rotating Mazda, Engels’ FAW and other industry events – Autoreview

Almost waiting: Mazda revives the production of automobiles with Wankel rotary piston engines. True, now it will not be sports cars. The debut of a new hybrid version of the crossover will take place on January 13 at the Brussels Motor Show. Mazda MX-30, in which the rotary engine will operate exclusively in generator mode to recharge the traction battery. Only an image of a nameplate with a stylized rotor has been published so far – it will decorate the rotating Mazdas of a new era. All the details – in a few days.

And the Lightyear company from the Netherlands, recently launched small-scale production of electric vehicles with solar panels, has released teasers of its second model, which will enter the market… only by the end of 2025. As expected, the future liftback Light year 2 it will be able to travel more than 800 km on a single charge and will cost around 40,000 euros. On the company’s website, you can already sign up for the second model, and the European Union, Great Britain and the USA will become the starting markets for it.

Released a teaser for the yet-unnamed crossover Honda for the Indian market. The new model with a length of around 4.3 m will be presented this summer and will compete with the local SUV Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Suzuki GrandVitara. The local press reports that it will be an original development, but it is possible that there is talk of some sort of crossover. Honda HR-V only 4330 mm long. The range includes petrol and hybrid versions.

Agency Rolls-Royce set a new sales record: 6,021 vehicles were sold in 2022. This is immediately 8% more than a year earlier (there were 5586 cars then)! The most popular model remains the Cullinan crossover (alas, the number of cars has not been made public), and the largest market is the United States. Now the company is preparing to start production of its first electric car – a coupe. Rolls-Royce Ghostwhich will hit the market in the fourth quarter of this year.

Compact MPV presented in China Arcfox Owing (the name is misspelled on the renderings), designed especially for young mothers. Its interior is suitable for transporting small children: the air conditioning, the audio system and even the shape of the safety curtains are optimised. The separate seats in the second row rotate open when the doors are opened, and the rear right door is made to slide. There is a built-in fridge and bottle warmer with baby food, a folding table and many other goodies. The Arcfox Koala is an electric vehicle, but the specifications are yet to be revealed.

Mass production of luxury electric minivans begins Zekr 009. This model is built on Geely’s SEA modular platform and features two 544hp electric motors. The entry-level version with the 116 kWh traction battery costs $74,000, while the minivan with the 140 kWh battery costs $87,000. In China, sales will begin by the end of January.

Industrial holding AlfaTech will assemble Chinese FAW electric vehicles under its own brand Alfaro. The first model to be produced will be a compact MPV FAW Bestune NIGHT model of 2021, originally designed specifically for taxis and car sharing. The start of production at the Engels plant is scheduled for the third quarter, by the end of the year AlfaTech intends to produce two thousand electric vehicles. In the future, the location of plastic parts, glass and electronic components will be considered.

Even today we talked about a pickup truck Toyota Hilux GR Sport, updated models Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and Aura, hypercars Hennessey Venom F5 revolution and statistics Russian car market in 2022.