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The mood at this year’s Paris Motor Show: Quiet

The Paris Motor Show, held every other year in the early fall, typically kicks off the annual cavalcade of automotive conclaves, one that traverses the globe between autumn and spring, introducing projective, conceptual and production-ready vehicle models to the international automotive press, automotive aficionados and a public hungry for news of our increasingly futuristic mobility enterprise. But this year, at the press preview days for the show, the grounds of the Porte de Versailles convention center felt a bit more sparsely populated than usual. This was not simply a subjective sensation, or one influenced by the center's atypically dispersed assemblage of seven discrete buildings, which tends to spread out the cars and the crowds. There were not only fewer new vehicles being premiered in Paris this year, there were fewer manufacturers there to display them. Major mainstream European OEM stalwarts such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Nissan and Volkswagen chose to sit out Paris this year, as did boutique manufacturers like Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. This is not simply based in some antipathy on the part of the German, British and Italian manufacturers toward the French market — though for a variety of historical and societal reasons that market may be more dominated by vehicles produced domestically than others. Rather, it is part of a larger trend in the industry. Last year, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would not be participating in the flagship North American International Auto Show in 2019 — and that it might not return. Other brands including Jaguar/Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Mazda and nearly every exotic carmaker have also departed the Detroit show. Some of these brands will still appear in the city in which the show is taking place, and host an event offsite, to capitalize on the presence of a large number of reporters in attendance. And even brands that do have a presence at the show have shifted their vehicle introductions to the days before the official press opening in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. In many ways, this makes sense. With an expanding number of automakers, with diversification and niche-ification of models and with wholesale shifts that necessitate the introduction of EV or autonomous sub-brands, there is a growing sense that, with everyone shouting at the same time, no one can be heard.

Jaguar F-Pace runs support at Tour de France

Jaguar is going back to the Tour de France. The British automaker will once again support Team Sky in its latest campaign for cycling's biggest prize by loaning out an F-Pace prototype that will run during the brutal first stage of this year's event. This marks our first genuine look at the production sheetmetal, which is lightly obscured by the Team Sky/Jaguar camouflage. Sporting a black theme, it features blue accents, carbon fiber, rubber, and chain elements reminiscent of a racing bike. Outside of that, it looks a lot like C-X17 Concept that previewed the F-Pace. Like the F-Type that was used by Team Sky in last year's race, the F-Pace will carry the team's director and a driver. They'll be joined this year by a mechanic and the team's physician, while the large trunk will house sports drinks, clothing for the riders, and spare parts for their bikes. "We are delighted to be supporting Team Sky again at such a prestigious sporting event and are excited at the prospect of the F-Pace being seen in action in public for the first time," Kevin Stride, the CUV's line director, said in the attached statement. "The Jaguar F-Pace is a striking balance of performance, style, and practicality. And what better way to showcase the vehicle's attributes than on this crucial first leg of the Tour de France." Scroll down for the full press release from Jaguar. JAGUAR F-PACE PROTOTYPE TO LEAD TEAM SKY AT THE TOUR DE FRANCE #FPACE STRICTLY UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 BST WEDNESDAY 1 JULY 2015 ? Jaguar F-PACE breaks cover at the Tour de France as official Team Sky support vehicle ? Prototype version of Jaguar's first performance crossover will be seen in public for the first time with light camouflage ? Team Sky rider Chris Froome stars alongside the Jaguar F-PACE in a short film showing real world testing of the prototype at their training camp ? Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations designs cutting edge bike racking solution to optimise quick-release of Team Sky's Pinarello Bolide TT bikes for Stage One Wednesday 1 July 2015: Jaguar will set the pace for Team Sky this Saturday when a prototype version of the highly anticipated Jaguar F-PACE will support the team at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Utrecht. Jaguar's first performance crossover is due to be revealed later in the year and is in its final stages of development.

Jaguar Land Rover building new R&D center for hybrids, EVs, autonomous cars

The success of Jaguar Land Rover in recent years has largely been down to a resurgent product lineup, but a recent move into the research and development will see the British-based, Indian-owned brands take the fight to its German rivals more aggressively than ever before.
JLR is investing 50 million pounds ($80,345,000, as of this writing) in a joint R&D center in central England. The move will more than triple its staff dedicated to research, from 150 to 500, with Wolfgang Epple, JLR's Director of Research and Technology telling Automotive News Europe, "In order to play among the big animals in automotive and to be anchored in the mind of customers you have to have offered something unique, to be first in market. We want to be one of the key premier automotive manufacturers."
Jaguar Land Rover's 50-million-pound contribution represents more than half of the 94-million-pound tab, on the so-called National Automotive Innovation Campus. Based at Warwick University, Tata's European Technical Center, Warwick Manufacturing Group and the Higher Education Funding Council, an agency of the British government, are all chipping in for the facility.