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As announced recently, the Land Rover name as a brand will no longer be used by JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover), and the Defender, Range Rover and Discovery will become brand names rather than just model lines. It’s part of the ‘House of Brands’ approach in the company’s Reimagine roadmap moving forward.

For a start, the Defender brand will have an additional model – the new Defender 130 Outbound – along with the Defender 130 V8. These join the Defender 110 which will now be available with a new heritage-inspired County Exterior Pack, the Hardtop commercial model, and the advanced P400e PHEV variant.

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Hyundai has a wide range of models, covering virtually every segment of the market. Some models are sold in every market while a few are offered only in certain markets. For some markets, special attention is given as they are big (eg China and India) and justify ‘customising’ models to a small extent.

India gets such attention from some of the global players, especially the Korean ones. There are models which Korean carmakers have developed with the Indian market in mind, and then adapted for other markets.

Soon, Hyundai will add another new model to its range for the sub-continent. Not surprisingly, it is a crossover and it is known as the Exter. At this time, Hyundai has not provided technical details but has released just one sketch of the model which is expected to be launched later this year.

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McLaren introduced the 720s in 2017 as a replacement for the 650S and now, a replacement for the 720s is here. Introducing the all-new 2024 McLaren 750s with increased power, decreased weight, and an entirely new interior.

Power

McLaren’s powerful 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine has been enhanced with a new twin fuel pump and greater turbo boost pressure to deliver 750PS and 800Nm. With these outputs, the new 750S can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in under 2.8 seconds and from 0 to 200km/h in 7.2 seconds (7.3 in the Spider), outpacing all of its nearest rivals.

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For the first time, BYD Co. has surpassed Volkswagen AG as the most popular automaker in China, continuing its rapid ascent.

According to automobile industry figures published by Bloomberg, the Warren Buffett-backed electric vehicle manufacturer outsold its German rival in the first quarter by selling more than 440,000 cars in China. Last month, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu declared his intention to surpass Volkswagen by the end of 2023.

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The L5, China’s most expensive domestic vehicle, made its grand appearance at the Shanghai Auto Show with the latest version of Hongqi’s flagship sedan. Just like its predecessor, it follows the classic shape and lines. The outcome of it looks like a 1940s lowrider and a 2020s Rolls-Royce had a baby.

On that note, it is heavily influenced by the Brit-built Rolls and is said to be more imposing and expensive. Well, if you’re a Chinese billionaire, price should not be an issue.

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One of Britain’s most cherished automakers, Land Rover, is no more. As the custodian of the four brands Jaguar, Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender, it is currently known simply as JLR.

They are all turning electric now and a significant £15 billion (RM82.6 billion) investment in the UK automobile industry proves it.

There are likely to be many who grieve JLR’s decision to stop using the Land Rover name; it receives not a single mention in the press releases.

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Mercedes-Benz continues the legacy of one of its most enduring luxury sedans, the E-Class, even as it diversifies its range with more crossovers and a distinct line of EVs.

The E-Class will enter its tenth generation for 2024 and as you could expect from Mercedes in the 2020s, it’s going to be a complete tech feast. It’s also probably the final internal-combustion E-Class ever, given Mercedes’ stated intention to switch to all-electric vehicles by 2030.

The new W214 model is based on the same rear-drive architecture as the C- and S-Class sedans and the new GLC-Class SUV. Although it is slightly larger than the previous W213 E-Class, it has one of the lowest drag internal-combustion sedans on the market, with a drag coefficient of 0.23.

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30 years ago, many people came to know about a dinosaur that was called a raptor (full name: velociraptor). It was one of the dinosaurs in The Jurassic Park movie and it was very ferocious and very nasty.

Fast forward to today and people still talk about a raptor – except that they usually do not refer to the dinosaur but an equally ferocious Ford truck. Ford was quick to use the name, capitalising on its image known by the older generation and at the same time building an image of high performance and ruggedness for younger buyers.

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With motor vehicles becoming more electrified, fire and rescue departments have had to take into consideration the new issues of high-voltage equipment in the vehicles. Unlike the 12V battery that has been in cars for decades – mainly to provide electricity to turn the starter motor – the electrical systems in electric vehicles (EVs) run from 200V to 800V.

If the vehicle is involved in an accident and cables are disconnected or damaged, there is a danger of electricity leakage onto the bodywork. For this reason, the new generation of hybrid rallycars have warning lights to alert rescuers and spectators of any electrical danger if the car crashes. Latest regulations even require the crew to have available Class-0 gloves carried capable of withstanding 1,000 volts.

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In Vietnam, a country where Chinese rivals are swarming even as motorbikes continue to control the roads, VinFast has unveiled its cheapest electric car yet, a $23,000 (RM102k) VF 5 model for sale.

Vingroup’s electric vehicle division stated late on Friday that it is “targeting the broadest range of consumers” with the VF 5 Plus SUV, which costs around one-third as much as the company’s higher-end EVs. VinFast’s newest SUV delivers 134 hp maximum power and 135 Nm of torque.

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