Nissan fears for UK car making
The Vauxhall Corsa will receive a major mid-life refresh this year and gain the ‘Vizor’ grille that defines the Astra and Mokka.
“We’re really making a big modern statement in how it looks, but at the same time there’s a lot of familiarity,” vice-president of design Mark Adams told Autocar.
As Britain’s second-bestselling car, the Corsa plays a major role in rebuilding brand awareness for Vauxhall and, coupled with the new Astra released last year, “people will start to see way more [Vauxhalls] that have the new look and feel”, said Adams.
In 2017, the Corsa was the first Vauxhall to move away from GM architecture and onto a PSA platform. However, it continued on the design path that had been set under GM, and big changes to the brand’s visual identity only came in 2021 with the second-generation Mokka and its radically different look.
Other design elements of the revamped Corsa have yet to be revealed, but Adams confirmed it won’t have a retro look, adding he doesn’t want designs that look backwards: “We want to reinvent the brand… to appeal [to new audiences].
We want to keep our customer base but, at the same time, we’ve got to appeal to a whole new generation of people. And so we’ve got to be seen to be
THE UK IS becoming “more challenging” as an automotive manufacturing base as the industry shrinks and becomes less attractive to suppliers, according to the country’s largest car maker, Nissan.
The UK produced 775,014 cars in 2022, down 9.8% on 2021 and 41% down on prepandemic 2019, according to the Society of Motor progressive, modern and in touch with what customers really want.”
When the refreshed model arrives, the Corsa Electric is in
Manufacturers and Traders.
“The UK is becoming more and more challenging as a manufacturing footprint,” ºsaid Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta.
He added that the UK’S shrinking car output is making it harder to source locally.
Typically, automotive suppliers locate near a big manufacturing centre to cut line for a bigger battery: likely the same 55kwh item being introduced to the technically identical Peugeot e-208, which in the French car offers a 248mile range. The petrol Corsa is likely to keep the same 74bhp and 99bhp three-pots as now.
Meanwhile, Adams said the retired Insignia will be replaced by “something completely different” and a car like the Manta is in the works for the second half of the decade. He added that hatchbacks will remain in Vauxhall’s range and hinted at incoming cars that people wouldn’t expect from Vauxhall.
ILLYA VERPRAET
down on logistics cost but often need secondary customers to achieve economies of scale. The issue is particularly problematic for batteries, for which raw materials are typically sourced and refined outside the UK.
Sourcing parts and materials locally is also key to achieving enough local content to avoid certain crucial export tariffs.
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