Less meh - 16 September 2025
About this episode
JLR's ongoing struggles take center stage as the hosts discuss the serious implications of their recent IT issues, including potential government support for affected employees. The episode also covers new car news from the Munich Motor Show, highlighting MG's safety concerns and Volkswagen's delayed electric models. BMW's investment in EV chargers at UK national parks is praised, while the hosts express mixed feelings about the latest designs from various manufacturers. A light-hearted discussion on tourist driving habits in Scotland rounds out the episode.
As expected, there is no quick resolution to their IT woes, following the hack reported on 1 September, 2025. Also, again as expected, they have confirmed that data has been accessed including personal data. However, we do not know who’s data that is. Reports suggest the company is losing around £5 million per day, thanks to the global shutdown. As a result there are increasing calls for the Government to step in and support the JLR. To read more about the situation, click this Autocar article link here.
SHOCKING FAIL FOR MG3 DURING EURONCAP TESTSDuring the latest round of EuroNCAP tests the MG3 driver’s seat, when in the frontal offset crash test, twisted upon impact due to the latching mechanism failing. MG has confirmed that this has now been rectified but cars bought before August 2025 will not get the fix. Added to this is that the driver’s airbag was only sufficient for an “adequate” rating. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.
EU AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY SUMMITEU politicians and the continent’s car manufacturers have met to discuss the state of the industry and the future. The EU is sticking by its 2035 ICE ban but is open to a new car category, for small efficient vehicles, similar to the Japanese kei car. For more on this story, click this electrive article link here.
VW ID.GOLF TO BE DELAYEDThe woes for Volkswagen continue as news comes out that they are delaying the launch of the ID.Golf and ID.Roc, as well as seeking a partner for their battery subsidiary PowerCo. The ID.Golf had previously been delayed from 2028 to 2029, but now 2030 is the target. You can read more, by clicking this article link here from electrive.
BMW INSTALLS CHARGERS IN NATIONAL PARKSBMW has spent the last three years helping to install 135 charge points in the UK’s National Parks, costing the company around £1 million. On top of that BMW helped fund projects within individual parks. Click this Motoring Research article to read more.
ALEXANDER DENNIS OFFERS RETROFIT EV POWERTRAINSAlexander Dennis, the bus manufacturer, is offering a service where they replace older diesel powertrains with new electric ones. This will save some costs for operators the full cost of a new electric bus. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive 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 PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Munich Motor ShowThe Munich Motor Show was last week, we run through a summary of what happened and what caught our eye, for good and for bad. Click this Motoring Research article
Volkswagen Id3S
"And then the ID.Golf will come along a little bit later. There's some other models shifting like ID.3s and Cooper Borns moving from Svickau to Wolfsburg to Breach the Gap and all sorts of things like that."
ID.Cross Idcross
"feel-good cars coming through. Other thing they show is the ID.Cross concept. If you see that in silhouette,"
Lamborghini Urus
"...elf in the form of a more interesting Lamborghini Urus, is what it's doing."
Renault Clio
"...d just a click or two. Let's not even mention the Renault Clio because it's pretty ugly. Just awful."
Mercedes-Benz GLC
"...GSE, so I'm not allowed to talk about it. But the GLC with EQ technology, one, I hate the name, and two..."
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