The Lotus Emira has been unveiled as the company’s final model with a mid-mounted internal combustion engine. In fact there’s a choice of two power units, the familiar 3.5V8 or AMG 2.0 i4 giving 360 to 400hp, a maximum 180mph and choice of manual or automatic transmissions and on the road from next spring from under £60,000. All-new mid-engined sports car perfectly embodies ongoing … [Read more...]
£100M electric models going to Ellesmere Port
A £100M investment is going into Ellesmere Port, Cheshire vehicle plant of Vauxhall parent Stellantis to build pure electric vans and people carriers in 2022. It lost the next Astra car project but has secured the new investment to build models for Stellantis brands of Vauxhall, Opel, Peugeot and Citroen and will be exporting most of the production to Europe. Announcing the plan, Stellantis paid … [Read more...]
RAC offer new all-in EV leasing scheme
The RAC has launched a new leasing service to make switching to a brand-new EV easier and more affordable – with market-leading deals available from day one. More than three-quarters (78%) of drivers believe pure electric cars are still too expensive, so the motoring body has joined forces with Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions to offer a wide range of the most popular EV models currently … [Read more...]
Fleets’ worries over EV costs and charging
Almost six in ten fleets which are not considering implementing electric vehicles named a lack of public charging infrastructure as the biggest barrier to their adoption. However, the majority of perceived barriers listed by non-EV adopting fleets reduced significantly over the last year, according to results from the latest Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer research. When the same non-EV … [Read more...]
Full throttle drive to boost evs and manufacturing jobs
Car makers have called for millions of new charging points to be installed in Britain and for Government help towards building enormous factories to manufacture traction batteries for new cars if the UK is to hit its low and zero emissions goals. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders ambitious plan, ‘Full Throttle: Driving UK Automotive Competitiveness’, is intended secure the future of … [Read more...]
EVs real threat to jobs
EU legislators are preparing to ban sales of petrol and diesel powered vehicles by 2035 as it toughens emissions laws. A proposal to slash 60% cut in emissions at current levels by 2030 due to be announced in three weeks will precede the total block and it comes as Jaguar says it will be moving future EVs up-market to match Porsche and Bentley. CLEPA said in a statement, such stringent … [Read more...]
Multi-million-pound new Welsh road as slow as ever
Drivers will face a continuing 50mph speed limit on Wales most expensive key road despite £336M upgrade and three-years late construction. The five-mile A465 Heads of the Valleys road through the Clydach Gorge is part of a £800M widening of the dual carriageway between Monmouth and Neath Port Talbot. Controversially, the M4 around Port Talbot was given a 50mph limit where bends were … [Read more...]
Newslines 25 June
Pioneering classic car electrification company Electrogenic is announcing today that it is electrifying the iconic Jaguar E-type, ahead of the London Classic Car Show where the car will be on display for the first time this weekend. The Oxford-based leader in classic car EV technology now offers E-type customers a choice of three advanced zero-emission powertrains to provide different driving … [Read more...]
Lawmakers fail to understand technology, say suppliers
The planned European wide ban on petrol and diesel cars is not supported by technical data, said Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General of CLEPA, the association of automotive suppliers. “The steeper the target, without recognition of sustainable renewable fuels, the closer one gets to a de facto ban on the internal combustion engine. Without renewable fuels acknowledged in this law, if you need a … [Read more...]
Wales’s new road schemes closed in rethink
Planned new roads in Wales will be frozen while the Welsh government reviews schemes. Projects that already have diggers in the ground, such as the Heads of the Valleys Road, will continue althought they are seriously behind schedule and costing millions more than expected Ministers want to shift money from new roads to maintaining existing routes and investing in public … [Read more...]