More and more new names are appearing in the UK car market as it evolves into the electric age, but at the recent Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders annual southern test day for writers near Basingstoke it was two familiar names which caught my attention. The Nissan X-Trail has been a success in Britain for over 23 years while smart has been hanging around for even longer with a … [Read more...]
Tradelines 5 April
Zero-emission, long-range hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle innovator, Hydrogen Vehicle Systems, has confirmed its state-of-the-art zero-emission hydrogen-electric Heavy Goods Vehicle will have a range of up to 370 miles depending on load and route coupled with an industry-leading refuelling time of just 15 – 20 minutes. The eagerly anticipated HGV will be revealed at the Commercial Vehicle … [Read more...]
Newslines 30 January
A petition has been launched by automotive trade bodies to stop the Government’s plans to extend the period before a vehicle has its first MOT, in order to reduce preventable casualties and deaths caused by vehicle defects. The petition created by the Independent Garages Association states the proposal would be: Dangerous: Increased casualties and deaths caused by vehicle defects; Expensive: … [Read more...]
Cardiff buyers Focus in pandemic
Ford Focus was Cardiff’s most sold used car during the pandemic, revealed by Motorway.co.uk, the UK’s fastest-growing online marketplace for used cars. Motorway analysed all the cars sold on its platform during the pandemic, between March 2020 and February 2021, and found that more people in Cardiff have sold a Ford Focus on the platform than any other car in the last year. It was closely … [Read more...]
Newslines 18 December
The Nissan LEAF has reached its 10th birthday. During that time 500,000 LEAF owners have covered over 16 Billion Kms and prevented a massive 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year, while covering enough kilometres to drive around the earth 400,000 times! Hyundai UK has confirmed pricing and specifications for its comprehensively updated Kona sub-compact SUV, which now … [Read more...]
Leading EV pioneer warns of jeopardising advances
As the UK Government prepares to bring forward a complete ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030 it has been warned by an experienced automotive engineer not to jeopardise advances. Former CEO of Aston Martin and one of the UK’s most experienced and well-known industry experts, Dr Andy Palmer, welcomed the news as a step towards achieving a net zero carbon future and potentially … [Read more...]
Newslines 27 October
The Nissan LEAF has been named most reliable electric vehicle in a study carried out by one of Britain’s best-known warranty companies. The research by Warrantywise looked at the frequency of repairs, common faults, cost of repair and age at the time of repair. As the long nights draw in, new analysis by DS Automobiles shows that the risk of a fatal accident is five times greater between 7pm and … [Read more...]
Re-Leaf engineered to meet emergencies
British engineers have transformed an electric car into an emergency response vehicle designed to provide a clean power supply to areas hit by natural disasters and extreme weather. The Nissan RE-LEAF is based on the Sunderland-built LEAF family hatchback. But instead of school-runs and motorway miles, the highly modified motor is better suited to navigating roads covered in … [Read more...]
South Wales evs’ trial bigger than expected
Applications to join the Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid trial including South Wales suggest that clustering of electric vehicles may already be more common than many people expect. The project aims to demonstrate how V2G technology can provide a solution to potential electricity grid capacity issues as the numbers of EVs increase. Electric Nation - a project of Western Power Distribution … [Read more...]
Residuals of electric cars may shock you
The electric car market is on a charge. New models are joining an ever growing sector and their numbers are expected to very quickly swell once the coronavirus lockdown ends and a semblance of normality returns to showrooms. So it was interesting to study the results of a valuation survey compiled by Vanrama which looked at the current crop of cars and how they hold onto prices over different … [Read more...]