NEWS 2021 — it's that time of year… 2020 is, luckily, lagging behind, and we look to 2021 with renewed hope. The automobile industry also had in the “animal” covid-19 one of the main responsible for its disruption this year. The impact was great on several levels, including the plans that had been drawn up for the year now ending.
Among the many news that we expect to arrive this year, we found that effectively… they didn't. Some were even revealed, but due to the pandemic and all the chaos it caused, the commercialization of some of these models was “pushed” to 2021, hoping to find calmer seas.
So don't be surprised to see novelties in this list, which, after all, aren't that big of news, but 2021 will still have a huge list of novelties, some unprecedented additions to its manufacturers' ranges.
We share this special NEWS 2021 in two parts, with this first part introducing you to the main news of the new year, and a second part, more focused, like its protagonists, on performance — not to be missed...
SUV, CUV, and even more SUV and CUV…
The decade that has just ended could be, in the automobile world, the decade of the reign of the SUV and CUV (Sport Utility Vehicle and Crossover Utility Vehicle, respectively). Two acronyms that promise to continue to reign supreme during the new decade, given the amount of new developments expected.We start with the one who was one of the main responsible for the SUV/Crossover phenomenon in Europe, having led sales in the “old continent” for years, the Nissan Qashqai. The third generation should have been unveiled this year, but the pandemic has pushed it to 2021. But Nissan has already lifted the edge of the veil on one of its most important models of this century:
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Also among Japanese manufacturers, Toyota is preparing to substantially expand its SUV family in 2021 with the arrival of three different proposals, all of them hybrid: o Yaris Cross, corolla cross and highlander.
The first two could not be more explicit in their positioning, while the third — unprecedented in Europe, but known in other markets — becomes the largest of the brand's hybrid SUVs, positioning itself above the RAV4.
You can see how far we are from the saturation point of this typology by the number of unpublished proposals that we will see arrive in 2021.
Since Alfa Romeo Tonale — which will replace the Giulietta, which ceased production at the end of this year — which is based on the same base as the Jeep Compass; to the Renault Arkana , the brand's first “SUV-coupé”; passing by Hyundai Bayon , a compact SUV that will stand below Kauai; until the almost-certainty release of Volkswagen Nivus in Europe, developed in Brazil.
Moving up in positioning, the unpublished Maserati Grecal (with the same base as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio), BMW X8 , an X7 with more dynamic features, and not even Ferrari managed to escape the SUV fever, with the hitherto named Pure blood be known even during 2021. And we didn't stop there, when we combined the SUV typology exclusively with electrons, but we'll soon be there…
For the rest, let's get to know new generations of models, or variants of already known ones. THE Audi Q5 Sportback it differs from the Q5 we already knew for its descending roofline; the second generation of Opel Mokka starts a new visual era for the German brand; as well as the new Hyundai Tucson promises to turn heads for its bold style; The Jeep Grand Cherokee it is (finally) replaced, using foundations introduced by Alfa Romeo Stelvio; it's the Mitsubishi Outlander , the sales leader for years among plug-in hybrids in Europe, will also see a new generation.
The new "normal"
The SUV/CUV phenomenon seems to be evolving, at least taking into account not only some concepts unveiled in 2020 (which anticipate production models), but also some models arriving in 2021, some of which have already been revealed… and even driven. They are a new “race” of vehicles that soften their SUV features, but are clearly distinct from the so-called conventional typologies, such as the two and three volumes that have accompanied us for decades and decades.
One of the first of this new "race" to arrive is the Citron C4 — a model that we already had the opportunity to drive and arrives in January — which takes on contours that are reminiscent of some “SUV-Coupé”, but which is, effectively, the third generation of the French brand's family-friendly compact. We will see the same type of vehicle in the second generation of the DS 4 — interestingly perhaps the first to anticipate this new trend in its first generation.
This new trend will, quite possibly, also be embraced by the future Renault Mégane, which was anticipated by the concept Megane eVision , which anticipates an electric crossover to be known in late 2021 in its production version.
Leaving segment C, that of compact family members, we will also be able to witness the same type of transformation in segment D, that of saloons/family vans. Again with Citroën who will finally reveal the successor to C5 — another project to have been “pushed” to 2021 — but also with Ford that is close to unveiling the successor to mondeo , which abandons its sedan format and will appear only and only as a crossover — a kind of “rolled up pants” van —, already caught in street tests:
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This new trend that promises to expand in this new decade that is just beginning, could even end up becoming the new “normal” among the best-selling models on the market — at least considering the future intentions of so many brands to follow it — relegating, or at least seeming to relegate, conventional typologies to automobile history books. Is it really so?
SUV/CUV + electricity = success?
But the news for 2021 in SUV/CUV format is not over yet. When we cross the successful SUV/CUV with electric mobility, we may be in the presence of the ideal recipe to face not only the acceptance of electric cars in general, but also to face the higher prices that accompany purely electric vehicles.And in 2021 comes a flurry of SUV and CUV contour electric proposals. And we soon have a handful of potential rivals that should occupy very similar positions in the market: Nissan Ariya, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model Y, Skoda Enyaq and, not least, the Volkswagen ID.4.
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for these models to succeed commercially, practically all of them with a global reach, on which the return on the large investments made in electric mobility also depends.
We can add to these the Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback , revealed, for the time being, as prototypes; The Mercedes-Benz EQA already anticipated and, possibly still in 2021, the EQB; The Polestar 3 , already confirmed that it will be an SUV; a new electric Volvo, derived from the XC40 Recharge , to be presented next March; The Volkswagen ID.5 , more “dynamic” version of ID.4; The IONIQ 5 , the production version of the Hyundai 45; a new Kia electric crossover ; and, finally, the new, and visually controversial, BMW iX.
There are more trams coming…
Electric cars will not live only on SUVs and CUVs. Many electrical innovations are also expected for 2021 in more “conventional” formats, or at least closer to the ground.
Next year we will definitely meet the already anticipated CUPRA el-Born and Audi e-tron GT , derivations of the already known ID.3 and Taycan. BMW will unveil the final production version of the i4 — effectively, the electric version of the also new Series 4 Gran Coupé — and an electric variant of the Series 3; while Mercedes will finally lift the cloth over the EQS , which promises to be for electric cars what the S-Class is for the rest of the automotive industry.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated trams of 2021, in contrast to the ones we announced, is the dacia spring , which promises to be the cheapest electric car on the market — “stealing” the title from Renault Twingo Electric (whose commercialization also starts in 2021). We still don't know how much it costs, but it is predicted that it will be comfortably below 20,000 euros. Find out all about this intriguing model:
New among electric cars, but using a hydrogen fuel cell, we have the second generation of Toyota Mirai which, for the first time, promises to be marketed in Portugal.
Is there still room for conventional cars?
Definitely yes. But the truth is that new typologies continue to grow in prominence and the… electrifying transformation that the automobile industry is going through could mean that many of these next new developments for 2021 could also be the last generations of a certain lineage of models.
In the segment of compact family members, we will have the launch of three important models in 2021: the third generation of the Peugeot 308 , the first Opel Astra from the PSA era (derived from the same base as the 308) and the 11th generation of the Honda Civic , the latter already revealed in its North American flavor, still as a prototype.
A segment below, there will be a new Skoda Fabia , moving to the same platform as the “cousins” SEAT Ibiza and Volkswagen Polo, and keeping the van in the range — it will be the only one in the segment to have this bodywork.
The big news in the premium D segment will include a new generation of Mercedes-Benz C-Class which will have two bodies at the start — sedan and van. It promises to take a technological leap, also increasing the bet on hybrid engines. The German saloon, in addition to its usual rivals, will have an alternative rival in the form of the DS 9 , the top of the range model of the French brand.
Still in the same segment, but with a little more (and controversial) style, BMW will launch the Series 4 Gran Coupe , the five-door version of the Series 4 Coupé.
Speaking of which, it will also be accompanied by a Series 4 Convertible — from what we could ascertain, the only four-seater convertible to be launched in 2021. Without leaving the Bavarian brand, and without leaving the more emotional bodies, the curtain will be lifted on the second generation of the Series 2 Coupe which, unlike its sister Series 2 Gran Coupe, will remain faithful to rear-wheel drive — the new model's nickname is the “Drift Machine”.
The news between the two arch-rivals is not yet over. After initial rumors that it would be eliminated from the range, BMW will launch a second generation of its MPV Series 2 Active Tourer , while Mercedes-Benz will create a new Class T , itself an MPV derived from the new generation of the Citan commercial — which it will share a lot with the new Renault Kangoo , already revealed.
Last but not least, will we see the pick-up reach us Jeep Gladiator , which had been promised to us for 2020? For fans of off-road adventures, and perhaps one of the most interesting options to escape from a… complicated year.
Coming soon, NEWS 2021 for performance models.