Governments and industry are failing to achieve targets for electric vehicles, says the European Climate Foundation. The future Renewable Energy Directive should actively promote the electrification of transport. This is the key message from the Platform for Electro Mobility in its response to the public consultation on a new Renewable Energy Directive (RED). Francesco Gattiglio, EU affairs … [Read more...]
Industry
Women champions being sought
The UK motor industry is on the search for the most influential British women in the sector this summer, after research by the Automotive Council found that women working in automotive manufacturing are outnumbered by men three to one. In the UK as a whole, just 9% of UK engineering employees are female, the lowest proportion in Europe, while fewer than 16% of British engineering and technology … [Read more...]
Big five European car markets’ sales rise
Led by strong growth in Spain and Italy, new car registrations in Europe’s Big 5 markets grew by 8.6% to 958,400 units in April 2016. After the UK’s traditional volume peak in March, which saw registrations rise to 1.36 million, April produced further gains across the top five European markets with SUVs driving higher volume and counting for 24.4% and 24.9% of April’s and YTD’s totals … [Read more...]
Nissan plan to revive Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi's biggest single shareholder is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), which owns about a 20 percent stake in the company. Paul Newton, director, World Markets Analysis at IHS Automotive, looks at the implications of Nissan's investment in Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Corporation holds a 10 percent stake, while the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, owned by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, … [Read more...]
Newslines 17 May
A road in Caerphilly district has one of the highest pollution counts in the UK, outside central London. In 2015 and 2016, recorded levels of nitrogen dioxide on the A472 at Hafodyrynys were higher than WHO guidelines according to government figures and now Caerphilly council said it was looking at ways of improving the situation in the area used by lorries and car drivers between the M4 and … [Read more...]
Nissan owners to power national grid at peak times
Nissan will launch a trial this year to allow electric car owners in Britain to sell electricity back to the National Grid and potentially make money in the process. Major carmakers are investing heavily in electric cars and in Europe many countries have incentive schemes to get more people to buy them, including Norway, the Netherlands, France and Britain. Around 3 percent of cars sold in … [Read more...]
For the love of a duck …..
Ford security guard Stewart Webster was unflappable when he saw a duck in distress outside the main gate to Bridgend Engine Plant. The entrance is adjacent to Ogmore River and he saw a duck and some ducklings gathering around a drain cover on the access road and suddenly one of them fell through the grating. “I ran over and the duck was making a noise but when I got there I had no … [Read more...]
Nissan take controlling stake in Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi is being rescued from possible collapse by manufacturing partner Nissan, which will take a controlling 34% stake for the equivalent of £1.52 Billion. The companies said they plan to sign an agreement by May 25 in which Nissan can name four directors to Mitsubishi Motors’ board. A Nissan-appointed director can also be named chairman of Mitsubishi Motors, according to a filing … [Read more...]
Big drive to boost fuel cell vehicles
Plans to make nearly every vehicle in the country zero-emission by 2050 have taken a further step forward today, with the launch of a £2million government fund to encourage more businesses to switch to hydrogen-fuelled vehicles. The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Fleet Support Scheme will allow local authorities, health trusts, police forces, fire brigades and private companies to bid for … [Read more...]
EU to finalise tougher emissions tests
The EU’s technical committee will discuss the new proposed emissions testing regime in a special meeting tomorrow. The new legislation expected to be agreed follows the diesel-gate emissions scandal created by Volkswagen last year. The future of other technical systems and testing regimes will also be discussed and a vote on them is likely on 23 May. More categories of vehicles will be … [Read more...]