A UK Government endorsed consortium of technology companies will develop anti-cyber systems for vehicles. Anti-hacking will become increasingly important as more models rely on autonomous driving systems and have safety implications if they're compromised. Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, has given the green light to 5*StarS as part of the … [Read more...]
Turning water into low carbon fuel
A partnership between Spanish car manufacturer SEAT and water services company Aqualia has led to the production and consumption of an innovative new biofuel. The benefits are twofold, responding to the major environmental challenges of both water waste and CO2 pollution. Turning wastewater into sustainable fuel reduces CO2 emissions by 80% compared to petrol powered vehicles. It … [Read more...]
£110 Million EV investment sparked by UK
Britain awarded £110 million to help boost manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries, including a project to build the country's second purpose-built electric battery plant and another to make the technology more powerful. The funding for 38 projects, including £62 million for low-emission cars and £31 million for self-driving vehicles, will help protect almost 2,400 jobs, the Department for … [Read more...]
Tradelines 12 April
McLaren Automotive is celebrating the beginning of full production of the new 720S supercar, with the completion of the ‘Job#1’ car. The move to full production marks the beginning of a new chapter in the McLaren Automotive story, as the second generation of the Super Series – codenamed ‘P14’ – replaces the first generation, ‘P11’ model family that encompassed the original McLaren 12C … [Read more...]
Newslines 10 April
A Swedish court acquitted former top managers at Saab of tax evasion and fraud charges relating to their failed attempts to save the Swedish automotive brand, which went bust in 2011. Former Saab CEOs, Victor Muller and Jan Ake Jonsson, were accused along with five other people of forging documents to secure funding from Russian tycoon Vladimir Antonov and of giving an overly optimistic view of … [Read more...]
Per Aston ad astra
The largest ever gathering of Aston Martin models and their owners in Wales converged on St Athan yesterday to mark the official “move in” by the car maker. Historic and European models were assembled in the enormous ex-RAF hanger, which is being converted to an assembly hall for the new sports cars, as part of their Spring Concourse. There was a dramatic drive by outside the hanger with … [Read more...]
Welsh firms can apply for £60M Aston Martin contracts
Aston Martin contracts worth over £60million are up for grabs to businesses across Wales. It comes as a result of Welsh Government’s decision to open up its Sell2Wales procurement channel to the luxury car maker, said First Minister Carwyn Jones. It is the first time that private sector contracts have been advertised on Sell2Wales and will ensure Welsh SMEs have easy access to the … [Read more...]
Brakes going on Wales car sales
March car sales in Wales were 19,885, just 2.1% up on 12-months earlier and the lowest increase in Britain, said the SMMT. With a new plate being introduced, March is traditionally the highest month for registrations and across the UK and they were 8.4% up nationally to 562,337, the highest on record. The jump was largely due to the rise in VED rates from 1 April which will affect every … [Read more...]
Newslines 7 April
The Western European passenger car market is said to have grown by 10.3% y/y during March, according to IHS Markit forecasts. The different timing of Easter between 2016 and 2017 has been a big driver to the growth during March, but other factors in key markets have also come into play and IHS Markit is forecasting a slowdown and a consolidation of Western Europe's market in 2017, with … [Read more...]
Special feature: UK Automotive opportunities & challenges
Britain’s exit from the EU raises questions on the competitiveness of UK auto manufacturing in the long run given the intertwined nature of both the outbound and inbound logistics supporting the UK automotive industry. With the UK triggering Article 50, IHS Markit Supplier Solutions team has completed an assessment of the impact on OEM sourcing strategies and possible trade policies … [Read more...]