Autocar confidential: ICE still part of the plan for Skoda, Citroen on diesel and more
Our reporters empty their notebooks to round up a week in gossip from across the automotive industry
In this week's round-up of automotive gossip, Skoda explains why its EV expansion won't come ahead of combustion engines while customers still want them, Citroen's dim view on diesel, Goodwood's post-pandemic plans and more.
*Diesel is done, as far as Citroen is concerned*
Citroen CEO Vincent Cobée believes the new C5X will set a trend in being sold with petrol and petrol-electric hybrid powertrains exclusively. “I’m extremely cold-blooded on diesel,” he said. “It was 80% of the segment five years ago and less than 50% last year; it could be less than 15% in three or four years.”
*EVs on the way for Skoda, but not at the expense of ICE*
Skoda is well on the way to electrifying its line-up but isn’t ready to say goodbye to combustion just yet. “For now, we can’t see what will happen beyond 2030,” said boss Thomas Schäfer. “We need to invest for the future, but it’s not the time to switch off existing models and forget them, because that’s where we have customers around the world, maybe still for a few years to come.”
*Pandemic downtime put to good use at Goodwood*
While the Goodwood estate’s event calendar was largely decimated last year by the pandemic, its team set about futureproofing the expansive venue. “If you drive past the house now, you will see everything has been dug up,” said the Duke of Richmond, its owner. “That’s mostly due to a massive biomass generator that we’ve been putting in over the last few months. We’ve been using this time to bring electricity to the whole estate from one source”.
*Subscription expansion for Volvo*
Volvo plans to introduce fixed-term agreements for its Care by Volvo car subscription service in order to boost its appeal to fleet buyers. Consumer boss Lex Kerssemakers said: “The private lease market wants a fixed term. That pool is rather big in the UK, so that’s what we’re entering.”
*READ MORE*
*New 2021 Skoda Fabia to receive substantial design overhaul*
*New 2021 Citroen C5X revealed as luxury range-topper*
*Tickets for 2021 Goodwood events on sale from 1 Feburary*