1996 in motoring

	… 1986 ; 1987 ; 1988 ; 1989 ; 1990 ; 1991 ; 1992 ; ; 1993 ; 1994 ; 1995 ; 1996 ; 1997 ; 1998 ; 1999 ; ; 2000 ; 2001 ; 2002 ; 2003 ; 2004 ; 2005 ; 2006 … ;
	Art ; Archaeology ; Architecture ; Literature ; Music ; Philosophy ; Science ; +...

Last updated December 03, 2023

1996 in motoring includes with developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 1996 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

United Kingdom

Ford made its first entry into the city car market with the Fiesta-based Ka, a three-door hatchback powered by the company's 1.3 litre Endura E petrol engine and launched in September, replacing the MK3 Fiesta Classic.^[1] It also gave a facelift to its three-year-old Mondeo range in October.

Jaguar ceased XJS production after 21 years and replaced it with the new XK8.^[2]^[3] There was also a new 4.0 V8 engined coupe and cabriolet range.

France

Renault launched the Scénic, a five-seater mini MPV based on the Mégane hatchback running gear.^[4] Its 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 petrol engines are sourced from the Mégane hatchback range, as was the 1.9 turbo-diesel. It launched in France in November 1996 while UK sales began in May 1997. Renault also launched a facelifted Safrane in July while the smaller Clio also received a facelift in the Autumn to keep it competitive until a new version would arrive. After 24 years and 2 generations, Renault ends production of the R5 which was offered alongside the Clio as a budget model and also marks the end of numerical badged Renault's.

At the upper end of the MPV market, Renault redesigned the Espace in a new format for the first time since its launch in 1984 with French sales starting in December while a larger version of it is also planned.

Peugeot gave its five-year-old 106 supermini a facelift in July, while Citroën adopted the design for its AX replacement. The new Saxo which launched in the Spring came in 1.0, 1.1, 1.4 and 1.6-litre engined "VTR" and "VTS" hatchback models as well as a 1.5 diesel. A 3-door model arrived first with a 5-door model to follow later.

Germany

Volkswagen launched a new version of its Passat which launched first in Germany and Continental Europe and later in the UK and the US, eight years after the previous generation Passat was launched and three years since the Passat received its latest redesign. Engines ranged from a 1.6 petrol to a 2.8 V6, along with a 1.9 turbo-diesel.

BMW replaced the 5 Series medium-sized executive model with a new model after eight years in the Spring. The 5 Series was visually similar to its predecessor. A saloon launched first with an estate to follow later.

Audi launched the A3, a three-door hatchback based on the MK3 VW Golf in the Autumn powered by 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol engines as well as the 1.9 turbo-diesel.^[5]

A new addition to the Mercedes range was the SLK – a two-seater sports car with a folding convertible-style steel roof and a supercharged 2.3 litre engine capable of 150 mph. It was designed as a direct competitor to two new rival sports cars that have recently come from Germany – the Porsche Boxster which launched in the same year and the BMW Z3, due for a European launch.

Spain

SEAT moved into the multi-purpose vehicle market with the Alhambra. It used the same design as the Volkswagen Sharan and Ford Galaxy, as well as the same engines, and was built alongside these cars in Portugal. Sales began in June 1996.

Japan

Honda launched a new version of its Prelude sporting coupe.

The Nissan Primera had its second generation launched, six years after replacing the Bluebird. Like its predecessor it was built at the Sunderland plant in northern England. Nissan's Japanese plant also produced a version of the Primera; while the American version was badged as the Infiniti G20. Sales began in October 1996, the same time as Ford's facelifted Mondeo.

Related Research Articles

The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982–1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coefficient of 0.34, a significant improvement over its predecessors.

The Ford Orion is a small family car that was produced by Ford Europe from 1983 until 1993. A total of 3,534,239 units were sold during the car's ten-year production life.

The Renault Mégane, also spelled without the acute accent as Megane, especially in languages other than French, and also known as the Renault Megavan for an LCV in Ireland, as the Renault Scala in Iran and as the Renault Mégane Grandcoupé for the saloon in Israel, North Macedonia, Palestinian Authority and Serbia for certain generations, is a small family car produced by the French car manufacturer Renault for model year 1996, and was the successor to the Renault 19. The Mégane has been offered in three- and five-door hatchback, saloon, coupé, convertible and estate bodystyles at various points in its lifetime, and having been through four generations is now in its fifth incarnation.

The Rover 400 Series, and later the Rover 45, are a series of small family cars that were produced by the British manufacturer Rover from 1990 to 2005. The cars were co-developed as part of Rover's collaboration with Honda. The first-generation 400 was based on the Honda Concerto, and the Mark II 400 was based on the Honda Domani/Civic.

The Ford Galaxy is a seven-seater car produced by Ford of Europe from June 1995 to April 2023. Considered in the motor industry to be a large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it was the first Ford-brand MPV produced and marketed outside of North America, the model line is currently in its third generation. Sharing its platform architecture with the Ford Mondeo, the Galaxy was developed alongside the Ford S-Max; the model line is slotted between the Connect and Custom variants of the Ford Tourneo/Transit model family.

The Škoda Fabia is a series of passenger cars produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since 1999. It is the successor of the Škoda Felicia, which was discontinued in 2001. The Fabia was available in hatchback, estate and saloon body styles at launch, and from 2007, the second generation was offered in hatchback and estate versions. The third generation Fabia was launched in 2015, and the fourth in 2021.

1984 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry throughout 1984 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the Earth's most important economic sectors by revenue. The first practical automobile with a petrol engine was built by Karl Benz in 1885 in Mannheim, Germany.

1989 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry throughout the year 1989 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

1991 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 1991 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

1992 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 1992 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

1994 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 1994 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

1995 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 1995 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

1997 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry that occurred in 1997, listed by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

1998 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 1998 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles.

1999 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 1999 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country.

2000 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 2000 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country.

Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany.

2002 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 2002 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country.

The Ford Mondeo Mk IV (third generation), codenamed CD345 was officially unveiled in five-door production form by Ford in late 2006. Based on the EUCD platform developed with Volvo, the platform was the same as that used in the new large MPVs Galaxy and S-MAX, but not the North American Ford Fusion or the Mazda Atenza in Japan. It was also used for several Volvos starting with the Volvo S80 II.

This article 2004 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry that occurred throughout the year 2004 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country.

References

↑ "Future Retro: Ford Ka". Dep-O Magazine. Archived from the original on March 31, 2010.
↑ Howe, James (2023-08-15). "Jaguar XK8 (X100) buyer's guide". Classics World. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
↑ "First Prototype For Sale: The PBB Design Jaguar XJR-S V12 "Monaco"". Silodrome. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
↑ "Renault et les voitures à vivre : 50 ans d'histoire depuis la Renault 16 - Renault Group". www.renaultgroup.com (in French). Retrieved 2022-08-18.
↑ SRL, Autronica (2008-09-01). Manuale di riparazione elettronica Audi A3 1.6 FSI 115 cv - EAV33 (in Italian). Autronica Srl. p. 33. ISBN 978-88-6784-168-4.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Future Retro: Ford Ka". Dep-O Magazine. Archived from the original on March 31, 2010.

[2] Howe, James (2023-08-15). "Jaguar XK8 (X100) buyer's guide". Classics World. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[3] "First Prototype For Sale: The PBB Design Jaguar XJR-S V12 "Monaco"". Silodrome. 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-11-29.

[4] "Renault et les voitures à vivre : 50 ans d'histoire depuis la Renault 16 - Renault Group". www.renaultgroup.com (in French). Retrieved 2022-08-18.

[5] SRL, Autronica (2008-09-01). Manuale di riparazione elettronica Audi A3 1.6 FSI 115 cv - EAV33 (in Italian). Autronica Srl. p. 33. ISBN 978-88-6784-168-4.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]