New car sales have fallen the steepest in Wales during April, says the SMMT. They dipped over 10% compared to the same month last year to 5,379 new models registered and in Britain as a whole sales slipped just under 4% with 160,606 registrations, and Wales's best sellers in April were: Fiesta, Focus, Kuga, Qashqai, Ecosport, Polo, A-Class, Duster, GrandlandX, Golf and Tiguan. Following … [Read more...]
Industry
Newslines 7 May
The Hyundai Ioniq has been upgraded and given new connectivity and wifi improvements. These come along with a new battery pack in the ev versions and subtle cosmetic changes inside and out. Smell and colour changes caused by smoking in a car could wipe off £2,000 at its trade in, says valuation specialists HPI. The cost is taken off the value because the car would have to be fully valeted … [Read more...]
Welsh drivers slow in emissions clean-up
GAS-GUZZLING motorists don’t care that their driving is harming the planet, a study shows. Five million Brit drivers will never change their driving habits, according to new research, even though high speed, heavy braking and using air con are all bad for the environment. In a UK map of the least eco-considerate driving regions Wales came out in the top five. More than half (51%) of 25-34 … [Read more...]
Newslines 3 May
Thirteen million leisure trips are expected to be taken by car this coming weekend, the busiest in three years, according to research of drivers’ plans conducted by the RAC. Friday is expected to be busiest with around 4.4m separate leisure journeys by car, 1.5m more than the same day last year, followed by Saturday (3.4m, up 900,000 on 2018) and the bank holiday itself (3.1m, up 1.2m on … [Read more...]
SAIC search for tomorrow’s car designers
The SAIC Design Challenge returns for 2019 as the search gets under way to find the next generation of talented automotive designers. Now in its seventh year, the SAIC Design Challenge aims to inspire, engage and nurture the future of automotive designers from China and Europe. Fully supported by MG Motor UK, the competition is run by the iconic British brand’s parent company SAIC Motor … [Read more...]
Tradelines 1 May
Volvo Car UK Online is the most complete online sales service offered by any car manufacturer in the UK. Site users select their local site at the start of the process for relevant car offers and then car collection and ongoing customer relationship is with that retailer, as it would be in usual way as a complimentary sales channel. In response to the growth of bigger, heavier SUVs, 4x4s … [Read more...]
UK car production plunges
Car production in the UK fell by an annual 14.4% to 126,195 cars in March, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Exports were down by 13.4 % and these account for 80% of production. The SMMT said analysis it had commissioned predicted output would fall this year to 1.36 million units from 1.52 million in 2018, assuming there’s a transition deal with the EU. If … [Read more...]
Van low-down guide from the experts
The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and Cenex have published a new Low Emission Van Guide. It coincides with this week’s CV Show in Birmingham and the revised licensing for drivers of alternatively fuelled vans announced by the Dept for Transport. The number of vans licensed to operate in the UK has grown by a quarter in ten years to 4.1 million vehicles so cleaning up their emissions – which … [Read more...]
Tesla tops booming European EV sales
The European car market registered its seventh consecutive month of decline in March 2019, JATO reports. Ongoing political and economic uncertainty, including lack of clarity around Brexit, alongside consumer preoccupation with diesel bans in cities, meant that overall demand continued to decline. While overall demand may be on the decline, the good news is that the electrification shift … [Read more...]
4x4xfar better with Land Rover Schools project
Tomorrow’s engineers are today learning to code self-driving vehicles of the future thanks to the unique Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme. Self-driving cars will require an estimated one billion lines of computer code – almost 1,000 times more than the 145,000 lines required by NASA to land Apollo 11 on the moon. To meet the growing need for more coders to deliver these future autonomous and … [Read more...]