The arrival of the Model 3 in Tesla’s lineup called for more contrast between the bigger Model S and Model X ranges. Therefore Tesla has hiked the performance figures for the base models of the latter two.
All car manufacturers are now part of a rat-race to go green. As countries like Norway, France, and Germany have vowed to eliminate the use of fossil fuel-powered cars in the next few decades, European carmakers have no option but to act accordingly. Volvo has recently announced that they will only sell hybrids and electric vehicles from 2019, stopping the production of the petrol-only and diesel cars altogether.
Months have flown by since the day Tesla announced the Model 3, a baby brother to the popular Model S sedan. After numerous spy shots, rumours, renderings and a faceless prototype, production of the Model 3 has actually started and the very first example is slated for the company’s CEO, Elon Musk.
When we attended the Honda Meeting 2017 press conference in Japan, at the carmaker’s Tochigi R&D centre, we got an unexpected taste of some of the company’s latest products. The cars on hand to drive were the much-hyped Honda Civic Type-R, the new Honda Clarity range of hybrid/electric vehicles, and a Honda Civic Dynamic Study prototype. While our time with each of them was limited to a few minutes, if you ever get your hands on these on the same day, you’d have a completely different view of Honda as a carmaker than you would when walking into a local Honda showroom.
German mail delivery company DHL has revealed plans for selling a self-built electric vehicle that they created in 2013. In 2011, DHL’s Global Forwarding division teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership to develop plans to improve DHL’s operating efficiency. This resulted in the creation of the StreetScooter in 2013 which they intend to sell to the public now.
In a bid to do their bit to save the environment, car manufacturers have turned to many alternate propulsion choices for their cars. Honda chose to go with hydrogen fuel cells to power their Clarity Fuel Cell model a few years ago. And now, they’ve come up with two additions to the range, namely the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid and the Clarity Electric, to utilise other more popular green propulsion methods.
As an alternative to the V6-powered Ford Taurus Interceptors in the United States, Ford has revealed a pursuit-rated version of their Fusion hybrid sedan.
At last year’s Paris Motor Show, Porsche unveiled the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid which churned out 462 hp and 700 Nm from its hybrid powertrain that consisted of a bi-turbo 2.9-litre V6 and an electric motor. Now, Stuttgart has revealed a more powerful version of the hybrid Panamera with 680 hp. Say hello to the 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.
Chinese manufacturer BYD has rolled out a new model called Tang 100 with some numbers that promise a lot.
Tesla today will begin accepting online orders for Model S and Model X in the UAE. Customers in the UAE can now visit the online design studio website to customise and order the Tesla vehicle. First orders of Model S and Model X vehicles are expected to be delivered in Dubai this summer.