The Volkswagen Tiguan is a compact SUV made by Volkswagen. It’s designed for everyday driving with extra space compared to smaller cars. The podcast brings it up because it has a specific registration number in a ranking.
The Volkswagen Golf is a small car (a hatchback) made by Volkswagen. People buy it for everyday driving because it’s practical and widely available. The podcast mentions it because it has a certain number of registrations.
The Nissan Qashqai is a small crossover SUV made by Nissan. It’s designed for everyday driving and is popular with many buyers. The podcast mentions it because it has a certain number of registrations in a list.
The Vauxhall Corsa 5-door is a small car with four side doors plus a hatchback. The extra doors make it easier for passengers to get in and out. The podcast mentions it because it has a specific registration number.
The Kia Sportage is a small SUV made by Kia. People choose it for everyday driving with space and comfort. The podcast mentions it because it has a certain number of registrations compared with other cars.
The Ford Puma is a small SUV/crossover made by Ford. It’s designed for everyday driving with a higher seating position than a hatchback. The podcast mentions it because it has a specific number of registrations.
Brand
DS
DS is a car brand that sells more upmarket models than regular mainstream cars. Here, they’re talking about how many DS cars were registered recently and whether that number went up or down compared to before.
The Hyundai Genesis is a luxury car line made by Hyundai. In the podcast, it’s mentioned because its registrations are down by a stated percentage. That’s part of a broader comparison of how different car brands are doing.
A percentage can make something look like a huge problem even if the actual number of cars is small. The hosts are basically saying you should also look at the real counts, not just the percentages.
A plug-in hybrid is a car that uses both electricity and gas. You can charge it by plugging it in, but it can also run on gas when the battery runs low.
A battery electric vehicle is a car that runs only on electricity from a battery. It doesn’t have a gas engine, unlike plug-in hybrids that can use both gas and electricity.
The Ford Fiesta is a popular small Ford car name that’s been around for years in Europe. Here, they’re talking about Ford trying to bring back that familiar name for a new electric model.
Renault 4 is a well-known older Renault small car name, and Renault has also used it for a newer version. The discussion is basically about whether the new “Bronco Mini” idea would be based on that Renault 4—then they say it likely won’t be.
The Ford Bronco Sport is a smaller SUV. The point they’re making is that it uses a shared vehicle “foundation” (platform), so it could potentially have been sold in Europe using existing engineering.
The Ford Escape is a compact SUV made by Ford. It’s meant for everyday driving and family use. The podcast mentions it because it’s a well-known model name and they’re talking about availability in different places.
The Ford Cougar is a Ford model name mentioned in the podcast. The hosts say it uses the same basic underlying design (“platform”) as another Ford vehicle. That’s why it’s brought up in the discussion.
The Ford Bronco is Ford’s off-road SUV. Here, the host means Ford wants to use the “Bronco” name like a brand umbrella for more off-road models and versions.
Jim Borbick is a Ford executive. In this segment, he’s quoted explaining what Ford wants these new off-road vehicles to be like for European customers.
The Ford F-150 is a large pickup truck made by Ford. Pickup trucks are built for hauling and towing, but many people also use them for everyday driving. The podcast mentions it while talking about what Ford is focusing on.
“Raptor” is Ford’s performance off-road trim line, known for upgraded suspension and durability aimed at rough terrain. In this segment, the host groups “Bronco Sport” and “Raptor variants” together as part of Ford’s off-road expansion plan.
The Ford Ranger is Ford’s midsize pickup truck platform, and the host is discussing a “super duty” variant of it. The key point here is that this Ranger-based offshoot is being positioned for heavy-duty, specialized use (emergency services and military).
Transit City is an electric van mentioned in the podcast. It’s being developed with JMC, and it’s aimed at commercial use. The hosts bring it up as part of upcoming electric-vehicle plans.
Monroe is a company making electric vehicles. They’re based near Glasgow and are trying to build specialized electric off-road trucks for things like defense and fleet use.
An EV startup is a newer company trying to make electric cars or trucks. Because they’re new, there can be extra risk that deliveries take longer than people expect.
These are electric vehicles built to go off-road—on dirt, mud, and uneven ground. Here, the host says Monroe is making them for specialized buyers like defense and fleet operators.
“Series M” is the name of Monroe’s electric vehicle line. They’ve been taking orders for it since 2023 and are now starting to deliver customer vehicles.
Arrival is mentioned as a warning story about an electric-vehicle company that ran into serious problems. The host is basically saying Monroe should avoid the same kinds of mistakes.
Term
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands are referenced as where Arrival had offices. The point is less about geography and more about the host’s skepticism toward how the company was set up.
The host says Avanish Ruguba is the new CEO. They also mention he used to work on strategy for General Motors’ self-driving program, so he’s connected to the autonomous-car world.
A “self-driving operation” means the whole project behind making cars drive themselves. It includes the technology and the work needed to test it and roll it out safely.
A track day organizer is the group that puts on events where regular drivers can drive on a race track. They handle things like timing, rules, and safety so people can enjoy the track.
Westfield is a car brand known for making lightweight sports cars, often aimed at track use. The hosts are saying Westfield is continuing and expanding, with a new factory and parts support for owners in Europe.
An autonomous vehicle is a vehicle that can drive without a human doing the driving. The hosts are saying some of Westfield’s earlier work in that area has moved on.
Place
Heathrow Terminal Farmer
The hosts mention Heathrow Terminal Farmer as a place where small “pods” used to be linked to Westfield. They’re using it as an example of how Westfield’s other projects have evolved.
A non-binding MoU is basically a “we intend to do this” agreement. It’s not a final contract, so the plan can still change before anything is fully committed.
The Audi R8 is a sports car made by Audi that’s built for strong performance. The podcast mentions it because Audi is talking about how it will be positioned as a more exclusive top model. It’s part of a discussion about the brand’s lineup.
Torque is the “twisting strength” that helps a car pull forward. More torque usually helps with quicker acceleration, especially when you’re not already at high speed.
The battery can be described by how much power it can deliver. That matters because it affects how hard the car can accelerate and how long it can keep that performance up.
Regenerative braking is when the car slows down and also “recharges” the battery. Instead of wasting all the slowing energy as heat, it turns some of it back into electricity.
Brake-by-wire means your brake pedal sends an electronic signal instead of directly moving brake parts with cables or rods. It lets the car coordinate braking systems more precisely.
Carbon-ceramic brakes are a high-performance brake type that can handle hard driving without losing stopping power as quickly. The tradeoff is they’re often costly if you ever need new discs.
The Bentley Flying Spur is a high-end luxury sedan by Bentley. In this part, the host is saying it’s been updated, and the changes are more than just cosmetic.
The Bugatti Veyron is a very expensive, very fast supercar. It’s built for performance rather than everyday practicality. The podcast brings it up because they saw one and described how it looked.
This is a drivetrain part that helps the car put power down when one wheel has less grip. It reduces wheel-spinning so the car can accelerate more confidently.
LED matrix headlamps are headlights made of lots of tiny LED lights that can be controlled separately. They can adjust the beam to avoid dazzling other drivers while still lighting the road well.
The Jaguar XJ long wheelbase is a luxury Jaguar sedan with more space, especially for rear passengers. The host is just using it as a familiar example of a big, executive-style car.
Car
Fiat Grizzly
The Fiat Grizzly is a new Fiat SUV idea being talked about in the show. They’re saying it’ll come in different versions and with different types of engines (petrol, hybrid, or electric).
A drivetrain is what makes the car move—how the power gets from the engine or battery to the wheels. In this case, they mean the Grizzly will be sold with different kinds of power systems: gas, hybrid, or fully electric.
A platform is the shared “base” the car is built on. If multiple models use the same platform, they can share a lot of the underlying structure even if the styling and features differ.
The BMW X4 is a BMW crossover that looks a bit like a coupe because the roof slopes down. Here, the host is saying the new Fiat would feel similar in style to that kind of vehicle.
A “world car” is a car designed to be sold in many countries. The idea is that it can work for different regions without needing a totally different design each time.
Concept
revenue margins
“Revenue margins” is a way of saying how much money a company makes after costs compared to its sales. The host is basically saying the new model is meant to help Fiat make more profit and support the brand.
Car
Citroën C3 Aircross
The Citroën C3 Aircross is a small crossover—kind of like an SUV, but more compact. The host is using it as an example of the kind of car the new Fiat will compete with.
The Citroën C3 Aircross is a small SUV made by Citroën. It’s meant for everyday driving with a bit more ground clearance than a typical hatchback. The podcast mentions it alongside other similar cars.
The Chevrolet Impala is a large sedan made by Chevrolet. It’s the kind of car people used for comfortable everyday driving. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as part of a list of car names and figures.
The “5 E-Tech Electric” is an electric car based on the Renault 5. The podcast is basically saying it’s the electric version of the Renault 5 name. It’s mentioned to clarify what the model is called and what it relates to.
A soft top is the fabric roof you can fold down on some cars. It’s different from a hard roof, and putting one on a modified car usually means major changes to the body and roof frame.
Term
bikini thing
A “bikini top” is a very small, minimal fabric roof on some modified cars. It usually doesn’t protect you much from weather—it’s more for style and open-air driving.
A shooting brake is a type of car body that looks a bit like a sporty coupe, but it’s meant to be practical like a wagon. In modern times, people sometimes call some estates “shooting brakes” even if they’re not the classic shape.
The Lancia Beta HPE is a 1970s-era Lancia that’s known for its unusual, stylish shape and cult following. Here, the host picks it as their favorite “shooting break” choice, and jokes about how you’d need to deal with rust if you wanted one.
The Lancia Delta is a small hatchback made by Lancia. It’s especially known by car fans because it was very successful in rally racing, and the host is mentioning it as a previous pick.
Car
Lynx Eventa
The Lynx Eventa is a rare, custom-built version of a Jaguar XJS. It’s basically a special conversion that makes the car more like a wagon/shooting brake, and the host is saying it’s recognizable to enthusiasts.
The Jaguar XJS is a classic Jaguar grand tourer—basically a stylish long-distance cruiser. Here, the host is talking about special Jaguar XJS versions turned into shooting brakes, and how the later facelift cars look more integrated at the back.
Topic
motor fests at Conventry
They’re talking about car events in Coventry where people bring and show cars. The point is that these unusual conversions tend to show up and get attention there.
The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV made by Tesla. It runs on a battery instead of gasoline. The podcast brings it up because it’s included in a list of registered or discussed Tesla models.
The Tesla Model S is an electric luxury car made by Tesla. Here they’re talking about a “Model S estate” version—basically a wagon-style take on the Model S—rather than a normal factory model.
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour is a contest where people submit real cars they think should become Hot Wheels toys. You usually upload photos and explain what makes your car special, and then the program picks winners.
The Volvo P1800 is an older Volvo sports car that’s become a classic. Here they mention a “drag racer” version, which is a heavily modified setup focused on fast acceleration in a straight line.
Welcome to the Motoring Podcast, a weekly discussion of Motoring News. This is episode
690 on Tuesday, the 9th of June, 2026. Hello, I'm Alan.
Hello, I'm Andrew. And this week, you'll hear us ask if it's too little too late for
one company. In new, new car news, you'll listen to us discuss the bare necessities.
And in points of interest, you will want to rush off to the beach. And we jump straight
into the news. And Alan, it is towards the beginning of the month, so that can only mean
one thing. Yes, it is time for the SMNT's new car registration figures for May 2026.
In May, 160,662 new cars were registered. That was up 7.1% on May 2025, which I guess
is a good thing. That makes it the highest registrations in the month of May since 2019.
Yes. All in all, 66,223 registrations were petrol, 7,622 were diesel, 20,719 were hybrid
electric vehicles, 42,931 were battery electric vehicles, and 22,167 were plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles. That meant that petrol had a 41.2% market share, diesel had a 4.7% market share,
hybrids had a 12.9% market share, battery electric vehicles had a 27.3% market share, and plug-in
hybrids had a 13.8% market share. Just for May, everyone, don't forget that. We're not talking
year-to-date. Just for May, of those vehicles, 40% were privately registered, 57.1% fleet,
and 1.9% were business, which is a fairly heavy swing towards private as opposed to fleet and
business. Yeah, interesting. Compared to what we're used to. The top models for the month,
number 10, the Hyundai Tucson with 2,194. Once again, the spread here is very, very,
it is very, very thin due to the sheer number of models out there and available. Number nine,
it's been a long time since one of these has been in the top models list, and that's the Vauxhall
Frontera at 2,372. Number eight, the Volkswagen Tiguan, number seven, the Mini Cooper, number six,
the Volkswagen Golf, 2,637 registrations. Number five, the Nissan Qashqai, and number four, the
Jaikoo 7, 3,027 registrations. Number three is the Vauxhall Corsa with 3,075. Number two,
the Kia Sportage with 3,439. You can see that this is where we're starting to see the steps.
And then number one, the Ford Puma, 4,019 registrations.
Right, I'm going to take us to the spreadsheet of doom, which isn't very doomy actually,
so much so that I have to get all the way down to D to start, and a DS is down 94%.
We talked about DS number eight recently about that being the number that's held,
so they actually registered nine DS in May in the UK.
Ford, despite the Puma being at the top of the most registered vehicles models,
is down 19%. Genesis is down 31. GWM is down 64. Hyundai is down 16%.
Unios is down 45%. Jeep is down 37. KGM is down 38. Lexus is down 21%. Maxus is down 33%.
2025, the registered three in 2026, the registered two. Again, sometimes percentages
are a bit misleading. Mazda is down 52%. That is a mighty chunk,
down mind you. Nissan is down 30%, talking of chunks down. And again, that's with the
cash guy in the top 10. Yeah, is the micro actually for sale because I see tons of them
waiting in my two local Nissan dealerships. Car parks are bulging. I've seen a few on the road.
Okay, they must be being passed on to customers now. One would hope so, yes.
Peugeot is down 17%, Seat is down 24% and Subaru is down 40%.
Not a lot from me either because everything falls within our sort of 15% threshold of
don't bother reading it out. But that said, a bath up 176%, out for a male up 82% to a healthy
290 registrations. Alpine up 844%. Again, ends up with a healthy number 368.
BYD up 70%. Citroen up 60%, 60%. JQ up 210%. Leap motor up 863%. Remember, when your numbers aren't
massive, then it's easy to hear those. Sorry, I've just paused, I've just glanced at the JQ
figures, right? The seven was just about 3000 registered, I think I've just read out.
And they really only have two models, don't they? Yeah.
Because they've got a new one coming. And the total number of registrations,
well, there's a five as well, and then there's the other big one.
Yeah, that's coming, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. And the internal registered 5207,
the five can't have been too far behind the seven, really in terms of number.
It must have just missed out on the top 10. It must have just missed out on top 10.
Yeah, exactly. Leap motor up 863%, 1944 vehicles registered. Start to see lots of the bigger ones
around here. Lotus up 52%. Yay. Maserati up 129%. Mini up 79%. Umuda up 85%.
Smart up 76%. Suzuki up 45%. Tesla up 46%. And Xpeng up 1,250% to win the not sponsored by MGMG award.
Yes. Mike Hall's his statement at the end of this.
Britain's car buyers are responding to a market offering more choice than ever,
both from new and familiar brands, resulting in a robust May.
The EV transition is progressing, but consumer uptake still lags behind even today's targets,
let alone the ambition set out in the latest carbon budget.
While industry shares the long term ambition, the pathway to net zero must be credible.
It cannot come at the cost of loss competitiveness and deindustrialization.
A review of the transition is now urgent to ensure ambition matches market realities,
and we have a sustainable path to road transport decarbonization. Now in there,
it was mentioned the carbon budget. And it is in this SMMT article that's linked in the show notes
as ever, obviously, it mentions about how the seventh carbon budget came out last week from the
government. And there is a section in it where it talks about their expectations
and ambitions for how zero emission vehicles, what percentage of the market share they're
going to encompass by 2030. And they've decided that it's going to be 95% of new UK cars and the
van market. I think what you mean is they spoke to a proctologist with a torch who said that.
Because we have to remember the mandate states that for cars, it is 80% and for vans,
it will be 70% in the year 2030. There's no way that, well, yes, of course, there is a way it
can happen. It can happen by no internal combustion engine or hybrid vehicles are sold. That is how
it can happen. But to suddenly go from 80 and 70% up to 95% is just devoid from reality completely.
This government is just on this matter is completely insane and is plucking figures
from who knows where. I don't know where these have come from, but they are just complete.
They're just made up. If you include hybrids, I can see that there is a chance that could happen.
But if you're saying zero emission or EVs, it's what they're saying, EVs. No. Well, yes,
like I said, you just cut off all other options. But then are they doing whole EVs include plugins,
hybrids and... No, I checked that out. It is purely battery electric vehicles. It is not a
hybrid. It's not a plug-in hybrid. That's just made up. That's the nicest thing I can say about it.
That is me being nice. Yeah. Anyway, let us move on, shall we? Yes, please.
And I'm going to take us to Ford Europe. They have now outlined a plan to hit the comeback
trail from whatever's happened in the last few years, which has been...
We mean try to undo the last five years worth of stupidity when it comes to model planning.
Yeah, the disaster that has been their product, we say product planning, the decision making that
has gone on. And they are going to apparently launch five cars in the next four years in the UK
and mainland Europe, according to this article. There will be an electric... It's called Fiesta,
but they haven't decided on the name yet. And the CEO of Europe is very aware of how important
the Fiesta name is. But still, there is no confirmation in that. That is going to be a
rebudged Renault. Let's not forget that. It may or may not be a five. Yeah. And also, they are going
to work with Geely on some hybrid SUVs. As well as a Bronco Mini. Do you think that will be based
on the Renault 4? No, because that's going to be... I'm sure that they're going to use
some hybrid stuff from Geely with that. Oh, okay. Yes. The thing is, they could have had a Bronco
over here years ago. The Bronco Sport sold in North America is based on the same platform as
the Cougar, whether you're listening in American, that's an escape. They could have had it. It would
have sold here with the existing power trains, based on the platform that was already sold in
Europe. Why they did not bring that over is beyond me. But then, it's Ford product planning and
Ford car product planning has, I don't know, two drink minimum, I think. I think there's
seances and Ouija boards, isn't it? It's possibly a better reason than to like them all with the
CEO. Certainly, it wasn't sanity anyway. Yeah. Ford are going to be targeting the B and C segments,
obviously, those ones that they left with their very popular cars.
This is my point. Yes. The Bronco name, that's going to be a sub-brand now and that's going
to be a global sub-brand because it's done well in America, so they reckon it'll do well everywhere.
Okay, good luck with that. They could be a house of Broncos. Obviously, whoever the journalists
were that were at this announcement have made some very pointed questions because there's a lot of
quotes in here from Jim Borbick, who's the head of Ford Europe. Lots of things saying,
whilst we may be using parts from other manufacturers' parts, they say,
it has to feel like a Ford. It's got to look like a Ford and it's got to drive like a Ford.
And there's lots of talks about going back to driving dynamics and there's going to be rally
bred crossovers and they wish to be, and this was a quote that made me chuckle, thanks to the
Bronco name as well as the Broncos Sport and the Raptor variants for the pickup. The firm is
focusing on becoming the Porsche of off-road. Ask Porsche how that's going right at the minute.
Yeah. I did notice this. They're going to launch a super duty variant of the Ranger pickup
for use by emergency services in the military. It can tell up to four and a half tons, payload
of close to two tons. It's going to be more than a three and a half tonne about the size of it.
Yeah. Obviously, the van division has propped up all of Ford Europe as much as they have been
propped up. That's what they've been focusing on. Yeah. There's more stuff coming from them. There's
a transit city electric van which has been developed with JMC, which is a Chinese firm,
and then like Alan said, the super duty variants. They'll be developed for Europe,
but those ones are not ones are coming from somewhere else.
Oh, okay. Right. European super duty.
Yeah. Yeah. Because it's based on the Ranger, not the F series.
Okay.
It's not an F250, for example.
The question is, will this be enough or is it too little too late and are Ford just becoming a
rebudging company? They're saying the right things that they're going to make it feel like a Ford
and be like a Ford, but I hope so.
I want your cynicism to be misplaced.
I'd love it to be misplaced.
Good. There's an awful lot of it around right now, so I hope so.
Okay. Do you want to take us to Scotland then?
I'm already in Scotland.
So you bring us to you then?
Okay. You can come to me. Monroe. We've talked about Monroe a few times.
They are an EV startup based down in East Kilbride just south of Glasgow,
and they're focusing on specialist electric off-road vehicles for defense and fleet use.
Essentially. They have been taking orders for the Series M since 2023.
They are producing those orders where they employ between 20 and 30 people in East Kilbride,
and they're starting to get customer vehicles out of the door.
They have, however, a new CEO and a new CFO, which is good.
One thing that is slightly concerning to us is that they are both X arrival,
and we all know what happened to arrival.
Now, I'm sure that Messers Ruguba and Hall Brow were not the ones who decided that
arrival should have offices in the Cayman Islands.
Somewhere out there.
Somewhere in the Caribbean.
For remote office. For remote work.
Remote office for remote work, and then started developing electric aeroplanes and all sorts
of things before they even got a single production vehicle out of the door.
So, I'm sure it'll be just fine.
I hope so.
Yes, before that, Mr. Avanish Ruguba is a new CEO.
Before that, he was head of strategy for General Motors' cruise self-driving operation.
His CV over the last few years is interesting,
and at a corporate level, not necessarily littered with success,
and really, really hope that that's just been because of circumstance and everything around about.
And that those circumstances and everything around about will not affect East Kilbride.
They're a very cool company.
They're doing a clever thing in a manageable, sensible, grown-up way.
I really, really hope that continues.
Well, the announcement here of how they're planning moving forward looks sensible.
It looks grown-up.
It doesn't look like it's overreaching at this point.
They are certainly saying very much the right things that I would hope to hear,
considering what Munro do.
What we're saying, Munro, by the way, is what the Ineos Grenadier really should have been
if it was a serious project.
It's true, though.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.
It's true that there is significantly more logic and
significant, only more Britishness behind this than there is in a single Grenadier.
The Grenadier is British because it's named after a pub.
There you go.
A Westfield who entered liquidation after going into receivership in 2022,
but entered liquidation in April this year has now been bought by driving-fun.com,
which is a European track day organizer and operates the circuit Mappen,
which is just over the border from Holland in Germany.
According to this Evo article that is linked in the show notes,
there's a lot of changes on the way.
They're going to continue to assemble in Bister,
which is where they are now,
but they are building a new facility on the premises at Mappen,
and that's where future Westfield production is going to go to.
That will effectively be Westfield's base of operations,
obviously because that's where the owner is based,
and they will, from there, provide parts support for the owners throughout Europe,
and they have ambitious plans where they are looking to bring a number of new road and track
models to join or replace existing models, and they will be built in Mappen too.
When you say it's just over the border,
it's a factor of about three miles over the border,
if even that far, to be honest.
It is very, very close to the border, absolutely the definition of a border town.
Well, I'm glad to see that Westfield is going to continue.
I thought Westfield was no more.
I thought they'd already parked it,
so this was good news to me because I thought we'd already lost them.
I think many of the other parts of formerly Westfield have gone like the autonomous vehicle
and the building a little.
It used to be that the little pods at Heathrow Terminal Farmer were Westfield's.
Oh, right, okay.
All of that stuff seems to have gone, but the sports cars continue.
Well, do you want to take us to the least secret bit of news that's been trumbling along?
Even we've been talking about this for weeks, but
Kiri has finally admitted in public that they and Nissan have signed a non-binding memorandum
of understanding with a view to start building Kiri vehicles on the Weirside Plants line one
in the 2027 financial year.
I don't know how to read that from the article by Felix Page that's linked in the show notes,
because I think that that is the legal definition of what has happened.
Yes.
At Raleigh, anything else?
There's no other details have really been released.
We don't know what model they're going to build, what brand or anything like that.
And it gets stressed again that this is a non-binding agreement later on in the article.
So that seems to be a very important thing to reiterate.
It's a case, very much a case of, sure, right at the moment, we're very interested in building.
That was just a quick one.
SAIC, similarly, which owns MG, amongst others, it's looking to build a manufacturing plant
in Galicia, in Spain, investing about 200 million euros, the aim is that it will
create more than 2,000 jobs across Europe.
And production is scheduled to begin in 2028 with an annual capacity of up to 120,000 of years.
No surprise there.
I just stole your story.
I think that was the biggest surprise in that particular bit.
Yeah, well, do you want to take back your guilt minute then?
I absolutely will.
I should let you do it for a change.
Oh, no.
It is guilt minute, the quick break in the show where we ask for a tad of financial support
to keep the lights on and the hosting running.
If you feel the murdering podcast is worth a small consideration every month,
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Thank you, by the way, to everyone who joined in, whether in person or remotely.
Questions to the live stream, the question and answer.
The second one that we did last week, that's available on YouTube in both vertical and
horizontal format and obviously as a podcast as well, where we try not to say look too much.
So it's available on all the usual podcast outlets.
I think that means that on YouTube, you can get it three different flavors.
Yes, you can.
Thank you.
I should probably change the cover images for at least two of those.
Yeah, thank you, everyone who has sent kind messages following and during the show.
Very much appreciated and we'll look about doing another one fairly soonish,
but we've got some of the things we need to work out first.
I think they fairly well described when or what we were going to do as part of that episode,
but then we're not quite sure the maths works out.
Yeah, yeah.
Anyway, do you want to take us to New New Car News and just make this the Alan Bradley section?
It is.
I'm so sorry.
Audi has unveiled the new Nouvellau, a limited-run 987 brake horsepower V8 hybrid supercar.
It's going to be a new flagship that's going to be more exclusive than the R8.
And according to the boss, Gernot Dordner,
serves as a statement for the future of the brand.
The crazy bit here is that the Audi based on the Lamborghini is probably going to be
more exclusive than the Lamborghini.
But I think that this is very much, hey, we're going to build some essentially concept cars
for the road.
That looks to be roughly where this is sitting.
Well, this one ties in with, because they've named it after the semi-successful pre-war
race cars and they're just about to go into F1.
So I think that's where the tie-up is here.
It's a bit more than semi-successful.
That's a bit harsh.
Well, okay, they won a couple of races, but then they had massive problems as well.
Okay.
It's a brutalist design, to say the least.
Yes.
It looks like, I would say, I think it looks like a Spartan helmet.
If you look down, it's that slot, that's almost tombstone of a little grill in the middle,
with the sort of eye, so it's either side.
I think it's, you used to, I mean, still Andrew's word here, he said striking beforehand,
and I think that that absolutely nailed it.
Because it is striking, and I think it's probably showing off a future design styling
direction for Audi.
There are no unnecessary creases or slashy bent metal bits or any of these other things
which have infested Audi models, cooking Audi models for the last little while.
This is very much head back, and very much, as I say, a concept car for the road.
I think it looks very, very cool, and very, very distinctive.
I'm going to steal something from you and say that I need to see this
before I make too much judgment, because like with the Concept C,
I'm not a great fan of the front ends.
I don't like that look, but I want, again, we're just using heavily processed images
to make up our minds.
I want to see one.
I want to see it in the context of the world, and I want to see if I am right or wrong,
because that's one of the things I feel I've learned over the last 10 and a half years
is looking at an image and then seeing it in real life are two very much two different things.
And that can make my opinion change for good, hello, Alpha, but also for bad.
It's very true.
But I do like the interior.
Yes, it is pretty, it's not looking thing.
Just to go through some of the number stats.
40 to V8 is an attempt Merario, which offers 789 horsepower,
538 pound feet of torque and can rev to 10,000 RPM.
Added to that a three axial flux.
Electric motors, each which produces 148 brake horsepower,
two are mounted in the front axle, delivering up to 1500 and a bit pound feet.
The third is between the V8 engine and the transmission.
There's a 7.3 kilowatt battery and the total system output is 987 brake horsepower,
80 brake horsepower more than the equivalent Lamborghini.
There's enough power to power the Nivilari to not 62 in 2.6 seconds and onto 124 miles an hour in
6.8 seconds, top speed of more than 217 miles per hour.
That's all quite impressive.
There's brake by wire carbon ceramics that link in with regenerative braking that recharges
a battery and all sorts of stuff and means that it will probably,
well no, I'm pretty certain if you stand on the brakes then the only thing stopping you
from going through the windscreen will be your seat belts.
Just very cool.
Cooling system increases heat dissipation up to 21% compared to normal carbon ceramic systems.
System can handle deceleration loads on power and F1 car, etc, etc, etc.
It doesn't seem that it's just an exterior styling exercise.
Mm-hmm. Okay, well, I am going to move us on then.
Something a bit more...
More posh Volkswagen subtle though.
And the Bentley Flying Spur has been updated and the big thing that this top gear article
goes on about because obviously they were told this by Bentley themselves is instead of there
being twin headlamps in a Ford or Saloon, for the first time since 1962 there is only single headlamps
at the front of this.
From the S2 my dad had one.
All right.
But by that time they've got to being an old rusty car.
Allied to the fact it was sand over sable.
So it was tan over brown, which to be honest, many people would get all excited about.
In fact, I think we saw Bugatti Veyron in that, in essentially the same color scheme in Geneva
one year. So he's like, oh, I bet it was that color.
He sounds far more impressive than his descriptions of the rest of the bit.
Anyway, yeah, sorry, off on a tangent.
Well, so they've tightened up the design.
I think it looks really good, really sleek.
They've unfossied around the rear as well.
So that looks quite nice.
Obviously it's a Bentley.
So it's going to be lovely to sit in.
There will be a V8 hybrid powertrain with 671 brake horsepower,
686 pound foot of the Torx.
Then you can go up the, if you want to, because this is going to be the S.
This is the specs for that.
There's a limited slip diff, torque vectoring, twin valve dampers or wheel drive, blah, blah,
blah.
And then if you've got the spec, you can go to the flying spur speed.
And then if you want luxury, there's the Molina.
I think it looks really good, the color they've picked.
I mean, I wouldn't have the black wheels, but the color they've picked here is fantastic.
Well, the back wheels and everything is part of the black line specification,
which is also something that they've introduced on the S.
You get black wings, gloss black grills, a dark Bentley lettering,
black mirror caps and dark tinted full LED matrix headlamps,
and probably those black wheels as well.
Yeah, the wings on the bonnet bead will light up as well.
Yes.
Yeah, I don't know.
This might have taken over from the previous generation Jaguar XJ long wheelbase as my
vehicle to be driven around in if I decide to be an evil supervillain or CEO of a multinational
corporation.
A last one from you, you can't use.
Let's go from the sublime to the, it's not really very ridiculous at all,
but it is the Fiat.
Okay, the name is ridiculous.
The Fiat Grizzly SUV, unwrapped as the Grandé Panda's bigger brother.
That was pointed out.
It should probably be called the Giant Panda.
Thank you.
It will be available on the choice of petrol, hybrid or electric drivetrains,
just as every other Stellantis midsize SUV on the same platform.
There will be two body styles.
There will be a straight aged SUV, which looks like the Peugeot Vauxhall, etc.
And there will also be a rickish fastback for those of you who want something like BMW X4,
but not as gopping.
I don't know why you would choose that, but people obviously do.
The whole idea of this is that it is an affordable family crossover and it is designed for the three
regions in which Fiat sells.
Those are Europe, Latin America and the Middle Eastern Africa.
This is going to be something of a world car.
The idea is that it completes the Panda and Grandé Panda families,
but is a different animal.
Hence, it's almost a bear, but not quite.
And that it's intended to bolster Fiat's, and I do appreciate this particular piece of honestly,
revenue margins and brand as well.
Yes.
Same on the panning as Citroen C3 Aircross, Vauxhall Frontera, etc.
I think it's quite attractive looking thing.
Worth mentioning as well that coming into the year, Fiat is going to be announcing some more
models which don't necessarily, which aren't necessarily Pandas and aren't necessarily 500.
This is going to be a bit of a shock to their system, isn't it?
Yep.
Should be some interesting stuff coming through there.
Yeah, absolutely.
Okay.
That takes us on to points of interest.
And I have found not one, but two.
Lunchtime reads, we are recommending to you from Driven to Right,
back with that excellent website.
And this is part one and two of Vamos a la Playa.
And it's written by Bruno V.
And, well, it wasn't French, so I think I'm remotely close this time.
Vamos a la Playa.
Nobody expects me to try and do the accent.
Okay.
I might get accused of cultural appropriation if I tried, or worse.
But this is talking about beach cars.
And there is a number of fantastic ones to be reminded of.
This is the history of the beach car, as well as where they were and all that sort of stuff.
So we've got things like the Mini Mocha, as you would expect.
The Fuchs Impala, which, okay, as well as Reliant Fox, that sort of thing.
And then in part two goes on and visits France and starts going through some of the options
that the French provided.
Obviously, the Renault 4 Plain Air.
Plain?
Plain.
Plain, sorry.
Plain.
You made an effort there, so we did that.
Okay.
Thank you.
That looks fabulous, but also the car system Belle Eel.
Yeah, I think so, I guess.
Yeah, that's close enough.
I'll do.
Basically, a Renault 5, not Renault 4, isn't it?
That's what I said.
Yeah, it's a Renault 5.
Because it says the open Renault 4.
Oh, it's a Renault 5.
It's a Renault 5 that someone's chopped the back off and put a soft top on.
But there was a Renault 4 Plain Air, as well, before.
Yeah, that's at the top of the article.
So there's lots to have a look at.
Lots to suddenly go, yes, that would be good this summer.
You pointed out to me that there was also a Zest in there, as well,
if you want to know more about the Zest, and also Driven had one for a little while.
Yes, it's a funky little looking thing.
It looks like a naughty car.
It's an odd looking little thing.
It's kind of cool, though, because the bits at the front are the same as the bits at the back,
and it's kind of symmetrical.
But if you look at the very top of that part two article,
I love the little roof that it's got over the top of it.
That's not in the main bit about it.
No, it is very much a minimum viable car roof there, isn't it?
Yes, it's not even a bikini thing that they put sometimes on those tricked out jeeps that go up.
No, it's just mad.
There's lots of very cool stuff in here, much of which I'd sort of only tangentially seen pictures
of and didn't know what it was, and ones which I'm far more familiar with.
And part three coming out soon should be great, too.
Yep.
List of the week this week, the best ever shooting breaks.
Everyone loves a fast wagon, and in this story we're rounding up the very best you've ever
been able to buy according to AutoCar.
For a change, there are quite a lot of actual shooting breaks, and then there's
some some estates that are being called shooting breaks in the modern age.
Yes, it's close enough.
It's pretty good, even if you sort of had an oil.
It's pretty close.
Yeah.
What have you chosen then?
I know what I've chosen.
Well, I nearly chose the second to last slide.
But in the end, I went for slide number 12 in your packs, the Lancia Beta HPE.
Oh, okay.
Always loved this.
Always loved the shape of this.
Always wanted one.
And if I just went and got a pile of rust and put it in the corner of my drive, I could have one.
You see, I wasn't going to make that joke because jokes about Lancia's rust take too much.
People get grumpy, but it was not.
Yeah.
There's a reason why.
Yeah, a science teacher at prep school had one.
And remember, I talked last week when I chose the Lancia Delta.
I talked about friends of my parents who had them prior to that.
They had Betas and nothing more than that.
I was going to describe that as a British reliance cemetery, but without Princess Anne.
My choice actually, I just went to the left of that slide 11, which is the Lynx Eventa.
I figured I'd go for one that people would know what it was even if I just said it.
But if you don't know what it is, then it was one of 67 Jaguar XJS shooting breaks
with an extended rear and a hatch.
And you quite often see the motor fests at Conventry, it used to see quite a few of them,
would gather.
It just looks like it should be a factory vehicle and it's beautifully finished,
especially the later ones on the facelifted XJS, which used all the same lights and everything.
It just all integrated much better at the back of the hatch.
Yeah.
But yes, a very cool car and so nicely done as well.
That's the thing is it.
There's some, there are some in the list, which are a wee bit
tacty on it.
Yeah.
But I only do that for the subtitle.
But this is one of the ones which is, it looks like it should have been from factory.
Yes, it reminds me of who's the coach, builder, designer at the moment that we've-
Neil's van Roy.
Yeah.
It reminds me of his work that very much looks as though it's part,
it's naturally part of the car and should have been a thing.
And it's curious that this list includes the other Tesla Model S estate,
which I don't feel is as well resolved as Neil's.
Yeah, agreed.
And finally this week then, Andrew.
Yes.
And finally, what is becoming an annual event for us to mention,
and is the Hot Wheels Legends Tour is back for 2026.
They have their entries open now and they will remain open until the 3rd of July.
If you think you have a car that could and should be made into a Hot Wheels one in 64 scale model,
then you need to click the link that's within the motion research article here
to the Hot Wheels website.
It's a special website for it.
You need to upload three photos along with a description of what sets the car apart
and go for it because to be fair, the UK has had some cracking entries.
Overall one with the P1800 drag racer back in 2021.
Yes.
That was a great looking thing.
There was a three series last year.
That is awesome looking.
Yeah.
Really cool.
I love this when this comes around.
It's a shame I'm not because it's going to be judged at Carfest at Silverstone
on the 29th of August this year.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to make that.
That should be great fun, especially as it's Carfest as well.
Yeah.
Can't wait to see what gets nominated or gets approved.
Yes, it's great.
And I love it even the global final.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
From all around the world, it's just such cool modified cars.
It's the imagination is amazing and the creativity.
The creativity and it's the fact that the different juries around the place
all seem to know in a very, very different stuff.
So it's so varied as well.
It's not just like a row of modified 57 Chevrolet or whatever,
Tram times or something.
Yeah.
It's just all sorts of stuff and that is added super coolness to the whole thing.
Yep.
Brilliant.
Anything else for this week or are we pretty much there?
I can't think of anything.
There's no parish notes this week, I don't think.
Unless there's anything else, don't forget, folks, that between now and next week,
you can give us any feedback and share your thoughts with the show at motoringpodcast.com
on Blue Sky at Motoring Podcast on Instagram and Facebook.
And on the contact page of www.motoringpodcast.com, the hub of all our activities.
Remember, you can support us financially via Patreon and please leave a review and rating
on Apple Podcasts on YouTube or however your podcast app lets you do such a thing.
Andrew, what's the best way to get in touch with you?
Best way to get in touch with me is if you search for a crack windscreen on Blue Sky
or I am on LinkedIn under my full name.
There'll be the ways to do it and Alan, if people would like to get in touch with you
personally, what's the best way for them to do that?
Definitely Blue Sky.
Right.
At AJP Bradley, that's B-I-D-L-E-Y dot B Sky dot social.
I'm on LinkedIn as well.
Should you show my opinion on shorts in the workplace today?
There we go.
Talk to you later, David.
We'll be back very soon.
But until then, I've been Alan Bradley.
I've been Andrew Clews.
And safe motoring.
About this episode
UK new-car registration numbers set the tone, with May hitting “160,662” and the Ford Puma topping the model list. The hosts then unpack brand swings, warning that “percentages are a bit misleading,” and contrast that with what they’re seeing at dealerships. From there, the show debates zero-emission targets for 2030, EV definitions, and several manufacturer plans—from Ford’s electrified Fiesta and Bronco expansion to Monroe’s Scotland EV startup. The episode also detours into quirky beach cars and shooting brakes, plus Hot Wheels Legends Tour entries.
May’s registrations were the highest, for the month, since 2019. BEVs also were up, as is to be expected, with a monthly market share of 27.3%. The UK Government released the seventh Carbon Budget with an expectation that zero emission vans and cars will be 95% of all new registrations by 2030 - which bears no reflection with reality. For more, click this link to the SMMT article, here.
FORD OUTLINE EUROPEAN PLAN
Ford Europe has revealed their plan to turn around their fortunes, with five new models in the next four years thanks to collaborations with Renault and Geely. The Bronco name will be used to create a global sub brand for the company, with one SUV being inspired by the US based version. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.
MUNRO LOOKS TO EXPAND PRODUCTION
Munro’s new CEO, Avinash Rugoobur, and CFO, Tim Holbrow, has announced very ambitious targets for the company. Rugoobur previously worked as head of strategy at Cruise and also for Arrival, where Holbrow also worked. The plan is for a new manufacturing facility in the UK enabling them to up the production numbers, whilst providing vehicles their commercial customers specifically need and want. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.
WESTFIELD SPORTSCARS COMPANY BOUGHT
Westfield entered liquidation back in April, but has now been bought by a Driving-Fun.com, who is a European trackday company and owner of Circuit Meppen, in Germany. A new production facility will be built at Meppen, with plans for a series of new models, for both the road and track. Click this EVO article link here, for more.
CHERY TO BUILD CARS AT NISSan’S SUNDERLAND PLANT
Nissan and Chery have agreed a deal that will mean the Chinese company is building their vehicles at Sunderland from 2027. This is a non-binding agreement but few other details have been revealed. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.
SAIC TO BUILD MGS IN SPAIN
SAIC has decided that their European production facility will be in built in Spain. Costing around €200 million the factory will have a capacity of up to 120,000 vehicles. For more information on this story, click this MotorTrader article link here.
If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS -Audi Nuvolari
Audi has revealed the Nuvolari, their fastest ever production car, with a design language that we first saw on the Concept C. This is the Germany company’s version of the Lamborghini Temerario. Powered by a hybrid V8, producing 987bhp, getting from 0-62mph in 2.6 seconds and up to 124mph in 6.8 seconds, finally topping out at 217mph. Click this Autocar article link here, for much more.
Bentley Flying Spur
Bentley has face lifted the Flying Spur. For the first time since 1962 their four door saloon comes with only single main lights either side of the grille and not twin. Production starts in September this year. Click this Top Gear article link to read more.
Fiat Grizzly
Fiat has shown off the design of the Grizzly, which tops out the Panda range, using the same platform as the Citroën C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera. There are two body styles, a boxy SUV and a coupe-style SUV. The idea is to expand the Fiat brand into segments it has not had any vehicles in recently. Click this Autocar article link here, for more.
LUNCHTIME READ: VAMOS A LA PLAYA - PARTS ONE AND TWO
Driven to Write provides our recommendations for more long form pieces, this week. Bruno V dives into the history of the beach car and the various fabulous options and versions from a variety of manufacturers.
Autocar provide the slideshow we are pointing you towards, this week, all about shooting brakes (and some estates). Lots of very good choices for you to check out, which you can do by clicking this link here.
AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR RETURNS FOR 2026
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour returns for 2026 and entries are now open. The UK part of the World Tour will be at CarFest, held at Silverstone on 29 August 2026. Entries must be in by 3 July 2026. Click this Motoring Research article link to see all about it and what’s happened in past tours.
