Six new car brands coming to the UK this year including Porsche rival & EV-maker selling bargain-priced hatchback
FRESH FACES Six new car brands coming to the UK this year including Porsche rival & EV-maker selling bargain-priced hatchback
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A WAVE of new car brands is set to enter the UK market this year, with many hailing from China as they shift their focus towards Europe.
Among them is BYD's rival to Porsche, as well as NIO's budget-friendly sub-brand, Firefly, which could compete with established players such as Renault and Dacia.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
Denza
6
Move over Porsche... Denza is coming to town
Credit: Denza
Porsche could soon face some serious competition from China in the form of motoring giant BYD.
The ever-expanding car brand, one of the largest private companies in China, has already begun making waves globally, including in the UK, with its range of Tesla-challenging EVs.
For those seeking something with more speed and luxury, their sister brand Denza might appeal, starting with the first car in its line-up – the stunning Z9 GT.
Clearly borrowing design cues from Porsche's Taycan and Panamera, the grand tourer, with its shooting brake estate styling, was unveiled at the recent Milan Design Week ahead of its European market release later this year.
The Z9 GT, available in both EV and PHEV variants, will be followed by four to six models in Europe, including SUVs and off-roaders, launching over the next few years.
Firefly
6
Firefly, which belongs to the Chinese car manufacturer Nio, will look to take on the budget car segment
Credit: Pacific Coast News
From one sister brand to another: Firefly will be the lower-tier, budget option introduced by Chinese EV maker NIO.
Its first UK offering will be a sleek, five-door supermini designed to rival the Renault 5 and Dacia Spring as one of the most affordable electric cars on the market.
Specifications such as power and range have yet to be confirmed, but it will feature NIO's innovative battery-swap technology.
GAC
6
Mini, who? China's answer to the famous hatchback is on the way
Credit: Instagram
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the little-known brand GAC is preparing to take on the mighty MINI with an all-electric hatchback.
The Chinese manufacturer, which has partnerships with Honda and Toyota, is one of the country's largest carmakers.
Watch the promo for the BYD Sealion 7
GAC is gearing up for its UK debut with the stylish Aion UT hatchback, billed as 'China's version of the Mini'.
The compact car certainly bears a resemblance to the iconic Mini and has been designed with city driving in mind.
In terms of size, it's perhaps closer to the Volkswagen ID.3, with its interior space being remarkably well-utilised.
The Aion UT is expected to launch in the UK at a price point just above £20,000, making it significantly cheaper than the £30,795-rated ID.3 and roughly on par with the MG 4 EV and the Renault 5.
Mobilize
6
The Mobilize Duo is Renault's take on the quadricycle
Credit: www.mobilize.co.uk
It's not all about China, as Renault's new urban mobility brand is entering the fray to challenge the UK's favourite quadricycles – the enduring Citroën Ami and the charming Micro Microlino.
The Mobilize Duo, a spiritual successor to the cult-favourite Twizy, reportedly has a 100-mile range with its larger battery version, while a van variant—called the Bento—provides additional cargo space at the rear.
Onvo
6
The plush Onvo L60 coupe-SUV
Credit: Getty
Another NIO-owned brand is set to arrive in the UK in the coming months, offering an affordable EV that could give Tesla a run for its money.
The luxurious Onvo L60 coupe-SUV is expected to hit showrooms soon, with a particular emphasis on value as it aims to undercut Tesla's hugely popular Model Y.
The L60 prioritises interior space, with NIO claiming the model's short overhangs maximise cabin room and that 'with ingenious storage design, every occupant can bring along their own luggage'.
It's also significantly more powerful than the £46,990-rated Model Y, featuring a 900V electrical architecture capable of ultra-rapid charging.
Yangwang
6
Yangwang's go anywhere U8
Credit: BYD
The curiously named Yangwang, like Denza, is linked to BYD – but with an added touch of prestige.
Yangwang specialises in large, luxury SUVs, such as the Yangwang U8, a rugged off-roader with a surprising party trick: it can float in water for up to 30 minutes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
18 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Chinese military chiefs develop killer bird-drone powered by flapping wings
The drones could be used to assassinate enemy VIPs CHINESE military chiefs have developed a killer bird drone powered by flapping wings, The Sun on Sunday can reveal. The new weapon - known as an 'ornithopter' - has been built to resemble Eurasian tree sparrow and was revealed during a recent demonstration by Chinese special forces. Advertisement The drone replicates the wing-flapping motion of a sparrow in flight, making it virtually indistinguishable from real birds at a distance, according to the latest edition of Soldier Magazine. A video of the occasion shows an officer with the Peoples' Liberation Army Sea Commandos releasing the sparrow-like drone as he resurfaced from the water. The drone then circled in the sky for a few minutes while flapping its wings like a real bird. Another clip shows a commando operating a larger drone, which is similar in size to a raven or hawk. Advertisement Details of how the bird-drone is powered and flies remain secret but defence sources believe drones of this size would normally use small advanced sensors allowing the operator to spy on enemy troops. Defence sources have also claimed that this new generation of drones can also be armed with micro-warheads to strike enemy assets, especially those in cover. The drones could also be used to assassinate enemy VIPs such as senior military commanders. But small drones often have a limited range and endurance, making them suitable only for short-range reconnaissance. Advertisement Colonel Phil Ingram, a former Army intelligence officer told The Sun on Sunday: 'These drones could revolutionise reconnaissance operations on the battlefield. 'It's just a matter of time before we see these being used in war zones such as Ukraine and there is quite a strong likelihood that they could already be part of Russia's drone armoury. Incredible moment wounded Ukrainian soldier is delivered e-bike by drone so he can escape while surrounded by Russians 'They will be used to conduct short term spying missions and if they can be fitted with a small warhead or weapon they could be used to take out individual battlefield commanders.' In 2021, the South China Morning Post uploaded a video of what it called a 'robo-fish' wagging its tail underwater. Advertisement The device was not a real fish, but a drone with the potential for underwater surveillance.
Telegraph
21 hours ago
- Telegraph
Reeves making bigger mistakes than Truss, says Badenoch
Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are making 'even bigger mistakes' than Liz Truss and have not learnt the lessons of her mini-budget, Kemi Badenoch has warned. Writing in The Telegraph, the Tory leader accuses the Government of taking Britain's finances 'to the brink' over concerns that it is pushing the country into a 'debt spiral'. Comparing Labour to Ms Truss marks Mrs Badenoch 's first major public criticism of the former Conservative prime minister, whose tax-cutting 2022 mini-budget was followed by a market meltdown. Mrs Badenoch says: 'For all their mocking of Liz Truss, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have not learnt the lessons of the mini-budget and are making even bigger mistakes. 'They continue to borrow more and more, unable and unwilling to make the spending cuts needed to balance the books.' Her comments are a bid to blunt Labour's continued efforts to pin Britain's current economic woes on the Tory legacy of Ms Truss's premiership. Almost three years on, Ms Reeves and Sir Keir still regularly resort to blaming the mini-budget for unpopular decisions on tax and spending. But the remarks also risk reopening old wounds within the Tories, with some allies of Ms Truss arguing that she had the right vision for a low-tax economy. A source close to Liz Truss told The Telegraph: 'Kemi has not learned the lessons of the Mini Budget, which is that when Conservative MPs fail to back tax cuts, fracking and welfare restraint, they get booted out of office. 'The Bank of England has since admitted that two thirds of the market movement in 2022 was down to their failure properly to regulate pensions. 'Kemi needs to do the work and actually look at what happened in 2022 and hold the Bank of England to account.' The former Tory prime minister has said it was failures by the Bank of England, rather than her tax cuts, which led to the subsequent financial turmoil. Her supporters have also pointed out that borrowing costs on Government bonds have risen to a higher level now than in the aftermath of the mini-budget. In her now infamous mini-budget in September 2022, Ms Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor at the time, announced a series of surprise tax cuts, including the abolition of the top 45p income tax rate. It was not accompanied by a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility, nor did it contain any spending restraints to balance the books. The budget provoked a calamitous market reaction, with the pound hitting an all-time low against the US dollar, government borrowing costs surging and increased mortgage rates. Ms Truss was swiftly forced to abandon the 45p cut and sack Mr Kwarteng, replacing him with Jeremy Hunt, to try and calm the financial markets. She resigned two weeks later. Since coming to power last year, Labour has also been criticised for its financial decisions. Ms Reeves used June's spending review to set out a £300bn spree over the next five years, to be funded by higher taxes and more debt. She has handed a £190bn increase to public services, paid for by the tax raid on businesses which has been blamed for stalling economic growth. A further £113bn will be ploughed into infrastructure projects after the Chancellor tore up her fiscal rules to allow herself to borrow more for investment. Last month's borrowing figure came in at £20.7bn, the second-highest level on record behind June 2020, when the Treasury was funding furlough payments. As a result, Mrs Badenoch warns that Britain is entering a 'debt spiral'. She says the reversal on £5bn of cuts to sickness benefits has added 'more pressure to the public purse' and has fuelled fears of further growth killing tax rises. The UK now faces higher borrowing costs than once-bankrupt Greece and is spending more on debt interest repayments every year than the entire defence budget. Mrs Badenoch writes: 'Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have taken profligate spending to a different level. The UK economy is teetering on the brink. 'Bond markets are increasingly jittery about the levels of borrowing today with no balancing spending decreases. This is how countries enter a debt spiral. 'But it is not inevitable, it is a choice. A debt crisis would make everyone in the country a lot poorer and ruin people's lives. 'The Prime Minister must not let pride stop him doing what, I sincerely hope, he knows deep down is essential – cutting government spending.' Mrs Badenoch's comments also come against the backdrop of internal disagreement over whether the Tory party should continue to apologise for its time in office. She used her first speech as leader, delivered in December last year, to directly say sorry to voters for the Conservatives' failures on immigration. One of her closest allies, Baroness Maclean of Redditch, told a meeting in June that the party had 'done the apologies' and should now move on to setting out policies. But a few weeks later Alex Burghart, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told activists that the Tories should keep acknowledging their mistakes. Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, had led internal Tory criticism of the mini-budget, vowing last month that the party would 'never, ever' repeat it. Until now Mrs Badenoch had held her fire, though she did privately tell her shadow cabinet that it would be helpful if Ms Truss made fewer public interventions. Her warning comes after the International Monetary Fund and senior City figures sounded the alarm about Britain's spiralling debt. Ray Dalio, a billionaire US hedge fund investor, warned last week that the UK has entered a 'doom loop' of more borrowing, higher taxes and low growth. Ms Reeves has repeatedly refused to rule out returning with more tax rises in the autumn despite warnings that doing so would further damage the economy. The Chancellor is under growing pressure from Left-wing backbenchers to introduce a wealth tax, which would probably prompt a fresh exodus of entrepreneurs. Starmer and Reeves have not learnt the lessons of the mini-budget By Kemi Badenoch Picture the scene: a new Prime Minister and Chancellor spending billions without also making the necessary savings to offset their splurge and balance the books. The markets react adversely, interest rates spike and the cost of living gets worse with prices soaring. For all their mocking of Liz Truss, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have not learnt the lessons of the mini-budget and are making even bigger mistakes. They continue to borrow more and more, unable and unwilling to make the spending cuts needed to balance the books. They are egged on by a Left-wing Reform Party, chasing Labour votes with ever more outlandish promises of nationalisation and welfare giveaways. The Conservative Party is now under new leadership, and my abiding principle will be that the country must live within its means. Before you dismiss us as being part of the problem, (after all, the mini-budget happened on our watch), the difference is that in 2022 we recognised what had gone wrong and took action to fix it. Labour aren't doing this. In fact they're making a bad situation even worse. Since the pandemic, Britain has become more and more reliant on debt to pay for public services. We now spend almost twice as much on debt interest than we do on defence. And the deficit is over £70bn. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have taken profligate spending to a different level. Labour politicians are used to entering office with a surplus built up by cost-cutting Conservatives. Their instincts are simply to spend more, and they were wholly unprepared for the post-Covid economic situation. We saw it when both Starmer and Farage refused to back my call to keep the two-child benefit cap, a policy that saves £3 billion a year. And we saw it again when the Prime Minister watered down his own Welfare Bill. Instead of making savings, it now actually increases welfare spending – adding more pressure to the public purse. Before that debate, I made a straightforward offer: Conservative MPs would give him the numbers in Parliament to get the Bill through, if the Prime Minister committed to cutting welfare costs, getting people into work, and ruling out further tax rises this autumn. He refused. So instead, we watched as the Government stripped its own legislation of any serious reform. The markets were also watching. The UK's borrowing costs are reaching levels not seen for 30 years – higher than even those in Greece. Incredibly, borrowing costs are higher now than after the mini-budget. That means prices rising and the long-running cost of living crisis continuing. The UK economy is teetering on the brink. There are now warnings, in the City and in Westminster, that a fiscal crisis may even be on the horizon. Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said this week that Britain had entered a 'doom loop' of rising debts, higher taxes and slower growth. Dalio's warnings came days after the International Monetary Fund said the government must take radical action to avoid a debt spiral. As we all saw in 2022, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister are reliant on the bond markets. Yet those bond markets are increasingly jittery about the levels of borrowing today with no balancing spending decreases. Rachel Reeves's unfunded series of U-turns have only added to the pressure. She is boxed in by her party on one side, and her fiscal rules on the other. Everyone now assumes tax rises are coming in the November Budget and the Government isn't denying it. The OBR is warning that higher tax is not good for growth. They are right. The Institute of Directors say that taxes and dire economic outlook is leading to the worst business confidence since the pandemic. Labour's mismanagement of our economy is having real consequences, and it's working people, savers and business owners who will pay more for declining public services. At the same time, rising welfare and poor incentives are pushing more people out of the workforce, making our problems even harder to fix. This is how countries enter a debt spiral. But it is not inevitable, it is a choice. A debt crisis would make everyone in the country a lot poorer and ruin people's lives. The Prime Minister must not let pride stop him doing what, I sincerely hope, he knows deep down is essential: cutting government spending. He should do so, for all our sakes.
Auto Blog
a day ago
- Auto Blog
This Is What Toyota's Answer to the Ford Maverick Might Look Like
By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. Just as expected, the Turbo S is the culmination of all Porsche's technologies in a single 911-shaped package. You can lease a 2025 Mazda CX-90 or CX-90 PHEV for as little as $316 per month Ford is looking to have a 'Model T Moment,' according to CEO Jim Farley, as it prepares to roll out a new family of 'affordable' battery-electric vehicles. But exactly what's coming? How low will prices go? And what role did China play? The world's largest carmaker is preparing to jump into the compact pickup market. The small lifestyle pickup will take on the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz, with a potential launch window in 2026 or 2027. And unlike the Hilux, this one's not being built to pull tree stumps out of bogs — it's aimed squarely at young urbanites, daily drivers, and maybe even your neighbor who already owns three camping chairs and a roof box. Thanks to rendering artist, Theottle, we have some idea of what it might look like. 0:09 / 0:09 Chevrolet says a next-gen Camaro is still possible. What could it look like? Watch More Source: Theottle/YouTube A Properly-Sized Pickup For America (And Maybe The World) The new model will most likely be based on either the RAV4's TNGA-K platform or the smaller Corolla-based TNGA-C, meaning this ute is more crossover than crawler. The size is expected to be slightly shorter than a RAV4, and powertrains will likely be hybrid-first, including a plug-in hybrid variant capable of over 60 miles (100 km) of EV-only range. Not only would this make it Toyota's most efficient pickup ever, but it comes at a time when the company is doubling down on reliability and sheer road presence. Toyota claims over 150 million of its cars are still on the road today — a handy fact when you're trying to win over budget-conscious buyers who don't want to own a disposable trucklet. Source: Theottle/YouTube Ford's Sales Surge May Be Forcing Toyota's Hand Although Toyota still holds the overall U.S. sales crown, it's now under pressure from all angles. According to recent Q2 data, Ford is catching up fast. Ford's year-over-year gains are outpacing Toyota's, and with the Maverick continuing to be a runaway success, it's no wonder Toyota sees the need to respond. A hybrid ute that undercuts the Tacoma and gives buyers something between a crossover and a proper truck would fill a glaring gap in their lineup. Built In America, Sold Back To Japan? It's not just the U.S. market Toyota is eyeing. There's also growing speculation — including recent comments from Chairman Akio Toyoda himself — that American-made Toyotas may soon be sold in Japan. This follows new trade agreements that make it easier to import U.S.-built vehicles to Japan by removing complex certification barriers. If Toyota does choose to build this pickup in North America, it could be among the first models to benefit. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. What To Expect: Specs & Strategy While Toyota hasn't confirmed specifics yet, early reports suggest the new ute will be based on either the RAV4's TNGA-K platform or the smaller Corolla-based TNGA-C. That means a car-like ride, excellent hybrid integration, and a front-wheel-drive layout with optional all-wheel drive. Powertrains are expected to include both a regular hybrid and a plug-in hybrid, with the latter capable of over 60 miles of electric-only driving. That figure would place it at the top of its class in terms of efficiency. If Toyota's internal timelines are accurate, the truck could launch in North America in late 2026 or early 2027, with other markets to follow. Expect it to slot below the Tacoma in price and size, aimed squarely at buyers who want the rugged look of a pickup without the fuel bills or size penalties. About the Author Max Taylor View Profile
