MoTs are about to get tougher for garages. The DVSA is introducing requirements for all testing equipment to be compatible with Government software. New MOT equipment will need to be able to connect to the MOT testing service. From 1 October 2019, anyone buying a new roller brake tester will need to make sure it's a model that can connect to the MOT testing service. This includes … [Read more...]
Newslines 5 July
Land Rover is planning three wheelbases under its forthcoming new Defender, being assembled alongside the Discovery in Slovakia and due to be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show in September. There will be 170 inch, 187 inch and 201 inch wheelbase versions offering five to eight seats with an SUV body-chassis but no pickup-style as in the previous generation which ended 67 years run in … [Read more...]
Newslines 14 May
Vauxhall is continuing its journey towards electrification with the new Grandland X all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The new Grandland X Hybrid4 is Vauxhall’s first-ever plug-in hybrid and features state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid technology using a 200hp, 1.6-litre turbocharged direct injection four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric drive system with two electric motors … [Read more...]
Tradelines 16 January
Roadside penalties imposed by the DVSA will in future be made via a secure payment portal. The familiar chip and PIN method ends this month and drivers will have to provide an email or text number for payment to be made, and confirmed. … [Read more...]
MoT sees more cars fail tougher test
More than one million cars registered to drive on UK roads have failed tougher MOT tests this year. They were stopped because there were defects considered so dangerous under new, more stringent MOT rules, that they pose an ‘immediate risk to road safety and/ or serious impact on the environment’. This worrying finding was revealed on analysis of DVSA data on MOT tests obtained through a … [Read more...]
Newslines 10 December
Nissan has been dragged into the controversy of under-reported payments and benefits to former chairman Carlos Ghosn who was sacked after his arrest in Japan last month. Prosecutors who questioned him in a detention centre along with fellow director Greg Kelly have now indicated they will be seeking actions against Nissan as well for failures in its reporting system. After VW said it plans … [Read more...]
Tradelines 28 November
The DVSA has changed the hazard perception test for cars to improve road safety. It’s added 23 new CGI clips into the driving theory test to simulate adverse weather conditions including: snow, wind, fog and rain and low-level lighting experienced at dusk and dawn. Hyundai has been named Electric Vehicle Manufacturer of the Year at the annual GreenFleet Awards, recognised for its … [Read more...]
Newslines 14 July
McLaren will launch 18 new models over the next seven years and feature lightweight designs with hybrid technology, it has revealed. They will also pioneer a new type of very rapid charging, high performance traction batteries for the newcomers as part of a £1.2 Billion investment designed to put 6,000 cars annually into production. From today, DVSA heavy vehicle test certificates will be … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 June
The Welsh Language Commission has produced the first standardised list of place-names in Wales. It covers 3,000 locations and has taken years to compile, check and agree and they will be gradually introduced over the next few years as signs are replaced and maps updated. London has joined Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford, Sheffield and Bristol to call on the Government to bring forward a ban on … [Read more...]
Mounting worries over safety recalls
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency are calling on UK fleet operators to join the millions of consumers who have checked if their vehicles have an outstanding safety recall. In the first three months of this year, SMMT’s online Vehicle Safety Recalls Service was used 2,334,385 times by drivers to check their car was safe. Manufacturers … [Read more...]