03567508359 Chilton on 2040-parts.com

Beijing Auto Show 2014 – the 15 cars that really matter

With somewhere around 90 world debuts, the Beijing motor show certainly had the numbers – if not the organization – to live up to its billing as one of the world's most important auto shows. The back-story to these figures however is that the majority of these unveils were of lightly-revised versions of existing models – from facelifts to localized versions of cars already on sale in other markets. That's not to say there was nothing of interest to see inside the maze of halls at the China Exhibition Center.

Honda Jazz Hybrid / Honda Fit Hybrid revealed

The Honda Jazz Hybrid will debut at the Paris Motor Show Despite not really believing that Hybrid cars are anything other than a stop-gap (if they’re any use at all in small cars) Honda is pushing forward with its hybrid range by dropping the hybrid bits from the Insight in to the Jazz to make the Honda Jazz Hybrid (in the Americas, China and Japan read that as Honda Fit Hybrid). The Honda Jazz Hybrid – which will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show in just over a month – will be the first B-Segment hybrid to hit the market (supermini in English), and its smaller size may help the Insight’s hybrid bits be a bit more fun. But don’t hold your breath.

Audi R8 e-tron killed off for production – again

It’s more than six months since we reported that Audi were planning to kill off any production plans for the electric R8 e-Tron, with Audi’s head of R&D saying the production plans for the R8 were going to be scrapped. And it seems they have now gone in the bin. Autocar are reporting that Audi has confirmed to them that the R8 e-Tron won’t be going in to production and the ten latest e-Trons to be built will be used just for testing and development to help Audi with its ‘electrification’ plans, which will now almost certainly concentrate on plug-in hybrids and range extenders, rather than EVs.