CONFIDENTIAL

GOSSIP | RUMOURS | TRENDS

THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY is at risk of making promises it can’t keep on cars’ range in the way it has previously done with economy or emission figures, according to Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess. He said that while many cars are promising 370 miles of range, “the reality is less”. To address that issue, he commented: “We should look at how we calculate our range.”

THE JAGUAR CX75 twoseat sports car concept, revealed in 2010 at the Geneva motor show, should have gone into production, according to Jaguar design director Ian Callum. “The CX75 came so close. It was very sad that it fell over at the final hurdle. I think history will show that we should have done it,” he said. It was canned due to other business priorities. WITH CONCERNS RISING around personal data in a new generation of connected cars, Volvo digital boss Atif Rafiq has said that the brand will record the “least amount of personal data possible to do the job”. He said that all data is deleted when a car is sold, adding that the car maker does “as much as possible on an anonymised level” – for example, for studying traffic patterns.

THE KIA STONIC will not get a hot GT variant, despite a move in the class to more sporting SUVS. Such a Stonic, which would rival the Nissan Juke Nismo, is not in the current product plan, according to Kia product boss Monica Forno. Depending on demand, though, one could be added if needed.