AD #4039 - Buick Launches New Brand in China; BYD 1st Foreign Brand to Make Kei Cars; Mercedes Getting Yolk Steering Wheel

Speaker 1: This is online daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry. BYD launched EVS in Japan two

years ago, and now it's planning to expand into a segment that no other foreign automaker has entered. According to

the Nikke newspaper, BYD is developing a K car for Japan that's expected to go on sale in twenty twenty six.

It's targeting a price of seventeen seven hundred dollars, which is below the current best selling K car, the Nissan Sakura, which starts at eighteen.

Speaker 2: Two hundred and fifty bucks.

Speaker 1: K cars are small vehicles that are unique to the Japanese market, which is why no other foreign automaker has attempted one yet. BYD currently sells four models in Japan,

and while sales are relatively small, it only sold twenty two hundred vehicles last year, that was more EV's than Toyota sold in Japan. Group revealed its next gen hybrid

power train that will soon power Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles.

The system features a new transmission with two integrated motors, which can be paired with either a two and a half liter turbo or a one point six liter turbo gasoline engine. Output of the hybrid system will range from

around one hundred to mid three hundred horse power Compared to the previous hybrid, The two and a half liter engine offers a two point nine percent increase in efficiency.

The company also says that the new hybrid has forty five percent better fuel economy and nineteen percent more power compared to ice power trains of the same class. The

two and a half liter debuts in the new Hyundai Palisade, which goes into production this month, and next year the group will introduce a rear drive version of the hybrid for Genesis. The Shanghai Auto Show kicked off earlier today,

and we've got a.

Speaker 2: Whole slew of reveals to look at.

Speaker 1: Volkswagen took the wraps off of three new concepts developed with its joint venture partners in China that are a preview of its upcoming models in the country. First up

is the id Era, which is a full size suv from Saic Volkswagen. It's a range extended EV that has

three hundred kilometers or one hundred and eighty six miles of pure electric range and more than one thousand kilometers or six hundred and twenty one miles a total range.

Next up is the ID Evo from Volkswagen Anui, a fully electric full size suv based on an eight hundred volt platform, and the last model is the ID Aura from FAW Volkswagen, which is based on the automaker's compact main platform with a zonal electronic architecture.

Speaker 2: All of the concept.

Speaker 1: Features VW's new Level two plus plus driving system, which was developed by Carrison, a joint venture between VW's Cariad software unit and China's Horizon Robotics. Audi revealed its first

production model for its China only brand Audi, which is spelled in all caps and doesn't have the four ring logo.

The E five Sportback, which was developed with SAIC, is an all electric car that features a one hundred kilowa hour battery pack with a maximum driving range of seven hundred and seventy kilometers or four hundred and seventy eight miles.

Speaker 2: It comes in.

Speaker 1: Rear or all wheel drive with four power outputs two hundred and twenty three hundred, four hundred and twenty five or five hundred and seventy nine kilowatts, and it's able to move from zero to one hundred kilometers an hour in three point four seconds. The E five sport Back

goes on sale this summer in China, and two more electric models will go on sale in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2: In twenty twenty.

Speaker 1: Seven, Audi is reimagining the brand in China to help boost its sales, which were down twelve percent last year.

Speaker 2: Performance that shines even in the rain, That's what really matters.

Speaker 3: Rich don't pretends to tires. Improved grip in wet conditions.

Speaker 1: Hey there, enjoy what you're watching, then consider becoming an Autoline member. Just click the join button on the Autoline

Network YouTube homepage, or we've also set up a Patreon account under Autoline Now. Absolutely nothing will change with the

content that we already provide you, but we're giving exclusive access to even more like early viewing of Autoline exclusives, behind the scenes videos, and even live Q and a's with John and I. Buick is spinning off the Electra

name into a new NAV sub branded China, and it will launch a new lineup of vehicles that are based on an all new platform called the Super Architecture. It

can support plug and hybrid, extended range electric and pure EV setups, as well as front, rear and all wheel drive.

The platform also features a nine hundred zonal electronic architecture and hands free and driver assistance tech provided by Momenta.

Buick showed off a range of body styles, including a sedan, a van, and an suv. The van, called the Encasa,

is the first to launch, and it's supposed to be out before the end of the year. It will be

offered in both six and seven seat configurations, as well as both plug and hybrid and pure electric. Buick also

revealed the GS concept, a sedan that's meant to preview the brand's future design direction. We think the side profile

and interior layout are pretty interesting, but we'd love to know your thoughts as well. And speaking of new electric vans,

here's the rest of the Mercedes Vision V concept that we were only able to briefly tease in yesterday's show.

It was several years ago that Mercedes Benz started saying it was going to start putting the same levels a luxury and craftsmanship into its vans as it does its passenger vehicles, and we think the Vision V is the first time it's really displayed that effort. This concept's main

attraction for us is the rear seating area that you enter through a side sliding door inside our two pillowy Captain's chairs that can be positioned in almost any possible way to allow users to take advantage of a huge retractable display screen which you can watch rise or lower through clear slats in the floor. Front seat passengers also

get similar pillowy seats and three display screens of their own as well. And sticking with Mercedes, the luxury brand

is likely coming out out with a yoke like steering wheel when it launches its first steer by wire system.

Speaker 2: In twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1: Since there's no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and tires, the steering ratio can automatically adjust depending on the situation, and when combined with rear wheel steering, Mercedes claims that you can park a car without regripping the steering wheel. However,

that does take some getting used to as a driver and engineers will have to be careful with the tuning of the system so people aren't crashing into other cars while pulling in and out of a parking spot. The

wheel shape also clears up space for the driver and gives a clearer forward view, but so far, yoke like steering wheels haven't been that popular with customers. The new

Renault five starts at just over twenty one thousand, five hundred euros or a little under twenty five grand, but you can't even put a deposit down on the performance version of the model for that kind of money. Anyone

interested in a Renault five Turbo THREEE has to make an appointment with a dealer and sign a reservation form for fifty thousand euros. That just gives them priority to

buy the car when it launches with a price tag of one hundred and.

Speaker 2: Fifty five thousand euros.

Speaker 1: While that's a huge jump over the base model, the R five Turbo THREEE is built on a custom design aluminum platform and features a carbon fiber structure combined with two rear in wheel electric motors that generate five hundred and forty horse power and a seventy kilo one hour battery pack. The car weighs a total of fourteen hundred

and fifty kilograms or just under thirty two hundred pounds, and it'll do zero to one hundred kilometers an hour in three and a half seconds. Renault says deliveries are

scheduled to kick off sometime in twenty twenty seven, but that brings us to the end of today's show. Thanks

for making autoline a part of your day.

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AD #4039 - Buick Launches New Brand in China; BYD 1st Foreign Brand to Make Kei Cars; Mercedes Getting Yolk Steering Wheel

Hyundai Genesis

Hyundai Palisade

Chevrolet Volt

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