Car news, 10 September ’24: Volvo brings the fight to Tesla Model Y with EX60 SUV, several Japanese automakers bolster EV development, and more

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Thanks for joining us this Tuesday 10 September 2024. Notably in car news today: Volvo has confirmed its next electric model will be the EX60 midsize SUV, coming in 2026, and Toyota, Nissan and Subaru are strengthening their EV plans with more investment in batteries and other technologies.

Browse this issue:

• Volvo to target Tesla Model Y with next EV, the EX60
• Toyota, Nissan, Subaru to bolster battery investment 
• Renault R17 ‘restomod’ revealed
• First Audi-SAIC electric concept car due in November
• Detailed: 2025 Y63 Nissan Patrol 

Volvo set to target Tesla Model Y with next model, the EX60, in 2026

• Volvo’s next electric car is set to be an electric successor to the current XC60 SUV, unsurprisingly called the EX60. 

• The model will slot in between the EX40 electric small SUV and the much larger EX90. It’ll be based on the upcoming SPA3 architecture, the successor to the SPA2 platform that underpins the EX90 and Polestar 3. 

• The news was announced at Volvo’s September 5 event, with a ES90 electric SUV and a potential ES60 Cross Country also on the cards.

• Volvo globally plans to launch five new electric models by the end of the decade. 

• Volvo Australia has confirmed it wants to be all-electric locally by 2026, despite its move to bring the updated XC90 PHEV SUV to Australia in the interim. Volvo has globally revised its plans to be all electric, and will do so later than initially planned. 

Toyota, Nissan, Subaru to bolster battery development 

• Several Japanese automakers including Toyota, Nissan and Subaru are ramping up their development of electric vehicles and the technologies used, including new battery tech. 

• Supported to some degree by Japanese government aid, Toyota has been given approval to produce a next-gen lithium-ion battery and a completely solid-state battery. 

• Nissan has also been given the green light to mass produce lithium-ion phosphate battery packs that are not only safer, but that also have lower production costs. 

• Meanwhile, Subaru and Mazda will use batteries in collaboration with tech giant Panasonic. 

• Automotive News has reported that the combined battery plans across the Japanese auto giants will have a domestic battery production volume of around 36.6 gigawatt-hours through the end of the decade. 

Renault reveals stylish R17 restomod 

• Renault has revitalised one of its iconic models, the 17, with a new ‘restomod’ concept, a clear throwback to the 1970s. 

• While the original 17 was powered by front-mounted four-cylinder engines, this restomod is exclusively electric, but with the motor mounted on the rear axle rather than the front. It reportedly produces 198kW. 

• Renault has managed to keep the weight of the vehicle down, with Car and Driver reporting that the R17 tips the scales at roughly 1400kg. Battery size has not been disclosed. 

• The R17 concept follows behind the new-era Renault 5 electric car, which is set to enter full production and go on sale in Europe this month. 

• Despite the fact that the R17 concept is very unlikely to go to production, this is certainly one concept we’d love to see on public roads.

Audi will sell cars in China in joint venture with SAIC Motor 

• If you didn’t already know, Audi has created a joint venture with SAIC Motor, the owner of brands such as MG, LDV and IM Motors, to develop high-end luxury electric cars for the Chinese market.

• According to Car News China, the first concept will debut in November, before going on sale in China in the second half of 2025. The model is likely to be a luxury sedan or SUV, possibly with IM Motor underpinnings.

• It’s not the first time SAIC has partnered with manufacturers outside of China. The brand currently holds a long-standing joint venture with both Volkswagen and General Motors. 

• SAIC Motor is quickly expanding across the globe, but has been hampered in Europe and the United States by recent strict tariffs. 

2025 Y63 Nissan Patrol explained

• Chasing Cars journalist Zak Adkins’s rundown of the upcoming 2025 Y53 Nissan Patrol was published, including information on the potential Nismo variant, along with new V6 engine specification.
  
• Adkins discussed that Nissan is developing a high-performance Nismo version of the Patrol, but it’s not yet locked in for Australia. One of Nissan’s design executives, Alfonso Albaisa, told Australian media he could not sleep for three days after seeing the design of the much more aggressive Patrol Nismo.
  
• The new Patrol has ditched the use of a V8 engine and will instead be powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine that produces 317kW of power and 700Nm of torque.
  
• The Y63 Nissan Patrol will not reach Australian shores until late in 2026, or early in 2027.
  

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The next issue of Car News Today will be published on Wednesday 11 September at 4.30pm Sydney time.