Eye snatching is the term being applied to the increasing number of LED headlight thefts worth thousands of pounds for each unit. Thieves are increasingly targeting expensive models to hack out and disconnect the multi-lenses to be sold on the parts' black market, said Philip Swift, Technical Director at Claims Management and Adjusting. Europe's component makers are worried by the rush into EV … [Read more...]
Picanto to spice up the UK city car sector
Kia is bucking the trend and staying faithful to the city car sector with the arrival of the latest Picanto. While other manufacturers put the brake on city cars to concentrate on mid-sized models and cross-overs claiming smaller models are unprofitable, the Kia Picanto is about to prove them wrong and make money for the booming Kia brand. In a tightening market the Kia Picanto could loosen … [Read more...]
Tradelines 27 March
Nissan will launch 14 new petrol engined models to meet demand where electrification is not in great demand, it said announcing its business plan for the the next three years. Nissan revealed a new broad-based product offensive in the next three years, including thirty new models of which 16 would be electrified, plus 14 new internal combustion engine models to “meet the diversified customer … [Read more...]
Deeside is pearl in Toyota production
Toyota Deeside is one of the last remaining internal combustion engine plants in Britain and there are hopes it will be the chosen site to build a new generation of eletric motors in the 2030s. Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK marked 30 years of production at its engine plant in Deeside, this month and a celebration was held by the company who invited guests to the plant for a showcase of its … [Read more...]
Kia’s EV plans to inspire over next five years
Less than ten years ago, Kia began development of its Soul electric car and now it’s one of the world’s leading makers of low carbon models, but is still keeping the internal combustion engine option open. As it prepares to roll out the forthcoming Niro range across Europe including hybrids and battery only models as its latest offerings in a truly massive range, Kia is mindful that some parts of … [Read more...]
Challenging times ahead for trade, says analyst
It has been a month of halves with two weeks of unexpected silence in the showrooms resulting in many staff being furloughed in the absence of customers. Service departments and smaller garages are working to keep key workers mobile and safe with their transportation needs and the insurance industry is still largely active. Dealers still have a shop window and many eyes browsing vehicles on … [Read more...]
Ford Bridgend Engine Plant still working – for now
Ford Bridgend Engine Plant will continue producing contracted petrol V6 and V8 units for Jaguar Land Rover for as long as it can, the company has told media. JLR said it had enough parts in stock to build cars until the end of this week at least, possibly longer. It also uses petrol and diesel engines from its own plant in the West Midlands. Nissan has announced today it is suspending … [Read more...]
Petrol & diesel popularity dominates buying plans
Petrol and diesel cars will dominate vehicle sales in the foreseeable future, according to a poll for information agency Somo. Despite the environment being the biggest driver for switching to an electric vehicle, new research by digital transformation agency, Somo, has identified that the interest in petrol vehicles is not declining. In fact, over half would consider purchasing a … [Read more...]
Volvo and Geely to merge combustion engine operations
Volvo Cars and Geely intend to merge their existing combustion engine operations into a stand-alone business in order to establish a new global supplier that will seek to develop next-generation combustion engines and hybrid powertrains. The proposed new business would clear the way for Volvo Cars to focus on the development of its all-electric range of premium cars. Volvo Cars is building an … [Read more...]
Petrol engines driving up emissions
Average CO2 emissions from new cars were 118.5 grams of CO2 per kilometre in 2017, or up 0.4% compared to 2016, said the European Environment Agency. This final data largely confirms the provisional 2017 figures, already published by the EEA in April last year. “It is no coincidence that 2017 marked the first increase in CO2 from cars since records began in 2010, as it was also the first … [Read more...]
