The use of a journey approval system, where company car drivers have to get authorisations for specific trips from line managers, could represent the future of company car use, FleetCheck has suggested. Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet software specialist, said that there may need to be an acknowledgement that the spread of video conferencing during the pandemic was going to change … [Read more...]
News
Newslines 7 July
Over 350,000 homes will be fitted with electric vehicle chargers by 2025 as plug-in car uptake surges, according to electric vehicle charging scale-up Andersen. By 2025, an expected one million electric vehicles will be registered on UK roads bringing with it a spike in the number of home chargers and Andersen is selling them from under £1,000 with a typical installation of a 7KW unit costing … [Read more...]
BREAKING NEWS: INEOS U-turn on Welsh car plant
Ineos has suspended plans to build its new 4x4 Grenadier in Wales. The company is now talking to Daimler about taking over a car plant it's vacating in France. In a blow to Welsh automotive manufacturing which promised up to 500 jobs at Brocastle, Bridgend, it said today, “INEOS Automotive can confirm that it is reviewing its manufacturing strategy for the new Grenadier in light of the … [Read more...]
Depreciation gets back seat in buying thoughts
Over a quarter or 28% of UK drivers do not consider depreciation when they are buying a car, despite having a full understanding of it. One in five think that all cars depreciate at the same rate (men 16% and women 23%). Younger drivers under 35s (34%) are also twice as likely to think that all cars depreciate at the same rate as over 55s (14%). Depreciation is the difference between what you … [Read more...]
Vauxhall Corsa tops in Wales while MGZS is best Crossover
New car sales figures released yesterday show Welsh dealers suffered slightly more than their UK colleagues. The national sales downturn was 35%, those in Wales dipped 38.07% as totals slipped from 7,754 in June 2019 to 4,802 this year and best seller in Wales was once again the Vauxhall Corsa (right). Second and third were the Toyota Yaris and Ford Fiesta, which has been the best seller in … [Read more...]
Motorists taking risks with insurance ignorance
Millions of drivers have no idea exactly what their car insurance policy covers as one in four simply let their other half deal with it. A study of 2,000 UK motorists found one in 10 are clueless about whether they are covered for things like driving their car for business use, if they have windscreen cover or if they can drive other vehicles. Worryingly, nearly one in three wouldn’t know what … [Read more...]
New car sales edge upwards
New car sales have started a slow recovery. British new car registrations fell by 35% in June as many dealerships reopened after coronavirus lockdown measures were lifted, but the Welsh and Scottish showrooms' openings were delayed until the end of the month and this affected figures. A total 145,377 new cars were registered in June, leaving accumulated figures down by nearly a half, according … [Read more...]
Newslines 6 July
Wales 5-miles guidance on travel during the lockdown ends today. In a bid to help tourism, self-contained accommodation can reopen but not hotels or guest houses and only takeaways and restaurants with outside dining can operate at the moment in Wales before restricted opening of pubs and clubs is allowed. The Financial Conduct Authority in Britain is proposing an October extension to the … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Audi A7 Sportback TFSI hybrid
The Audi A7 Sportback range of premium four door large coupe models gains a new PHEV plug-in hybrid TFSI e quattro variant to its line-up, writes David Miles. This also heralds the arrival of the Q7 TFSI e quattro, A8 TFSI e quattro and A6 Saloon TFSI e quattro PHEV models plus the Q5 TFSI e quattro has also recently arrived. Together they create a formidable presence in the overall Audi … [Read more...]
Dads’ drive better but mums’ are more fun, say children
Children think dad is a better driver than mum – but believe he goes too fast and suffers more road rage. A study of 1,000 6-16 year-olds whose parents both drive found 43 per cent named dad as ‘better’ behind the wheel, while only 29 per cent opted for mum. Reasons for choosing him as the better driver include the fact he drives for his job, has a van and is the designated holiday driver for … [Read more...]