Motoring Podcast - News Show

JAGUAR LAND ROVER ANNOUNCEMENTSJaguarl Landrover announced that henceforth it would be “brand house” JLR. Many words and an abstract teaser image were used to describe Jaguar’s future. You can learn more form Autocar here.FORMER FORD BOSS JOINS ASTON MARTINFormer Ford of Europe chairman, Steven Armstrong has joined Aston Martin as part of its latest recovery strategy. Autocar has more here.INEOS TO BUILD SMALL ELECTRIC OFF-ROADERIneos is going to expand its model line beyond the Grenadier with a small, electric off-roader being engineered by Magna and expected in 2026. There’s more information here.ASTON MARTIN AND MCLAREN MUST SELL EVSChanges in US Emission rules from 2032 mean that small volume manufacturers will be subject to the same fleet CO2 targets as other manufacturers. Find out more here.EU MOTORIST GIVEN £11,000 ULEZ FINEForeign-registered cars, even if compliant, will be fined on entry to the London ULEZ. Postal delays in sending out penalty notices abroad and then processing by hire and lease fir

FOLLOW UP: ALL NEW SMART MOTORWAYS AXEDThe UK Government has given in to populist pressure and scrapped all new Smart Motorway plans. Teh safety benefits are dubious, but no doubt this will result in a reduction in public infrastructure spending. You can read more in this Government press release.NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR MARCH 2023New car registrations in the UK have risen year-on-year for March, with significant gains by EVs and small SUVs. They’re still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, but supply is easing and demand seems steady. You can read more in this article from SMMT.TESLA WORKERS SHARE CAR-RECORDED IMAGESEx-Employees are alledging significant data and privacy breaches at Tesla regarding in and out of car videos and still imagesbeing shared around employees. More detail in this Guardian article.FIRST HANDS-FREE DRIVING SYSTEM APPROVED FOR UK ROAD USEFord’s BlueCruise system has been approved for use on UK roads. The “hands-off, eyes-on” system is geofenced for motorway use only, but if you h

FOLLOW UP: EX-AUDI BOSS FACES JAIL IN GERMANYRupert Stadler, the former CEO of Audi has been told the case of fraud against him and others, has been substantiated and therefore could face jail unless he fully confesses. He and three other defendants were charged in 2020. The judge confirmed that there was no proof that one of the engineers was guilty of criminal activity. Click here to read more, from the Automotive News Europe article. FOLLOW UP: PARIS RESIDENTS VOTE TO BAN E-SCOOTERSWith a turnout of just 6%, residents of Paris have voted to ban dockless shared e-scooters. This has cause furious anger from the pro-scooter brigade. Whilst the vote is only advisory the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, insisted she would abide by the result. Click this Move Electric article link to learn more. UK GOVERNMENT ZEV MANDATE CONSULTATION OPENSThe UK Government has opened its zero emission vehicle mandate consultation. They have outlined their proposed implementation of policies that would require zero emission vehicle

FOLLOW UP: EU REACHES AGREEMENT ON E-FUELS POST 2035After the sudden rejection of the ICE 2035 ban idea, after it was agreed to take it to formal vote, the EU has reached an agreement to amend the proposal to include the allowance of carbon neutral e-fuels to power ICE vehicles after 2035. The details of how this can work are to be established but there is much anger this was allowed. We have several articles to help explain the situation as well as how this was reported during the last few weeks. To read what has been agreed, click this Autocar link here. Automotive News, click the link here, reported this whilst the renegotiations were under way.The outlet Politico reported on the upheaval the sudden stance by Germany and Italy caused. You can read that by clicking this link here. FOLLOW UP: 3G SWITCH OFF RAMIFICATIONSFollowing last week’s request regarding the implications for the 3G switch off in the UK, Ken Tindell did come back. The main impact for vehicles is switching off previous generation emergenc

FOLLOW UP: EMERGENCY EXPERTS CONCERNED WITH LOSS OF AMIn the US, emergency experts have called on car manufacturers to ensure that the AM frequency is available on the infotainment systems of electric cars as this is the only way some people can get vital information, particularly emergency info. The US, Canada and Australia have vast amounts of sparsely populated environments that do not get internet access and phone coverage, hence the vital nature of AM. Click the link here to read more from a Popular Science article. FOLLOW UP: BAC BACKS OFF HYDROGEN powered DEVELOPMENTRecently BAC, the makers of the single seater sports car the Mono, announced that they were developing a hydrogen combustion powered vehicle. However, the short term reduction in hydrogen filling stations, the Government’s stance on alternative fuels and the 2035 ICE ban caveats has allowed BAC to step back from this and concentrate on existing technology. To read more, click this Autocar link here. UK SPRING BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENTThe Chancell

FOLLOW UP: CAMERA MIRROR VIEW ANGLESThank you to Jamie Fretwell, Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK PR& Corporate Communications Manager, who did respond to our unfair public request for more information on the viewing angles of lorries with camera wing mirrors. Click this link to see more via a tweet with a video. Also, he has a thread on safety campaigns across the globe, with this particular beaut from Australia, click here to see more. FOLLOW UP: UK GOVERNMENT CUTS ACTIVE TRAVEL FUNDBuried in with the announcement that HS2 will be ‘paused’, to save costs, the UK Government also stated that it will cut the budget fund for active travel, capping it out at £330 million, instead of the £710 million promised in 2021. Click here to read more, from Sustrans. VW TO OPEN NEW PLANT IN THE USVolkswagen has announced the first investment in North American plants thanks to the US Government’s Inflation Reduction Act. They will be building the Scout brand vehicles at a new factory in South Carolina. As the VW brand is tainte

FOLLOW UP: SAUDI ARAMCO JOINS RENAULT-GEELY VENTURESaudi Aramco has agreed to invest in the Renault-Geely engine join-venture by furthering technological progress with synthetic fuels and hydrogen propulsion. They will take a minority stake in the partnership. Click this Automotive News Europe article link to read more. FOLLOW UP: GERMANY AND ITALY GET COLD FEET OVER ICE BANGermany and Italy are now expressing doubts over the EU’s proposal to ban new ICE and hybrid vehicles from 2035. Italy have said it is a flat no, from them, as they claim industry and consumers will be affected. Germany, however, want some changes, mainly around synthetic fuel use being allowed in new ICE vehicles after 2035. The formal ratification vote has been delayed as a consequence. Click this link here to read more, from Euroactive. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR FEBRUARY 2023February was a genuinely impressive month, after several that were only good when compared with Covid affected years, with 74,441 new cars registered. The br

FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT BOUGHT BY RECHARGE INDUSTRIESThe troubled British battery startup has been bought by Australian firm Recharge Industries, but that means a pivot to battery storage and away from automotive - at least for the moment. Click here to read the main BBC story and click here for the thread by Peter Campbell of the Financial Times.STELLANTIS POSTS RECORD PROFITSStellantis has posted record profits while also recording a 41% rise global EV sales. Is this because of supply chain constraints forcing them to focus on building their most profitable models?Click here to read the Autocar story.CITROEN BOSS STEPS DOWNIn a surprise move, Citroen boss Vincent Cobée has left the company.Click here to read the Motor1 story.SONO STYMIES SOLAR SIONGerman solar panel startup Sono has ended its project to produce the Sion solar-augmented EV, instead it’s going to focus on producing solar cells suitable for vehicles through its existing partnerships.Click here to read the Move Electric story.MOBILITY APP SHOWS

FOLLOW UP: EU CONFIRMS 2035 BAN ON ICE ENGINESThe European Union Parliament has voted to ban the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrain, from 2035. However, there is some breathing space, no pun intended, for small volume manufacturers. They will not be tied into the new CO2 reduction rules that were also approved, until the end of 2035. Interestingly, the EU will also share the methodology for calculating the lifetime CO2 emissions on new vehicles by 2025. Click here to read about the main story, from Autocar. To find out about what it all means for small volume manufacturers, click here to read another Autocar story. FORD TO CUT 3,800 EUROPEAN AND UK JOBS Ford has announced the extent of the job losses across the UK and Europe. 3.800 jobs will go, including 1,300 in the UK. With the move to electrification, fewer workers are required, Ford explained. However, the engineering and administration are bearing the brunt of the cuts as the company becomes “unapologetically American”. Click here to read

FOLLOW UP: SOUTH KOREA FINES GERMAN COMPANIES FOR COLLUSIONSouth Korea has fined Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi for colluding over emission technology, to ensure no one produced better technology. The fine is €31.18 million combined, which is 42.3 billion won. The EU, following Mercedes informing them, fined BMW and VW Group in July 2021 for this issue. Click this EuroWeekly article link to find out more. NISSAN WARNS OF SUNDERLAND’S FUTURE Nissan has explained that unless the UK Government aids in reducing energy prices and helps to create a local functioning supply chain the future of the Sunderland plant is in doubt. Currently Sunderland is more expensive to make cars than their continental European plants. To learn more, click this Sunday Times Driving article link. LUCID MOTORS NEW MD IS EX-JLR SVO BOSSFollowing the surprise exit from Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicles Operation, Michael van der Sande has been announced at the Managing Director of Lucid Motors. The US EV company has started to sell their

FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT BUYER FOUNDThe Administrator for Britishvolt, EY, has narrowed down the options to the Australian firm Recharge. They are a start up and have not constructed a major project during their time. At the same time that they target getting a battery factory built in the UK they will be trying to do that same in Australia. Click here to learn more, by reading The Guardian article. FOLLOW UP: NEW DEAL DETAILS FOR THE REBEL ALLIANCE Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi announced the details for the restructuring of the alliance this week. We knew about the changes to share ownership but they also confirmed investment in Ampere by Nissan and that Mitsubishi is considering joining. To read more about the story, click this link to a Yahoo Finance article. JANUARY 2023 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESSMMT has released the New Car Registration figures for January 2023 and they are up on last year. Whilst it is an improvement you have to go back to 2012 for a worse year. Petrol and BEVs are up, with PHEVs also

FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT BUYER SEARCHThe Administrator for Britishvolt, EY, has narrowed down the choice to five potential new owners. They are trying to select the winner by Tuesday 31 January, the day of recording. Click here for a link to the Financial Times article explaining more.FOLLOW UP: HMRC CHANGES AER CALCULATIONS Following feedback from industry, HMRC has changed how it calculates the advisory electricity rate, that dictates how much company car driving EV owners can get reimbursed for charging their car. To learn more, click this Fleet News article link here. AKIO TOYODA STEPS DOWN AS CEO OF TOYOTAShock news from Toyota as CEO Akio Toyoda announced he is relinquishing his role and becoming the Chairman. Koji Sato will become the president and CEO, stepping up from the head of both Lexus and Gazoo Racing. Click this link, to an Autocar article, to learn more. For more context about this and pointers to other thoughtful articles, click this Twitter thread link from Jean-Yves Jault. REBEL ALLIANCE REO

FOLLOW UP: CAZOO TO CLOSE SOME UK SITESFollowing on the heals of their retreat from Europe Cazoo has confirmed that it will be closing some UK sites, in a bid to help their finances. The plan is to focus on selling fewer cars than last year but prioritising higher margin models. There will also be changes to senior management as the CEO and Chairman roles are to be split, with current CEO Alex Chesterman retaining the Chairman seat but Paul Whitehead becoming Chief Executive Officer. Click here to read more, from AMOnline. FOLLOW UP: MOT CHANGES PROPOSED AGAIN The UK Government has returned to proposals for changing the timing of MOTs, despite the outcry last time. The excuse of saving money was aired once more but now the claim that advanced technology such as LKAS will ensure safety is maintained. Motoring groups are united in condemning this idea. Again. Click this Autocar link to read more. FOLLOW UP: PARIS RESIDENTS TO DECIDE ESCOOTER FATEThe Mayor of Paris has decided that she wants the residents of th

FOLLOW UP: DFT WITHDRAWS APPEAL AGAINST FOI REQUESTDr Greg Marsden has confirmed that the Department for Transport has withdrawn their appeal over the Freedom of Information requirement for the justification of the Government’s plans for decarbonisation of transport. He has even been supplied with the answers to his three questions. Click here to see his Tweet about this. Now we wait on the analysis of said information. FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT RESCUE PACKAGE SLASHES VALUATIONBritishvolts has entered administration, you can find out more by clicking this link to Peter Campbell’s Twitter thread. Just last year Britishvolt was valued in excess of $775 million, now there are rescue packages which state the company is worth $39 million. There are, reportedly, two consortiums bidding. To read more, click this Automotive News Europe article here. For more context around battery factories and how the UK appears to be sinking behind others, click this article from The Guardian. ENVIRONMENT AUDIT COMMITTEE RECOMMEND IEA

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR DECEMBER AND ALL 2022The SMMT has released the New Car Registration figures for December, which also gives the full picture of 2022 and it wasn’t great. As expected the overall numbers for the year were down, ending up 2% lower than last year. Main cause of this was supply, significantly through a lack of semi conductor chips. One of the big positives, no pun intended, was that electric vehicles overtook diesel ending up at 16.55% of market share, according to Tristan Young writing for Broker News, which you can read here. Congratulations to Nissan as the Qashqai ended up the most registered vehicle, with the Corsa just ahead of the Tesla Model Y. You can read more from the SMMT by clicking this link here. NEW LONDON ZERO EMISSION RULES COME INTO FORCENewly registered private hire vehicles have to be zero emission capable, in London, as of 1 January 2022. They must emit no more than 50g/km of CO2 and be able to drive 10 miles without exhaust emissions or a maximum of 75g/km o

Andrew was busy, so Alan’s joined by the ever-knowledgeable Alex Grant to catch up on some of the news from the holiday period.FOLLOW-UP: DfT Appeals Freedom of Information RequestThe Department for Transport is trying to stop a Freedom of Information Request release to see the assumptions on which the UK’s Transport Decarbonisation plan has been built. You can read more in this TransportXtra article.FOLLOW UP: Continental CyberattackContinental has released a set of questions and answers about its August cyberattack. They can be found on the Continental webpage.STELLANTIS DEALERS COMPLAIN ABOUT ITS BEHAVIOURStellantis has been forcing dealers and buyers to register cars before arriving in the country to improve “stock velocity” and secure next year’s supply. That doesn’t seem good for today’s customers. Read more in this Car Dealer Magazine interview.Toyota To Build New Hybrid Powertrain in WalesToyota has announced plans for investment in its Deeside plant to enable it to build its next generation of hybrid

On this episode, Alan explains to us all Toyota’s US sub brand, Scion and his new car the Scion TC. Listen to his exasperation at how nothing costs what it is listed at, why he purchased it and how come Janet Street-Porter is relevant.

Andrew tried out the KIA EV6 GT Line, for a week when the weather was much nicer than now. You can listen to his thoughts on the car, KIA’s approach to electric cars in this instance and if the praise is deserved, in his opinion, that the car has received.

FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL ‘PAUSES’ JV WITH MERCEDESRecently Arrival announced a joint-venture with Mercedes-Benz, to make electric vans in Europe. However, they have just stated there will be a ‘pause’ in the deal as they focus on the US market and becoming cash flow positive. You can learn more by clicking this Reuters link here. REGULATOR STATES FUEL PRICES NOT DROPPING FAST ENOUGHCompetition and Markets Authority has concluded their investigation into retailer fuel prices, with the conclusion that they do not fall quick enough, especially compared to the increases. This is not surprising to anyone, as we have all seen the price gouging by those making huge profits. Click this Autocar link to learn more. BMW FINED BY UK REGULATOR OVER LACK OF DATAAccording to the BMW Group the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has no jurisdiction to demand information from it, only BMW UK, over the investigation into anti-competitive practices that is running concurrently with the European one. The CMA disagrees and is now f

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER 2022The SMMT has revealed the new car registration figures for November 2022 and there is reason to be more optimistic as the rise is genuinely impressive, if not up to pre-pandemic standards. Supply has allowed for 142,889 cars to be registered, with BEVs and to a certain degree PHEVs being a major factor in the push. Click here to read more, from SMMT.FORD INVESTING IN HALEWOOD PLANTFord Motor Company is investing in the Merseyside Halewood plant, to enable the production of electric drivetrains. The aim is for the site to produce 70% of the drivetrains required for Europe, by 2026. To read more, click this link to The Guardian article. RIMAC EXPANDING UK R&D CENTRERimac is beginning a recruitment drive for their UK Technology R&D Centre, where they will add to the control systems, battery and electrical systems teams. Click here to learn more from TheBusinessDesk article. GOVERNMENT FUNDING TOYOTA HYDROGEN RESEARCHThe UK Government is allocating £11 million