version ofthe Ibiza will debut at the Madrid autoshow in June and go on sale in the sum-mer. A sportier three-door Ibiza inspiredby the Geneva concept likely will debutat the Paris auto show in October.

Skoda’s second-generation Superb willbe more upscale to make it moreattractive to buyers than the slow-sell-ing current model. The new Superb willbe the first Volkswagen group car toget an adaptive front lighting system,which changes the angle of the head-lamp beam to suit different drivingconditions. Another upscale feature is atouch-screen interface. The Superb alsohas a new tailgate opening system that

allows the entire tailgate, including therear window, to be opened to load largeitems. For smaller loads, just the trunklid can be opened. The car will go on sale starting in July. A station wagon variant will follow next year.

Subaru’s third-generation Forester istaller, longer and wider than the cur-rent model and is now closer in size toits Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4medium-SUV rivals. The new Foresterwill go on sale with a gasoline enginestarting next month. In the autumn, aversion will be offered with Subaru’snew 150hp 2.0-liter boxer dieselengine. Subaru also will show dieselversions of the Legacy sedan and Out-

back station wagon. Subaru also willexhibit its R1e plug-in electric 2+2minicar and its G4e concept for a five-seat, plug-in electric minicar.

Saab will preview concepts for two newcars. The General Motors subsidiaryhopes that by expanding its lineup itwill become profitable. The 9-1X pre-views a new entry-premium car thatwill challenge BMW’s 1 series and Vol-vo’s C30. The production 9-1 will notgo on sale until after 2010, a company

source said. It will be built in Saab’shome plant in Trollhättan. After its unveiling at the Detroit auto show in January, the 9-4XBiopower concept is shown for the first time in Europe. The study previews a new SUV-stylecrossover planned for production.

Rolls-Royce is finally on a sales roll.Last year the British ultraluxury brandsold 1,010 cars, passing the 1,000annual sales target parent companyBMW set when it relaunched the brandin 2003. To help boost sales evenmore, Rolls-Royce will unveil in Genevathe Phantom Coupe, the third Phan-tom variant after the longer sedan andDrophead Coupe softtop convertible.

The two-door four-seat coupe is littlechanged the 101EX concept firstshown at the 2006 Geneva auto show.Worldwide deliveries start in June.

Sintesi

Pininfarina

Rolls-Royce

Phantom Coupe

Forester

Superb

Renault’s first SUV and a concept for thenew Megane will be the important carson the automaker’s Geneva stand.The Megane concept will show howRenault plans to refresh its key lower-medium range to boost falling sales.The Megane is Renault’s No. 2 seller inEurope after the Clio, but the Megane’ssales dropped to 268,246 last year from298,919 the year before, according toJATO Dynamics.Geneva visitors will be watching closelyto see if Renault designers have toneddown the carmaker’s quirky styling forthe third-generation Megane. The cur-rent Megane’s extended rear end waswidely criticized as too extreme in theconservative lower-medium segment.Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has told hisdesign teams that customer taste andfunctionality must replace extravagantstyling in new models.The Geneva design study will be a prototype for a two-door coupe thatlikely will replace the Megane three-door hatchback.The production Megane will debut at theParis auto show in October. Renault will show the Koleos medium

SUV. When it goes on sale starting inJune, the Koleos will be the French car-maker’s first SUV. The Koleos will offerall-wheel-drive technology developed forthe Nissan X-Trail. Designed at Renault’s technical center inGuyancourt, near Paris, and developed byNissan engineers in Japan, the Koleos willbe built in Renault Samsung's factory inBusan, Korea, and exported to Europe.Renault’s Korean subsidiary plans tobuild 100,000 units of the Koleos and itssister model, the Samsung QM5, this

year, with about 60 percent of produc-tion going abroad.The Koleos will be sold with a Renault2.0-liter diesel engine with 175hp or150hp or Nissan’s 170hp, 2.5-liter gaso-line powerplant.Renault also will debut the Laguna GT, ahigh-performance version of its newupper-medium Laguna, and the TwingoRenaultsport, a performance version ofits Twingo minicar.

Wim Oude Weernink

Meriva concept

Mercedes debuts its fuel-sippers

308 SW

Vision GLK Bluetec Hybrid

C 350 CGI BlueEfficiency sedan

Opel aims to stay ahead with stylish Meriva

Renault will unveil Megane concept

Koleos

Saab

Opel’s Meriva concept has rear-hingedrear doors that open wider than front-hinged doors to make it easier for pas-sengers to get in and out.The concept’s front and rear doors canopen independently of each other. Rear-hinged rear doors already on the marketcan only be opened after the front doorhas been opened.If Opel decides to keep the doors for theproduction Meriva, the feature could helpthe minivan to stay ahead in the competi-tive European small minivan segment.The Meriva still leads that segment but

its sales fell to 134,000 last year from166,000 the year before, according toJATO Dynamics. The Meriva concept transfers the brand’snew design language to a minivan andenhances it further, Opel says. The concept has the distinctive tick-shaped lines that appeared on the GTCCoupe and Flextreme concepts last year.The rear lights echo the Insignia, Opel’snew upper-medium car that will go onsale in Europe starting in the autumn.

John Revill

Seat

Skoda

Subaru

Peugeot

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Geneva auto show

Volvo says its new XC60 SUV-styledcrossover will be the first car to offer a safe-ty system that helps the driver avoid low-speed accidents common in city traffic.Called City Safety, the system automati-cally brakes the XC60 if it is about to havea front-impact collision. The system iseffective at speeds of up to 32kph.“The XC60 is the safest car Volvo has everproduced,” Volvo CEO Fredrik Arp said ina statement.Volvo says the XC60 will target urban

buyers looking for the high ground clear-ance of an SUV and the sporty looks of acoupe.The XC60 will compete in the fast-grow-ing niche for premium SUVs. It will rivalthe BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLK classand Audi Q5.Volvo hopes to sell 50,000 XC60s a year.Its five largest markets are expected to bethe US – with projected annual sales of15,000 to 20,000 units – Germany, theUK, Russia and China.

XC60 sales begin in Europe in the sum-mer and in the US early next year.The XC60 will be built at the Volvo’s fac-tory in Ghent, Belgium.

Wim Oude Weernink

XC60 will be safest Volvo

Suzuki’s Concept A-Star previews aminicar that will replace the Alto. Suzuki says the production A-Star willhave CO2 emissions of 109 grams perkilometer or less using a new Euro 5-compliant, 1.0-liter gasoline engine.First shown at the New Delhi autoshow in January, the A-Star will be builtin India and exported to Europe start-ing early next year. Suzuki also will build 50,000 units a

year of the car for Nissan to sell inEurope. Suzuki will also show its design studies for a new upper-medi-um car, the Concept Kizashi and Con-cept Kizashi 2.

Volkswagen will debut its new Sciroccocoupe and a Golf diesel-hybrid concept.The Scirocco will be more of an imagebooster than a volume seller for VW.VW plans to build 28,000 Sciroccos ayear at its Setubal, Portugal, plant,industry insiders say. The car goes on

sale in Europe starting in June. Sciroccoprices likely will start at about €21,500in GermanyThe Golf TDI Hybrid has a diesel engineand an electric motor. The car can runon electric power alone and uses 3.4 liters of fuel per 100km.

It will not be seen on European roadsanytime soon, but Geneva show visitorswill get a chance to have a close look atthe Nano minicar at Tata Motors’ stand.Rival automakers were initially skepticalthat Tata could produce such a low-cost car. Now they are keen to see howTata has managed to create a modern,roomy vehicle that will be the world’scheapest car when it launches in Indiaby the end of the year.Tata will sell the Nano in India at pricesstarting at 100,000 rupees (about€1,700) plus value-added tax and trans-portation charges. Last month, GirishWagh, head of Tata’s compact car busi-ness, said the Indian carmaker could sell asecond-generation Nano in Europe.“We will develop a successor model infour years time that will meet the Euro 5emission regulations and the crash stan-dards in Europe,” Wagh told Germanweekly magazine Focus.Tata has said it initially will produceabout 250,000 Nanos a year, possibly ris-ing to 1 million units.The automaker will focus on the home

market for two to three years beforeconsidering exporting the Nano to coun-tries in Africa, Latin America and South-east Asia.The Nano meets India’s current frontal-crash safety test standards and Euro 4emissions standards. The base car is pow-ered by a 33hp 624cc two-cylinderengine that gives the car a top speed of

104kph to 105kph. It uses 5 liters ofgasoline per 100km.Tata said the Nano will be equipped withbigger engines, including diesels, andmore advanced features. At 3100mm,the four-door Nano is about 440 mmshorter than Fiat’s Panda minicar.

Staff report

XC60

Nano

Concept A-Star

Toyota

Suzuki

Volkswagen

Nano will be a head-turner in Geneva

Toyota will debut production versionsof the Urban Cruiser small SUV and iQminicar. The five-door Urban Cruiserwill be positioned below the RAV4medium SUV and will target smallSUV buyers in cities and large towns.The Yaris-based Urban Cruiser will goon sale in the first half of the nextyear. The 3+1 iQ will go on sale in Jan-uary 2009. The minicar has an unusu-al seating arrangement: two adult-sized seats in front and one in back,plus a child’s seat behind the driver.Toyota plans to sell 80,000 iQs a yearin Europe. It will cost about €13,000.

Urban Cruiser

iQ

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