Bentley will update its best-selling model – the Bentayga SUV – next year to bring it up to scratch with its latest models, and disguised prototypes have hit the road. Although not exactly long in the tooth, the Bentayga has been around since 2016 with no significant styling or technology upgrades. Since its launch an all-new Continental GT has come to market, while the latest generation of Flying Spur will arrive in dealers soon. In order to ensure the Rolls-Royce Cullinan rival isn’t left behind by both its competitors and its siblings, revisions to the exterior will bring it into line with the latest brand look. It’s too early to tell how extensive these will be, but expect a reshaped grille, fresh bumpers and tweaks to the lights front and rear. Just as significant will be the technology overhaul inside. The current car’s infotainment system is often criticised for feeling out of date next to cheaper siblings from Audi and Porsche, so the priority will be to bring in the latest system from the Continental GT and Flying Spur. A fully digital instrument display will likely also feature, while the range of active safety technology should advance. The flagship W12 engine is expected to receive upgrades to boost efficiency, but don’t expect anything dramatic across the rest of the range. The V8 is relatively new, too, while the six-cylinder plug-in hybrid model still isn’t on sale after a lengthy delay. Question marks remain over the diesel model, which was officially axed from the firm’s line-up in 2018. A change in attitude towards the fuel was blamed for its removal back then, but since then sister brand Audi has introduced several large capacity S-badged diesel models to its range. Expect to see more details emerge early next
Origin: Updated 2020 Bentley Bentayga to receive tech overhaul
overhaul
Tesla streamlines UK line-up with model price overhaul
Tesla has reconfigured its UK pricing structure and range as part of a move towards a simpler and more concise global line-up. The most significant alteration is the discontinuation of entry-level Standard Range variants of both the Model S luxury saloon and Model X SUV. To compensate for the reduction in choice, prices for both models in Long Range trim have been brought down by £800. In line with the removal of these Standard Range variants, Tesla has sought to distinguish the two remaining trim options with a £6300 price hike for the top-spec Model S Performance, and an increase of £5900 for the equivalent Model X. These two options are now available from £91,800 and £96,400 respectively. All Model S and X Performance variants will come as standard with the brand’s Ludicrous Mode, which brings 0-60mph times down to 2.4 seconds for the saloon and 2.7 seconds for the SUV. Lower down the range, the Standard Range Plus variant of the new Model 3 is now available from £36,490 (after application of the government’s £3500 plug-in car grant), a saving of £1560 over its initial £38,050 launch price. Meanwhile, prices for the dual-motor Model 3 Long Range Performance, which is capable of ultra-fast 200kW charging, have risen £550 to £49,140. This trim comes equipped as standard with performance wheels and a carbonfibre spoiler, and offers a 162mph top speed. A Tesla spokesperson said: “In order to make purchasing our vehicles even simpler, we are standardising our global vehicle lineup and streamlining the number of trim packages offered for Model S, Model X and Model 3. “We are also adjusting our pricing in order to continue to improve affordability for customers. Like other car companies, we periodically adjust pricing and available options.” UK pricing for the Model Y seven-seat compact SUV is still yet to be officially confirmed, with first deliveries not anticipated to take place before 2022. In the US, the new model is being offered from £35,500 in 300-mile Long Range
Origin: Tesla streamlines UK line-up with model price overhaul
VW brand to trim as many as 4,000 jobs amid digital overhaul
A Volkswagen badge on a Golf GTI steering wheel.Nick Tragianis / Driving Volkswagen’s main car brand will let lapse as many as 4,000 general and administrative jobs while adding at least 2,000 IT positions over the next four years, avoiding layoffs at its German factories as it negotiates a major shift toward electrification and self-driving cars. The move, brokered with VW’s powerful unions, includes job guarantees through 2029, the manufacturer said Wednesday in a statement. The brand will rely on partial retirement and attrition to help reach targeted staff reductions as it culls models and focuses on new technologies that require fewer factory workers. With earlier job cuts, VW is on track with a plan announced in March to improve profit by 5.9 billion euros (US$6.7 billion) a year, the unit’s chief operating officer, Ralf Brandstaetter, said in the statement. “We are making the company fit for the digital age in a sustainable way.” The prospect of deeper cutbacks had alarmed VW’s union leaders as manufacturers wrestle with the transformation of sprawling industrial operations. App-based services like ride-sharing and car-sharing are already threatening the industry’s traditional business model of individual car ownership — a trend that may accelerate once self-driving vehicles reach critical mass — and electric cars require fewer parts and workers for assembly. The extended job guarantee is “an important signal,” VW works council chief Bernd Osterloh said in Wolfsburg, near the company’s headquarters. VW signed a broader labor pact in 2016 to cull 30,000 jobs worldwide, with Germany accounting for 23,000, to generate about 3 billion euros in annual savings. The VW car brand, which accounts for about half the group’s global deliveries, employs roughly 110,000 workers in Germany out of a global workforce of 663,000 across the Volkswagen group, the world’s largest automaker. The unit has been pushing to rein in bloated expenses to lift profitability that’s trailing rivals like PSA
Origin: VW brand to trim as many as 4,000 jobs amid digital overhaul
Jaguar F-Type to get major overhaul for 2020 model year
Jaguar will release a heavily updated F-Type next year, and the first spy images of a disguised prototype have emerged. Spotted outside the firm’s Gaydon engineering centre, the camouflaged car shows significant styling alterations for Jaguar’s Porsche 911 rival, including a dramatic overhaul of the front end with a reshaped bonnet and slim headlights relocated further down the front fascia. A redesigned grille also features, while at the rear a new tail-light design can be seen with a squared-off rear profile mimicking the recently facelifted XE saloon. It’s the first major styling revision since the F-Type was launched in 2013. Although the prototype’s interior hasn’t been seen, it’s expected that much of the more advanced technology and infotainment features from the I-Pace and the 2019 XE will make its way into the F-Type. That means new digital dials, a larger and more feature-laden touchscreen, and substantial upgrades to the materials. Jaguar Land Rover is now phasing out the long-used supercharged V6 in favour of a new turbocharged and hybridised straight six, and the F-Type will benefit from this more efficient powertrain. The turbocharged four-cylinder and supercharged V8 engines should be carried over to the new car with limited changes, however. What remains unclear is whether the new F-Type will retain a manual option. The current V6 is still offered with one in the UK, although it has reportedly been removed from sale in the US. Regardless, manuals are a tiny fraction of overall F-Type sales. Jaguar’s priorities for 2019 are the roll-out of the new XE and the launch of a similarly updated XF and F-Pace. However, we could see the revised F-Type revealed before the year is out, with an on-sale date in the first few months of
Origin: Jaguar F-Type to get major overhaul for 2020 model year
All about car 