Motoring Podcast - News Show
Motoring Podcast
Updated 1 day 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 (327)
Farting indicators - 6 February 2024
FOLLOW UP: PARIS VOTES TO CHARGE EXTRA FOR HEAVY CARSJust under six percent of eligible Parisians voted on charging extra for non resident parking permitted heavier vehicles, with 54.6% voting for this. Therefore, internal combustion engined cars (ICE) weighing over 1.6 tonnes and electric vehicles weighing over 2 tonnes, will be charged extra. Click here to read a misleadingly headlined article from The Guardian that is an example of some of the pathetic reporting on this matter. FOLLOW UP: LITHIA TAKEOVER PENDRAGONLithia, the US based firm, has finally taken over the motor retail group, Pendragon. This makes Lithia the second biggest retailer in the UK, ahead of Arnold Clark but behind Sytner. You can read more by clicking this AMOnline article link here. JANUARY 2024 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESSMMT has released the January 2024 new car registration figures. They are up on 2023, but still down on the Before Times. Fleet is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, with Private down once again. Worryingly, in the first month of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, the battery electric vehicle (BEV) share is only 14.7%, well below the 22% required from each manufacturer. Click here to read an interesting article from Tristan Young in Broker News, which hints that the figures could have been even worse. For the SMMT article and detail, click this link here. RENAULT CANCELS IPO FOR EV DIVISION AMPERERenault has confirmed that they will not separate their electric vehicle division, Ampere, and list it on the stock exchange. The reasoning is that the market is “sluggish”, which has also been compounded with a slow down in EV uptake across Europe at the end of the year. The company is adamant that they are cash rich and their ambitions are not dependent on an IPO. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from Reuters here. VW PAUSES IPO OF BATTERY DIVISIONVolkswagen has paused proceeding with listing their battery division, PowerCo, with the EV market slowing in Europe. On top of that, they have not yet decided where their fourth battery factory will be located in Europe. Click this electrive article link to read more on the IPO situation. For the battery factory story, click this InsideEVs article link here. For the Autocar article on the subject of the stock market and EV companies, click this link here. VOLVO TO STOP FUNDING POLESTARAmongst the detail of Volvo’s 2023 financial results, they announced that they will be ceasing to continue to fund Polestar and be focusing solely on their own projects. This could lead to Volvo selling their shares or Geely just buying more. They will continue to partner up over...
Member Number Seven - 30 January 2024
FOLLOW UP: CRUISE’S ACCIDENT FAILURES ARE WORSE THAN GUESSEDThe ‘independent’ review by a legal firm employed by both GM and Cruise has produced their first report into the incident where a pedestrian who was knocked into the path of a driverless taxi was hit and dragged by the car. They try to claim that no one really meant to deceive the regulators and it was the internet that prevented them from showing the full video. They admitted that no one then attempted to explain verbally or via email. You can learn more from this Jalopnik article link here. You can find more context and details in a Twitter thread from John Berry, linked here. And here is another thread from John, click here. For an even more damning review of the report, click here to read what Bryant Walker Smith has to say. FOLLOW UP: MOT CHANGES ARE SHELVEDThankfully, common sense has prevailed and the UK Government are not going to change MOTs to occur every two years. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. FOLLOW UP: DAIHATSU RECALLING OVER 320,00 CARSThe news gets worse for Daihatsu as it confirms it will be recalling over 320,000 cars due to door defects, following the revelations about the safety testing scandal. Three of the four Japanese factories will also remain shuttered, with a possibility one may restart soon. To read more on this story, click here for The Japan Times article link. TOYOTA HALTS SHIPMENTS OF SOME VEHICLESToyota has announced that it is halting the shipment of some vehicles due to irregularities in certification of some diesel engines. The engines go into approximately 36,000 vehicles worldwide, per month. There has yet to be a confirmation of the full extent of this issue. Click this Reuters article to learn more. EU FINDS MOST CARS EMIT SAME CARBON LEVELS AS 12 YEARS AGOAn investigation into the EU’s progress regarding the reduction of CO2 has found that levels emitted by cars has not changed in 12 years. A combination of larger, heavier cars and an apparent significant difference between lab tested and real world emissions have all been blamed. What is missing is the significant drop in diesel vehicles, replaced by petrol and hybrids, which produce more CO2 than a diesel, whilst producing less NOx. You can read more, by clicking this link to an Euractiv article. BMW UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR EMISSIONS MANIPULATIONIn Germany, the federal transport authority, the KBA, are investigating BMW X3 2.0 diesel built between 2010 and 2014, due to suspicions over software manipulation of...
Pretty please with sugar on top - 23 January 2024
FOLLOW UP: VW AND GERMAN GOV LOSE ENGINE FIX FIGHTA German environmental group has won its court case against the Volkswagen Group and the German Government for allowing the use of thermal windows in engine emissions, for the last eight years. Whilst the regulator allowed it the court ruled they should not have. You can learn more by clicking this electrive article link here. FOLLOW UP: CMA WINS APPEAL AGAINST BMW AND VWThe Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has won its appeal relating to forcing BMW and the Volkswagen Group hand over information to enable their investigation into possible anti-competative practices for recycling vehicles. The argument from BMW and VW is that they are based outside of the UK therefore the CMA has no authority. The Court of Appeal ruled they do. For more on this story, click this Reuters article link here. FOLLOW UP: FEEDBACK ON THE CHAT GPT EXPLAINERThank you to everyone who got in touch, following the release of last week’s show and the separate video which explained Chat GPT, AI and why it is a bad idea in cars. We are glad it has helped so many of you. If you haven’t seen it yet, click this link to our YouTube video here. BRITAIN STICKS TO MONOCHROME NEW CARS IN 2023Topping the chart, once again, we find that grey is the most popular colour for new car registrations. The top three are rounded out with black and white - yawn. Do click this link to SMMT’s article on this, as there is one chart that lists the Top 10 colours and how many have been registered in that colour, it is eye opening. EU INVESTIGATORS TO VISIT CHINESE CAR COMPANIESAs part of the EU’s investigation into whether China unfairly helps their own manufacturing base, with electric vehicles, they will be visiting several firms at locations in the country to check if information supplied matches. They will not be checking on European set ups. Click this link, from electrive, to read more on this development. EVS IN THE EU WILL NEED A BATTERY PASSPORT FROM 2027A system has been developed that aims to track everything about a vehicle battery, from minerals in the ground to what was last done to it in the car. This comes into force in February 2027. Depending on which group is looking to access the data, different levels of information will be available. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here. SUBARU UK GETS A NEW MDCongratulations to Lorraine Bishton on her appointment as the new managing director at Subaru UK. She has previously worked at Ford, JLR and lately at McLaren Special Operations. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline 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
Call me Captain Cynical - 16 January 2024
FOLLOW UP: CAR MAKERS LOBBIED AGAINST INCENTIVES FOR SMALL EVSIn the consultation over the introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which came into force on 1 January 2024, documents have revealed that some manufacturers fought against rules that encouraged more efficient, smaller and lighter vehicles. Not a great look for the car industry. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here. FOLLOW UP: WALES 20MPH REVIEW TO BE LED BY ORIGINAL ADVISORIn what feels like an entry into Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs segment, the Welsh Government has announced the consultant who helped introduce the new 20mph urban speed limit will lead the review of said implementation. They justified this by stating that "he is well-placed to assess whether clarifications in the policy are needed to encourage greater consistency.". To read more, click this link from the BBC News. RED SEA SHIPPING ISSUES HITTING CAR MAKERSTesla and Volvo are pausing car production due to delays in parts after shipping has been disrupted in the Red Sea. Either the ships run the gauntlet of attack or go via the Cape of Good Hope. This is an added pressure to the already difficult shipping environment as there is a lack of container ships available which has pushed costs higher. You can learn more by clicking this link to an article from MarineLink. BMW TO SWITCH MUNICH FACTORY TO EV PRODUCTION IN 2027BMW will be producing electric only cars, at their Munich factory, from the end of 2027. They will build the Neue Klasse saloon from 2026, whilst phasing out the combustion engine vehicles. To read more on this, click the Petrolheads article link here. STUDY CLAIMS LONDON IS THE SLOWEST CITY TO DRIVE INA TomTom study claims that London is the slowest city, in the world, to drive in, with Dublin, Toronto, Milan and Lima making up the top five. Transport for London has argued that the study is misleading and that it is nothing to do with a 20mph speed limit. They also go on to claim the methodology is flawed, by only using a very small selection of roads and ones in the city centre too. You can read more, by clicking this BBC News article link here. CRITIC OF VINFAST DETAINEDVinFast, the Vietnamese EV maker who's first car has been panned for a raft of issues, has pressured local law enforcement, allegedly, to detain a critic who posted on social media the issues with the cars. Vietnamese law apparently forbids harming the interest of others, according to this article, linked here from The Drive. SAINSBURY'S LAUNCHES OWN EV CHARGING BRANDSainsbury's has become the first UK supermarket brand to launch its own EV charging network. Called Smart Charge, the company intends to fit 750 rapid chargers in over 100 stores by the end of 2024. Click this link to read more from Autocar. FRANCE UNVEILS AFFORDABLE EV SCHEMELow-income customers in France are able to take advantage of a
That was my line - 9 January 2024
FOLLOW UP: RIFTER NOT BERLINGO, BAD ANDREWDuring the Year of unintended consequences - 19 December 2023 episode, Andrew stated that Alex Grant has an e-Berlingo, which is incorrect. Alex has the more stylish e-Rifter, which shares a lot of the platform but is not the same. Apologies Alex, Andrew has been suitably chastised for his error. FOLLOW UP: WELSH 20MPH LIMIT TO NOW BE ENFORCEDThe Welsh Government has stated that the newly introduced default 20mph speed limit, for built up areas, will be enforced from this month onwards. Depressingly, the article we link to, on the BBC News site which you can read by clicking here, has several quotes making it explicit that in Wales at least, compliance equals safety. Speed cameras will be installed in areas where it is deemed that too many are breaking the limit, rather than where there are accident blackspot as has been the norm. DECEMBER AND FULL YEAR NEW CAR REGISTRATIONSOnce again we note so many have trouble with the difference between new car registrations and sales. They are not the same. The good news is that registrations rose 17.9% on 2022, but still it is way down on the Before Times, approximately 17.5% down. We always need to put these figures into context. A lot of positive fuss was made about the volume of battery electric cars (BEV) which is impressively up, but the percentage of those registered is down for both December and 2023. Some of this may be due to holding back vehicles with 2024 and the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate about to land. More of a concern will be Private registrations that fell 14% for December and 0.1% for the year. Fleet is doing all the heavy lifting now. However, the inevitable calls for incentives and/or subsidies for private buyers has started. Click this link to the SMMT article for more information. SUPERMARKETS STILL RIPPING US OFF ACCORDING TO RACThe RAC brings out its monthly report into fuel prices, once again confirming that supermarkets are holding onto the duty relief the Government intended to be passed onto the public. Click this Autocar article link here, to read more. JLR LAUNCHES BESPOKE INSURANCE FOR RANGE ROVERSFollowing the issues JLR have had around their vehicles and how older models have been targets for thieves, which they appear to have solved for some models, with a £10 million effort we discussed a few weeks ago, they now are offering insurance for those struggling to get cover. Click this Motoring Research article link for more information. AUDI E-TRON RECALLED IN THE USAudi E-Trons built before March 2022 have been recalled in the United States over a fire risk connected to LG Energy Solutions battery packs. The affects nearly 27,000 cars and there is no remedy yet. You can learn more by clicking this link here to a Consumer Reports article.TESLA RECALL OVER FAULTY DOOR RISKTesla is issuing an over-the-air-update to fix the risk of doors opening during an accident, in the United States. Model S and X from 2021 to 2023 are affected by this. If you wish to learn more,
Special Edition: Lexus GX460 Review
In this episode, Alan talks all about his 2019 Lexus GX460 Premium. Since this was recorded, the replacement GX550 has been announced, and Alan has taken it on a 5,000-mile road trip to Wyoming and back. The 4.6 litre V8 has become more efficient over time; it’s underlined its ability to remain very comfortable for long periods of time, and, sadly, it still looks like Predator chewing a wasp.
Add to the drinking game - 2 January 2024
Follow Up: RULES OF ORIGIN DELAY AGREEDLeaving it until almost the last moment, the EU and UK have agreed to delay implementing the rules of origin legislation, which would’ve hit car makers in both Europe and Blighty. This was expected to happen and there was an almost audible sigh of relief from the car industry. You can find out more on this, by clicking the link here from Autocar. MCLAREN SHARE RESTRUCTURE DEALThe Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, has effectively become the sole owner of the McLaren Group after the complicated share structure was reorganised. This has prompted many to believe (or hope) that means future model development and the move to EVs can occur with some confidence. If you wish to read more on this, click here for Sky New’s version of the story. VW DETAILS COST CUTS AS IT AIMS FOR $11B GAINSFollowing extensive discussions with the works council, Volkswagen has announced its plans for saving that will net gains of $11 billion by 2026. Steps include speeding up development, a more efficient purchasing strategy and reducing staff costs. There will be no redundancies but vacancies may not be filled. To find out more on the latest strategy from VW, click this Reuters link here. BYD TO BUILD CARS IN EUROPEBYD has announced it will build cars in Hungary, where it will hope this is a work around for any potential tariffs for Chinese built cars. No date has been announced when the works will be completed and car will start coming off the production line. Click this Autocar article link for more. NIO RECEIVES INVESTMENT FROM ABU DHABINIO, the battery swap EV company, has received $2.2 billion investment from a fund backed by CYVN Holdings. The company has been struggling and made a net loss of $2.03 billion in 2022. They announced they would be delaying entering the UK market, last year, with no date being given where that would change. To read more, click this Nikkei Asia article link here. KIA ANNOUNCE NEW CEO OF EUROPE OPERATIONSMarc Hedrich, the former Ford VW Group and Toyota executive, has been revealed as the new President and CEO of Kia Europe. He started his role on 1 January 2024. If you wish to find out more, click this link to a JustAuto article. CAZOO NEEDS URGENT ADDITIONAL FUNDINGCazoo, the online retailer, has declared that it needs urgent funding before the second half of 2024 to remain in business. You can read more, by clicking this link to an AMOnline article. DAIHATSU PRODUCTION STOPPED AT JAPANESE PLANTSDaihatsu has stopped all car production in its four Japanese plants, following revelations of falsifying safety and testing data. Toyota, the parent company, has declared that “fundamental reform” is needed at the company. This problem effects not just Daihatsu and Toyota but also Mazda, and Subaru models...
Year of unintended consequences - 19 December 2023
Follow Up: CRUISE FIRE NINE EXECS IN ACCIDENT AFTERMATHFollowing the internal investigation by GM, into the incident where a pedestrian was dragged by a Cruise driverless vehicle, nine executives from the company have been sacked. Departments affected include Legal, Government Affairs, Commercial Operations and Safety and Systems. On top of that General Motors has stated that it is cutting 900 staff from the offshoot. Click here to read more, from The Register. Follow-Up: FRANCE EV SUBSIDY ELIGIBILITY LIST PUBLISHEDFrance has published a list of electric vehicles that will be eligible for governmental subsidy, following the inclusion of production environmental calculations. Surprising no one, but Chinese made vehicles will not get financial help. This will come into force from 1 January 2024. You can read more, by clicking this link here to an electrive article. FOLLOW UP: CLEVEDON WIGGLY LINES ROAD CHANGES AGAINAn independent investigation into the controversial changes to Clevedon’s sea front has recommended reinstating some diagonal parking spaces. Many are still unhappy with this, wanting a return to the original layout before any changes were made. Additionally the council is investigating if they need to return the funding, if they make these changes, and how to pay for it. This link here, will explain more thanks to the BBC News article. EU VOTES FOR CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS SECURITY LAWWith the push to electric vehicles the risk that the region could be held to ransom by other countries has pushed the EU Parliament to vote on bringing a law regarding critical raw materials. This will require up to 45% of recycling, as well as increasing the amount extracted in Europe. Click here to read more in an electrive article. TESLA RECALL DUE TO AUTOPILOT FLAWSTesla has been forced to announce a recall for their Autopilot system in the US, which is the name for their driver assistance technology such as adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and the likes. They are delivering it by an over-the-air update. The results are more frequent reminders for the driver to pay attention. To find out why this has happened, click this link to an electrive article. For a bit of background to all of this, click this link to a Rolling Stone article written by Ed Niedermeyer. CARIAD TO CUT COSTS INSTEAD OF JOBSCARIAD, the software division of the Volkswagen Group, has agreed with unions to cut costs to prevent job losses. By 2028 there must be a reduction of costs of 20%. You can learn more by clicking this link to an Investing article.GENERAL SAFETY REGULATIONS MANDATE MORE TECHThe new General Safety Regulations (GSR2) have been published. These tie together a few different regulations, into the one but also add more technology that must be fitted as standard on vehicles. This will obviously lead to a rise in costs. To find out more and exactly what...
Electromagnetic Molecular Interference Antifreeze Snow Removal - 12 December 2023
Follow Up - EU and UK Agree to 3-Year Rules of Origin DelayUK and EU politicians have agreed to delay the introduction of EV Rules of Origin by three years—more details in this Autocar story.Follow-Up - Tesla Vs. Nordic Unions - Unions AheadTesla continues to rebuff cooperation with Nordic unions, making life hard for Tesla. The Guardian covers this in more detail in the story linked here.New Car Registration Figures for NovemberUK new car registrations were slightly up in November, but the percentage of EVs is down slightly. Lots more and all of the numbers on the SMMT website.UK Motorists Continue To Be Overcharged For FuelAccording to the RAC, the gap between wholesale and retail road fuel prices has narrowed but is still too broad. More here from Autocar.Euro NCAP States The ObviousEuro NCAP has declared that bigger, heavier SUVs present “safety concerns” to other drivers and pedestrians. Autocar explains more in this article.Sixt Migrates to BYD EVs While Hertz Steps Back From EVSRental company Sixt is swapping Tesla for BYD after concerns about repair costs and residuals. Hertz is dialling back the speed with which it’s introducing EVs to its fleet. Jalopnik has more detail in this article.More Government Money For New Motorway Rapid ChargersUKGOV has set aside £70 million to fill the gaps in open-access motorway rapid and ultra-rapid chargers and ensure at least six chargers at each. Autocar has more detail here.EV Charging Companies Continue Evolving To Try To Make MoneyBP Pulse is expanding its rapid charger network, while Podpoint focuses on home and workplace chargers instead.NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Suzuki SwiftSuzuki has unveiled a revised Swift. The outside is a bit rounder, and the interior has fewer buttons. Much more information is available from Autocar.Morgan XP1The Morgan 3-wheeler is a magnificent machine, and Morgan’s hard at work on an electric version. CAR magazine has lots more details here.Stellantis Battery Swap StationsStellantis is considering introducing multi-brand battery swap stations, starting with the Fiat 500e in Madrid. Autocar has the full...
Not discussing that - 5 December 2023
Follow Up - Volta Trucks Saved by Venture Existing BackersUK-based Volta Trucks has been saved by a venture capital fund that had previously invested them. There’s more about this in the Autocar story linked here.Follow-Up - Welsh Speed Limit Changes Cause ConsternationSome roads in Wales are now subject to many more changes of speed limit than before. This BBC story highlights one extreme example.VW to Cut Jobs In Bid To Increase CompetitivenessThe Volkswagen CEO has claimed that it is “no longer competitive” and will be taking advantage of the “demographic curve” to reduce staff numbers ahead of the previously-announced 2029 date for dismissals. More from Autocar here.£20bm Investment Boost for UK Auto Manufacturing in 2023The SMMT has announced the latest figures for investment in UK manufacturing as well as the government’s Advanced Manufacturing Strategy. There’s more about this on the SMMT website, linked here.Call for “Euro-Kai Car” for small, urban EVsIn an effort to save the small car, European lobby group ACEA is pitching for legislation to encourage small, urban EVs. You can find out more in the Autocar story linked here.Tuner Fined for Fitting Illegal Exhaust ModsThe DVLA has fined West Yorkshire tuner AET Motorsport for fitting a ”pop-bang” map and removing the catalytic converter from a Fiesta ST. Find out more in this Car article.Geely & NIO sign Strategic Partnership on Battery-Swap TechnologyGeely and NIO have signed a strategic partnership to develop battery standards, swapping technology, network expansion and development, swappable model development, and battery asset management. Big news, and you can read more in Geely’s press release here.Induction Charging Road Installed in DetroitAn induction charging test road has been installed in Detroit to test the system's robustness in real-world conditions. Find out more in this article from Jalopnik.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 - Dacia BigsterDacia has revealed their first model bigger than the Duster, a chunkily-styled 5-seat SUV available as a petrol mild and full hybrid. A competitor for the Ford Kuga and other, the Bigster is slightly larger, but expected to cost under £40,000 when it’s introduced tot he UK in 2025. Find out more in this article from Autocar.Dacia DusterAt the same...
Big traffic light - 27 November 2023
NISSAN TO INVEST FURTHER IN SUNDERLAND PLANTNissan is investing a further £2 billion in their Sunderland facilities, with the confirmation that the next generation Qashqai and Juke, both to be electric only, will be built alongside the Leaf. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar link here. HYUNDAI BRINGS GENESIS OPERATION IN HOUSEHyundai UK is brining the administrative operations of the Genesis brand, in-house from early 2024. On top of this, there will be a move away from an online only presence with some showrooms being utilised. More can be read on this by clicking through on this Autocar link here. JLR UPGRADES SECURITY ON OLDER MODELSOlder models from the Range Rover brand are being retrofitted with improved security, after a flaw has been exploited by thieves for several years. JLR has spent £10 million in fixing the issue and updating customer cars. Click here to find out more, from Autocar. TOYOTA HILUX ADVERT BANNEDA Toyota Hilux advert that showed off the capabilities of the four-wheel drive pick up has been banned for being socially irresponsible, in the eyes of the Advertising Standards Agency. Watch out car makers, do not show your vehicles doing what they were designed for. Click this link to the AMOnline article, to find out more and also see a video showing you what is now deemed socially irresponsible. PARIS TO VOTE ON WEIGHT BASED PARKING CHARGES The Mayor of Paris has announced that Paris citizens will be given the opportunity to vote on basing parking charges on the weight of cars. Any internal combustion engined car over 1.6 tons or EVs over 2 tons, will be charged extra if the plans are approved. To find out more, click this electrive article link here. INDUCTION CHARGING POSITIONING STANDARD AGREEDSAE International, the global standards organisation equivalent to BSi, has agreed upon an induction charge aliment standard, based on the Mahle solution. The German based company calls their system DIPS, Differential Inductive Positioning System. More can be read on this, by clicking this electrive 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 - Peugeot e-3008Peugeot has revealed their next generation 3008, whilst being an EV which is to be expected they have, unfortunately for fans of the current generation, decided to make it a coupe SUV. Brave move cutting off a huge chunk of your existing customer base by making it less practical and attractive to families. Click this Autocar link to find out more. Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer ElectricIf you do need a practical electric vehicle, then Vauxhall may have the car for you in the form of the...
Sick of everything - 21 November 2023
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT OWNER SERVED NOTICE ON UNPAID WAGESAn ex employee has served a legal notice on Recharge Industries, the “owner” of the failed battery manufacturer Britishvolt, for unpaid wages. If the money is not forthcoming, the firm could be pursued further with bankruptcy proceedings being an option. Click this link to read more from The Guardian. FOLLOW UP: CRUISE HALTS ALL OPERATIONS AND CEO RESIGNSCruise has now halted all ride-hailing operations, even those with human safety drivers. On top of that Kyle Vogt has resigned as CEO of the company. Also departing is fellow co-founder Daniel Kan. You can see more by clicking this link to an article from The Register, which shows a timeline of recent events including the astonishing creation of a chief safety officer ten years after the company was formed. TESLA HITTING A UNION WALL IN SWEDENTesla is refusing to allow a Swedish union to use a ‘collective bargaining agreement’, with the members of the IF Metall union in their repair centres. They have been trying to get the company to do this for five years. They are now on strike and as is the way in Sweden, other unions are showing their support by refusing to do work with or for Tesla. You can find out more, by clicking this link to an Associated Press article. UK GOVERNMENT PLEDGES CASH TO FIX SOME POTHOLESThe UK Government has made a big announcement at how they are allocating some of the money that would have been spent on HS2 to fixing some of the potholes on our roads, over the next eleven years. Unfortunately, as Paul Lomax makes clear, it is a drop in an ocean of underfunding, which you can read more by clicking this Twitter thread here, for context. To find out more on this story, click this Autocar link here. UK GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN EV AUTO INDUSTRY The UK Government also announced that it is assigning £2 billion to help the automotive industry transition to the new zero emission market. However, as the chaps and the Business and Trade Select Committee in Parliament point out, this is welcome but where is the strategy or this is just throwing money without a plan. If you wish to learn more, click this link from Autocar Professional. AMAZON US TO SELL CARS FOR HYUNDAI ONLINEAmazon and Hyundai announced that they will team up to sell cars online in the United States, from late 2024. Full details have yet to emerge, including how will full prices be declared. On top of that, Hyundai will be adding Alexa to their new cars from 2025. Click this BBC News article link for more. MERSEYSIDE POLICE USE CAMERAS TO CATCH TRAFFIC OFFENCE VIOLATIONSMerseyside police are using a camera system that spots if drivers are using a mobile phone with their hands or occupants do not have their seatbelts on. To clarify, it is not “AI” it is image recognition. More can be learned
Need want and desire - 14 November 2023
FOLLOW UP: RENAULT FINALLY CREATES AMPERERenault has finally announced the creation of Ampere, the new division responsible for developing their EVs, circular economy and software for the Group. At the time of recording there was no mention of the IPO that was discussed when first announcing the entity. Click this electrive article to read more. FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN ENDS EXCLUSIVITY DEAL WITH AMAZONRivian and Amazon have announced that the exclusive deal to supply the retail giant with electric vans is no more. Amazon were pulling down far fewer vehicles than expected, therefore Rivian needs to open its books up to more companies to ensure the business is viable. To read more, click this link here to an electrive article. AUTOMATED VEHICLE BILL ANNOUNCED IN KING’S SPEECHDuring the opening of Parliament, King Charles III’s speech announced the plan to introduce the automated vehicle bill. This has taken several years and multiple public consultations. Key elements will be who is held responsible and in which situations, along with companies being held responsible for exaggerating their system’s capabilities. The devil will be in the detail, however. If you would like to learn more or possibly just read some utter tripe quoted, click firstly this link to an Autocar article and then try this link from Top Gear. BMW TO LAUNCH UK ‘HANDS FREE EYES ON’ SYSTEM IN 2024BMW is bringing a system that humans cannot handle, with their Level 2+ ‘Motorway Assist’. This is, similar to Ford’s BlueCruise, that requires the driver to continue to watch the road even though they are not holding the steering wheel. To repeat ourselves, there are many studies that show humans cannot manage this task, but that is not stopping the deployment and that the driver will still be help responsible for something they are being set up to fail. To read more on this, click on this Autocar link here. UK TESLA OWNER REIMBURSED FOR FAILED FSD PROMISES Using the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Ed Butler claimed that Tesla had breached their contract with him in not producing the promised Full Self Driving enhancements after he paid extra for the package. Tesla settled out of court, paying the original sum plus interest and legal costs. Click here to read more, from InsideEVs. ASTON MARTIN INVESTOR INCREASES STAKE IN COMPANYSaudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has returned to being the number two investor in Aston Martin, just ahead of Shufu Li, Geely Chairman. This continues the incremental increases from the three major shareholders, who all appear locked in some sort of bizarre game. You can learn more by clicking this link to an Automotive News Europe article. EDINBURGH BANS PAVEMENT PARKINGEdinburgh Council are bringing in a new rule to ban pavement parking, even though there is a law that makes it illegal to obstruct a pavement already. We are unsure how adding a new rule to something that isn’t...
Buying your dreams - 7 November 2023
FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT STAFF NOT PAID FOR MONTHSRecharge Industries, the company that has bought Britishvolt, although not finalised payment yet, has not paid UK staff for the last four months. Once again, the poor staff let down by management. If you would like to read more, including how much belief employees have in the assurances given, click this BBC News article link here. FOLLOW UP: JLR PARTS ISSUE TO LAST INTO 2024 JLR have confirmed that they are improving the repair parts backlog, they’re experiencing. With the steps being made, they anticipate getting back on track in 2024. The issue has been acknowledged by CEO Adrian Mardell. To read more, click this Jalopnik article link here. FOLLOW UP: TESLA NOT FOUND LIABLE FOR MODEL 3 CRASHA jury has decided that Tesla and their Autopilot software are not responsible for the accident that led to the driver’s death and passenger injuries, back in 2019. The claim was the software was faulty, there are arguments that how lawyers are pursing such cases is flawed and will ensure they never win such cases. If you want to read more about the case, click this article link from The Register. To find out more about why Michael DeKort thinks the legal cases are destined to fail, click this LinkedIn post link. OCTOBER 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESThe SMMT published the figures of the new car registrations for October 2023. A big jump in registrations over all, but BEVs only managed to capture 15% market share, which is less than in previous months. Another concern, for the industry, is how reliant they now are on Fleet registrations as Private remained the same as last year. Click here to read more, from the SMMT. SMMT CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED MOBILITY REPORTSticking with the SMMT, they published a report based on KPMG research in to the potential connected and automated mobility aspects of the industry. Whilst a lot of it is incredibly optimistic in terms of potential earnings, impact and job creation, one chart caught Alan’s eye regarding which could be the sectors fastest and most likely to become automated and take advantage of connectivity. To learn more, click this link from the SMMT. DRIVERLESS FIFE BUS NOW DRIVEN BY A HUMAN DRIVERThe bus that runs between Ferrytoll Park and Ride near Inverkeithing and Edinburgh Park, which is testing an autonomous driving system now is being fully driven by a human driver. You can read more, by clicking this link to a The Courier article. jLR POSTS RECORD REVENUESIn the last quarter, JLR posted record revenue figures as demand for the Range Rover Sport and Defender was strong. Nice to be able to say something positive about JLR. Click here to read...
My demeaning voice - 31 October 2023
FOLLOW UP: CRUISE PAUSES DRIVERLESS TAXI SERVICEBoth Califoria’s Department for Motor Vehicles and Public Utilities Commission have revoked Cruise’s license to carry fee paying passengers in their robotaxis. Cruise, following this, has “paused” the operation of their fleet. This all stems from an incident on 2 October 2023, where a car driven by a human hit a pedestrian and they were knocked into the pathway of one of Cruise’s cars which could not stop in time and trapped the pedestrian underneath the vehicle. The DMV claims Cruise shared partial video that showed up to the point of the vehicle stopping. However, the DMV now states there was more as they were not shown that the Cruise vehicle tried to move to the side of the road with the lady still trapped beneath the car. The DMV stated that “the manufacturers vehicles are not safe for public operation”. To read more click this Vice article link here. For the next stage of the story, click this Tech Crunch article link here. To read the DMV’s own documentation on their decision, click this link here. For Cruise’s Twitter post regarding their pause, click this link. Forbes have a thoughtful piece on what has happened and what Cruise can and should do next. To read that, click this link here. FOLLOW UP: MERCEDES USER MANUAL FOR DRIVE PILOT Mercedes-Benz has now released the user manuals for their Drive Pilot Level 3 automated driving system. Looking at the documentation there are a number of inconsistencies and contradictions. Click this link to a piece from Philip Koopman on LinkedIn highlighting the issues in the text. Reading the information, we wouldn’t use the system as we have no idea if we would be held accountable or Mercedes, in the event of an issue. STELLANTIS TO SELL LEAPMOTOR VEHICLES IN EUROPEFollowing a £1.3 billion investment in the Chinese EV maker, Leapmotor, Stellantis will start selling their vehicles in Europe from 2024. No details have been revealed as to what models they would be. We also ask if it is the technology side of things that Stellantis is really after. You can read more, by clicking this link to an Autocar story. RAC STATES FUEL PRICES ARE UNFAIRLY HIGHThe RAC has explained that all fuel retailers should be lowering their prices by at least 5p per litre, thanks to the drop in wholesale costs. They also point out how this is helping to ensure that inflation remains high. If you would like to read more,
Special Edition: Japan Mobility Show 2023 - 30 October 2023
JAPAN MOBILITY SHOW 2023Alan and Andrew are rounding up the motoring element of the Japan Mobility Show 2023, which is the replacement for the Tokyo Motor Show. The organisers have expanded the remit and potential audience. There are stands about everything from wheelchairs to private jets and all things between. TINY CARSAs this is Japan you can imagine just how many tiny and kei cars there were. We have picked only a small fraction to discuss. Honda CI-MEVDaihatsu ME:MoDaihatsu UNIFORM Truck and UNIFORM CargoDaihatsu CopenSPORTS CARSIn selecting all the cars that are in here, some stretching of the definition of “sports” has occurred. Do bear with us as we try to explain why the choices that have been made, have been made. Honda PreludeMazda Iconic SPHonda Sustania-CToyota FT-3eToyota FT-SeNissan Hyper ForceELECTRIC SUVSAs you would expect, there was a lot of electric SUVs on display. Here we have picked some of the more interesting ones, to our eyes. Nissan Hyper PunkNissan Hyper Adventure Toyota Land Cruiser SeToyota EPUFEEDBACKAs this is only the second time we have tried to do this multimedia style approach, 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.
That's courageous - 24 October 2023
CALLS FOR RULES OF ORIGIN AGREEMENT STRENGTHENEDThe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has reinforced its call for an agreement to be reached between the EU and UK over rules of origin delay. The SMMT has outlined what the average price increase would be for vehicles coming into or out of the UK and EU. You can read more about the potential impact by clicking this link to an SMMT article. The UK Government has stated that if a satisfactory agreement with the EU cannot be reached over rules of origin it would just make their own rules up. That have not clarified what these would be, nor how they expect them to help UK based companies. Click this Autocar article to read more. CHINA EXPORT TARIFFS APPLIED TO GRAPHITE China will be imposing an export tariff on certain grades of graphite, which is used in the manufacture of electric car batteries. This will mean that homegrown batteries will be cheaper than, those built using the material abroad. To learn more, click this electrive link here. £200M NET ZERO DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMThe UK Government has set aside £200 million of the net zero funding to enable four demonstration projects for the viability of electric HGVs. This is a move to help encourage and demonstrate the positives of moving to the UK haulage industry. In order to read more, click this link here to a Current News article. UK GOVERNMENT URGED TO IMPROVE ROADS OUTSIDE THE SOUTHA report from the National Infrastructure Commission has called on the Government to improve on the amount of money allocated to the Road Investment Strategy being spent on the Midlands and the North of England. Only 22% goes to projects outside the South, which looks bad but there are a few reasons for why this is the case. To read more, click this article link from Autocar. VOLTA TRUCKS ENTERS BANKRUPTCYFollowing supplier Proterra going into administration and an inability to raise more funding, Volta Trucks has entered bankruptcy in Sweden, with it following suite soon in the UK too. Management are trying to find a buyer to take it on as a going concern. Click here to read more, via Autocar. JLR’S HUGE REPAIRS PARTS SHORTAGECar Dealer Magazine has an exclusive report on 10,000 JLR vehicles being affected by the company’s huge parts shortage issue. Digging into the problem, it is clear the situation has been made so much worse with a huge consolidation project that combined a number of warehouse facilities into a new single site, changing parts supplier and combining a number of legacy systems into a new one. As Alan, who’s day job is just this sort of thing states, “that’s courageous”. If you would like to read more, click this link to the original scoop here. ALPINA FOUNDER PASSES AWAYBurkard Bovensiepen, who was the founder of ALPINA, has sadly passed away at the age of 87. He helped create an incredible...
Better at rubbing the soap - 17 October 2023
DOJ CHARGES EBAY OVER ROLLING COAL DEVICE SELLINGThe Department of Justice (DOJ) in the US, has taken eBay to court over allowing ‘rolling coal’ devices to be sold on the platform. These manipulate the control of engines and allow for huge plumes of black smoke to be emitted by vehicles. eBay says it cut so many out and does all it can. The fine, if found guilty would be a maximum in the region of $2 billion, but as its an American company it will not be that high. Click this CNBC article link to learn more. BATTERY RECYCLING PLANT OPENS IN WOLVERHAMPTON Battery recycling firm, Recyclus, have opened their new Wolverhampton operation that will eventually enable them to process up to 22,000 tons of lithium ion batteries. Called ‘urban mining’, such operations will be vital in bringing down the environmental impact of our electrified future. You can learn more by clicking this electrive article link here. WAE TO BUILD EV BATTERIES IN OXFORD FACTORY WAE will produce electric batteries, mainly for heavy plant vehicles, in its new £20 million factory, located near Oxford. The UK has a thriving heavy plant manufacturing industry and home built batteries will be vital to ensuring the viability of that sector. If you wish to learn more, click this link to an Autocar article. AUDI CUTS BACK PRODUCTION PLANS FOR Q4 ETRONPlans to build the Q4 eTron in Audi’s own Brussels plant have been put on hold as demand is not enough to meet the capacity at the VW Zwickau factory. Workers in Brussels have gone on strike as their contracts are changed to fit the new future. Click this electrive article link to see more. MERCEDES-BENZ EACTROS 600 Mercedes has revealed the 2024 eActross 600, a lorry capable of travelling 310 miles on a single charge, with a payload of 22 tonnes. With regular, legislated stops and charging whilst taking required breaks, will allow it to travel 600 miles easily. For more on this, click here to read more via Green Fleet.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 - Toyota C-HRToyota has announced pricing for the new C-HR, with it starting at £31, 290 and topping out at £42,720 for the range topping Premier Edition spec. Click this Autocar article link to find out all the details of the car and options for powertrains. Lexus LBXThe LBX is a small crossover, that is based on the underpinnings of the Toyota Yaris Cross, which will be the new entry level to the brand. Prices start at £29,995 and go all the way up to £40, 545 for the Takumi Design spec. You can find out more by clicking this CAR article link here. Kia EV2 Kia announced several new planned models, which we start with covering the baby one, the EV2. The brand aims to have...
Driven by nobs - 10 October 2023
FOLLOW UP: CHINA UNHAPPY AT EU SUBSIDY PROBEIn a move that should surprise no one, China has complained about the process and speed of the EU’s investigation into the possibility of state backed subsidies for Chinese EV makers. Click here to read the Reuters article with plenty of quotes from China making it clear there will be ramifications. FOLLOW UP: PENDRAGON SUITERS DOWN TO TWO The Hedin Penske bid for Pendragon has been removed, which leaves two suiters. A report this week has suggested that the AutoNation offer can increased and take it well above the Lithia Motors proposal. If they do, the board of Pendragon are expected to recommend AutoNation. You can read more by clicking this article from AMOnline, here. SEPTEMBER 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES No matter how positive many are trying to be about September’s figures, they were dreadful. Overall, whilst better than 2022 and ignoring the Covid years, it was the lowest since before 2007, EVs failed to break 16% again, private EV rates are down 14% and you have to wonder how long fleet registrations can prop up the industry. On top of all of that, the reporting on this has once again been poor. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) inevitably calls on the Government to support private buyers so that more cars can find new homes. Click here to read the SMMT’s official post. GOVERNMENT UNVEILS “THE PLAN FOR DRIVERS” DOCUMENTLast week the Transport Secretary revealed a document called “The Plan for Drivers” which is a 30-point plan aimed at helping to make driving less of a chore in the UK. If you would like to learn what the plan exactly entails, click here to read the document from the .GOV site. For a summary, click this Autocar link here. JLR IN TROUBLE WITH ASA The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an advert for the Range Rover Sport SVR from JLR. The ruling cited that the main message was about speed, which contravenes the CAP Code rule 19.4. JLR disagreed, but when the time from 0-60 was the second of two sentences, it is easy to see how the ASA came to the decision it did. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline link here. POLICE USED VAN TO STOP RUNAWAY CARA man called the police, in order to get them to help him find a way to stop his car that was stuck at 30mph. Eventually, they used a police van, which acted as the brakes, to bring to vehicle to a safe stop. There is no current understanding as to why the accelerator was jammed on. We hope when the reason is found that is reported to all of us. To read about this story, click here for the BBC News version. VOLVO NAMES NEW UK MANAGING DIRECTORNicole Melillo Shaw has been named as the next managing director for Volvo
Take a French lunch - 3 October 2023
FOLLOW UP: ZEV MANDATE FINALLY ANNOUNCEDThe Government has finally published the details of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate. As we discussed last week the expected percentage minimums of zero emission vehicles sold per brand have remained from the consultation. However, there is no additional detail from 2030 to 2035 except there being no new internal combustion engines sold from 2035. Click here to read the Autocar article on the story. To read the SMMT’s response, click this link here. UK ROAD DEATHS RISE The statistics on road deaths and injuries have been released by the UK Government. Deaths have risen, for the first time since 2017, but overall incidents are slightly down. Remember it is pointless to compare with 2020 and 2021 figures, therefore one needs to look to 2019 for comparison. Also, note that there is a lot of information and it is handed to us in a variety of formats, which you need to make sure you are aware of if reviewing the data. Click this link here to read Autocar’s summary. If you would like to review the data, click this Government link here. YEW TREE CONSORTIUM INCREASES ASTON MARTIN STAKE The Lawrence Stroll led consortium, Yew Tree, has increased their stake in Aston Martin, once again. They continue to be the largest single shareholder. In order to learn more, click here to read the Reuters article link. PENDRAGON DEALERSHIP CENTRE OF BIDDING WARA trio of US-based bids have been received by Pendragon, for their company, after revealing record profits for the first six months of the year. There have already been increases in bids and counter offers, therefore this may not end anytime soon. You can learn more by clicking this link here to a Car Dealer Magazine article. PERTH TOYOTA DEALERSHIP CONTRACT REMOVEDStuans, the family owned dealer group, has unceremoniously lost their franchise agreement with Toyota, following no consultation or warning. The sites in Dundee and Perth will now be run by Eastern and Western Motor Group. This one is quite personal for Alan and he goes on to explain how little choice Scottish buyers now get. If you would like to learn more, click this AMOnline article link. VW HIRES EX TESLA AND RIVIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEERVolkswagen has brought in a non-VW employee to their CARIAD software division, in a shock move. Sanjay Lal, has previously worked at both Tesla and Rivian, as part of his 25 year career. He is being tasked with trying to improve the speed and quality of software development at the company. You can read more by clicking this InsideEVs article link here.FLEET DATA SHOWS EV TYRES ARE REPLACED MORE OFTENFleet data, analysed by epyx, indicates that EV tyres...
Existential and deep - 26 September 2023
GOVERNMENT DELAYS 2030 ICE-ONLY BANThe Prime Minister announced that he was putting back the date when the sale of new internal combustion engined cars and vans would be banned in the UK, to 2035. This caused much comment, especially from an angry car industry. Click here to read about that, from Autocar. For an explanation as to what has changed, ie. nothing, click this LeasePlan article link. ZEV MANDATE TO REMAIN DESPITE NEW 2035 ICE-ONLY BAN Whilst much was made of the change in the 2035 date for the banning internal combustion engined only cars and vans, especially by the Government, the zero emission vehicle mandate is to remain in place. The Government is to demand car companies sell a percentage of zero emission vehicles despite adding five years to the deadline and thus making the job harder for those trying to sell cars. To find out more, about this idiotic move, click this Autocar link here. FRANCE REVISES EV SUBSIDY RULES France will change their electric vehicle subsidy rules, which means many Asian built EVs will not qualify for the financial assistance scheme. The French Government claim, in the face of calls of protectionism, that it is all guided by how green the manufacturing process of the vehicle is and China, for a random example, is still powered to a large extent by non renewable energy sources, according the France. In order to learn more, click here on this Reuters article link to learn more. EDINBURGH AIRPORT TO INSTALL 40 EV CHARGERSEdinburgh airport is installing 40 EV chargers, a mix of 7kWh and 22kWh versions. Some will be time constrained whilst others will not. Click this electrive.com article link to read more on the story. 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 - Audi Q4 E-tronThe revised Audi Q4 E-tron, for 2024, has been shown to us all. Improvements to the range, a new motor, better efficiency and revised suspension. The price, whilst not yet announced is to be slightly higher than the current version’s. To find out all the stats and info, click this Autocar article link here. Oshe OkovangoOshe have displayed their Okovango, a restomod version of the Land Rover Defender 90, that evokes the look of African safari vehicles. The price of this very attractive vehicle is £225,000. If you wish to learn more, click this Hagerty article link here. Frontline LE60 and BEE EV Frontline have taken the MGB GT and produced an electric only version as well as one with a Rover V8. They both look great and to read all the fine details, before their public reveal at Bicester Heritage Sunday...
Your Chanel handbag - 19 September 2023
INDUSTRY CALLS FOR MORE GOVERNMENT HELPThe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called on additional help from the Government, to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. During their one day conference, called Electrified, they proposed four incentives that would help make the switch easier for the private buyer. You can find out more, by clicking this link here. NEW EV MINIS WILL BE BUILT IN THE UK BMW is investing £600 million in their Oxford and Swindon plants to enable it to build the new Mini Cooper Electric and the Mini Aceman. This secures around 4,000 jobs and does include some financial support from the UK Government. To find out more, you can click this Autocar article link here. EU INVESTIGATES CHINESE STATE SUBSIDESThe European Union will begin an investigation into whether the Chinese Government subsidises their car industry and that gives them an unfair advantage in Europe. Alan and Andrew are quite scathing about how this situation has arisen and how this was a very obvious outcome but now politicians and the industry are equally surprised. Click this Autocar article link for more. We recommend you also click this BBC News article link, as it gives some context to what that means to the UK and potential ramifications if a trade war is started. SAT NAV WARNING OVER NEW WELSH 20MPH SPEED LIMITSSat nav manufacturers are warning motorists not to trust their systems after the recent implementation of 20mph zones across Wales. They are recommending that the software is updated and to be watchful of the speed limit signs on the roads. To read more, click this BBC News article here. If you would like to see the extent of the new 20mph zones, click this link to a map showing just how many or few roads are actually affected.UK ROAD REPAIRS AT LOWEST LEVEL IN FIVE YEARSThe RAC ha found that UK road and pothole repairs are at their lowest level in five years, with some councils carrying out no resurfacing work and many others doing no surface-dressing work. If you would like to learn more, click here to read the Autocar article explaining it all. CALLS FOR UK GOVERNMENT TO TIGHTEN AV LAWSParliament’s Transport Committee has released a report outlining the areas the Government needs to tighten up the law for autonomous vehicles, if it wants a safe deployment of the technology. Where it is asking for language to be less vague and wooly is very admirable, but still there is the delusion that the way it is being developed will actually result in any safe AV operations is worrying. Click this link to read the committee’s report. ELECTRIC CAR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE ONTO IN ADMINISTRATION Onto, the electric car subscription service which wrapped up nearly all the costs...
Too wet to light man - 12 September 2023
NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR AUGUST 2023For the first time, in a long time, the new car registration overall figure for August is close to those of the before times, being just under seven thousand less than 2019 numbers. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) jumped to a 20.1% market share for the month, unfortunately the year to date is still stuck in the 16s. The SMMT make it very clear they desperately need the Government to reveal what the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate will actually be as, astonishingly, they have not revealed what it will actually entail. Click here to read more about August from this SMMT article link. NEW EV MINIS WILL BE BUILT IN THE UK BMW is investing £600 million in their Oxford and Swindon plants to enable it to build the new Mini Cooper Electric and the Mini Aceman. This secures around 4,000 jobs and does include some financial support from the UK Government. To find out more, you can click this Autocar article link here. CAMBRIDGE CONGESTION CHARGE CANCELLEDThe plans for charging vehicles to drive in and around Cambridge, during peak times, has been shelved. The Lib Dems expressed “concerns” which removed much of the previous support for the scheme. Labour confirmed they too had concerns over certain aspects of the proposals. However, it was acknowledged that something will have to be done. If you wish to find out more, click this BBC News article link here. EV NETWORK AND BP PULSE OPEN UK’S LARGEST CHARGING HUBThe NEC Campus is the location for EV Network and BP Pulse’s new charging hub, which is the largest in the UK. There are 16 rapid 300kW chargers and 150 7kW charging points, with provision for some accessible bays in both rapid and fast areas. Click this ZapMap article link to read more. RICHMOND BOROUGH TO INSTALL 525 MORE CHARGE POINTSThe London Borough of Richmond upon Thames has announced it will be installing a further 525 on-street charge points across its area to bring the total up to 945. You can read more from the electrive.com article via this link here. LIVERPOOL HYDROGEN BUS PROJECT SCRAMBLES FOR FUELA flagship hydrogen bus project, based in Liverpool, has not been running as the operator struggles to find a fuel supplier. The hope is for the situation to be solved soon, with the source also being sustainably produced. To learn more, click this link here from Hydrogeninsight. Montpellier is cancelling their hydrogen bus experiment due to the high running costs, when compared to electric buses. Hydrogen has been calculated as six times more expensive that the equivalent electric. Click this Recharge article link to read more. MOZILLA CLAIMS CAR DATA PRIVACY IS APPALLING The Mozilla Foundation has investigated car brands over...
I am whelmed - 5 September 2023
FOLLOW UP: XIAOMI’S EV PLANSLast week when discussing the approval of Xiaomi’s plan to build EV, Andrew should have clarified that this was the fourth to be given permission since 2017, not the fifth. FUEL PRICE RISE HITS HARD IN AUGUST Unsurprising to anyone who’s watched fuel prices over the last few years, petrol and diesel went up in August. That month when the UK takes to roads due to the school holiday. Prices increased by nearly seven pence per litre. To read more, including some of the justification of this, click here for the Autocar article. ALMOST HALF HOMEOWNERS WOULD PAVE GARDEN TO CHARGEResearch by EO Charging found that 49 percent of homeowners would pave over their front garden, to make it easier to charge their electric car. This is despite 53 percent expressing concern in people paving over their front gardens. For further insight, click this link to read more at Motoring Research. JLR TO USE SUSTAINABLY FUELLED LORRY FLEETJLR (y’know, the lot that used to be called Jaguar Land Rover), will be running their lorry fleet on sustainable biofuel, from 2024. They estimate this will cut their road freight carbon emission by up to 84 percent. To learn more, click this link to the Autocar article referred to on the show. TOYOTA, VW AND KIA PRODUCTION HIT BY DISRUPTIONFactories across the globe came to standstill in the last week for a variety of reasons. All of Toyota’s output in Japan ceased after an issue with a systems update. Kia’s factory in Hwaseong, South Korea, was shut following a fire. Volkswagen’s Slovakia plant stopped making the T-Roc following severe flooding in the region causing damage to a supplier’s operations. Click this AMOnline article link to read more. GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES MAAS TRAVEL APPS STANDARDSThe Government has announced the guidelines for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) apps.The aim is to make them more user friendly, safer and reduce costs for travellers. These apps are thought to be developed to contain public transport, road and micro-mobility information and costings. For you to learn more, click this link to an Intelligent Transport article. Maybe Alan’s dream app will finally happen?FRENCH ROAD SIGN CAUSES CONFUSIONFrench authorities are testing a new symbol, to be displayed on digital road signs that indicate a lane is for car-sharing only. One tiny problem is, it looks a lot like the Renault logo, but following the company’s lawyers investigating no further action was taken. You can read more, by clicking this link here to a Connexion article. 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 - Mini Cooper ElectricMini has revealed their new Cooper Electric, which is the new name for the...
Split the ions - 29 August 2023
FOLLOW UP: BATH CAZ MAKES A DIFFERENCEFollowing the introduction of a Clean Ari Zone (CAZ) to a portion of Bath, NOx levels have dropped by 26% and only 1% of vehicles entering the zone are non compliant. Bath took the approach of targeting taxis, vans, buses, coaches and lorries only. You can find out more, by clicking this BBC News article link here. DAMAGE FROM POTHOLES ROCKETS IN JULYJuly, in the UK, was incredibly wet which has help to make conditions that have led to a sharp increase in vehicle damage due to potholes. Drivers have not been able to establish if a puddle is shallow or to a depth comparable to Lock Ness. To learn more, including how to make a claim from the local council if you are unfortunate enough to damage your car, click this CAR link here. DEVON ASKS FOR MORE MOTORING OFFENCES POWERDevon County Council has started a public consultation on approval from residents to extend their powers to include prosecuting drivers for contravening some motoring offences. We are curious how some of the claims the council are making can actually occur by fining someone for going past a no entry sign. Click this link to a BBC News article to read more and also find the link to the consultation. GLASGOW HYDROGEN PROJECT CANCELLEDGlasgow Council has cancelled their hydrogen refuse lorry project. Details are unclear as to why the decision was made. Alan and Andrew try to work it out with availability of suitable vehicles and the increase in the cost of hydrogen being likely suspects. They will now channel that money into electrifying their fleet. If you would like to read more, click this article link from FuleCellsWorks. LEGAL TESLA CHARGER OPENS IN UKTesla has opened their first V4 chargers, in the UK. The significant improvements include a longer charging cable, meaning it should be easier to reach charging ports. But most importantly, is that they will finally be compliant with UK regulations and allow for contactless payment. Click this Top Gear article to read more. 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 - Kia EV5Kia have revealed their EV5, which is a smaller version of the seven seat EV9, with very similar external boxy styling. Whilst no details have been released regarding price, it is expected to be around £50,000, similar to the Skoda Enyaqi, Ford Explorer and Fisker Ocean. Click this link to an Autocar article to see the clean and minimal design both inside and out, as well as some very clever storage solutions. Hyundai i20Hyundai have given the very good i20 a refresh. Prices start at £20,770, with added safety tech, three new colours and the ability for over the air updates. To read more about this news,