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Skoda’s first stand-alone electric car based on the Vision E concept is set to get both standard SUV and coupé variants, akin to the Kodiaq and (China-only) Kodiaq coupé. First deliveries of the production model are due at the end of 2021, but it is not yet clear which variant will arrive first. The Vision E concept has a coupé rear, reflecting the growing po[CENSORED]rity of SUVs with coupé rooflines to create a more sporty appearance. Both versions will be based on the Volkswagen Group’s electric-only MEB platform, which is being used across all of the company's brands. Skoda sales and marketing boss Alain Favey has previously told Autocar that the Vision E “gives a very good idea of what the EV will look like.” Inside, the car will adopt the 'floating' screen seen in the Vision X concept, shown earlier this year. Both coupé and standard SUV variants will sit between the Karoq and Kodiaq in terms of size and each will have a battery that will be capable of at least 300 miles of range. Pricing will be comparable with that of a mid- to upper-range Kodiaq so we can expect the EV to cost from around £28,000. Ahead of the Vision E-based models arriving, Skoda will launch the electric Citigo-e, a sibling of the Volkswagen e-Up and future Seat eMii. The car is largely intended for Skoda and its network to gain experience in electric cars, to make sure dealers and repairers are ready. “The real first step [into electric cars] will be with the [stand-alone SUV]," Favey has said.

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Issues on reforms in the Army will also be discussed during the conference NEW DELHI: Top Army commanders will deliberate on operational challenges and reform initiatives during a week-long conference starting Tuesday. During the Army Commanders' Conference, to be held till October 15, a host of issues ranging from operational, administrative, logistics and human resources will be discussed, a statement said. As part of the conclave, commanders and directorates at the Army Headquarters will in a collegiate deliberate on important studies that have been ordered to meet future operational challenges, it said. There are four studies examining the issues of the Army and the headquarters as also human resources management aspects. These studies aim to improve the "teeth to tail ratio", with the purpose of strengthening the structures within the Army, to make it combat ready for the future, the statement said. Various issues related to reform initiatives in the force will also be discussed during the conference, sources said. Last month, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and top commanders held detailed deliberations on ways to make the force "leaner and meaner", which included carrying out an extensive organisational restructuring and downsizing of the force. The Defence Ministry has already announced a series of reform measures for the Army which include redeployment of nearly 57,000 officers and other ranks as well as ensuring better utilisation of resources.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to shut its Solihull factory for two weeks later this month, following a significant decline in global sales in September. The company had already begun adjusting the output of its factories in response to market demand, with 2000 workers at the Castle Bromwich factory responsible for the Jaguar XE, XF and XJ saloons moving to a three-day working week until after the Christmas period. The Solihull plant will shut for two weeks on 22 October, with no jobs affected by the closure. “As part of the company’s continued strategy for profitable growth, Jaguar Land Rover is focused on achieving operational efficiencies and will align supply to reflect fluctuating demand globally as required,” a JLR spokesperson said. “The decision to introduce a two-week shutdown period later this month at Solihull is one example of actions we are taking to achieve this. “Customer orders in the system will not be impacted and employees affected will be paid for the duration of the shutdown.” Worldwide sales of 57,114 cars in September was a 12.3% decrease compared with the same month last year, despite what JLR calls “strong” demand for new luxury models such as the Range Rover Velar and the electric Jaguar I-Pace. The Chinese market suffered the biggest decline, at a significant 46.2% - a slip the company blames on changes in import duty and continued trade tensions holding back consumer demand. European numbers also decreased by 4.7% JLR’s UK sales fell by just 0.8% in September, bucking the industry-wide decline of 20.5%. Several factors can be attributed to the slump, including shrinking demand for diesel models, reduced interest in saloon cars and ongoing Brexit uncertainty. Unite, the UK’s biggest union for car workers, said a “triple whammy” of Brexit uncertainty, government confusion over diesel and ministers’ half-hearted support for electric vehicles was threatening the future of the UK car industry. “Government ministers’ trashing of diesel, despite the UK making some of the cleanest engines in the world, combined with their shambolic handling of Brexit, is damaging the UK car industry and the supply chain,” Unite national officer Des Quinn said. “Over the past decade, Jaguar Land Rover workers have worked tirelessly to turn the car maker’s fortunes around. Ministers now risk turning them and their colleagues in the supply chain from hero to zero.” Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth has previously condemned the lack of certainly in the market, saying that if the right Brexit deal is not secured, “tens of thousands” of jobs could go at the firm. The company currently employs 40,000 people across the UK, with many more linked through JLR's supplier network. The company has refused to rule out more permanent changes, saying it is "continuing to over-proportionally invest in new products and technologies and are committed to our UK plants, in which we have invested more than £4 billion since 2010, to future-proof manufacturing technologies to deliver new models.”

A few years ago, you’d have said a mainstream manufacturer trying to give its staple D-segment saloon model an extra-special persona would be better off trying to land one on Uranus. Big four-doors were what every self-respecting family had on the drive, the commonest sight in school-day queues for the local roundabout. Today, the vogue is SUVs. Family saloons have begun acquiring a comparative sleekness and delicacy, assisted by new-age aerodynamics and the latest in lighting design. They’re also becoming almost exclusive on our roads. The once ubiquitous Ford Mondeo has been a stranger to the UK’s bestseller list for a decade, and the Peugeot 508 has been ranked a way below that. Now there’s a new 508 and, admirably, Peugeot has viewed this change as an opportunity. It started producing ‘5-oh-something’ models exactly 50 years ago with the legendary 504, a car so distinguished that it effortlessly eclipsed its peers on the grounds of comfort, sophistication and durability. It was so loved in Africa that it lasted until 2006 in Nigerian production. In Europe, however, after an indifferent 505 launched in 1979, the company shelved the ‘five-oh’ idea until the first 508 of 2011, a slightly fat-bodied saloon tasked with replacing both the 407 and the 607. That was a tough test, and understandably the car didn’t exactly exce

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