A new report from Go.Compare Car Insurance revealed that the cost of getting a young driver on the road has risen to £6,574 – the highest since 2019, representing a shift backwards to pre-pandemic costs. Costs for young drivers – those aged between 17- 21 - and their families dipped to £6,394 in 2021 and £6,071 in 2020, a sharp fall from £6,846 in 2019. The research shows that, in the … [Read more...]
Finance News
Eyes are focussed on BMW X1
Research by the UK's largest automotive marketplace Auto Trader has revealed the BMW X1 is the most anticipated car release of the year. Its newly released study compared the number of Google searches made in the last 12 months for over 50 popular cars which are set to be released in 2022 and 2023. The BMW X1 takes top spot, followed by the Honda Civic Type R, and the Nissan X-Trail takes … [Read more...]
Filling stations’ fears over rising energy costs
Filling stations are extremely worried about soaring energy costs, said Gordon Balmer, Executive Director of the Petrol Retailers Association. "While we are encouraged by the Government’s recognition of this issue through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, we are concerned that it will not be enough to mitigate the long-term effects of price increases.” Earlier this month, Prime Minister Liz Truss … [Read more...]
It’s getting tougher for Welsh automotive sector
The UK Automotive industry is unlikely to return to previous high levels of production and component suppliers in Wales must look elsewhere to survive, delegates to the Autolink 2022 conference were told yesterday. The gloomy outlook and warning was given by Prof Ian Henry, managing director of AutoAnalysis and a HM Government advisor on the motor industry speaking at the annual Welsh Automotive … [Read more...]
Tradelines 28 September
The all-electric Fisker Ocean SUV will debut at the 2022 Mondial de l'Auto held at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 17 October. Costing about €70,000 the 380 miles range SUV has been designed to be the most sustainable SUV on Earth, using ethically sourced, upcycled materials throughout. Volvo has developed an internal radar system to alert drivers if a pet or child is left in a … [Read more...]
Public EV charging costs rise 42%
The cost to charge an electric car on a pay-as-you-go basis at a publicly accessible ‘rapid’ charger has increased by 42% – or 18.75p per kilowatt hour – since May to reach an average of 63.29p per kilowatt hour, new data from RAC Charge Watch indicates. The increase – caused by the soaring costs of wholesale gas and electricity – means that it now costs drivers on average £32.41 to rapid charge … [Read more...]
Safety and higher emissions issues from older vehicles
A time-bomb in safety and environmental issues is on our roads. With a shortage of new cars and cost of switching to electric vehicles holding back sales, the average age of the UK car park has risen to 8.7 years. That's a rise of 12 months in the last decade and with the brakes on new business and models coming through it is believed the average age might soon exceed 10 years, the oldest it has … [Read more...]
Charger availability will be 98% worse in 2031
Finding an electric car charger in 2031 will be 98% harder than it is today, according to a GoCompare Car Insurance. This emerges despite the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales, which is set to come in from 2030, highlighting that the country’s infrastructure may struggle to accommodate electric vehicles. Last year, there were 266 electric vehicles (EVs) to each public charger in the UK, … [Read more...]
Higher charging costs threaten electric cars, says RAC
There’s potential for the Government’s net-zero transport ambitions to be derailed if higher electricity prices put drivers off from switching to an electric model, said RAC EV spokesperson Simon Williams. The 34p per kilowatt hour Energy Price Guarantee will significantly cushion the impact of rising energy prices affecting drivers of electric cars. “From 1 October it will cost on average … [Read more...]
Car insurance fraudster jailed
A 37 year-old man has been jailed for fraud offences following an investigation by the South Wales Police Economic & Cyber Crime Unit. In early 2021, the ECCU was contacted by the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) with intel that they had received a number of fraudulent claim reports from car insurance companies. An investigation into the policies enabled police to link Osman Hamasharzad (below), … [Read more...]