Families across Wales are being encouraged to take part in Sustrans’ Bike to School Week 5-9 June and discover the benefits of cycling, scooting and walking. Bike to School Week is an opportunity for children and parents to kick-start active travel habits and switch to cycling, scooting or walking for the school journey. When it comes to the UK’s five … [Read more...]
Tradelines 31 May
The first consignment of Chinese made Volvo S90s have started arriving in Europe after being shipped by rail from their factory, writes Robin Roberts. Up to 225 Volvo cars a week are shipped in special containers so they cannot move in transit on the Iron Silk Road trade route over 6,000 miles in about 18 days, reaching the UK in July. Electric cars … [Read more...]
Newslines 23 May
Tighter safety controls on equipment and automation will be outlined by the EU to vehicle manufacturers by the end of the year. Safety campaigners have won their fight to make more equipment standard, particularly for heavy or big vehicles. Ford is reportedly shaking up its senior management. US media reports CEO Mark Fields is leaving the car maker … [Read more...]
BMW 4 Series wants to build on success
My email inbox this week has been loaded with press releases about the latest changes to the 2017 BMW range of passenger cars. New is the most used word in the titles of these releases. In fact most of the changes are for detailed styling changes, upgrades to equipment or the introduction of new levels of specification, sharper handling with steering … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: BMW 520d XDrive M Sport
The BMW 5 Series has gone through six generations spanning 45 years totalling 7.9 million global sales and its success in longevity and sales terms means it has always been the benchmark range for the executive car sector, says David Miles. The new seventh generation 5 Series Saloon arrived in February and shortly the Touring Estate … [Read more...]
Weekend roadtest: BMW X4 3.0d M Sport
Marking boxes is what it’s about with the BMW X4, says Robin Roberts. This beefy brother to the 3 Series was introduced to fill a niche of the market where Audi, Porsche, even Land Rover, have been plugging away with their SUVs. Without losing the 3 Series agility, the X4 brings added ability with its intelligent all-wheel-drive transmission … [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 … [Read more...]
Newslines 24 March
Double-digit growth in demand for British-built cars last month helped deliver the biggest February for UK car production in 17 years, said the SMMT. UK production lines turned out one car every 16 seconds in the month, with total output of 153,041 up 8.0%, as exports grew 13.4% to 118,898 units. The performance helped to drive overall year-to-date … [Read more...]
Tradelines 8 March
The next Corsa has been delayed and is likely to be based on the forthcoming baby Peugeot/ Citroen models. It could be the first model produced under the new PSA ownership of Vauxhall and Opel in 2020. The MINI does not have to be built in Britain to make it a success, said boss Peter Schwarzenbauer. He was speaking at the Geneva motor show and said … [Read more...]
Women don’t like men with a Mini, or BMW
It’s no secret that studies often find that women consider men who drive expensive cars more attractive, but what about the cars they find least attractive? New research revealed that the Mini topped the list with just 5% of women saying that they found men driving Mini’s attractive. The survey, conducted by OSV Ltd, the UK's … [Read more...]
