Recent years have been nothing if not predictably unpredictable, so allow us to fill you in on what’s to come in 2024 well in advance

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEW CARS

NIO WILL SHOW UP ON YOUR RADAR

Many new Chinese car brands are launching in the UK, but few intrigue as much as Nio. Its EVs are desirable and good to drive and it will join Tesla in having its own proprietary charging network, thanks to its battery-swapping stations. That latter point will be a key differentiator. Expect Nio’s UK launch in 2025 to be confirmed this year. MT

WE WILL ALL FALL IN LOVE WITH RENAULT

Luca de Meo has turned around Renault’s financial position while still working with the same showroom of solid if unspectacular models. Now we’re about to see what the CEO can do when the company launches some cars of real character and innovation. The 5, 4 and Mk1 Twingo will all be revived for the EV era as part of his ‘Renaulution’ plan. We will see the 5 first at the Geneva show next year, and if it’s anything like the concept (pictured), it could be the UK’s most wanted small car. MT

JAGUAR WILL FINALLY SHOW US ITS FUTURE

We had the Defender in 2020, the Range Rover in 2021 and the Range Rover Sport in 2022, but JLR’s headline 2024 unveiling is more important than each of those combined.

Within the next 12 months, Whitley will finally officially reveal (our huge scoop last year was the first sign) what the reinvented, all-electric Jaguar brand looks like, as it unwraps the first model in its revamped line-up ahead of a market launch in 2025.

Taking the form of a sleek, high-powered luxury grand tourer to rival Porsche’s Taycan, it will set the tone for a line-up that will be extended with the addition of a limousine and an SUV over the coming years, introducing a radical new look that does away with every established Jaguar hallmark and bringing the performance and technology necessary to justify the brand’s repositioning north of the £100,000 mark. There really can be no underestimating its importance; our money is on it being the biggest reveal of the year.

Coming in a close second (even though we have a pretty good idea of what it will look like) is the long-awaited electric Range Rover, which will be revealed and launched in 2024.

It will be based on the same MLA platform as the ICE car, promising comparable off-road ability and refinement, but bosses have so far kept schtum on any technical details, save for telling us it will be the “world’s first electric luxury SUV”. Given the dearth of directly comparable EVs due to be on sale around that time, they might be right.

Check back this time next year to read the first Range Rover versus Kia twin test. FP

FLOCKS OF SEAGULLS WILL LAND IN THE UK

BYD wanted to double its sales to more than four million cars in 2023, pinning its hopes on a successful European launch. That hasn’t quite happened: it had managed fewer than 10,000 sales in the region by the end of September. If it wants to really crank up the volume, it needs to enter the popular compact car segment. Its new Seagull is the perfect car for the job. Asub-£8000 electric four-seater with a 252-mile range, it’s sure to find buyers on value for money alone. CM

PETROL AVENGER WILL BE A BIG HIT

Jeep has always had compelling designs, but they effectively wrote cheques the cars themselves couldn’t cash. The Avenger is finally a Jeep that’s as good to drive as it is to look at, but who’s got £35,000 for an electric one? The petrol version retains most of its appeal but costs a much more enticing £27,000. CM