Featured

Volkswagen will reveal the second generation of its hugely popular T-Roc in August, which will be the first model to use a new full-hybrid powertrain also bound for the Golf and Tiguan.

The next T-Roc, destined to be Volkswagen's final all-new model with a combustion powertrain, will be offered with a hybrid powertrain that works similarly to that used by Toyota, capable of driving the wheels using either a petrol engine, an electric motor or a combination of both at any given time.

Volkswagen has never used such a system in a production car, and its introduction comes less than a decade before the firm will have to go all-electric in Europe - but CEO Thomas Schäfer said the company is "experimenting now because certain regions are gliding into HEVs [hybrid electric vehicles]".

"We needed to do it anyway, because South America has a need for an HEV drivetrain - and the T-Roc is built in South America for South America, and also in China.

"Interestingly enough, HEV has also become a big theme in the US specifically. It's a technology that everybody said was not necessary any more, but now with the BEV slowdown in the US, the balance is [moving towards] HEVs."

After introducing this new system in the Mk2 T-Roc, Schäfer said Volkswagen will "see where it makes sense" elsewhere in the line-up but "we're not going to double everything up; we will have PHEV and HEV models".

It will not be introduced to every car that uses the same MQB architecture as the T-Roc, but it will be added to the Golf and Tiguan in the next two years, a Volkswagen official told Autocar.

The new T-Roc is expected to be revealed at a standalone event in August, before its public debut at the Munich motor show the following month - where Volkswagen is also tipped to reveal the ID 2X baby SUV.

Volkswagen will start moving all of its electric cars onto an updated platform from next year, ushering in a new type of battery chemistry that promises to reduce costs.

The Volkswagen ID 2 supermini, due in 2026, will be the first model to use a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery that will be cheaper than the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) packs in the firm's current EVs.

After that car is launched, the rest of Volkswagen's ID cars will move onto an updated platform dubbed MEB Plus, which will have them adopt the same type of battery.

LFP batteries have become more popular in recent years, as technological developments have increased their range while preserving their cost advantage over conventional NMC packs.

Tesla was first to bring the technology to mass production, with the Model 3 in China, Ford soon followed suit with the Mustang Mach-E and now other volume manufacturers like Volkswagen are embracing the tech.

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer said: "The upgrade to MEB Plus comes next year, and we will roll out the cell-to-pack battery systems with LFP.

"That will be a major step forward in terms of cost for us. It's very important, and also in performance.

"We're very happy with that. It's all in plan. We will come in with MEB Plus across the models, including ID 3, ID 4, ID 7. They will have LFP.

"You can see this move towards LFP across the board, really, except for performance applications on the upper end. In the volume game, LFP is the technology."

"It will start with ID 2 and then roll out through the models."

The LFP batteries will be supplied by the Volkswagen Group's new battery factory in Salzgitter, Germany, which will also build the current-generation NMC packs on a smaller scale until they're phased out.

The company has yet to confirm any specifications for the new batteries, but there is potential for the EVs to gain range while reducing in price.

This technological overhaul will be accompanied by a wide-reaching design refresh of Volkswagen's ID line-up, as previously reported by Autocar.

R&D boss Kai Grunitz said last year this portfolio redesign will bring "huge improvements" that show Volkswagen "going back to where we came from", and now Schäfer has outlined just how important it is to bring a new look.

"Design is your first touchpoint. That's what excites people," he said.

"You have to have an iconic design that people connect with, and it doesn't matter what kind of drivetrain is underneath. This fascination with 'is it electric or petrol?' doesn't matter if you have an iconic car. You can see it in many examples."

The Audi E-tron GT has gained a new entry-level variant priced from £88,555, offering 577bhp and a range of up to 387 miles. 

Named the E-tron GT Quattro, it completes the line-up of variants of the electric grand tourer, which was overhauled last year.

Its 97kWh (usable capacity) battery can be recharged at up to 320kW, completing a 10-80% refill in 18 minutes on a suitably powerful connection.

Audi claims this allows drivers to top up the equivalent of 177 miles of electricity in 10 minutes.

The Quattro’s dual-motor powertrain puts out 496bhp in standard operation, but enabling the launch control function temporarily unleashes the full 577bhp, allowing it to complete the 0-62mph sprint in 4.0sec.

Visually, the Quattro is distinguished from the S and RS models by the black finish applied to its Singleframe-style air intakes. These are finished in the main body colour on the other variants.

Inside, it gets black leather bucket seats with eight-way adjustment and a panoramic glass roof.

The first examples will arrive in showrooms this August.