Sébastien Ogier jumped from third to first overall on a dramatic Sunday at Croatia Rally, claiming a surprise win as Thierry Neuville and Elfyn Evans faced heartbreak at the weekend. After three days of neck and neck competition on spectator-packed asphalt roads around capital city Zagreb, victory looked set to be decided between Neuville, driving a Hyundai i20 N, and Welshman Evans in a Toyota … [Read more...]
Thierry Neuville wants to reverse fortunes in WRC
Points leader Thierry Neuville is in need of a change of fortunes if he is to stay ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing rival Elfyn Evans at Croatia Rally this week, round four of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship. Neuville, who drives an i20 N Rally1 car for Hyundai Motorsport, opened his season in fine fashion by winning Rallye Monte-Carlo, but issues in Sweden and Kenya have prevented the Belgian … [Read more...]
Welsh car registrations soar in Spring drive
Nearly 11,000 new 24-plate cars were registered in Wales last month. That's more than the combined sales for January and February months through dealerships, according to SMMT data. They were nearly 9% up on March 2023, and the same in the first quarter of the sales' year. Nationally, sales were up 10% across the country with 317,443 registrations and took the Q1 total to 544,777. The Ford … [Read more...]
Toyota lead out of Africa
Kalle Rovanperä became a two-time winner of Safari Rally Kenya on Sunday afternoon by a slim 1m 37.8s victory margin having led since Friday morning. In by far the most gruelling FIA World Rally Championship round so far this season, it was Rovanperä’s meticulous balance of both speed and maturity that ultimately secured his 12th career victory. The Finn, co-driven by Jonne Halttunen, built a … [Read more...]
Hyundai cutting UK partners but not showrooms
Hyundai will cut back on its UK dealership partners over the next five years in a bid to ‘future-proof’ its network, it was announced yesterday. Labelling the reduction an ‘evolution’, it said it was putting into action ‘a transformation’ of the dealership network, with a focus on retailers that were ‘capable, resilient, and profitable’ and which were ‘ready to face the future’. In a press … [Read more...]
Tradelines 20 March
INEOS Automotive has launched a five-seat double cab Chassis variant of the Grenadier Quartermaster pick-up, aimed at specialist vehicle converters and commercial body builders worldwide. Developed in tandem with the Quartermaster pick-up, the Chassis Cab is engineered to deliver a class-leading combination of off-road capability and load-carrying versatility, with the comfort, safety, refinement … [Read more...]
Sporting lines 14 March
Hyundai will return to the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Colorado and also known as 'The Race to the Clouds,' on 23 June. This year’s 12.4 miles race to the 4,720ft summit on America’s Mountain will mark another milestone in Hyundai’s long history with the Colorado event, an effort that began in 1992 and one of the team's four drivers will be WRC competitor Dani Sordo. The FIA … [Read more...]
Newslines 12 March
About 9% of commuters to Cardiff spend over an hour a week sitting in traffic, they told pollsters for CarMats. This contrasts with more than a quarter of drivers stuck in Edinburgh's jams or 22% in London and Leeds while the least time was reported by drivers in Norwich. The KIA EV9 has won two major awards for 2024. It was last week voted UK Car of the Year and also Worldwide Women's Car of … [Read more...]
Big shift expected in 2024 UK car market
The analysis of the average UK monthly search volume for the past six months reveals the Nissan Qashqai as the undisputed champion, attracting a remarkable 815,000 searches in the six months August 2023-Jan 2024. Interestingly, the second-place position goes to the KIA Sportage, likely accumulating 765,000 searches over the last six months due to its new efficient Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid … [Read more...]
Lappi looks forward to 2024 WRC after Swedish win
Esapekka Lappi is a winner again in the FIA World Rally Championship on the back of a controlled but fine fast-paced display of ice and snow driving aboard his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. His Rally Sweden victory, alongside co-driver and fellow Finn Janne Ferm, came six years, six months and 19 days since he won in the WRC for the first time on Rally Finland in 2017. The 33-year-old breaks the … [Read more...]