The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders want to ensure all automotive companies benefit from continued tariff-free trade with our largest market after agreeing on Brexit terms. While no substitute for the benefits provided by remaining in the EU, the TCA provides hope for the future, with a foundation on which to build, domestically and internationally, in 2021. Given the … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 December
The Welsh Government will allocate £20 Million next year for more cycleways. Its Active Travel investment is in addition to £274.7M for Transport for Wales rail and metro services. Public Health Wales said 352 cases of Covid-19 were identified at the DVLA centre at Swansea since September. Sixty-two cases have been identified at the call centre since the beginning of December … [Read more...]
Battery plant is a non-starter for Wales
Wales has lost another massive automotive investment. The £2.6 Billion Britishvolt gigaplant which held the promise of 5,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent posts will not now be built at St Athan and the company says it will go to a 230 acres site in Blythe, Northumberland. The decision follows a few months of talks with Welsh Government during which time Britishvolt appointed Italian … [Read more...]
Newslines 4 December
Travel between Wales and T1 or T2 areas in England is permitted from 6pm tonight. But the Welsh Government ban remains for T3 areas, which include Bristol and Birmingham, while London and Liverpool are in the lower tiers. The Cupra Formentor range of engines is expanding this month. The entry-level 150ps comes in at £27,395 from the New Year , the PHEV version is due Spring 2021 while the … [Read more...]
UK car maker may need bailout
Despite Coronavirus, the plug-in market in Europe grew by well over 100% this year and it will happen again in 2021. BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) will grow by more than 100% and surpass the growth of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). In 2019, the UK sold 38,000 BEVs and the UK is currently on track for between 98,000 and 101,000 BEV sales by the end of 2020. Those in the industry are predicting that … [Read more...]
Roads and signs need recycling to pay for green drive
Road surfaces will have to be recycled along with old signs as part of the Government drive towards a greener future, says one engineering company. Rishi Sunak set out his first Spending Review against the backdrop of an economy ravaged by the effects of Covid-19. The Chancellor announced measures to support Boris Johnson’s “levelling-up” agenda with the publication of the National … [Read more...]
Call for new thinking towards net zero challenge
The UK automotive sector is a valuable asset to the UK economy, generating £82bn and providing 832,000 jobs in the UK, said Matt Western MP, chair of the all party parliamentary motor group. Writing the forward to a new report on Government plans to reach net zero carbon by 2050, which will be a huge challenge for society and industry in Britain, he said there is no silver bullet to kill the … [Read more...]
Three ways to Invest for a New Car Purchase
A couple years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to speculate about an era without personal vehicles. Ride-sharing businesses were soaring, eco-friendly public transportation initiatives were being discussed in more major cities around the world, and it was becoming almost trendy to muse about giving up your car and the expenses that come with it. A future like that may still come to pass. It could be … [Read more...]
Leading EV pioneer warns of jeopardising advances
As the UK Government prepares to bring forward a complete ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030 it has been warned by an experienced automotive engineer not to jeopardise advances. Former CEO of Aston Martin and one of the UK’s most experienced and well-known industry experts, Dr Andy Palmer, welcomed the news as a step towards achieving a net zero carbon future and potentially … [Read more...]
UK specialists’ EV technology & weight challenge
In just nine years all new cars sold in the UK will have to be fully electric, or in some cases still to be clarified, hybrid. But where does that leave the specialist car companies of Britain, who have shaped a disproportionately large part of our nation’s automotive identity? Electrification poses a number of challenges for makers of specialist cars, most notably the weight and cost of the … [Read more...]