Renault-Nissan Alliance to launch 10 autonomous models over the next four years.

• World's fourth largest car group confirms autonomous drive and connectivity timeline through 2020
• Fatal and serious injuries have been significantly reduced; new technologies will help make cars even safer
• Car group hires new executive to oversee connectivity and connected car services globally

The Renault-Nissan Alliance will launch more than 10 vehicles with autonomous drive technology in the next four years. The global car group confirmed today that it will launch a range of vehicles with autonomous capabilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and China through 2020. 

The technology will be installed on mainstream, mass-market cars at affordable prices.

In addition, Renault-Nissan will launch a suite of new connectivity applications that will make it easier for people to stay connected to work, entertainment and social networks.

"Renault-Nissan Alliance is deeply committed to the twin goals of 'zero emissions and zero fatalities,'" Renault-Nissan Alliance chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said at the Renault-Nissan Silicon Valley Research Center. "That's why we are developing autonomous driving and connectivity for mass-market, mainstream vehicles on three continents."

Zero emission and zero fatalities

Renault-Nissan is already the industry's zero-emission leader by far. The Alliance has sold nearly 300,000 all-electric vehicles since the first Nissan LEAF was sold in the San Francisco Bay Area in December 2010.

Safety and efficiency of vehicles across the Renault-Nissan Alliance have increased dramatically. For instance, fatal and serious injuries in Nissan vehicles in Japan decreased 61 percent in 20 years; fatal and serious injuries in Renault vehicles in France decreased 80 percent in 15 years.

Autonomous drive is expected to help further reduce driver error, which is responsible for up to 90 percent of all fatalities.

The year 2016 will mark the debut of vehicles with "single-lane control," a feature that allows cars to drive autonomously on highways, including in heavy, stop-and-go traffic. 

In 2018, Renault-Nissan will launch vehicles with "multiple-lane control," which can autonomously negotiate hazards and change lanes during highway driving. And 2020 will see the launch of "intersection autonomy," which can navigate city intersections and heavy urban traffic without driver intervention.

Later this year the Alliance will launch a new automotive app for mobile devices, which allows remote interaction with your car. 

Next year, it will launch the first "Alliance Multimedia System," providing new multimedia and navigation features, as well as improved smartphone integration and wireless map updates. In 2018, the Alliance Connectivity & Internet of Things platform will support the new Virtual Personal Assistant feature for individual and business customers.

All of the Alliance's autonomous drive technology will be available at the option of the driver.

Convergence for the win

In 2014, Renault-Nissan "converged" both companies' engineering organizations. Engineers at Renault and Nissan work together as one team to reduce duplication in the development of next-generation technologies. 

The technology Renault and Nissan engineers develop together is then available for each company and all brands to use where it makes sense for consumers.

In other words, Renault-Nissan engineers have developed a "technology tool kit," including hardware and software applications. Product teams from Renault, Nissan, Infiniti and other Alliance brands may select those applications for their models, where appropriate. 

By partnering on advanced research and development, Renault and Nissan are able to work more efficiently, with less cost, and thereby deliver higher value vehicles to their customers.

Renault-Nissan has a research and development budget of about US$5 billion. The world's fourth largest car group, which sells one in 10 cars globally, has research centers in Atsugi, Japan; Guyancourt, France; Farmington Hills, Michigan; and Sunnyvale, California. Renault-Nissan also has large engineering centers in India, Brazil, Romania, Turkey and China, among others.

The Alliance also announced today the hiring of technology executive Ogi Redzic to lead the global car group's connected car initiative as Alliance senior vice president, Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services.

Redzic joins Renault-Nissan after positions at Nokia, NAVTEQ, Motorola, and at wireless communication startup cyberPIXIE. He most recently served as senior vice president, Automotive at Nokia HERE, where he led the Automotive Business Group. Redzic, whose new role is effective immediately, will be based in Paris and oversee teams in France and Japan.

New MINI John Cooper Works, The most powerful MINI Ever.

• 2.0-litre engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo Technology.
• 6-speed manual transmission as standard, 6-speed Steptronic sports transmission optional.
• New high-performance Brembo brakes with four-piston front callipers.
• Exclusive 17-inch John Cooper Works Race Spoke light alloy wheels.
• Aerodynamically optimised body design: front apron with large cooling air inlets; distinctive side sill & rear apron design; JCW rear spoiler.
• Combined economy of 49.5mpg; CO₂ emissions: 133g/km (both auto).
• Priced from £22,865. On sale late April.

The hottest ticket in town at next month’s Detroit Auto Show will be the new MINI John Cooper Works.

Packing the most powerful engine ever for a production MINI – a 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo unit delivering 231 hp and 320 Nm – the JCW also draws on the brand’s motorsport expertise with a package of suspension, brake, aerodynamic and interior modifications to deliver race-car sensations without losing sight of MINI’s premium position.

Compared with the previous MINI JCW, the new model delivers 10 per cent more power and 23 per cent more torque. This brings the 0-62 mph time down by 0.2 seconds to 6.3 seconds with the six-speed manual gearbox, and by 0.6 seconds to 6.1 seconds with the optional six-speed Steptronic sports transmission.

Equally impressive is the greatly improved driving flexibility, courtesy of the increased torque – acceleration from 50-75 mph is now 10 per cent quicker at 5.6 seconds, accompanied by an emotive rasp from twin tailpipes of the sports exhaust.

In true MINI style, the driving fun does not involve any fuel consumption penalty. Combined consumption with the manual gearbox is 42.2 mpg, with CO2 emissions of 155 g/km. With the optional Steptronic sports transmission fuel economy improves by 20 per cent to 49.5 mpg, with CO₂ emissions of 133 g/km.

The suspension and the Servotronic electromechanical power steering have been tuned to allow drivers to exploit the new JCW’s extra power and torque in complete safety, and there are newly developed four-piston Brembo brakes within 17-inch John Cooper Works Spoke light-alloy wheels. John Cooper Works 18-inch alloys are optional. Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Electronic Differential Lock Control (EDLC) and Performance Control allow drivers of all abilities to get maximum enjoyment from the car, and Dynamic Damper Control is an option.        

          

The aerodynamic changes have been designed with a purpose rather than for purely aesthetic reasons. A new front apron with large engine air intakes, distinctive side sills, a model-specific rear apron and a John Cooper Works spoiler differentiate the JCW from the standard 3-Door MINI Hatch. The JCW also has LED headlamps with white indicators, wheel-arch surrounds and a unique radiator grille, side scuttles and tailgate with JCW badging. A new colour option, Rebel Green, is exclusive to the JCW.

JCW highlights of the sporty interior include exclusive bucket seats with integrated headrests in Dinamica/fabric, the sills, a multi-function steering wheel with shift paddles (in conjunction with Steptronic transmission), gear selector, instrument displays, stainless steel pedals and footrest, Driving Excitement package and key.

Bespoke JCW personalisation options includes a model-specific MINI Head-Up display (with rev lights and gear indicator), Chili Red roof and door mirror covers, bonnet stripes and exterior and interior John Cooper Works Pro design accessories. These are in addition to the vast selection of high-end options available for the entire MINI range.

Tech spec:

• 4-cylinder MINI TwinPower Turbo engine with direct injection, fully variable valve control and variable camshaft control
• Capacity: 1,998 cc
• Output: 231 hp @ 5,200-6,000 rpm, max torque: 320 Nm @ 1,250-4,800 rpm
• Acceleration (0–62mph) 6.1 seconds (auto); 6.3 seconds (man)
• Top speed: 152mph
• Average fuel consumption: 49.5 mpg (auto); 42.2 mpg (man)
• CO₂ emissions: 133 g/km (auto); 155 g/km (man)

Exterior dimensions:

Length: 3,874 millimetres

Width: 1,727 millimetres

Height: 1,414 millimetres

Wheelbase: 2,495 millimetres

The Volkswagen XL-1 hit London

The world’s most fuel-efficient hybrid car, the Volkswagen XL1, will go on display in the Design Museum in London alongside other examples of design excellence and Designs of the Year award nominees from a range of disciplines from today until 25 August.

Now in its seventh year, the Designs of the Year exhibition gathers together cutting-edge innovation and original talent, showcasing the very best in global Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphic, Product and Transport design.

The Volkswagen XL1 features in the Transport category, and was nominated for the exhibition by author and automotive design and technology expert, Andrew Nahum, whose publications include ‘Fifty Cars That Changed The World’.  Designed by a team led by Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design for the Volkswagen brand, the XL1 is a limited series production two-seater car that explores the limits of energy efficiency for a road-legal production vehicle. 

The design brief for the XL1 was to produce a ‘one litre’ car – that is to say, a car that uses one litre of fuel per 100 km, equivalent to 282 miles per gallon.  The resulting vehicle uses just 0.9 litres per 100 km, or 313 mpg, and this high mpg figure correlates to a very low carbon dioxide emissions value of just 21 g/km.  

To achieve this fuel consumption figure, the XL1 was aerodynamically optimised, adopting the classic ‘tear drop’ shape and utilising innovations such as removing traditional wing mirrors and replacing them with small cameras called e-Mirrors which transmit exterior images to interior displays.  With a drag coefficient of 0.189 the XL1 can maintain 100 kmh on a level road in still air using just 8.4 PS.  

The super-innovative XL1 looks like a vision of the future, while its drivetrain melds a two-cylinder 48 PS 800 cc diesel engine with a 27 PS electric motor.  Power is served through a seven-speed triple clutch transmission.  Like any good supercar, it is also low (just 1,282 mm high) and features scissor-opening wing doors.  The XL1 is ‘handcrafted’ using small series production processes at Volkswagen’s Osnabrück factory in Germany.  For the required combination of lightness and strength, its body is made largely of carbon-fibre reinforced polymer.  Approximately 30 XL1 vehicles are expected to find homes in the UK.

The Designs of the Year exhibition at the Design Museum is a reflection of everything that is current and exciting in the world.  Alongside the Volkswagen XL1, it features, among other items, Kate Moss’s favourite app, a floating school in a Nigerian lagoon, friendly lamp posts and a mobile phone you can build yourself.  Exhibits come from a variety of sources including international design stars such as Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield and Miuccia Prada, as well as crowd-funded start-ups and student projects.  

Visitors to the Design Museum will be able to pick their favourite design from the exhibition.  New for 2014 is the Social Vote which sees two nominations fight it out each day through the exhibition’s online platforms, and broadcast to over one million of the museum’s Twitter and Facebook followers. 

For more details on the XL1, please visit www.volkswagen.co.uk. To find out more about the Designs of the Year exhibition and to purchase tickets, go to www.designmuseum.org.

Ford's Focus continues to be worlds best selling nameplate

• Based on Ford’s analysis of Polk’s latest global vehicle registration data, Ford Focus continues to be the world’s best-selling vehicle nameplate
• Focus global retail registrations up 18 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period last year with the U.K., China, and Brazil experiencing strong demand
• Focus range includes Focus Electric, 250 PS Focus ST and will be joined early next year by a new Focus 1.0-litre EcoBoost variant – the first petrol-powered family car in Europe to offer 99 g/km CO2 emissions
• Focus now produced in nine plants worldwide, giving Ford capacity to build more than two Focus vehicles every minute

Ford Focus, the best-selling vehicle nameplate in the world last year, retains that ranking through the first quarter of 2013 with global vehicle registrations up 18 per cent compared to the same period in 2012.

Based on analysis of Polk’s latest global registration data, 288,724 Focus vehicles were registered in the quarter ending March 31 – the most recent figures available.

Cementing Focus’ grip on the best-selling passenger vehicle title was strong demand in key markets such as the U.K., Brazil and China. Focus registrations in the U.K. for the quarter totalled 25,081 vehicles. Brazil experienced an increase of 18 per cent with 7,227 Focus vehicles registered during the period. In China, 104,065 Focus vehicles were registered in first quarter 2013, representing an increase of 153 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2012.

“The statistics speak for themselves,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “Our global Focus has struck a chord with customers around the world because it offers remarkable technologies, excellent fuel economy and performance, super driving dynamics and all at a very competitive price.”

European customers can now order the all-new Focus Electric – the first full-electric vehicle to be built by Ford in Europe – in Saarlouis, Germany. The Focus Electric is also the first full-electric passenger car to be manufactured in Germany directly from a volume production line.

The flagship 250 PS Focus ST is Ford’s first truly global performance car – having launched in North America last year and being introduced in the Asia Pacific regions this year.

Ford recently has announced a new version of the Focus that will be the first non-hybrid petrol-powered family car in Europe to offer 99 g/km CO2 emissions. Using a specially calibrated 100 PS version of Ford’s award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, the Focus will achieve class-leading fuel efficiency of 4.3 l/100 km (67.5 mpg)*.

“Continual development has been critical to the Focus’ global success, as demonstrated by the new Focus 1.0-litre EcoBoost with 99 g/km CO2 that will launch in Europe early next year,” added de Waard. “More powerful than a first generation Ford Focus with a 1.6‑litre engine from less than 10 years ago while producing 47 per cent less CO2, it’s a testament to Focus development never standing still.”

To meet growing customer demand for Focus, Ford has ramped up capacity worldwide. In July, the company’s plant in Pacheco, Argentina, became the latest to produce Focus on a global platform. Focus is now built in nine plants on four continents. Factories in Germany, U.S., Russia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and Argentina have a combined capacity to produce more than 1.5 million Focus vehicles annually at a rate of more than two vehicles per minute.