Automotive suppliers’ business sentiment reached an all-time low in the CLEPA McKinsey September 2022 Pulse Check. About 70% of suppliers saw their profitability drop to levels that could already start undermining their ability to invest in R&D, the workforce and new business activities. Three consecutive years of crisis have eroded the financial health of around one in two suppliers. … [Read more...]
Tradelines 23 November
Heading towards the first Lamborghini super sports ‘all terrain’ unveiling at Art Basel in Miami Beach, Automobili Lamborghini celebrates the Huracán Sterrato that arrives on the market in 2023. Conceived, designed and engineered to explore any terrain, the Sterrato is the forerunner of Lamborghini’s ‘Driving Humans Beyond’ concept: visionary working towards new horizons and inspiring new … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 November
Chinese car makers have Europe in their sights with highly specified, lower priced cars which come with the highest safety ratings as well such as the NIO ET7. Matthew Avery, director at Thatcham Research, a British car research centre funded by insurers and a Euro NCAP board member said the latest testing regimes had given top awards to a handful of Chinese makers looking to enter Europe … [Read more...]
Take volts to views
An electric bike firm in South Wales is powering to success in its first year, with support from the Development Bank of Wales. Gower Electric Bikes launched earlier this year, supported with a £17,000 loan from the Wales Micro Loan Fund. Gower became the UK’s first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1956, and still regularly wins awards as one of the best places to visit in the … [Read more...]
Vehicle leasing costs rising & more to come
Higher Bank of England interest rates mean that company car and van lease costs are beginning to increase, reports the Association of Fleet Professionals. Denise Lane, board director at the industry body, explained that the increases were not uniform across the market but widely reported by AFP members and especially appeared to be affecting vehicles already on order. She said, “Businesses are … [Read more...]
Suzuki’s expresso single shot model
It's what you might call the ultimate expresso of 4x4 living, the Suzuki Jimny Beans. The bespoke, one-off conversion is a fully operational mobile coffee bar used for Suzuki media and promotional events across all divisions of the company of Car, Motorcycle, ATV and Marine products. Based on a Jimny LCV and finished in Chiffon Ivory Pearl metallic with Bluish Black roof, the conversion was … [Read more...]
Newslines 2 November
Aston Martin expect to sell 10,000 cars, generate £2 billion in revenue and post £500m in pre-tax earnings by 2024/2025 and it anticipates that volumes will increase significantly from Q4 of 2022 helped by orders from the Welsh-made DBX707. The optimistic forecast comes after the three months to the end of September, showed Aston sold 1384 cars – up 3% on the same quarter last year – and … [Read more...]
Cardiff Parkway station plan is in the sidings
The Welsh Conservatives have accused Labour’s transport policy of consisting of nothing but delays and empty rhetoric as plans for the Cardiff Parkway station were placed on hold. Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, Natasha Asghar MS said, “When the First Minister took the unilateral decision to go against the independent planning inspectorate and cancel the M4 relief … [Read more...]
Ford ‘fined’ for allegedly copying parts
Ford has lost a US court case and been ordered to pay multi-million dollar compensation for software it used and allegedly copied for “over the air updates”. A federal jury in Detroit ordered Ford to pay Versata Software Inc $104.6 million (£90 million) in damages for breaching a 2004 licensing contract and misappropriating trade secrets. Jurors deliberated over two days before finding against … [Read more...]
Hydrogen stations on UK Government back burner
News that three of the UK’s handful of hydrogen filling stations are closing at the same time that a raft of new models have been unveiled shows how the country is “slipping further behind” in adopting the fuel for road transport. Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck, said that it was clear that other European countries and manufacturers were taking hydrogen ever more seriously as a … [Read more...]