{"id":287474,"date":"2026-01-16T11:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/287474\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T11:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:56:09","slug":"new-car-models-in-2026-from-leapmotor-peugeot-mazda-kia-volvo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/287474\/","title":{"rendered":"New car models in 2026 from Leapmotor, Peugeot, Mazda, Kia, Volvo"},"content":{"rendered":"

At just under 125,000 new cars sold here last year (the new car market in the UK saw sales of over two million for the same 12-month period), it’s surprising that Ireland continues to sustain the number of manufacturers and distributors that it does.<\/p>\n

Yet, competition will continue to remain keen on the Irish market in the coming year, especially with the continued growth of Chinese brands that are sold at competitive prices and well-equipped with standard features.<\/p>\n

In a relatively short period of time, they have been piling pressure on European car companies and on Tesla, also.<\/p>\n

\"Leapmotor<\/p>\n

Leapmotor – the latest Chinese arrival in Ireland – will begin further expansion of its range with a compact city SUV called the B03X that has a 67.1 kWh battery and a claimed range of 460 kilometres.<\/p>\n

The car is 4.2 metres long and 1.6 metres high and is expected to feature a comprehensive list of standard features, including safety features. It\u2019s expected to arrive here in the second half of the year.<\/p>\n

\"Peugeot<\/p>\n

Peugeot, part of the same Stellantis Group that has a holding in Leapmotor, will launch a facelift version of its 408 – a car with bold and even brave design language. It will come with three power options – fully electric, plug-in and mild hybrid.<\/p>\n

The changes are mainly cosmetic, with new LED lights front and rear, illuminated Peugeot lettering on the rear, newly improved graphics for interior screens and a reworked grille and front bumper. The electric version has a claimed range of 456 kilometres from a 58.2 kWh battery.<\/p>\n

\"Kia<\/p>\n

Contrary to some expectations, Kia’s new EV will not resemble its close relation, the Hyundai Inster, in either looks, dimensions, or price. It\u2019s going to be a bigger car with more space.<\/p>\n

It will have a choice of batteries, from 42.2 KwH, with a claimed range of 317 kilometres, to a 61 kWh battery, with a claimed range of 448 kilometres.<\/p>\n

\"Kia<\/p>\n

The interior will, like current Kia models, feature a three-screen layout – a 5.3″ climate control cluster and two 12.3″ screens for driver information and infotainment. There is a 403 litre boot.<\/p>\n

With the Inster starting price at around \u20ac20,000, the bigger ERV will likely retail alongside Renault\u2019s new 4 EV at nearer \u20ac30,000.<\/p>\n

\"Mazda<\/p>\n

Mazda has launched the CX 6e mid-sized SUV with a 78 kWh battery and a claimed range of 484 kilometres.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a biggish car with a 2.9 metre wheelbase. Mazda says the car will charge from 10 to 80 per cent capacity, but provided you\u2019re connected to a 195 kWh charger – not readily available in Ireland.<\/p>\n

In the next few days, Volvo will release details of its new XC 90, which the company says has achieved (in one test) a range of over 800 kilometres on a single charge. We\u2019ll bring you more information on it as soon as we have it.<\/p>\n

Finally, a reminder that a claimed range from car companies is just that. Depending on a variety of factors, there can be quite a discrepancy in the real world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At just under 125,000 new cars sold here last year (the new car market in the UK saw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-287474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115904655602870239","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}