Motoring Podcast - News Show
Motoring Podcast
Updated 3 days agoMotoring enthusiasts Alan and Andrew discuss their takes on the week's motoring news in this 45 to 60 minute audio podcast.
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Episodes (338)
Not Bullied - 17 May 2022
FOLLOW UP: VED PRICES FROM LAST SPECIAL EDITION ERRORAs was kindly pointed out, by Tony Williams, the VED prices for the Toyota Yaris Cross, explained in the last Special Edition, were for the first year only. They change following that. Thank you Tony, for raising the point and the nice way you did it! GOVERNMENT INVEST £200M IN ZERO-EMISSION LORRY FLEETThe UK Government is investing £200 million to help accelerate the move to zero-emission HGV vehicles. The money will be used to create a demonstrator fleet to help businesses know what is possible for them and their work. To read more, click the MoveElectric story link here. NEWCASTLE CLEAN AIR ZONE POSTPONEDNewcastle transport chiefs have announced that they are postponing the introduction of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ), which would’ve meant a charge of £50 for lorries, buses and coaches, whilst vans and taxis would pay £12.50 a day if their vehicles did not meet the requirements. Private cars were not included in the proposal, at this time. For more on this, click here to read the Chronicle Live article. SMART MOTORWAYS GET UPGRADED SAFETY TECH BY SEPTEMBERBy September this year, Smart Motorways will get new safety cameras and radar detection upgrades to improve the network of the already installed sections of digital motorways. More can be read by clicking this link to the Motoring Research article here. ALISON JONES PROMOTED IN STELLANTISAlison Jones will move on from heading up the Stellantis team in the UK, to become senior vice president of circular economy. Whatever that means. Her replacement is Paul Willcox, who is Vauxhall’s managing director. The changes come into effect on 1 June 2022. To learn more, click the Automotive Management article here. PLYMOUTH INSTALLS 20MPH SPEED CAMERAPlymouth has installed a 20mph speed camera, along Old Laira Road. During the test period of the camera 23, 500 offences were recorded, with 1,100 in just the first 24 hours. The camera was fully operational as of Monday 16 May, 2022. Click here to read more, on the BBC News website. TOYOTA CUTS PRODUCTION DUE TO CHINA COVID LOCKDOWNThe ongoing lockdown, in Shanghai, has caused Toyota to cut production thanks to parts not being able to be shipped out of the area to their factories. To learn more about the effects on Toyota, click this BBC News link here. RENAULT SELLS AVTOVAZ ASSESTSRenault has managed to extricate itself from Russia by selling their assets to a science institute, apparently for 1 rouble. However, they have retained the option of a six year buy-back option. You can read the Reuters article by
Special Edition - Toyota Yaris Cross Review
Alan had a Toyota Yaris Cross, a Yaris-based SUV, for a week and gave it possibly the hardest test he could. Does it deserve its “2022 World Urban Car” award? We find out.
Such A Cop Out - 9 May 2022
APRIL 2022 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESApril 2022 figures are down 15.8% on even last year’s poor results, due mainly to supply issues with continued effects of the chip shortage, the Ukraine War and China’s zero Covid policy that has shut down large amounts of the economic centres of the country. For more information, click here for the SMMT article. To get a bit more detail on the figures, click here for Auto Retail Network’s Tristan Young’s Twitter thread. TOBIAS MOERS LEAVES ASTON MARTINAston Martin’s CEO, Tobias Moers, is set to leave the company, being replaced by the ex-CEO of Ferrari Amedeo Felisa. This comes not long after Stroll, the owner of Aston, said he wouldn’t be going anywhere. However, rumours had grown increasingly loud that changes were coming. For more on the departure, click the EVO article here. To learn more about his replacement, click this link to the Top Gear article. LOTUS OPENS NEW MANUFACTURING FACILITY AT HETHELLotus has officially opened their new manufacturing facility at Hethel. Called the Chapman Production Centre, this is the latest moves in the £100 million investment in UK Lotus, to equip them for the aims they have as a company. You can read more, by clicking the link here to their own article. MINI HALTS MANUAL CAR PRODUCTIONDue to the impact of supply chain restraints, MINI has been forced to stop the production of manual cars, for the foreseeable future. Recently, they had to stop all production due to the effects of the war in Ukraine. For more, click here to read the Autocar story. DEFENDER ADVERTS BANNEDDue to the two viewers complaining about Land Rover adverts, that give the impression that reversing sensors would inform the occupants that a cliff edge was approaching, when they do not warn of an open space, the ads have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). To read more and wonder why you don’t have that much time on your hands as some, click here for the Car Dealer Magazine article. ——————————————————————————-We are at the MOVE 2022 Conference at ExCel, London. Alan will be moderating a panel titled "All these EV targets, where's the charging infrastructure?" with Katie Black, head of the UK's Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles; Daniel Tibble, Director of Data Science and Analytics of the connected vehicle data company, Wejo; and Hui Zhang, the Vice President for Europe of EV company, NIO. More details on the conference can be found by...
Special Edition - Genesis G70 Shooting Brake Review
Andrew had a Genesis G70 Shooting Brake for a week, to see what the latest company trying to crack the premium market can do. Listen in to explain to Alan what it was like, who the car is really for and how well all the aspects of ownership have been thought through. Less suspense in this one, we are afraid, as Andrew’s enthusiasm is not really kept in check.
Tasty Little Mouthful - 3 May 2022
SUZUKI AND STELLANTIS DIESELS INVESTIGATEDProsecutors in Germany, Italy and Hungary are investigating Suzuki, Stellantis and supplier Marelli, over use of defeat devices in Suzuki vehicles. Stellantis are engine suppliers for Suzuki and Marelli are a supplier of engine parts. For more, click the Nikkei Asia article link here. FEAR OF FINES FOR BOX JUNCTION MISTAKESWith local authorities outside of London, allowed to prosecute those who misuse yellow box junctions from June 2022, the fear that drivers could be mistakenly fined was announced. The RAC said that many are incorrectly painted, laid out, located and even hidden from clear view for those approaching. They have called on the Government to clarify the guidance on yellow box junctions, clarifying their use, design and maintenance once in place. To find out more, click the link here for the Motoring Research article. MOT TEST COULD BE EVERY TWO YEARSWith a suggestion that has been roundly condemned by nearly everyone who has heard it, the idea to move MOT tests to every other year has not gone down well. To be clear, this is only a suggestion, apparently it will help with the cost of living crisis the UK is currently suffering. For more information, click the Autocar link here. BMW AND AUDI STOP FREIGHT TRAIN TO CHINABMW and Audi have ceased sending cars to China via the rail link from Europe, due to the war in Ukraine. To learn more about that story, click the link to the Reuters article here.To learn more about the rail link to China, click the link here to Rail Magazine’s article. VOLTA TRUCKS REVELAS SMALLER LORRIESNew 7.5 tonne and 12 tonne lorries have been unveiled but the electric truck company Votla Trucks. They will follow the 16 tonne lorry, being added to the line up in 2025.The previously announced model is undergoing final preparations before they start customer testing and production later in the year. More on this story can be found by clicking this Move Electric link. VW AND BP ROLL OUT NEW CHARGING INFRASTRUCTUREBP will be partnering with Volkswagen to install their new rapid chargers that have integrated batteries that mean they can be deployed at low voltage sites, avoiding the need for extra infrastructure to ensure a suitable electrical supply is maintained. They will be starting in Germany and moving across Europe. Click here for the Business Motoring article, to learn more. GOVERNMENT TO LEGALISE PRIVATE E-SCOOTER USE
Special Edition - Toyota Aygo X Launch
Alan took one for Team Motoring Podcast, recently, by going to Barcelona for the European launch of the Toyota Aygo X (pronounced cross). No longer is this part of a joint venture with PSA, but a stand alone product from within the company. Listen to Alan explain this to Andrew, as well as a fascinating interview with Stijn Peters, Senior Project Manager at Toyota, who tells us the lengths they went to for this car to be on the roads today.
Bounce Back - 25 April 2022
FOLLOW UP: FRANCE ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR GHOSNAuthorities in France have issued an international arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn, in connection with £12.6 million payments made to Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, in Oman. The claim is money was funnelled illegally to the company which Ghosn took advantage of to use personally. There are another four other individuals also implicated. To learn more, in yet another twist of this tale, click here for the Autocar article. UK GOVERNEMENT MAKES AMENDMENTS TO HIGHWAY CODEThe Government has announced changes to the Highway Code, readying it for when we have self driving technology on the public roads. For cars that are classified, by the Minister for Transport, as self driving and in that mode, we will be able to have our “eyes-off” the road. Currently there are no vehicles on the Minister’s list. To read an accurate report on all this, click The Register’s link here. To read the Government’s own release, click here. For The Register’s article on AI and ML, click here.RIMAC HAS NEW INVESTORThe owner of Morgan, Investindustrial, has joined Porsche and Hyundai by investing in Rimac. They are pumping €120 million into the company, as they continue to pursue those moving towards the electrified motoring future. Click here for more information via an Autocar article. GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE CHARGING RELIABILITY LAWThe UK Government is set to introduce a new law, that will require rapid chargers to work as intended 99% of the time. This is all part of their strategy for creating a ‘world leading’ charging infrastructure. They also promise to have 300,000 charge points across the country by 2030, but no indication they are mandated. To read more, click the Autocar article here. GRIDSERVE OPENS NORWICH CHARGING FORECOURTGridserve has opened a new forecourt in Norwich, which is run on 100% renewable energy. There are 36 charging points, with 22 able to run up to 350kW. East Anglia is quite poorly serviced, currently, so this is a welcome addition to the area. For more, click here to read the Move Electric article. NEW CHARGING POINT RISE 33% IN LAST YEAROver the last year there has been a 33% rise in the number of charging points being installed, across the UK. 7,500 were added, taking the total up to 30,290. The Government’s report also highlighted the disparity in spread of devices, with London being much better served than most other areas. Northern Ireland is...
Fantastic For Insomnia - 19 April 2022
HYUNDAI IONIQ5 WORLD CAR OF THE YEARHyundai has scooped the top prize of the World Car of the Year awards. Added to which it won the World Electric Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year too. They were up against the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Kia EV6. To run through the full list of winners, for all the categories, click here to read the World Car Awards articles and further links. For Autocar’s article, click here. NCAP SCORES DACIA JOGGER ONE STAREuro NCAP revealed their latest round of testing. One car stood out and not for a good reason, the Dacia Jogger, as it was awarded one star. Upon further investigation, a few things came to light which has caused many to start questioning how NCAP goes about things. To see the Jogger’s score, click here for the NCAP link. To see some of Dacia’s response to this, click here for the Autocar article. This has cause a lot of debate, around the tests, what is included, what will gain scores and by some if NCAP is fit for purpose. One article that delves into the problems, click the CAR article here. QUALCOMM AND STELLANTIS AGREEMENTStallantis announced, how connected cars and software was critical to their plan for profitability in the coming years. They have now backed that up with an announcement of utilising Qualcomm’s software to run all that stuff. For more, click here to read the Reuters article. NEW PRIVATE CAR RULES NOW IN FORCEThe new rules for private car parks, where a lower limit has been imposed for not paying or overstaying as well as a host of others aspects that make using such places a total joy. To be reminded of these, click the Autocar article 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——————————————————————————-WRC: CROATIA THIS WEEK AND SEB IS BACK FOR PORTUGALA reminder that Rally Croatia is back this week, after what seems like a very long break. Hopefully, the hybrid gremlins have been chased from the system. DirtFish has complied, what they think, will be the podium result, click here to see their choices. Today, M-Sport also announced that Sabastien Loeb will return for the team at the Portugal event.
Part Potty Trained - 12 April 2022
UK GOVERNMENT TO MANDATE SWITCH TO EVSThe UK Government has revealed that it will mandate the transition from ICE to zero emission vehicles. This will start at 22% from 2024 moving up to the full 100% in 2035. The car industry urged caution on this move. To read more, click the Move Electric article here. Additionally, manufacturers have pressed the Government to define what a hybrid is, during the final phase of transitioning to full zero emission vehicles of 2030 to 2035. For more on this story, click here for the Autocar link.PORSCHE INVESTS IN SYNTHETIC FUEL MAKERFurther to the existing support to the e-fuel manufacturing facility in Chile, Porsche is taking a 12.5% stake in the company leading this development, HIF. This will cost the company around $75 million but are not alone in their investment, with a total of around $100 million being raised. More can be found by clicking here, for the Autocar story. GRIDSERVE HAS REPLACED ALL MOTORWAY ECOTRICITY CHARGERSEcotricity was the former name of now Electric Highway, who have the monopoly on motorway charging infrastructure. They were bought out by Grid Serve, who have confirmed that all the former chargers are now replaced. This is good news for all of us who’ve had to deal with the previous kit. To see more, click the Driving Electric tweet here. SCANIA PARTICIPATES IN HYDROGEN PROJECT Scania, the lorry company, has announced that it will take part in a project focusing on the use of green hydrogen in heavy goods vehicles. There will be 20 fuel cell lorries delivered in 2024, to HyTrucks which is a joint initiative run between Air Liquide and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. You can learn more about the project and what it is hoped will be learned by clicking the Scania press release here. GENIEPOINT JOINS ZAP-PAYGeniePoint, the rapid charging network, is the fourth company to join Zap-Map’s Zap-Pay system, that is aiming to be a central point for users to pay for all their charging needs, when on the road. To read more, click the Zap-Map article here. VAUXHALL CORSA DIESEL IS NO MORE Vauxhall will no longer sell a diesel engine option, with their very popular supermini. From now on customers will only be able to buy electrified and petrol versions, in the UK. That brings to an end 35 years of diesel within the Corsa and Nova range. To read the Autocar article, click the link here. THE CARCROWD CAFE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Anarchic Assemblies - 5 April 2022
FOLLOW UP: SSANGYONG SEEKS NEW OWNER AS DEAL FALLS THROUGHSsangyong has started the search for a new owner after the consortium headed by Edison Motors failed to meet a payment deadline. This money was supposed to be made to 95% of creditors and was a condition of the approval of South Korea’s bankruptcy court. For more on this story, click the Autocar article link here. MARCH 2022 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESThe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has published the March new car registration figures. As was to be expected, the figures are down, in fact the worst since 1998, thanks mainly to semi conductor shortages. However, battery electric vehicles had their best ever month, with 39,315 registered. To learn more about the month, click the SMMT link here. To get some more insight into what the figures mean, click here for Auto Retail Network’s Tristan Young’s thread on Twitter. THOMAS MULLER IS THE NEW JLR ENGINEERING CHIEFThomas Muller, who is moving from VW, will take up the reigns of executive director of product engineering for Jaguar Land Rover, replacing Nick Rogers, who left the company at the end of 2021. Muller will be responsible for JLR’s technical development, as well as hardware and software for all future JLR vehicles. More can be found on this, by clicking the link here for the Autocar article. SCHÄFER AND ZELLMER GET NEW VW GROUP ROLESThomas Shäfer will take over as Volkswagen brand COO come 1 July 2022, moving from Skoda. Skoda get a new boss, in the form of Klaus Zellmer who moves from VW passenger cars. To learn more, click the VW press release here. VW GROUP RECALLS OVER 100,000 PLUG-IN HYBRIDSDue to a fire risk, with Volkswagen Group plug-in hybrids, over 100,000 are being recalled. To learn more, click the Bauaelectric Auto News article link here. MAZDA IMPORTS DIRECTLY TO UK Mazda’s first shipment in Bristol Port has berthed, cutting 10 days from the time cars previously took to arrive on UK shores. Previously, they were brought to Zeebrugge and distributed on. Click here for the Mazda PR article, to learn more. GOVERNMENT PRODUCES LIFECYCLE ANALYSIS OF UK ROAD VEHICLESThe Government, with the help of Richard Energy and Environment, has produced a comprehensive lifecycle analysis of UK road vehicles. This compares battery electric, hydrogen and ICE vehicles, for their CO2 footprint from their manufacture, through their expected life on the roads and...
Special Edition - Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake Review
Andrew tested out the Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake, for a week. Listen in to him explain his time with VW’s take on the lifestyle estate car. What he thinks of the looks, how he got on with the technology and was the PHEV-ness well done? Once again, he keeps us all in suspense as to exactly what he thinks until right to the end.
Thoughts and Prayers - 29 March 2022
NEW PHONE LAWS COME INTO EFFECTNew laws, about the use of mobile phones whilst driving, have come into effect. Effectively, it has become illegal to hold and use your phone except when using it for a contactless payment. Using the phone whilst in a cradle is still permitted in some circumstances, such as the sat nav app. For more on this, click here for the Autocar article. GOVERNMENT AIMS FOR WORLD BEST CHARGING NETWORKTransport Minister, Trudy Harrison MP, announced at an SMMT event, that the Government is aiming for the UK to have one of the best EV charging networks in the world. This will be quite a feat as the announced ‘new’ policies and ideas were not binding in anyway, nor was there any new money being made available. To learn more, click the Move Electric article link here. The Government also announced, this week, they are opening up a consultation on accessibility, for disabled people, at public charging points. More can be found here, on that story. RENAULT HALTS ACTIVITY IN RUSSIAFollowing a backlash to Renault’s announcement that it will reopen it’s Russian factories, there has been a u-turn. Renault is particularly exposed in Russia as it has several plants thanks to ownership of Avtovaz, owning Lada and Russia being an important market for it’s cars. Renault has adjusted it’s financial predictions now. Click here for the link to the Autocar article, to learn more. POTHOLES COST UK DRIVERS £1.7 BILLIONThat UK roads are in a poor state of repair, surprises no one who lives here. What is shocking is the 35% rise in costs for fixing cars due to the pothole epidemic. Last year 59% of those surveyed by KwikFit stated they had hit a pothole in 2021, up from 46%. Only London appeared to have improving roads. To learn more, click the Motoring Research article link here. BENTLEY ANNOUNCES RECORD FINANCIAL RESULTSIn the last independent results posted by Bentley, they have confirmed that 2021 was a record year. Operating profits were up 1,843% (not a typo), 14,659 Bentleys were delivered and that was a 31% increase on 2020 which was their previous record year! To learn more, click the YesAuto article here. UK GOVERNMENT AIMING TO END SALE OF NON EV BUSESBy 2032, the UK Government want to halt the sale of non zero emission buses and mini buses. They have opened a consultation on this too. For more, click the Move Electric link here. ——————————————————————————-If you like what we do, on this show, and...
Don't Own A Staffie - 22 March 2022
ELECTRIC VAN AND LORRY GRANT EXTENDEDThe Government has extended their grant scheme for electric vans and lorries, for two more years. Those looking to buy a qualifying vehicle can claim between £5000 and £16000. For more on this, click the MoveElectric article here. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY LISTS OIL REDUCTION STEPSThe International Energy Agency (IEA) has outlined ten steps we could take to reduce the amount of oil we need to use. If the ideas were adopted across the globe, the IEA predicts that an amount of oil equivalent to half of Russia’s exports could be saved. To find out more, click here for The Guardian article. VOLKSWAGEN ANNOUNCED PROFITS JUMPVW’s operating profits rose, over 2020, 451% on 2020, which to a certain degree is understandable. Whilst their sales revenue and returns on sale rose very slightly they actually sold 8% fewer vehicles. This is another example of companies targeting their higher profile specs and vehicles. For more on this story, click the Autocar article link here. AUDI GROUP POSTS RECORD PROFITSAudi is the latest company to say “we sold less but made more money”, with profits from Audi, Lamborghini and Ducati at €53.1 billion and record operating profits. We need to remember Bentley are not included yet as they were only assimilated into the group at the start of this year. To read more about this, click here for the Autocar article. POLICE TARGETING CATALYTIC CONVERTER THIEVESA national combined operation by police, in England, has targeted thieves of catalytic converters with over 30 arrests made. Added to this several scrap metal sites were served with forced closures. 38,000 catalytic converters were stolen in 2021. You can read more about this, by clicking the Motoring Research article here. NISSAN AXES THE GT-R IN EUROPEAfter 13 years the axe has finally fallen on the GT-R. The specific reason is stricter noise regulations, for this region, whilst changes to emissions and crash integrity being the official reason for other global markets. To learn more click here for the EVO article telling us the sad tale. ——————————————————————————-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——————————————————————————-WRC: CHANGES TO TIME PENALTIES FOR HYBRID FAILURESThe FIA has amended their rule and penalty for teams who miss stages due to a hybrid tech failure, for WRC teams. For the first two rounds each stage absence
Special Edition - Hyundai IONIQ5 Review
Andrew had a Hyundai IONIQ5 on test, for a week. What does the family man make of the multi award winning car from Korea? Listen to him tell Alan about it, the looks, the tech, the tasks that are easier to be actioned via voice control and orientation of volume control icons. Andrew keeps us all in suspense as to his overall verdict until right to the end!
Yes No Maybe - 15 March 2022
FOLLOW UP: EXPANSION OF LONDON ULEZ ANNOUNCEDFollowing weeks of rumours Sadiq Khan has announced his plans for cutting congestion and improving air quality, by increasing the ULEZ to cover all of London, which appears to deal with only one part of the problem. To learn more about this story, click here for the YesAuto article. FOLLOW UP: SONY HONDA JV EXPLAINEDNick Gibbs, in this linked Autocar article, goes into more detail of what the Honda Sony joint venture probably means. Click the link above to better understand what it means and why it might just work. FORD ANNOUNCES 7 NEW EVS BY 2024Ford has announced that it will launch seven new EVs by 2024, comprising of three passenger cars and four light commercial vehicles. Ford has previously promised to be EV only for passenger cars by 2030. By teaming up with VW and using their MEB platform Ford says it will be able to fulfil this push. For more on the story, click the MoveElectric article here. BMW BUYS ALPINABMW has bought the rights to Alpina, who undertake some of the most understated and tasteful tuning services out there. The news was met with much worry that BMW will now over expose the brand and thus take away a lot of that which makes it so special. Click here for the Top Gear piece explaining more. BMW POSTS BEST PROFITS IN HISTORYBy focusing on high end and most profitable models, BMW posted it’s largest nett profit in history, €12.46 billion, which is up 150% on 2019! Having the anti-trust probe dropped by the EU also helped as they had set aside €1 billion specifically for that. More information can be found at this Autocar link here. BMW RECALLS 1 MILLION VEHICLES OVER FIRE RISKBMW is recalling 1.03 million vehicles world wide, due to a risk of a short circuit that could cause a fire in the vehicle. Vehicles built between 2006 and 2013 are involved. To learn more, click this Automotive News link here. VW INVESTS IN NEW EV FACTORYVolkswagen is investing in a bespoke facility at Wolfsburg, for their Trinity EV flagship model. The cost is expected to be in the region of €2 billion. For more on this story, click here for the Autocar article. ASTON MARTIN TO CO-DEVELOP HIGH PERFORMANCE BATTERIESBritishvolt and Aston Martin are teaming up to produce high performance batteries in time for the car companies first...
Barnsley In Some Mizzle - 8 March 2022
FOLLOW UP: GREG KELLY GIVEN SUSPENDED SENTENCEGreg Kelly, the former Nissan executive who was tricked into flying to Japan, has been found guilty on one of the charges brought against him. His sentence was suspended and he has flown back to the U.S. AS the Asian Times article, linked here, points out the ruling is “flawed”. FOLLOW UP: FELICITY ACE SINKS WITH VW GROUP CARS ONBOARDThe Felicity Ace, with it’s cargo of VW Group cars, has sunk following the fire onboard. This follows work for a couple of weeks to rescue the ship following the removal of the crew. To find out more, click this Autocar link here. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FEBRUARY 2022The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the February 2022 data on new car registrations. The figures are up on the pandemic market but still 25% below the before times. Electric, as well as hybrid and plug-in hybrid registrations rose dramatically. For more on this, click the SMMT article here. CAR INDUSTRY EFFECTED BY INVASION OF UKRAINEFollowing the invasion of Ukraine, by Russian forces, there have been knock on effects to the car industry. Ukraine produces a lot of the wiring looms for vehicles but also many brands have paused selling vehicles in Russia. To find out more, click this Autocar article link. STELLANTIS LATEST TO ANNOUNCE ALL EV LINE UP IN EUROPEIn this week’s “Company X will go all electric by Y” announcement comes from Stellantis. 2026 is the year all their model launches will be all electric in Europe. For more, click the Autocar article here. FORD TO SPLIT EV BUSINESS FROM ICEFord is creating two companies, one focused purely on EVs and the other dealing with the ICE products. Ford Model E will look after the electric, software and connected car side of things, whilst Ford Blue will focus on ICE vehicle development, cost cutting, simplification and quality. Click this link here to learn more from the Autocar article. HONDA AND SONY PARTNERSHIP FOR EVSHonda and Sony are partnering to build electric vehicles. Honda is concentrating on the car side of things, whilst Sony deals with the software of the mobility platform. They plan on releasing their first models in 2025. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here. REGULATORS CAN BE SUED OVER EMISSION SOFTWARE
Just Stare At Me - 1 March 2022
KIA WINS CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDThe KIA EV6 has won the prestigious Car of the Year award, which was announced in Geneva but not whilst the motor show was on due to changes with the event. The EV6 is the first KIA to win and it fought off the Renault MeganeE-Tech Electric and the Hyundai IONIQ third. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here. STELLANTIS EXCEEDS FINANCIAL EXPECTATIONSStellantis announced their financial results, for 2021, which exceeded expectations. Their nett profit, operating income and nett revenues far outpaced 2020, which is to be hoped and expected. All of which makes the announcement that they expect their suppliers to shoulder a bigger slice of the costs for EV tech rather hard to swallow. To read about this, click here for the Autocar article. ASTON MARTIN NARROWS LOSSESIn 2020 Aston Martin loses were £466 million, during 2021 they reduced that figure to £213.8 million. Added to which their revenue was up 79% to £1.1 billion. Aston is hopeful they will deliver between 75 and 90 Valkyries to customers in 2022. The plan is to return to an operating profit in 2022 as well. For more on this, click the YesAuto story here. RENEWED PORSCHE IPO INTEREST FROM VW GROUPThere is renewed talk of a Porsche IPO, with the VW Group to be in ‘advanced discussions’ regarding the shape this would take. Some or even many, have questioned why this has not happened before. Some have priced Porsche value at €85 billion, which the VW Group could do with as they push further into EV technology. More on this story can be found by clicking here for the YesAuto article. MORE 50MPH STRETCHES IN WALESIn an effort to tackle pollution, in South Wales, two more sections of roads are being considered for a speed limit of 50mph. This is one option for the next stage in improving the air quality of the region. A public consultation will be undertaken when the full options have been explored. To learn more, click the BBC News article here. SHEFFIELD CHOSEN FOR BATTERY TECH R&D AND MANUFACTURINGThe Ultimate Battery Company (UBC) has picked Sheffield to locate their new research and development and manufacturing facility. They are working on advanced battery technology that will help reduce costs, improve charging capacity and quicker charging times. For further on this story, click the ZapMap article here. HOME EV CHARGING GRANT RULES CHANGINGThe Government will be changing the rules over grants for the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS). If you live in a detached, semi-detached, terraced or bungalow house you will no longer be...
Special Edition - Volvo XC40 Recharge Review
Andrew had a Volvo XC40 Recharge, with the twin motors, on loan for a week. How did he get on? You’ll have to listen to find out. Additionally, you get in-depth discussions on curry hooks and good fonts for driver display information. You cannot say we do not know how to treat you!
Driving Miss Daisy - 22 February 2022
SHIP CARRYING VW GROUP CARS ABLAZEA ship carrying cars from Volkswagen Group companies, is on fire in the Atlantic Ocean. Conflicting reports state where the fire originated but that this has spread to the rest of the ship, including the cargo. Whilst Porsche has confirmed some of it’s vehicles were on board, it is not clear what other cars are involved. For more information, click the Autocar article here. RENAULT BACK IN PROFITSAfter two tough years and burying the hatchet with Nissan, Renault has returned to profit in 2021. In doing so it has achieved some longer term aims well ahead of schedule. Renault do make it clear that the semiconductor crisis is and will continue to hit business in 2022. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article. NEW FLOATING LOTUSLotus has announced it is going to float the company, which got us all excited that there would be another car/boat model but then quickly dashed on what it actually meant. The plan is to put the EV division on the stock exchange, which they are hoping will be valued at £5-6 billion. If there is enough interest from potential investors, they hope to bring this to the stock exchange in Asian, New York our London within 12 to 24 months. For more on this story, click the Autocar article here. OLA ELECTRIC OPENS UK BASEThe Indian from, Ola Electric, will open an engineering and design facility in Coventry. Over the next five years the company plans to invest £100 million into the West Midlands site. The site will be called Futurefoundry. To learn about this story, click here for the Autocar article. ECO FRIENDLY TYRES DEVELOPEDEnso, a new UK company, is bringing their tyre technology to market, in order to break up the traditional models. Their tyre is more efficient for the vehicle, but also harder wearing and thus reduces the amount of pollution. More on this can be found by clicking this link to the Autocar article. HYDROGEN V8 DEVELOPMENTToyota and Yamaha are working to gather to develop a hydrogen-fuelled V8. The project is using a Lexus RC F engine and modifying the injectors, heads, intake manifold and other elements, which ends up with a claimed 449bhp at 6800rpm and 398lb ft at 3600rpm that is almost the same as an unmolested engine. You can learn more about this by clicking here for the Autocar article. CALLS FOR REGULATED PUBLIC EV CHARGING POINTSSMMT has called on the Government to implement a seven point plan for regulating public EV charging points or risk failing to...
Lightness In Your Heart - 15 February 2022
FOLLOW UP: MANCHESTER CAZ “PAUSED’Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has announced that the Government has agreed on a delay for the region hitting clean air requirements, until 2026. Burnham has argued that due to the pandemic there is a problem in sourcing the zero emission vehicles needed by commercial and private hire companies. To read more, click the YesAuto article here. FUEL PRICES CONTINUE TO RISEA new record average price was hit over the weekend for both petrol and diesel, at £148.02 and £151.57 respectively. Crude oil nearly at $100 per barrel the retailers are quick, as ever, to pass that straight onto drivers. For more depressing information about this story, click here for the Autocar article. NEW ELECTRICITY RULES TO PREVENT STRAIN ON NETWORKThe Government is introducing new rules, which includes residential EV charging points, that must be able to prioritise charging when demand is lowest or renewable energy production is high. Included in the changes is the need for security and provision of information for users. To find out more, click the YesAuto story here. TESCO STARTS USING ELECTRIC ONLY LORRIESThe supermarket brand Tesco has started using electric only lorries between two distribution centres in South Wales. The company said whilst the technology is not suitable for long distances yet, they wished to understand how best to utilise it so are trying it now. For more on this, click the BBC News link here. LOTUS ANNOUNCES NEW DIVISION Ex-Aston Martin Q boss, Simon Lane, will be the head of Lotus’s new Advanced Performance division, which will be a special projects arm of the company. This is being termed as a ‘blank sheet of paper’ team where they are to create the “most exciting and exclusive Lotus cars”. To learn more about this, click here for the Autocar article. VOLVO UPGRADING TORSLANDA PLANTVolvo will be investing around £800 million in their Torsldana site in Sweden, as it steps up efforts to be EV only by 2030. They will be introducing meg-casting, where they combine many separatly created parts with a system that makes it all in one go, such as casting the rear floor plan which currently involves 100 pieces. For additional information on this story, click the Autocar article link here. KOENIGSEGG FACTORY EXPANSION Koenigsegg has revealed plans of their factory expansion which will allow them to increase production capacity as well as other aspects of the business. The new four set Gemera hyper-GT will be produced within the factory space but also allow space dedicated to customers. To learn more,
Panthera - 8th February 2022
FOLLOW UP: PRIVATE PARKING FINES CAPPEDPrivate parking fines and the rules surrpounding them are to be tightened up. Read the BBC story here.JLR REVENUE BOOST IN Q3 2021JLR’s revenue has ramped up in the third quarter of 2021, and they also have a new EV platform on the way.ROAD PRICING COULD BE EN ROUTEA story from Evo magazine says that GPS-based road pricing could be here by 2024.BORTISHVOLT AND GLENCORE TO OPEN RECYCLING PLANTBritishvolt and Glencore are to work together to open a new EV battery recycling plant in Kent according to Autocar.TREASURY URGED TO RECONSIDER UNFAIR TAXAccording the YesAuto, the UK Treasury is being urged to address the discrepancy in VAT between home EV charging and public EV charging.BP ACQUIRES 30% OF OIL COMPANYBP has acquired a stake in a UK producer of hydrogenated vegetable oil that be used of biofuels. More in the Autocar story here.UK GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS DECIDING WHAT IT MAY DO ABOUT e-SCOOTERSThe UK Government is considering introducing a new vehicle class for e-scooters according to Autocar.ROLLS-ROYCE UNVEILS AERO SPIRIT OF ECSTASYRolls-Royce has revised the Spirit of Ecstasy to make it more realistic can more aerodynamic in preparation for its EV future.DAIMLER TRUCK SEES SIGNIFICANT SALES INCREASE IN 2021Volvo are to offer free minor repairs to Volvo cars, no matter their age, via their dealer network according to Motoring Research.GOODWOOD FOS TO CELEBRATE “MASTERMINDS OF MOTORSPORT”Goodwood has announced that the theme of the 2022 Festival of Speed will be “Masterminds of Motorsport”. Find out more, and when the ticket prices will increase, here.
Grey Is The Colour - 1st February 2022
GREY IS THE MOST POPULAR COLOURGrey is the most popular colour chosen by British new car buyers for the 4th year in a row. You can read the release from the SMMT here and analysis from Autocar here.COUNCILS COULD ENFORCE MOVING TRAFFIC OFFENCES FROM JUNECouncils in England and Wales could be able to follow the examples of London and Cardiff and enforce some traffic offenses from June. They will have some hoops to jump through though. You have read more here.STREETLIGHTS TO GAIN MORE TECHSome streetlights could gain additional tech to help aid car to car communication as part of their scheduled refurbishment. More information about this here.CALLS FOR AUTONOMOUS CAR USERS TO BE USERS, NOT DRIVERSA report on legal changes required to enable autonomous vehicles in the future has called for four significant law changes. You can read more in the BBC article here.ALLIANCE OUTLINE LATEST EV PLANRenalut-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance has outlined its plans for 35 new EVson 5 platforms across the next few years, but we won’t see them all in Europe. The Autocar story is linked here.BENTLEY RECEIVES SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT BEYOND 100Volkswagen Group is investing heavily in 5 new electric Bentley models and refurbishment of the Crewe factory. More here from evo magazine.ALL CURRENT ROLLS-ROYCE MODELS TO GO ELECTRICIn an unsurprising move,Rolls-Royce has announced that all their current models will be EVs by 2030. More from Autocar here.HEALTH WARNING ON FRENCH CARSThe French government plans to mandate that a percentage car adverts is given over to a warning panel promoting alternative transport methods. To find out more, here’s the article from treehugger.com.DAIMLER TRUCK SEES SIGNIFICANT SALES INCREASE IN 2021SMMT commercial vehicle registrations figures for 2021 haven’t been released yet, but Daimler, globally, sold 20% more vehicles in 2021 than 2020. You can find out
Special Edition - Volkswagen ID.3 Review
Alan had Volkswagen’s most important new car since the Golf for a week. Is the ID.3 People’s Car 2.0 or does its hurried gestation in the light of Dieselgate shine through?
Is It Cause I’m Old - 25 January 2022
FOLLOW UP: MYTHS ABOUT HIGHWAY CODE CHANGESLast week the chaps had an article on the changes to the Highway Code as the Lunchtime Read as they are significant and we all need to understand them. Apparently some did not listen to us, with reports from mainstream media outlets not correctly explaining the issues. In case you didn’t read last week’s recommendation then click this article from The Guardian, so you are well informed. FOLLOW UP: MORE DETAIL ON POSSIBLE LONDON ROAD TRAVEL CHANGESAs Andrew and Alan stated during the article, as they were confused with the change in price, they have found some more detail which helps to explain the possible new rules better. Click here for the Move Electric article. POLICING LEVELS BLAMED FOR STATIC ROAD DEATH FIGURESBetween 2010 and 2019 the level of road deaths, on British roads, has remained stable, after three decades of reduction. The main blame for this is the level of visible police on our roads. Added to this, Panorama found that roughly 50% of static speed cameras do not work. For more about this story, click the YesAuto article here. WILLIAMS ADVANCED ENGINEERING BOUGHT The Australian mining group, Fortescue Metals, has bought Williams Advanced Engineering, the engineering, design and technology offshoot of Williams F1. Fortescue are aiming to become a major company in the industrial transport sector. To learn more, click here for the Autocar article. BRITISHVOLT SECURES MAJOR FUNDING FOR BATTERY FACTORY BritishVolt announced that through a combination of private and Government funding they had secured around £1.7 billion for their battery factory planned in the North East, due to open in 2024. For more information, click the article from Autocar here. LEICESTER LATEST COUNCIL TO TAX COMPANY CAR PARKSLeicester City Council are set to introduce a parking levy on companies that provide ten or more spaces. The charge is £550 per space, with the money being reinvested into zero emission public transport and active travel schemes for the city. More on this story can be found by clicking here for The Guardian link. CHRIS BOARDMAN LEADS ACTIVE TRAVEL PUSHChris Boardman, the former Olympic cycling hero, is to lead a push to get more people to switch to active travel options, when making journeys. Active Travel England will be evaluating schemes that encourage walking or cycling, including the infrastructure. To learn about this, click...
Special Edition - Tokyo Auto Salon 2022
TOKYO AUTO SALONAlan and Andrew are rounding up the highlights from the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022, a tuner focused show that is worth paying attention to because a lot of ideas and themes get explored at their most undiluted form, by manufacturers experimenting and trying to wow audiences. PERFORMANCE CAR HIGHLIGHTSThere is a huge performance car contingent to the show, with the following highlights discussed. Toyota GR GT3 ConceptToyota GRMN YarisToyota bZ4X GR SportSubaru Solterra STiSubaru E-RA ConceptNissan Fairlady ZHonda Civic TypeR ConceptKEI CAR CONCEPTSKei cars are the small vehicles that are tightly regulated to take up minimal space and run with very small engines, that Japan is famous for. Some of the highlights include the following;Daihatsu Atari Camper ConceptHonda N WGN Picnic ConceptHonda K Climb ConceptMitsubishi K EV Concept X-StyleJACK IT UP AND SHOVE IT ON KNOBBLIESMuch of the show was either slammed to the ground as though suspensions had just given up or jacked up and shoved on knobblies. We like the second option so have focused on them. Lexus NX PHEV OffRoadHonda Fit e:HEV Crossstar ConceptBEST IN SHOWThere are many ‘Best In Shows’ for various classes, we have picked our favourite from the huge number of options.Best in Show MPV ClassFEEDBACKAs this is the first time we have tried to do this, where we are showing what we discuss (if your player can display the photos), we would like your feedback. We know there are things to improve, but if you could let us know if the efforts we have gone to are okay or not, that would be great.