The Welsh Government will make £46m available from bus budgets to support local services for the whole financial year, including the strategic Traws Cymru services, Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Climate Change told the Senedd. This is in addition to the £45m spending on concessionary fares for older people, reduced fares for young people and our other regular support for the bus industry, … [Read more...]
Finance
Chinese stake in Aston Martin Lagonda
Chinese backers have moved to take a share of the quintessentially British Aston Martin Lagonda brand. Geely, who are behind Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, have taken a 17% stake of £234M in the Gaydon and St Athan luxury car makers and may raise it to 22%. The move makes the Chinese giant the third-largest shareholder in Aston Martin, behind the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (18% holding) … [Read more...]
Newslines 23 May
RM Sotheby’s has successfully conducted its biggest ever Villa Erba sale, grossing a remarkable €52,953,100 in front of a packed salesroom on the shores of Lake Como. The undeniable star attraction of the sale was the no reserve Aurora Collection, which sold for an astonishing cumulative value of €25,288,500 after hotly contested bidding throughout with a number of collectors in the room, on the … [Read more...]
Wales not seeing the ev light despite ‘green’ claims
The Welsh Government has failed to see the light and support the move to electric vehicles, according to Conservative opposition. The Welsh Conservatives have discovered that there is just one lamppost charging point in the entirety of Wales, three years after the issue was raised. This was confirmed by the Labour Deputy Minister for Transport in a written question response to the Welsh … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: Volkswagen ID.Buzz Pro
Move over supercars, there’s a new head turner on the road, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz. Talked about for a few years and on sale last year in Britain, the very retro Buzz is one of the rare newcomers that manages to break with modern convention by being old-school conventional. Borrowing styling cues from the famous VW dubs of a few decades ago yet sweeping up the latest technology along the way … [Read more...]
Warnings on motoring costs and insurance pitfalls
IAM RoadSmart, the UK’s leading road safety charity, has launched the eighth edition of its annual Driving Safety Culture report, with its key objective to reveal the biggest issues impacting motorists on the roads. The annual report, which has studied UK motorists’ driving safety attitudes and behaviours since 2015, has highlighted the biggest worries for motorists, with 86 per cent of drivers … [Read more...]
Retailers driving job opportunities
A recruitment drive is underway in motor dealerships around Britain. The retail side of the automotive industry employs nearly 600,000 people and is one of the biggest and most varied sectors. There are automotive dealerships all over the UK and your local one might have the right opportunity for you to kick-start and develop your professional career. Drive My Career, powered by The National … [Read more...]
Banks must finance more EV deals
Almost six out of 10 dealers (58%) believe that more support is needed from their motor finance providers to retail electric vehicles, shows new research. May’s Startline Used Car Tracker reports that 41% say their lenders are less keen to finance EVs, 10% want higher deposits from buyers and 5% charge higher interest rates. A further 5% say their lenders simply won’t touch EVs at all. Just … [Read more...]
Tradelines 17 May
Chinese emerging car maker BYD grew production by an astonishing 211% last year to overtake Tesla and is well placed to begin European assembly, reports StockApps. com. As the car maker prepares to build over 2M EVs this year, StockApps financial analyst Edith Reads said, “BYD’s success is attributed to several factors, including China’s increasing focus on electric vehicles, the company’s … [Read more...]
Struggle to decarbonise needs Government push
If the logistics sector is to effectively decarbonise in line with the government’s 2050 net zero deadline more support will be needed to enable operators to do so, according to a new report by business group Logistics UK. The organisation’s Electric Vehicle Report 2023 demonstrates that factors including a lack of fiscal support and an inadequate public charging network are having a significant … [Read more...]