Month: November 2022

These photos are our first look at the second model in the refreshed smart line-up. It will be called the smart #3 as evident from the badging on the rear hatch, and looks to be an SUV with a coupe-like roofline larger than the smart #1.

The smart brand today is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler and Proton’s shareholder Geely. Like the smart #1, the new smart #3 will be built on Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) electric car platform.

Homologation documents from China reveals that the smart #3 measures 4,440 mm long, 1,800 mm wide and 1,600 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,785 mm. As a comparison, the smart #1 measures 4,270 mm long, 1,822 mm wide and 1,636 mm tall, with a 2,750 mm wheelbase.

The documentation also refers to two output options, a 268 hp version that’s likely to be the same one

Geely has announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with ElectroMobility Poland to supply its Geely Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform to EMP to develop a series of electric cars for EMP’s new Izera brand. Geely will also be EMP’s technology partner for the project.

EMP is backed by the Polish government and essentially Izera will be Poland’s first domestic brand in generations. EMP’s website says Poland is the largest European sales market for new cars without its own homegrown car brand so the Izera brand can be a catalyst for the development of Polish auto part and component manufacturers. Sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? Without a domestic brand currently, the auto parts industry is already the second largest industrial sector in Poland.

The first car that Izera will be developing on the SEA platform is of course a compact SUV, which is one of the most popular bodytypes

Having made its debut in July, the Radar RD6 electric pick-up truck has been launched in China with a starting price of 178,800 yuan (RM116k). This is based on the Geely Haoyue VX11 SUV, which will form the basis of the Proton X90 seven-seater SUV due to launch next year.

Measuring 5,260 mm long, 1,900 mm wide and 1,830 mm tall with a wheelbase of 3,120 mm, the Radar RD6 is similar in size to the Toyota Hilux, according to Car News China; the double-cab version of the Toyota pick-up measures 5,325 mm long, 1,900 mm wide and 1,815 mm tall with a wheelbase of 3,085 mm.

The RD6 is offered in China with several battery choices, beginning with the base variant offering that features a 62 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery that yields a claimed 400 km of range.

Next in the range are two 86 kWh battery

Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) has updated the V60 for the 2023 model year, with the station wagon now being offered in a sole Recharge T8 Ultimate variant that replaces the previous Recharge T8 Inscription. This is in line with the Swedish brand’s recent decision to revise its trim level offerings, which has also been applied to the XC40.

The asking price for the Recharge T8 Ultimate is RM321,888 on-the-road without insurance, making it RM16,000 more than the Recharge T8 Inscription – the latter already had its price increased to RM305,888 following the end of the SST exemption.

In terms of equipment, the V60 now comes with a new infotainment system powered by Android Automotive OS that is linked to a nine-inch, portrait-format touchscreen inside the cabin. With it, you get to enjoy built-in Google services such as the Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play Store.

These services, including the

The European Union (EU) has reached a deal for the effective banning of combustion-engined cars and vans from 2035, Automotive News Europe reports, with the agreement of the EU’s three key institutions, the executive arm, the parliament and its member states.

This is through its co-legislators’ agreement on the “Fit for 55” proposal that will see a 55% reduction in the CO2 emissions target for new cars and by 50% for new vans by 2030 compared to 2021 levels, followed by a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions for new cars and vans by 2035, according to the European Council for the European Union.

This decision means that new cars and vans with petrol and diesel-powered engines will not be registered for road use in Europe from 2035, which will speed up the industry’s switch to fully electric vehicles, advancing the proposal by the European Union since it came to