The UK motor industry has been hit hard by Covid-19, but car dealers are optimistic about the future of the sector. New research from the Britain Under the Bonnet report, from Close Brothers Motor Finance, reveals that short term confidence plummeted during April, but medium to long term optimism has begun to improve. At the beginning of 2020, 98% of car dealers were confident about business … [Read more...]
News
Pininfarina creates Welsh factory design
A company which has styled Ferrari cars and some of the world’s most iconic automobiles has been commissioned to build the Britishvolt battery gigaplant at St Athan. Pininfarina has more than 90 years at the forefront of innovative automotive design, and more recently an expansion into the field of architecture. After decades of working with top brands such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Peugeot – … [Read more...]
Tradelines 29 July
Sixty apartments costing up to £1.65M will be built overlooking the Silverstone GP racing track and come complete with a clubhouse and leisure facilities. The leasehold apartments with balconies will be fully managed and can be rented out when not in use by their owner who will benefit from access to all major meetings from May 2022. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority will ban … [Read more...]
End of the road for Mitsubishi cars in UK
Mitsubishi cars will stop being sold in the UK and Europe. Importers Colt Cars, of Cirencester has written to over 100 UK franchise dealers saying the news was unexpected from Japan and meant no new generation models would be coming through the system but they can sell current models. Colt Cars is working to ensure as many retailers as possible are retained to support customers with parts and … [Read more...]
Cycling in countryside needs care and consideration
While cycling continues to prove an increasingly popular way to get around there has also been an increase in danger. British Cycling, the national governing body for cycling now boasts over 166,000 members - a threefold increase in membership since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With increased cycle traffic on rural roads, often when people move there from urban areas, comes … [Read more...]
Welcome to the home-office on wheels
Working from your home on wheels could become a regular part of business life. With social distancing set to be in place for the foreseeable future, a new trend is emerging amongst British workers in need of ways to manage remote working and travel for work, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 British adults commissioned by the UK’s largest digital marketplace for new and used … [Read more...]
From canals to carriageways, the FTA takes a new road today
One of the UK's oldest motoring organisations today changed its name to embrace modern transport. The FTA, which can trace its origins to campaigning for operators rights since 1888, has become Logistics UK. Following the 1888 Railway and Canal Traffic Act traders were given a right of complaint to the Board of Trade if they felt that railway rates or services were unreasonable, according to … [Read more...]
Newslines 27 July
Safety organisations and police fear a rapid rise in riders' injuries and deaths after seeing up to 50,000 motorbikes a weekend on Welsh roads after lockdown ended. It is thought to be a reaction against cuts to public transport and the rising costs of using cars, trains or buses. Police have towed away cars illegally parked in Snowdonia while owners went into the mountains. Civil enforcement … [Read more...]
Now learners return to school of mum & dad
The gradual easing of the coronavirus lockdown has seen more new drivers than ever opting to learn with another family member, suggests analysis of RAC Learner Driver Insurance data. With driving instructors unable to start giving tuition again until 4 July as a result of the pandemic, figures show just how eager new drivers were to get behind the wheel with RAC Insurance recording its … [Read more...]
EV charging needs revising to protect grid
Adaptive pricing is needed to ensure grid stability as demand for Electric Vehicles increases, according to research by the University of Cologne. The pricing scheme, created by Professor Wolf Ketter and his co-authors Konstantina Valogianni, John Collins and Dmitry Zhdanov, is based on mathematic modelling and real-world data, which adapts to customer responses and market conditions was … [Read more...]