The withdrawal of the Government’s plug-in hybrid grant will add about £2,500 to models and make them no longer commercially viable for many fleets, said Meridian Vehicle Solutions. It has taken the decision to operate its current plug-in rentals but not add further versions when they are due to be replaced. VW has introduced an old-diesel swapping scheme in Germany where 14 cities are … [Read more...]
Newslines 23 October
Ford will stop vehicle production at its Valencia plant for nine days next month due to falling demand for its Kuga, Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max models. Engine production will also halt for nearly two weeks and follows a three-day stoppage this month. The first Dyson electric cars will be made in a new factory in Singapore where it makes motors and not in the UK where it has a research and … [Read more...]
Low carbon focus at Welsh event
The Welsh Government and the Welsh Automotive Forum in conjunction with Industry Wales are organising a conference on Low Carbon Intelligent Mobility at the Vale Hotel on 29 November 2018. The Miskin-event hosted by Quentin Willson will provide an overview of how electric vehicles, supporting policies along with manufacturing supply chain opportunities and how they can both contribute to carbon … [Read more...]
Newslines 20 October
Production of the Ford GT supercar will be extended approximately two years, to meet overwhelming customer demand. Ford will re-open the application window to customers in selected markets, including the UK, for one month beginning Nov. 8, delivering approximately 1,350 Ford GTs for customers worldwide. Car makers in the UK said they were “hugely disappointed” by the diplomatic traffic jam … [Read more...]
Sir William Lyons Award 2018
If you fancy becoming a motoring journalist, The Guild of Motoring Writers want to hear from you. Its Sir William Lyons Award for 2018 is an annual writing competition, which seeks to find the next generation of automotive journalists and is sponsored by Jaguar Cars, for anyone between 17 and 25 who is not already employed and working as a motoring journalist. The winner receives a cheque … [Read more...]
“Autonomous” claims are off-track, say testers
Research shows that 71% of drivers around the world mistakenly believe they can purchase a self-driving car right now. The astonishing finding is just one of many worrying perceptions uncovered by the study, which also showed that one in 10 drivers would be tempted to have a nap while using a so-called ‘Highway Assist’ system, such as Adaptive Cruise Control. The #TestingAutomation study, … [Read more...]
Drivers more likely to ditch diesel next time
The shift away from diesel has more drivers planning to choose an eco-friendly car than ever before, says AA Cars. Looking at people who have used its site, nearly a quarter (22%) claim they are ready to make the switch despite a lot of confusion over Government policies. The AA-Populus poll of over 20,000 drivers shows that this would be a dramatic increase from the 2% of drivers who … [Read more...]
Tradelines 17 October
Following on from the first silhouette images, ŠKODA reveals the name of its new model – the ŠKODA Scala. The name derives from the Latin word ‘scala’ which means ‘stairs’ and is a step forward for the Czech car manufacturer in the compact hatch segment when it launches before 2019 and replaces the Rapid. Audi has been fined the equivalent of £702.54M by German prosecutors for violations … [Read more...]
EVs spark big savings in service
Motorists will get an eco-dividend thanks to lower service and maintenance costs for electric vehicles against their petrol equivalents. A new study from automotive data experts cap hpi shows on average service and maintenance costs are 23% lower for electric vehicles than petrol vehicles over three years and 60,000 miles. The gap widens for smaller vehicles. A Renault Zoe will cost £1,100 … [Read more...]
Cars that read your mind are just around the corner
Driverless cars will become smoother and more intuitive after scientists developed technology to make them behave like humans. One of the stumbling blocks with autonomous cars has been their inability to interpret visual cues from pedestrians, making them overly cautious. So when a person begins to cross the street but changes their mind a driverless car might just just stop and wait. But … [Read more...]