Automotive Update

Sports car manufacturer Porseh may take of the covers of a diesel and a hybrid version of the Panamera during the Geneva auto show. Porsche is also thinking of selling Panamera sedan and Cayenne SUV running on diesel in the United States which is their largest single market. The carmaker is also planning to unveil gas-electric hybrid and diesel variants of the Porshe Panamera during the upcoming motor show in Geneva.

The planned release of the new variants is a step to help Porsche answer the demand for fuel-efficient vehicles that is growing even in the luxury vehicle segment.

According to insiders, the executives of Porsche are still discussing the possibilities of bringing in the diesel version of the Cayenne and Panamera to the U.S. Maket this 2011.

Diesel Porsche Panameras have been rolling on the streets of Europe since 2009. The US and European markets have been seeing the hybrid Cayenne that depends on gasoline and electric motors.

Sources say that the hybrid Panamera may be introduced to the European consumers by summer.

The deliveries of Porsche jumped by 27% to about 97,000 unites while the order intakes grew by 49%. Porsche is enjoying a good start for 2011 and foresees rolling out more than one hundred thousand units this year. Asia is the biggest growth region among the 113 markets of Porsche across the globe.

On a wider scale, experts predict that the market for passnger cars will be improving by as much as 8% to around 65 million vehicles this year with China possibly leading the way holding 20% of the market pie.

So this is the new concept by Valmet Automotive.  It is called the Eva, and this is actually the very first picture of the car.  You guys can thank me with gifts of cash!

But seriously, Valmet Automotive is a supplier operating out of Finland, and whether you know it or not, you are most likely already familiar with them, seeing as how we all have them to think for the Porsche Cayman models and the Porsche Boxster models we know and love. In fact, the supplier will also be partnering up to both manufacture and engineer the upcoming Fisker Karma.

But enough about the supplier, let’s talk about the concept itself. I am sort of at a loss with the Eva. On the one hand, it looks pretty groovy, pretty edgy, very much a car of the future. On the other hand, it strikes me as … kind of boring.

Discuss.