The Honda Urban EV Concept wowed the crowds at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, and it returns to the show stands at Geneva 2018, with an added bonus – the confirmation Honda’s going to build it.

Indeed, Honda has actually announced ordering for the production Urban EV will open in early 2019.

It’s all thanks to response to the concept version that was, reportedly, beyond Honda’s wildest dreams. An insider told us the positive reaction took the engineers by complete surprise.

It’s this excitement that’s encouraged them to accelerate production: getting confirmed orders from buyers is a great way to keep momentum up.

Honda’s first volume battery electric car, the purist Urban EV Concept is gloriously simple in design, from its near-retro appearance to its thin A-pillars and wide windscreen that afford great visibility.

The concept seats four inside, on two bench seats which are trimmed in different materials – like a living room, says Honda. Whether they’ll make it to production remains to be seen: perhaps Honda could trim conventional seats in differing materials, to continue the theme?

Less likely to make it is the dashboard’s full wrap-around screen, or the monitors in the doors that stream a camera feed and serve as the door mirrors. But, as the latest Civic proves, Honda can still do standout interiors even in production cars.

We look forward to what it might have in store for the Urban EV.

Bentley has revealed what it calls the world’s first luxury hybrid at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The new Bentayga Hybrid is its first electric-assist vehicle and, says new British chairman and CEO Adrian Hallmark, a first step towards full electrification.

A plug-in hybrid, the Bentayga combines a 3.0-litre turbo V6 engine with an electric motor and beefy battery set. It will run for 31 miles as a pure EV and, on the official fuel economy cycle, emits just 75g/km CO2.

For comparison, the UK’s most popular car, the Ford Fiesta, emits 99g/km CO2 in top-selling 1.0-litre Ecoboost 125 guise.

Although the car is derived from the Audi Q7 E-tron, Bentley is adamant the arrival of its Bentayga plug-in hybrid is significant – and “sets Bentley on the path towards a sustainable electrified future”. Lots of luxury cars are sold and used in cities, which are clamping down on vehicle emissions.

The Bentayga Hybrid is the firm’s first response to anticipated future restrictions that only allow the use of EVs.

It even has a clever sat nav system that’s geared around this. Set your destination and the computer will work out when best to use the various EV modes – even storing up battery power so you can finish your journey in the city entirely with electric drive. Bentley says the system is set up to take the battery charge right down to zero at the end of every drive, to fully maximise its zero-emissions range.

It looks like any other Bentayga, apart from a few key changes. There are copper ‘Hybrid’ badges on the lower front doors and the tailgate, plus copper wheel centres and Bentley logos. Open the door and ‘Hybrid’ is written on the kickplates.

The rev counter is replaced by an electric charge dial, while the coolant dial is substituted by a battery charge indicator. And, in the central infotainment system, you can have a full Toyota Prius-style electric distribution display (or a TV if you prefer).

If you charge the batteries via a three-pin socket, it will take a yawning 7.5 hours. This reduces to 2.5 hours if you have a wall box – and, anticipating that, Bentley is working with famed designer Phillipe Starck to create an ultra-posh ‘Bentley by Starck Power Dock’ wall box. It won’t be cheap, but it will be fancy.

Further details of the new Bentayga Hybrid will be revealed later in the year, with ordering opening in the second half of 2018. Prices? Expect a starting point of at least £150,000.

The Volvo XC40 has been revealed as the 2018 European Car of the Year in a ceremony ahead of the Geneva Motor Show. The compact SUV edged out runners-up the Seat Ibiza and BMW 5 Series to take the gong with a huge 83-point margin. 

Other finalists included the Kia Stinger, Citroen C3 Aircross, Audi A8 and Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The presentation for ECOTY is made in an Eurovision-style countdown, where all the points from the organisation’s 60 jurors across 23 countries are tallied up. And it soon became clear the Volvo was leading. 

Many countries voted the XC40 top or near the top, which is what gave it such a healthy lead. Even in the nations where it wasn’t favourite, it was still well-liked. This means the 2018 European Car of the Year winner is a particularly valid one. The XC40 has won because it’s a good, well-liked car, not through the law of averages. 

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The award adds to the haul of prizes already secured by Volvo’s newest model, and finally earns it a Car of the Year prize after getting so very close in recent years. 

Volvo’s success contrasts with the poor performance of the Audi A8, which trailed in sixth place – one of the few countries to score it highly was, ironically, the home of Volvo: Sweden. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio sat at the bottom of the pile, with a mediocre 163 points. 

Because the Volvo scored so highly, there were fewer points left over for the other cars. Even so, BMW will surely be disappointed to be beaten by the Seat Ibiza. Kia, however, will likely be more than chuffed by its 2018 COTY appearance grabbing it fourth place in the line-up, well ahead of the Citroen C3 Aircross.

European Car of the Year 2018: final scores

1: Volvo XC40 – 325 points

2: Seat Ibiza – 242 points

3: BMW 5 Series – 226 points

4: Kia Stinger – 204 points

5: Citroen C3 Aircross – 171 points

6: Audi A8 – 169 points

7: Alfa Romeo Stelvio – 163 points

Value brand Dacia’s upwards trajectory continues, with the firm revealing it has delivered its five-millionth car – less than a decade and a half since being reborn under Renault stewardship.

A spokesman also confirmed Dacia has sold over 120,000 cars in the UK alone since it was launched here in 2013. Globally, last year’s sales of 665,000 vehicles represented a 12 percent increase.

Since arriving with a single model, the Duster, Dacia has expanded its range to six models, built around two economical-to-build platforms. The Duster continues, while the Sandero supermini has broadened to Sandero Stepway crossover, Logan MCV estate and lifestyle-look Logan MCV Stepway. Dacia also sells the Dokker overseas, but not in the UK.

Europe’s favourite Dacia is the Sandero. Indeed, last year, it was the most popular car throughout the EU, at least for retail buyers spending their own money. Here in the UK, we like things a bit posher: our favourite Dacia is the Sandero Stepway.

Dacia’s success is down to the current mood amongst buyers to get as much as they can for their money. Dacia fits perfectly into new consumption patterns where customers decide to buy “less but better”, said sales and marketing boss Francois Mariotte.

“They are choosing more durable, quality goods, paid for at the right price and without sacrificing comfort or aesthetics.” Think Easyjet and Ikea.

“This is a major trend that can be observed in other sectors such as furniture, air transport and clothing,” he added, but Dacia is the only car brand doing it… “thus enabling millions of customers to enjoy buying a new and reliable vehicle at an unbeatable price”.

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Aston Martin’s brand value grew a staggering 268 percent in 2017, to $3.6 billion, according to latest research by experts Brand Finance. No car brand grew by more in value last year.

Described as “a brand that Britain should be proud of,” the sports car firm’s pacy ascendancy, which saw it post its first profit in 10 years, sees it “roaring back onto the top ranks of luxury car makers,” said Brand Finance CEO David Haigh. Its planned launches are some of the strongest planned in the sector, and the Brexit-related devaluation of the pound has helped it boost profits from international customers.

Haigh said Aston Martin is now a “darling for investors”. 

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Aston Martin is still some way behind its Italian rival, though. Brand Finance also can’t speak highly enough of “ultra-premium” Ferrari. It has risen 6 percent, up to $6.5 billion, because it’s independent and thus able to “leverage its unique brand attributes to cement itself as a global icon of the industry”. It is the strongest of all car firms for sheer brand strength, with a glowing AAA+ rating.

Brand Finance defines brand value as, essentially, how much the owner could get by licensing it. Brand strength, meanwhile, figures out how much of the firm’s revenue can be assigned to the power of the brand itself. Its analysis of the top 100 car brands in the world is considered a bellwether report.

The world’s biggest car brands right now

Volkswagen Group’s portfolio of brands is the world’s most valuable, at a whopping £75.8 billion, but the most valuable brand overall is Mercedes-Benz: it is worth $43.9 billion. This is up 24 percent, helping it overtake Toyota, which declined 6 percent.

Haigh says Mercedes-Benz’ strategy to “reinvent the automobile” is key here. The brand is smoothly rolling out new technologies “to move away from traditional combustion engines”. And Toyota? It’s been hampered by weaknesses in China, where buyers have moved to more aspirational brands such as… Mercedes-Benz.

Chinese brand themselves have some eye-watering valuations. Haval is the most valuable brand, up 124 percent to $6.8 billion, while Geely is up 62 percent to $6 billion and BYD grew a full 211 percent to $3.4 billion.

“The Chinese brands have achieved strong brand value growth thanks to their success in the domestic mass market. Outside China, the brands remain largely unknown.” Even within the Chinese premium segment, overseas brands dominate.”

The solution? “Chinese brands are now expected to acquire Western brands in order to leverage their brand strength internationally,” says Haigh. If you own a well-known but under-resourced brand, you could soon be quids in…

Tesla’s upward trajectory continues, with its brand value up 106 percent to $5.7 billion. It’s grown remarkably over the past year, up from 30^th to 19^th, which Brand Finance says is because of its “growth-focused corporate vision… to bring a more affordable model to market very soon”. Any remaining doubts are down to its ability to ramp up manufacturing capacity and quality.

Ironically, Nissan, producer of the world’s best-selling electric car, saw a 22 percent decline in brand value, down to $19.4 billion – because Brand finance says the Leaf is “very ordinary-looking”. Ouch. Expect a rise again next year, once the impact of the new and much better-looking Leaf takes effect. 

“What if car brands designed football kits?” It’s an unlikely question, but it’s one posed by the team behind the Giffgaff Gameplan car insurance comparison site. Truth is, we get dozens of emails a week from companies hoping to gain some exposure in exchange for the results of a survey or a news story, and most are either discarded or greeted with a polite “no”. But we rather like the design work that’s gone into these football kits, so we’ve created a short gallery to showcase Giffgaff’s efforts.

Car manufacturers’ championship

You’ll have to bear with us here, because Giffgaff’s approach isn’t straightforward. The company has based the Premier League table on the performance of each team based on their best associated car brand. The greater the number of sales, the further up the league table you go.

Looking at the fanbases of the teams, Giffgaff found an appropriate manufacturer using YouGov’s brand profiling tools, Google Trends and Google’s autocomplete feature. It’s not exactly a watertight approach, but it does mean that Aston Villa, Blackburn and Fulham are back in the Premier League. Sorry, Burnley, Brighton and Huddersfield fans.

18. Manchester United and Land Rover

So, what of the top 10 in the car manufacturers’ championship? Well, the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that Manchester United are languishing down in 18th place, but Giffgaff chose to include the Red Devils as “the aesthetics worked so well for the combination”. That’s as maybe, but United playing in green? Really?

Today, you’d associate the club with Chevrolet, but according to Giffgaff, “Land Rover’s combination of size, speed and power has helped it to become a reliable figure in the motor industry, much like Manchester United. The Red Devils dominated the English game in the 90s and early 2000s and continue to vie for honours today.” Reliable? Best not look at the results of those reliability surveys, then.

10. Leicester City and Citroen

Citroen has been a partner of Arsenal Football Club since 2008, but Giffgaff has selected the French company for Leicester City as both companies “have suffered financial issues in recent times and managed to bounce back”. Hmm, we rather think the design work is better than the rationale.

9. West Ham United and Toyota

“As the top car manufacturer in the world by size, Toyota dwarves West Ham by comparison, but the East London team’s reputation for tough football is recognised worldwide. Similarly, Toyota’s Hilux Invincible vehicle has developed a similar reputation, with the Land Cruiser suitable for a wide variety of terrain and conditions.”

Once again, we question the link, but we’re kind of committed now, like a Julian Dicks tackle. Sorry, but there’s Bobby Moore of this to come…

8. Aston Villa and Peugeot

Villa fans rejoice, because you’re back in the Premier League, and you didn’t have to face the dreaded play-offs. But, wait, what’s this? Peugeot on the shirt? Surely that’s the preserve of Coventry City?

“Aston Villa and Peugeot have both suffered difficulties recently. Villa slipped into the Championship in 2016 after years in the top flight, while Peugeot has been through a restructuring plan as it strives to remain competitive in a tough marketplace,” says Giffgaff. Whatever, we like the cycling jersey-inspired shirt. Still shouts Coventry to us, mind.

As for Aston Villa, we can only think of MG Rover…

See what we mean?

7. Chelsea and Mercedes-Benz

You look at this shirt and think one thing: Germany. Which is rather apt, given that Giffgaff has chosen to associated Chelsea with Mercedes-Benz. “Chelsea’s big transfer funds and luxurious playing style correlate neatly with Mercedes-Benz,” says Giffgaff.

Luxurious playing style? Has Antonio Conte ever described Chelsea as playing luxurious football? And what exactly is luxurious football? Answers on the back of a discarded prawn sandwich wrapper.

6. Blackburn Rovers and Nissan

“As one of the six teams that have won the Premier League, Blackburn has a history of success, but has now fallen down to the third tier. On the other hand, Nissan remains the fifth most popular car brand in the UK according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and we’re certain they could use some of the car brand’s good fortune,” says Giffgaff.

This is starting to look like a lost cause, like Alan Pardew clinging on to his job at West Brom, or a chicken on the way to a processing plant owned by Venky’s, the company in charge of Blackburn Rovers.

5. Arsenal and Audi

“Arsenal and Audi are both well known for their penchant for luxury, with Audi’s stylish cars comparing favourably with the silky skills of Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry etc.” It’s that ‘luxury’ word again, although club legend Ian Wright might prefer ‘lazy’ and ‘lethargic’, given his comments following Arsenal’s defeat against Manchester City.

It’s a nice kit, but saying it was inspired by “black Audi car designs such as the A3 and A4” is tenuous in the extreme.

4. Man City and BMW

This one bears a startling resemblance to the Crystal Palace shirt of the 70s and 80s. Alternatively, it has the whiff of the kit worn by the Allies in Escape to Victory. Either way, it’s a Michael Winner.

3. Southampton and Volkswagen

One to file under: ‘It shouldn’t work, but it does’.

2. Everton and Vauxhall

Everton fans may have given up hope of a top-six finish this season, but Giffgaff puts the Toffees in a Champions League position. The inspiration is – wait for it – based on the fact that “Vauxhall Astras are commonly used as police cars in the UK.” Not that this matters, because you’ve already clicked off in search of the latest meaningless awards ceremony or survey.

Call the cops: we’ve been accused of committing a crime against valuable time.

1. Liverpool and Ford

The Merseyside Club is owned by American owners and America is the home of Ford. Which is enough to put Liverpool at the top of the league.

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Toyota has confirmed the all-new third-generation Auris family hatchback will be built at its Burnaston, Derby plant, news that will be a major fillip to the under-pressure UK automotive industry.

The Japanese giant’s commitment to the UK comes despite uncertainties over Brexit, although Toyota Motor Europe president and CEO Dr Johan van Zyl was keen to stress the need for politicians to strike the best possible deal for when the UK leaves the EU.

“As a company, we are doing what we can to secure the competitiveness of our UK operations as a leading manufacturing centre for our European business.

“With around 85 percent of our UK vehicle production exported to European markets, continued free and frictionless trade between the UK and Europe will be vital for future success.”

Are you listening, Westminster?

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In a double boost for Britain, most of the engines used in the new Auris will come from Toyota’s engine plant in Deeside and the UK workforce was singled out for praise by Toyota Europe’s chief. “Today’s announcement… shows our confidence in the skills and capabilities of our TMUK members.”

Toyota Manufacturing UK MD Marvin Cooke was naturally delighted with the good news. “It signals Toyota’s trust in TMUK’s ability to build ever-better cars for our customers.”

The new Auris will be built on the latest Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform, for which Toyota has invested £240 million in Burnaston to install the new equipment and technologies.

Using this new tech “is a big responsibility,” said Cooke, and “we will constantly improve our productivity and competitiveness to help secure a bright future for TMUK”.

The all-new Auris will be revealed at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show next week. In the build-up, Toyota has issued a teaser of the new car – Motoring Research will bring you all the news LIVE from the show starting early next week.