Electric Kia Soul planned for 2014

Kia has revealed that they will offer a battery electric version of the next generation Kia Soul when it arrives in 2014. Hyundai may have seen the light and decided the future for cars lies with hydrogen fuel cell cars and not battery electric cars, but sister company Kia thinks differently. It seems an odd polarity for the Korean siblings to take different routes to the future of powertrains for cars, but perhaps it’s just a case of hedging bets rather than an inability by Kia to see how impractical the BEV is as a replacement for a normal ICE car?

Audi Q5

Audi has chosen the Beijing Motor Show to unveil its new mid-sized Q5 SUV. The newcomer's exterior design is a thoroughly orthodox development of current Audi themes: a mix of Avant and Q7 ideas housed in a deeper body section than one is used to seeing. The rear relates most strongly to the Q7, with its full-width powered tailgate design, where the tail lamps open with the tailgate and auxiliary lamps in the bumper house the mandatory lamp functions.

Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid at Tokyo

The Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid Latest to announce their Eco offering is Suzuki, with the Swift Plug-in Hybrid. Principally designed to be an electric car, the Swift plug-in also has a small petrol engine which, when the charge in the lithium-ion batteries is depleted, kicks in to recharge the batteries, rather than drive the car. This is similar to the system implemented in the Opel Ampera and the Jaguar XJ Limo Green with the Lotus Range Extender setup.