Used car prices are becoming more volatile and reflecting changes in fuel types and body styles as well as size, say Cazana director of instights, Rupert Pontin. The first week of August saw a marginal shift in the retail market with footfall at the retailers and online enquiries slightly down on the levels of recent weeks. Firstly, this is hardly surprising given it is the holiday season … [Read more...]
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Classics become contemporary as sales boom
Owning, restoring and driving a classic car is a common dream, but it requires significant investment at every stage – in both time and money. Such desirable, high-value vehicles are inevitably also a common target for professional thieves meeting demand for vintage cars and their parts in the UK and across Europe. Stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) expert, Tracker, is sharing tips to help first-time … [Read more...]
Welsh Government increases paper trips despite clampdown
There has been a sharp rise by Welsh Government moving documents in official cars. Despite moves to cut traffic generated pollution including a 50mph limit on parts of the M4 and other trunk roads in Wales, hundreds of trips have been made over three years, including a very sharp rise this year, by Welsh Labour-led Government-owned vehicles to just transport documents without a minister … [Read more...]
Newslines 14 August
The new Kia Sorento range has been revealed for UK. It gets Hybrid power for the first time with a self-charging 226bhp 1.6 petrol hybrid and 199bhp 2.2 diesel opening the sales to be followed by a petrol plug-in hybrid later this year and prices start at £38,845 for the three trim levels, 2, 3 and 4. The face-lifted Kia Stinger has also appeared in Korea. The fastback sports saloon changes … [Read more...]
Petrol peak passes as ev points rise
The rise in electric charging points is steadily rising and possibly indicates that petrol and diesel sales have peaked. Government figures this week showed that at 1 July 2020, there were 18,265 public electric vehicle charging devices available in the UK. Of these, 3,206 were rapid devices. Since 2015, the number of public charging devices has grown by nearly five times to July 2020, with … [Read more...]
Britishvolt appoint senior team for Welsh super-plant
Britishvolt, the UK’s foremost investor in battery technologies, has announced the appointment of Ray Macera as Project Director for the construction and implementation of Britain’s first battery gigaplant at Bro Tathan, St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. Macera, who is reporting directly to Britishvolt CEO, Orral Nadjari, leads one of the largest industrial investments in British history. The … [Read more...]
Skills shortage warning
A combination of the lockdown restrictions over the past six months, a 'baby boom' in 2003/4 and a decline in registered driving instructors means the UK could fall into a national shortage of driving instructors in the latter half of 2020, with the problem only predicted to continue and grow. Learner driver insurers, Marmalade has studied the data and forecast big problems for the industry and … [Read more...]
Plug pulled on sales of new Ford Kuga PHEV
By David Miles Ford has pulled the plug on sales of the its new Kuga PHEV. Four car fires have been associated with the battery pack during charging and it’s believed some 27.000 models around the world could be affected. The plug-in hybrid SUV arrived in showrooms only recently and proved popular, accounting for 50% of Kuga’s European sales for the second quarter of the year. Around 7,000 … [Read more...]
Auction action accelerates
Auction houses are experiencing strong vehicle values and a strong demand for stock, according to the National Association of Motor Auctions. While the majority of auction houses are not yet opening their auction halls to buyers, they continue to be very busy with on-line sales. Used vehicles are in keen demand from consumers post-lockdown as many look for an alternative to public transport … [Read more...]
Repair costs still driving fleet manager decisions
Over 70% of fleet managers say the cost of vehicle repair influences the choice of vehicles in their fleet, according to new report ‘Fleet Managers, the pressures, challenges and opportunities.’ Being green is also a key factor with 56% making choices around the composition of their fleet based on protecting the environment. With more than 90% of motor accidents the result of human error the … [Read more...]