Thierry Neuville vaulted from fifth to second in the FIA World Rally Championship standings on Sunday after clinching a long-awaited victory at Rally Italia Sardegna. Belgian star Neuville headed i20 N partner Esapekka Lappi by 33.0sec in a dream 1-2 finish for Hyundai at round six of 13, scoring his 18th career success alongside co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe. The result served as a maiden 2023 … [Read more...]
Retail News
EV chargers’ boost by Welsh Government
Welsh Government is topping up the vehicle charging network in Wales. The £15M funding confirmed by Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters will be used to help local authorities increase the number of charging facilities ahead of fossil fuel vehicles being phased out in 2030. But it has already drawn criticism from opposition party who described it as inadequate to meet the real needs of ev … [Read more...]
Deeside college students plug into EV technology
Students powering through an innovative electric vehicle programme in Wales want others to plug-in and join them and meet growing demand for thousands of technicians nationwide. The Hybrid/Electric Vehicle Repair 2 and 3 qualifications at Coleg Cambria Deeside have been a huge success, with up to 100 learners completing courses in the past 18 months. And now the college has unveiled a new Level … [Read more...]
EV discounts arriving to lift sales
Discounts are starting to appear on new electric vehicles for really the first time since they entered the mass market, delegates were told at the Association of Fleet Professionals 2023 Conference. Recent price cutting by Tesla and the arrival of new manufacturers from China were both helping to create a more competitive environment, alongside a gradual ramping up of production volumes … [Read more...]
Hydrogen trucks investment studies
The H2Accelerate collaboration has published the latest in a series of whitepapers in support of the use of hydrogen for long-haul trucking in Europe. This whitepaper follows the news that two of H2Accelerate’s primary initiatives, H2Accelerate TRUCKS and its Inaugural Station Deployment, have now secured funding via the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and Connecting Europe Facility-Transport … [Read more...]
Start Rescue warning over parking apps
Millions of mature drivers could be restricted from taking simple trips to their town because they won’t have the capacity to pay for parking, says Britain’s breakdown recovery provider Start Rescue. As local authorities increasingly move to ‘pay by app’ systems, pensioners who do not have a smartphone will find themselves high and dry at parking bays in the UK’s towns and cities. The move away … [Read more...]
EVs are too expensive, drivers tell Go.Compare
A new survey from Go.Compare Car Insurance found that cost is the main barrier stopping drivers from getting an electric vehicle. In light of the government’s 2030 and 2035 EV targets, the comparison site asked motorists whether they were planning on buying an EV in the next five years. Over half of the respondents (57.9%) stated they weren’t thinking of making the switch to electric any time … [Read more...]
Call for highter fuel duties at pumps
The founder of a public charging network for electric vehicles wants petrol and diesel fuel duties increased. Asif Ghafoor, a veteran of infrastructure delivery and the co-founder and CEO of national charging network Be.EV said the increase would encourage the switch to electric vehicles while covering the shortfall in public finance which has happened since more evs have been purchased. The … [Read more...]
UK new car sales rise most in Wales
New car registrations in Wales went up 20% in May, the most in any part of Britain. SMMT figures indicated a 19.8% increase in Northern Ireland, 17.4% in England and 10.6% in Scotland as fleets moved to build up stocks, possibly driven by makers' incentives to register models and encouragement from major lenders to dealers. In Wales the top ten were: Ford Puma, Vauxhall Mokka, MGHS, Ford Fiesta, … [Read more...]
Car sales slowly rising again
The momentum in new vehicle sales has continued with strong growth across electric vehicles, hybrids and petrol vehicles and is expected to continue through the summer months, said Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association. In May, a total of 145,204 new cars were registered, an increase of 16.7% from the same period last year, according to the Society of Motor … [Read more...]