AD #2536 – Alfa Pumps the Brakes on New Models, Toyota Dropping the Prius c, Ford Gets Out of Heavy Trucks in Brazil

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

ALFA PUMPS THE BRAKES ON NEW MODELS
Looks like Alfa Romeo is hitting the brakes when it comes to developing more new models. It was going to come out with two more crossovers, a C-segment one smaller than the Stelvio, and an E-segment one that would be bigger. But Autoforecast Solutions reports that those crossovers were cancelled. Also, Alfa cancelled plans for a high-end sports car called the 8C and a small sports coupe called the GTV. We’re guessing these new models would have cost a fortune to develop, but Alfa doesn’t have the sales volume to support them, at least not yet.

BMW TO AXE 6 SERIES GRAN TURISMO
Speaking of cancellations, Autoforecast Solutions says that the next generation of the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo is getting the axe. Apparently BMW felt the Gran Turismo was going to cannibalize the lower end of the 8 Series Gran Coupe. And so it decided to keep the one that can make more money.

TOYOTA TO PART WAYS WITH PRIUS C
Remember how we wondered why Toyota needed the Prius after it revealed the spectacular fuel economy for the new Corolla Hybrid? Well, it is getting rid of the Prius to make way for the Corolla… sort of. Toyota confirmed it’s phasing out the smaller Prius c in the U.S. market. There’s only about 700 left in stock, which at its current rate will take about 2 months to sell. For all of 2018 Toyota sold about 8,400 Prius c’s in the U.S.

CIVIC HATCHBACK PRODUCTION COULD COME TO U.S.
This should make President Trump happy. Honda could bring production of the Civic Hatchback to North America. It’s currently made at Honda’s plant in the U.K., but as we know it just announced it’s closing that plant in 2021. Honda could bring hatchback production to North America because nearly 20% of all Civic sales here are hatchbacks, which is exceeding it expectations.

CITROEN AMI ONE CONCEPT
Have you noticed that Citroen’s concept cars look so much cooler than what you can buy in its showrooms? Check out this bug-like pod, called the Ami One Concept, which is the automaker’s vision of urban mobility for all. It’s fully electric and is meant to take the place of sharing, buying or renting a car in an urban environment. Citroen says it could see the Ami One being used for a 5 minute trip or up to a 5 year, long-term rental. It sure looks a lot better than its namesake, the original Citroen Ami. This ugly bugger was sold in Europe in the 1960’s and 1970’s and was instantly nicknamed the Atomic Cockroach. I mean, can you imagine being the design chief who signed off on this monstrosity?

FORD DROPS HEAVY TRUCKS IN BRAZIL
It seems that every time you turn around some automaker is announcing yet another restructuring. Now Ford says it’s going to get out making heavy trucks in Brazil and close its plant in Sao Bernado do Campo. Even though Ford stopped making semis in the U.S. decades ago, it continued to make them in Brazil. Well, not anymore. It’s also dropping the F-4000 and F-350 in Brazil, which are kind of equivalent to its super Duty trucks in the U.S. Closing the plant and dropping these models doesn’t come cheap. Ford will pay out roughly $460 million to employees, suppliers and dealers. Ford says it will now concentrate on light pickups and SUVs in the South American market.

SUBARU VIZIV ADRENALINE CONCEPT
We’re seeing a lot of teaser images coming out as automakers get ready for the Geneva auto show. Subaru released this picture of the VIZIV ADRENALINE CONCEPT. It has shown the VIZIV TOURER CONCEPT and the VIZIV PERFORMANCE CONCEPT in the past and this one looks like a combination of both, a performance utility vehicle.

SKODA VISION iV INTERIOR
Skoda is giving us an idea of what the interior will look like in its VISION iV concept, which is an all-electric vehicle based on VW’s MEB platform. Note the floating infotainment screen and 2-spoke steering wheel.

MERCEDES TO REVEAL EQV IN GENEVA
Mercedes gave this overhead shot of its Geneva booth. Somewhere in there is the EQV, what Mercedes says it nearly production ready and will be the world’s first SUV in the premium segment with purely battery-electric drive. Tesla may dispute that claim with the Model X, and Jaguar with the I-Pace, but Mercedes must have some little nuance that the lawyers signed off on to make this claim.

ASTON MARTIN CONFIRMS NEW HYPERCAR
Aston Martin confirmed it’s making a new hypercar, currently called the 003. It says the car a direct descendent of the Valkyrie, but more for the road, including space for luggage. The 003 is powered by a turbocharged gas-electric hybrid engine, only 500 coupe versions will be made and it’s expected to go on sale in late 2021.

Electric cars can deliver blistering performance. But do you know how electric motors work? Or how you can design them for better efficiency? Me neither. That’s why we have Dave Fulton from Borg Warner coming on Autoline After Hours tomorrow. He’s an EV powertrain expert who will teach us the modern day equivalent of re-jetting the carb, milling the head and polishing the ports. So join me, Gary Vasilash and Henry Payne from the Detroit News for a deep dive into electric performance.

And that’s it. No more Autoline Daily today. But we’ll be back here tomorrow.