The most remarkable results in the history of the Fleet World/ALD Automotive MPG Marathon were recorded at this year’s event, including the highest ever figure for a diesel car and a petrol-engined competitor nearly topping 100mpg, proved that green engine technology in all its forms is moving on in huge strides.
The overall winner, with a record-breaking fuel economy figure of 122.0mpg after more than 350 miles of mixed route driving, was a Ford Fiesta 1.5TDCi (120PS) Titanium driven by Paul Clifton and Ian McKean and winner of the petrol category was its sister car, a Ford Fiesta 1.0 (125PS) EcoBoost Titanium driven by Andy Dawson and Andrew Marriott which achieved 97.1mpg – outstripping the previous highest petrol figure by some margin.
New car sales with the 67-plate dropped over 9% compared to last year’s 66-plated models and six years of growth.
SMMT said 426,170 new cars were registered led by the Nissan Qashqai with a 8.8% dip in private sales while diesel crashed 21.7% and battery or hybrids rose 41%.
New roads being built in Wales might be used as test beds for automated cars, Economy Secretary Ken Skates has said.
An Aberystwyth company offshoot of the university wants to use real world conditions to evaluate its driverless cargo-delivery vehicles without going to London.