Wheel's & Deals: BMW introduces the new 2 Series Coupé

Each model uses an eight-speed automatic gearbox with launch-control and sprint-mode functionality.

New BMW 2 Series Coupé

The new, second-generation BMW 2 Series Coupé has been unwrapped ahead of its 2022 market launch.

Retaining rear-wheel drive as standard, it will be offered in three guises: 

• the petrol 220i, with a 2.0-litre turbo four sending 181bhp to the rear axle; 
• the 220d, with a mild-hybrid 2.0-litre diesel four making 188bhp; 
• the M240i xDrive, which has a 3.0-litre petrol straight-six and four-wheel drive.

 The latter will top the line-up with 369bhp until the top-of-the-range M2 Coupé arrives later in 2022.

Each model uses an eight-speed automatic gearbox with launch-control and sprint-mode functionality. The M240i adds an electronic rear differential, in line with its heightened handling focus, and its xDrive four-wheel drive system is programmed to give a rear bias, in true BMW sports-car fashion.

Orders for the new 2 Series Coupé will begin in early 2022

With 34bhp more power than the previous M240i, the new range-topper hits 100 km/h from rest in just 4.3sec and tops out at a limited 155mph.

While remaining true to the overall silhouette of the previous car, the new 2 Series Coupé has been redesigned to bring it into line with newer BMW models, such as the 3 Series and Z4.

Orders for the new 2 Series Coupé will begin in early 2022, with the 220i opening the line-up at €48,515, climbing to €49,675 for the 220d and €70,485 for the M240i.

Peugeot hyper-car

Peugeot has taken the wraps off the stunning new 9X8, its latest-generation Hypercar 

Peugeot has taken the wraps off the stunning, new 9X8, its latest-generation hyper-car challenger, which will make its competitive debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2022.

Powered by a hybrid power unit that drives through all-wheel drive transmission, this "hyper-efficient prototype" fits perfectly with the company’s neo-performance strategy, which is geared to both its road and racing cars delivering responsible performance.

The 9X8 — the brand’s latest endurance racing contender — is a successor to the 905, winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1992 and 1993, and the 908, which won the French classic in 2009.

The new prototype is poised to continue the make’s long and successful involvement in world-class motor sport, with highly competitive cars that feature strong, instantly recognisable brand identity.

The 9X8 — the brand’s latest endurance racing contender — is a successor to the 905

The 9X8’s forms and aerodynamic characteristics are the fruit of the pooled input of the development engineers working under the responsibility of Peugeot Sport technical director, Olivier Jansonnie, and the design team led by Peugeot design director, Matthias Hossann.

Their approach was governed by the regulations drawn up by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) and ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) for the new Le Mans hyper-car (LMH) class, which succeeds from endurance racing’s former LMP1 headlining category.

The greater flexibility allowed by the sport’s new technical rules regarding aerodynamics permits radical new thinking that favours the emergence of innovative cars, with scope for the design teams to make an even bigger contribution.

Peugeot’s engineers and designers took advantage of this opportunity to invent new creative processes and break away from established codes to produce a hyper-car of a new genre.

Yaris Cross production

Yaris Cross is the second model to be based on Toyota’s GA-B compact car platform

Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) has started production of Yaris Cross, the new, compact urban-style SUV to be launched in Europe in August.

Additional investment of €400m will enable the production of two models on the same line at the plant—the fourth-generation Toyota Yaris and the new Yaris Cross — scaling up TMMF’s annual production capacity to 300,000 vehicles.

Designed and developed to meet the needs of European customers in the B-segment SUV market, the projected powertrain mix of the new Yaris Cross is expected to be made up predominantly by the low CO2 emission hybrid version, in line with the company’s plans for a 90% electrification mix by 2025.

Yaris Cross is the second model to be based on Toyota’s GA-B compact car platform and the eighth TNGA (Toyota new global architecture) model to be made in Europe. Its production also marks further progress in Toyota’s localisation strategy.

The introduction of Yaris Cross production has brought employment at TMMF to 5,000.

Renault site plans

Renault Group aims to make these plants the most competitive and efficient production unit for electric vehicles in Europe, with 400,000 vehicles produced per year by 2025. 

As part of the ‘Renaulution’ strategic plan, Renault Group and the representative trade unions have signed an agreement for the future of the Renault sites in the Hauts-de-France region.

The agreement is to create Renault ElectriCity: The legal entity owned by Renault SAS, which will group together the industrial sites of Douai, Maubeuge, and Ruitz, totalling 5,000 employees.

By creating this single entity, Renault Group aims to make these plants the most competitive and efficient production unit for electric vehicles in Europe, with 400,000 vehicles produced per year by 2025. 

With this agreement, Renault Group has set itself three objectives: 

• firstly, to enable the deployment of a robust and coherent industrial project for all three plants; 
• secondly, to achieve operational excellence by relying on a managerial model, a social model, and the modernisation of production sites;
• thirdly, to develop the attractiveness of the northern industrial cluster to build an infrastructure for key electric vehicle components.

To support this ambitious industrial project, Renault plans to create 700 permanent jobs between 2022 and the end of 2024, with 350 new hires at the Maubeuge site and 350 spread over the Douai and Ruitz sites.

These will be hired within the framework of shared approaches with local employment missions, Pôle Emploi, and all the stakeholders in the region.