One last solo show from Alan before Andrew returns and regular service resumes.This week, we have a follow-up on the Dutch/Chinese Chip Wars and the prices of the new Nissan Leaf.New news includes management changes at Gordon Murray Group, VW’s Chief Strategist making an exit, Hyundai opening a new testing centre in Germany, Bollinger Motors shutting up shop, and Wrightbus covering EV buses into, err, EV buses.New Car News includes the MG S6 EV, the Jeep Recon, and the crazy-powerful Porsche Cayenne Electric.In Points of Interest we look at the moments people become interested in “automotive stuff”, we have a list of 20 affordable coachbuilt cars, and we round off with a look at the Hot Wheels Legands finalists.
It’s another solo show from Alan this week, and it starts with a follow-up on JLR’s financial situation following the recent cyber attack. New news this week involves Stellantis cancelling contracts to EV raw materials, the possibility that TVR will twitch back to life, calls for the government to support used EV values for fleets, while one fleet provider is trying to make them more attractive through a salary sacrifice scheme. Meanwhile, one EV charging provider is installing ANPR to combat ICE-ing at its chargers. Lastly, Amazon has ordered a lot of electric HGVs for its UK operations.New New Car News covers the Bentley Continental GT Supersports, Maserati and Alfa twinning-up, and Mitsubishi Motors in a proposed return to the UK market.Points of Interest include part 3 of the Citroen DS story, and a list of 10 winter-friendly modern classics.And Finally, we see if Ed March can finish his ridiculous mini-JEEP adventure.
It’s a solo show from Alan this week, and starts with lots of Follow Up. The FCA has extended the motor finance redress consultation, the UK car industry shows UKGov the high price of ending ECOS, and China has made an exception for some Nexperia chips.New News this week includes New Car Registration Figures for October, profit analysis for Bentley and Lamborghini, a new boss at Caterham, and cybersecurity gaps in Chinese buses.New New Car News looks at the just-unveiled Renault Twingo, some likely fleet favourites from BYD and a lot of shiny stuff at SEMA.Points of Interest bring us Jim and Siôn’s epic charity adventure, and some lovely models from Autocar. We end up on a steamy story of an And Finally.
FOLLOW UP: MATT WINDLE OFFICIALLY LEAVES LOTUSBack in August we said that Matt Windle had resigned as Lotus Europe CEO, but actually he was on a ‘leave of absence’. However, he has now officially announced that he has left Lotus after eight and a half years with the company. You can read more, including the challenges facing the sports car maker, by clicking this EVO article link here. VW GROUP PROFITS PLUNGEVolkswagen Group has announced their financial results for the first nine months of 2025 and they are bad. With a 58% drop in profits, described as “unsustainable” by the company, at €5.4 billion and a pre-tax profit margin of 2.3%. The usual reasons were given, Chinese market drop, tariffs and the slowdown in electrified transition with Porsche’s write-down also being mentioned. To fix this they will be ensuring their cost cutting measures really take effect. Click this Autocar article for more. MERCEDES-BENZ PROFITS PLUNGEMercedes-Benz’s third quarter profits fell by 30.8%, surprisingly this was better than analysts expected. The company said the results were in line with their adjusted projection, from earlier in the year. To find out more click this Yahoo!Finance article link here. POLESTAR AT RISK OF STOCK MARKET DE-LISTINGPolestar are running the risk of being de-listed from the Nasdaq stock market due to their share price falling below the accepted minimum requirement. Their share price is below one dollar and they have until 29 April to get it above the threshold or will be removed from the index. Click this Carscoops article link here for more. UK ELECTRIC MOTOR START UP PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENTAdvanced Electric Machines, a UK based start up that is developing electric motors without using rare earths, has announced a partnership with a significant automotive supplier. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive article link here. FRANCE OPENS INDUCTIVE CHARGING ROADLocated near Angervilliers, close to Paris, a stretch of motorway has been adapted to provide inductive charging to vehicles travelling along the road. The section is 1.5 kilometres long. For more on this, click this link here to read an electrive article. NEW FRENCH GOVERNMENT BACKED EV SCHEME POPULARThe French Government has reopened their EV leasing scheme aimed at less well off households. In the space of four weeks it has reached over 41,500 applications and will be closed once it hits 50,000. To read more, click this electrive article link here. EV DRIVER TRACKER YEAR 1The Department for Transport commissioned an investigation into the habits of UK electric vehicle drivers to find out what the reality is. The first of these reports has been published and it is illuminating. Also the tone and direction of the narrative around the...
FOLLOW UP: IMPACT OF JLR SHUTDOWNProfessor David Bailey has written up a piece on Blogs from the Blackstuff following a report from the Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC), which outlines the cost of the JLR shutdown and it is large. The estimated cost is in the region of £1.9 billion but could be as high as £2.1 billion. Over 5,000 businesses were affected. The CMC hopes businesses, the Government and insurers to learn lessons. To read more, click this article link here. NEW CHIP CRISIS LOOMINGAnother week and another example of how crucial China is to making things. This time there is a spat between Dutch and the Chinese Governments over the chip maker Nexperia after the Chinese CEO was removed and the European country took control of the company. They supply a lot of the car industry, particularly the electric car making segment. China has restricted exports of their chips, which means the company cannot guarantee reliable supply. For more on this story, click this link to an electrive article here. PORSCHE PROFITS PLUMMET AGAINPorsche has released their financial results for the last quarter and they are, once again, poor. They had an operating loss of €966 million, with return on sales for the year dropping to just 0.2% after being 14.1% the year before. Click this Piston Heads article link here, for more. FORD EUROPE FINDS A NEW BOSSFord Europe are to get a new president, Jim Baumbick, who moves from global head of product development and head of advanced product development. He takes the reigns on 1 November 2025. The role has been vacant for some time. If you want to read more, click this electrive article link here. UK GOVERNMENT HELP TOYOTA BUILD A CARToyota is receiving £15 million investment from the UK Government to explore the feasibility of bringing their FT-Me Concept to market. Think IQ size and it being a quadracycle, with the idea of it being used in high density urban areas. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar article link here. WAYMO SELF-DRIVING CARS TO TEST IN LONDONWaymo is bringing some of their autonomous vehicles to London, to take part in a Government backed trial. They will join Uber, in the spring. For more on this story, click this Autocar link. For some context, here is a link to a Bluesky thread that demonstrates had bad Waymo is at autonomous driving (and it is the least worst at it!). LORDS PUSH FOR ACCESSIBILITY AT EV CHARGERSThe House of Lords has backed an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, that would make accessibility standards legally binding for EV chargers if approved in the House of Commons. Click this link from EV Powered to read more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it...
FOLLOW UP: UK DIESELGATE TRIAL BEGINSA trial has begun in the UK High Court to decide if some manufacturers used software to pass emission tests but then acted differently outside of test conditions. The brands all deny the charge. To read more, click this Motor Trader article link here. FOLLOW UP: JLR RESTARTS ALL PRODUCTION LINESJLR has now started the last of their production lines following the chaos from the cyber attack at the start of September. Halewood was the last facility to get back up. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here. PORSCHE FINDS A NEW BOSSFollowing the announcement that Oliver Blume would relinquish his role as CEO of Porsche the company has been searching for a replacement. Ex-McLaren CEO Michael Leiters returns to the brand to lead it, allowing Blume to focus on his Volkswagen Group role. You can learn more, by clicking this Autocar article link here. TOYOTA GB FINDS A NEW BOSSToyota GB has announced that Luigi Ksawery Lucá will be the new prsident and managing director of the company, as Scott Thompson will be returning to Toyota Australia. Lucá starts in the role from 1 January 2026. For more, click this Motor Trader article link here. CARDIFF PARKING PLANCardiff Council has announced how they will be revamping parking within the city. Unfortunately, nearly all of the reporting on the matter has been shockingly bad thanks to equating weight with size. There are no restrictions to the size of a car, being introduced only the weight. Cars over 2400kg revenue weight (gross weight) will face a surcharge for a parking permit. This includes EVs. However, they plan to phase in a reduced weight for the surcharge, of 2000kg revenue weight that will exempt EVs. Do residents actually know what cars will be charged extra? In all likelihood they are going to be surprised, especially when the reduced limit comes into force. To read one of the better articles out there on this story, click this Motoring Research link here. To read the Cardiff City Council parking plan, click this link here. QUICK FIRE CATCH UP ON EV RELATED NEWSTo read about the new funds for Cornish Lithium, click this electrive article link here. To read about Duracell entering the ultra-rapid charging network space, click this electrive article link here. To read about Blink Charging being engaged in a West Yorkshire charging infrastructure project, click...
FOLLOW UP: FCA FINANCIAL REDRESS CONSULTATIONFollowing the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that some forms of historical car financing was illegal the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened a consultation into how those effected should be compensated. Some from within industry are unhappy at what is being covered and the potential exposure in terms of repayments. To find out more, click this article link here from Broker News. STELLANTIS MANAGEMENT AND PLAN CHANGESStellantis are getting a new European boss, with Emanuele Capellano taking over from Jean-Philippe Emperato, who takes the reigns at Maserati. This is the latest move by the new CEO of the group, Antonio Felosa, as he continues to shape the company in a way he feels will bring success. Click this Autocar article for more. Talking of shaping the company, in the US Stellantis announce a huge investment of over £10 billion to help the North American brands bring new models to market including, it is being suggested, V8 power plants. Click this Carcoops article link here to find out more. ASTON MARTIN PROFIT WARNINGAston Martin gave a warning to investors that it will not hit the target of profitability by the end of 2025, as hoped. Blame is being laid at the feet of weak demand and delays to the Valhalla hypercar. Adding further pain is that they share several suppliers with JLR who have been dealing with the knock on effect of the cyberattack. If you wish to read more, click this Business Matters article link here.MUNRO GETS FURTHER INVESTMENTMunro, the Scottish off-road EV start up, has secured a further £2 million funding from an existing and other investors. This will enable them to expand their production facilities and create up to 300 new jobs as they aim for an annual production capacity of 5000 vehicles by 2031. To read more about this success story, click the EV Powered link here. CHINA RESTRICTS RARE EARTH EXPORTS AGAINChina is reminding the world exactly how much power it has, in terms of controlling global manufacturing, by adding more restrictions to some rare earths that are used across industries, including automotive. You can find out more, by clicking this Chatham House article link here. To read the latest from Ed Conway, about rare earths, click this Substack link here. JEEP OTA UPDATE BRICKS CARSAnother week and another story of an Over the Air (OTA) update having unintended consequences on cars and their owners. This time Jeep issued an update last week that has put some cars in ‘limp home mode’, whilst others have been bricked. Once more, much of the car industry does not seem to get software and how much harm doing it badly reflects back on...
FOLLOW UP: JLR WOES STILL CONTINUE BUT MORE PROGRESSJLR continues to battle the effects of the cyber attack that caused them to shut all systems on 1 September, 2025. They are still waiting on signed approval of the Government guarantee for 80% of the loan they are seeking. In the meantime, they are going to inject up to £500 million into their first tier suppliers to help them after no payments for over a month. Click this Business Matters article link here, to read more. The phased restarting of factory operations is expected to begin on 8 October, 2025 (day of publication of this episode). Click the link here, to find out the latest update from Autocar’s coverage. SEPTEMBER 2025 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONSThe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the new car registration figures, for September 2025. This is the best September since 2020, with BEVs taking a market share, for the month of 23.3%, whilst petrol still remains the most popular fuel. Fleet sector did most of the heavy lifting, being 55.7% of registrations. Private dropped to 41.9%, although the actual number did increase on 2024. There are new models in the Top Models list. Suggestions are that the Government’s Electric Car Grant (ECG) is having a positive effect on this. But don’t forget, the way the ECG is set up means it is possible to abuse the system, not that we are saying this has happened. To read more, click this article link from SMMT. RENAULT PLANNING TO ASK FOR VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCIESUnder the name “Arrow”, Renault will be implementing cost saving initiatives such as asking for voluntary redundancies from non production roles, to the tune of 3,000. The final plan is still being worked on and is expected by the end of the year. For more on this story, click this Yahoo!Finance article link here. RENAULT AND DACIA CUSTOMER DATA HACKED IN THE UKRenault and Dacia UK customers have had their data accessed by hackers, who go into a supplier’s system. Customers are being warned to be careful of scams and attempts to defraud them as a result. You can read more on this, by clicking the link here to an article from The Register. EV CHARGING COMPANY HACKEDDigital Charging Solutions (DCS), a German based company, has admitted to being hacked. This does affect some UK drivers, as Kia customers have been warned to be vigilant. Click this article link from The Register, to read more. NEARLY ALL CHARGER OPERATORS FAIL RELIABILITY OBJECTIVESThe Public Charge Point Regulations mandate that charger operators must ensure their chargers are operational 99% of the time. Only 4% meet this requirement. Lots of blame being thrown around as to why. To learn more, a...
FOLLOW UP: JLR WOES STILL CONTINUE BUT SOME PROGRESSWhilst JLR is still battling against the hack that caused them to shut all their systems down on the 2 September, there is some positive progress. The company has started a phased process of turning back on some systems and they expect to begin limited car production later this week. On top of that, the Government has guaranteed 80% of a loan the company is seeking to take out to help cover the costs resulting from the shutdown. To find out the latest, click this Autocar article link here. Link to Professor David Bailey’s piece explaining about the loan JLR has taken out and the UK Government has guaranteed a portion of, can be clicked here. VW GROUP PAUSING EV PRODUCTIONDue to a lower demand than anticipated, the Volkswagen Group is pausing EV production in several factories. The factories in Zwickau and Emden in Germany, as well as Tennessee in the US, will pause production of various electric models in the coming weeks. Tariffs are also impacting the finances of the company which is already struggling to cut costs. Click this InsideEVs article link here to read more. STELLANTIS PAUSING PRODUCTION ACROSS EUROPEStellantis is another company that is pausing their car production facilities due to cost savings, lacklustre sales figures and the impact of the tariffs. Pomigliano factory, in Italy, is currently not making the Fiat Panda and Alfar Romeo Tonale. The Poissy site, in France, will pause production for the middle of October. On top of that facilities in Poland, Spain and Germany are also expected to follow suit. If you want to find out more, click this Carscoops article link here. BENTLEY TO FOLLOW PORSCHE AND KEEP ICE IN LINEUPIn what should be no surprise to anyone, Bentley will be keeping combustion engine powertrain options in their cars contrary to the previous ‘Beyond100’ plan, just as Porsche has announced. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar link here. BOSCH CUTS JOBSBosch is cutting up to 13,000 jobs on top of the previously announced 9,000. This is a result of trying to save €2.5 billion. Of note, Bosch is the world’s largest automotive supplier. For more on this story, click the link here to an electrive article. FRANCE REVIEWING NISSAN SUPPLIER PAYMENTSThe French Government has asked to see Nissan’s payments to suppliers. There is no indication as to why this has occurred nor is there a suggestion Nissan has done anything wrong. In France companies have to pay invoices within 60 days. Click this Yahoo!Finance article to read more. CHANGES IN MERCEDES MANAGEMENTCTO Markus Schäffer is leaving Mercedes-Benz, after 30 years service. Jörg Burzer will move from head of production, quality and supply chain management to replace him. That means Michael Schiebe will move on from being in charge of Mercedes-AMG to take up Burzer’s old role. A new head...
FOLLOW UP: JLR WOES STILL CONTINUEJLR have put back their proposed production restart from 24 September to 1 October as they continue to try and deal with the hack on their systems where the effects became apparent on 1 September. What has only started to be appreciated is the knock-on effect the closures have had on suppliers to the company. Staff have been told to apply for Universal Credit, due to stopped wages, and many are calling on a furlough scheme to be instigated by the Government. To read more about the ongoing issues for JLR, click this Autocar article link here. To gain an understanding of the affects down the supply chain, click this article link from The Record. CITROËN ISSUES NEW NO-DRIVE WARNINGCitroën UK has issued a new no-drive warning, covering the C3, ë-C3, C3 Aircross and ë-C3Aircross, due to potential brake failure. This no-drive notice is on top of the other two the company is already dealing with. Click this Autocar article link here to read more. PORSCHE DELAY EV MOVE GIVING VW GROUP $6BN PROFIT HITPorsche has announced that they are delaying their move to EVs as had been expected. The Panamera and Cayenne will have ICE and hybrid options into 2030, rather than going all electric. Likewise the new 718 models. The projected hit to Volkswagen Group profits is a smidgen under $6 billion, following this move. You can read more by clicking this Yahoo! Finance article link here. NISSAN SHRINKS LONDON DESIGN STUDIO AND CLOSES OTHERSNissan cost cutting efforts have been turned to the design studios across the globe. Those in California and Brazil will be shut, with the Paddington studio expected to lose some staff numbers too. Click this Autocar article link here. FORD CUTS JOBS IN GERMANYDue to much weaker than expected sales of the Explorer and Capri, Ford has announced that it is cutting up to 1,000 jobs at their Cologne factory. This is on top of the previous 2,900 jobs that went at the end of 2024.If you wish to read more, click this Autocar article link here. TOM MATANO HAS PASSED AWAYTom Matano was the designer of the first two generations of the Mazda MX-5 and has sadly passed away on 20 September 2025, aged 76. He had a long career where he worked for GM, BMW and then onto Mazda. To learn more about him and his career, click this Classic & Sports Car article link here. BUFFETT SELLS ENTIRE BYD STAKEWarren Buffett, the renowned investor, has sold his entire stake in the Chinese EV maker BYD. This is the first time since 2008 that Berkshire Hathaway did not hold any stock in the company. Click this article link from Fortune for more information. TOYOTA AE86 ENGINE BLOCKS BEING BUILT AGAINToyota is building the parts...
FOLLOW UP: JLR WOES CONTINUEAs expected, there is no quick resolution to their IT woes, following the hack reported on 1 September, 2025. Also, again as expected, they have confirmed that data has been accessed including personal data. However, we do not know who’s data that is. Reports suggest the company is losing around £5 million per day, thanks to the global shutdown. As a result there are increasing calls for the Government to step in and support the JLR. To read more about the situation, click this Autocar article link here. SHOCKING FAIL FOR MG3 DURING EURONCAP TESTSDuring the latest round of EuroNCAP tests the MG3 driver’s seat, when in the frontal offset crash test, twisted upon impact due to the latching mechanism failing. MG has confirmed that this has now been rectified but cars bought before August 2025 will not get the fix. Added to this is that the driver’s airbag was only sufficient for an “adequate” rating. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here. EU AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY SUMMITEU politicians and the continent’s car manufacturers have met to discuss the state of the industry and the future. The EU is sticking by its 2035 ICE ban but is open to a new car category, for small efficient vehicles, similar to the Japanese kei car. For more on this story, click this electrive article link here. VW ID.GOLF TO BE DELAYEDThe woes for Volkswagen continue as news comes out that they are delaying the launch of the ID.Golf and ID.Roc, as well as seeking a partner for their battery subsidiary PowerCo. The ID.Golf had previously been delayed from 2028 to 2029, but now 2030 is the target. You can read more, by clicking this article link here from electrive. BMW INSTALLS CHARGERS IN NATIONAL PARKSBMW has spent the last three years helping to install 135 charge points in the UK’s National Parks, costing the company around £1 million. On top of that BMW helped fund projects within individual parks. Click this Motoring Research article to read more. ALEXANDER DENNIS OFFERS RETROFIT EV POWERTRAINSAlexander Dennis, the bus manufacturer, is offering a service where they replace older diesel powertrains with new electric ones. This will save some costs for operators the full cost of a new electric bus. If you wish to learn more, click this electrive article link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Munich Motor ShowThe Munich Motor Show was last week, we run through a summary of what happened and what caught our eye, for good and for bad. Click this Motoring Research article
NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS AUGUST 2025August registration figures are down on 2024. Typically a quiet month prior to the number plate change in September, it was still a disappointment. We also do not know how much of an effect the mishandling of the ECG approval list had on the overall numbers. BEVs took a 26.5% market share. There are also some returning models to the Top Models list and a newcomer. To read more, click this link from the SMMT. JLR HIT BY CYBER ATTACKJLR have been hit by a cyber attack that has halted all sales, aftersales and production work. The group claiming responsibility are the ones who hit M&S and others on the UK highstreet. The company has employed specialists to help address the problem but communication has been limited as to what has happened and what is going on. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. PORSCHE CHANGES TACK ON BATTERIESDue to recent financial performances and market conditions Porsche has reviewed their high performance battery projects and decided to shut some down. They have a battery subsidiary called CellforceGroup which they are reorganising and CellForce will become a small R&D company focusing on developing batteries. This will result in approximately 200 jobs going. For more on this, click the link here from electrive. ZOOPLA TO SHOW PUBLIC EV CHARGER LOCATIONSOccasionally there are stories you hear and think “why hasn’t that been done before” and this is one. Zoopla, in partnership with Vauxhall, are adding whether a listed house has a home charger and if not, the location of nearby public chargers. This is a great initiative. Click this Autocar link here to read more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Kia EV5Kia has revealed the specifications and pricing of the EV5, prior to going on sale later this year. Looks wise, it is very similar to the EV9 but smaller and without the third row of seats. Pitched against the Skoda Enyac and Renault Scenic. Kit will be comprehensive, especially as you move up the trim levels and it come with up to 329 WLTP miles. Expect to see these everywhere. Click this EVPowered to find out more. Audi Concept CAhead of the IAA Munich show Audi revealed their Concept C, inspired by the TT but is not to be seen as a replacement for one. The design is similarly executed that of the Jaguar 00 concept. Design chief Massimo Frascella claimed that this is virtually the production ready design, although we have to wait until 2027 before that is shown. Click this Autocar article link here to read more. Porsche culls the 718Linked to the Porsche battery story and the Audi Concept C story, Porsche announced that the 718 models...
FOLLOW UP: ECG TWEAK AND FIRST BAND 1 CARS ANNOUNCEDThe Government has tightened the loophole where if one vehicle in the range is eligible for the Electric Car Grant (ECG) then all others with the same powertrain configuration are, no matter their price. This has been capped at £42,000. Click this Autocar story link here, to read more. Additionally, the Government has announced the first two cars to be eligible for Band 1 of the grant and thus the full £3750. The Ford Puma Gen-E and the E-Tournio Courier. Click this Motor Trader article to read more. LOTUS CUTS MORE STAFFIn the continued troubling news from Lotus there is the announcement that they are cutting another 550 jobs in the UK, roughly 40%. This follows another poor first half to the year, as sales dropped 42%. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. DACIA LOSE A CEO BUT FIND ANOTHERDenis Le Vot has decided to leave as head of Dacia, with Katrin Adt taking over the reigns. This is one of several changes in Renault Group management. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here. STELLANTIS SHELVES LEVEL 3 AUTONOMOUS DEVELOPMENTStellantis has pulled the plug on deploying their SAE Level 3 autonomous driving system. In February they were saying it was ready to be rolled out. No reasons have been given but the reality of how expensive it is to developing such systems and the flawed path chosen must be part of the reason. To read more, click this Yahoo! Finance article link here. BATTERY RECYCLING CONSORTIUM RAISES £8.1MA consortium, made up of JLR, LiBatt Recycling, WMG at Warwick University and Mint Innovation has secured £8.1 million investment for their battery recycling plans. They intend to perfect recovering lithium, cobalt and nickel from end of life EV batteries. Click this electrive article link here to read more. TESLAMATE SERVERS OPEN TO ALLTeslaMate is a self-hosted data logger for Tesla owners that records all the data that is sent out by the car. A security researcher has discovered he could access thousands of these self-hosted servers and get all the information from the vehicles. To read more, click this link from TechCrunch here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Changan Deepal S07Changan are one of the biggest Chinese car makers, but you’ve probably not heard of them. You will now as they’re coming to the UK, with the Deepal S07, a similar size to the Skoda...
GOVERNMENT CUTS RESTORATION RED TAPEFollowing a long campaign from the Historic and Classic Vehicles Alliance and other similar associations, the Government has simplified the red tape around modifying and restoring vehicles. Notifications can be sent to DVLA for ‘significant structural modifications’ and the vehicle can retain the original license plate number and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). This is a big step forward. Click this Hagerty article link here to find out more. ARIEL DOUBLING PRODUCTION CAPACITY WITH NEW FACTORYAriel, the Somerset based specialist performance vehicle manufacturer, have agreed a deal to buy more land that will allow them to double their production capability. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article link here. HMRC RAISES EV MILEAGE CLAIM RATEAfter lots of complaints were raised over the last announcement of the rate business mileage for electric cars could be claimed back at, HMRC has revised them. Now there are two tiers, home charging and public charging. However, the rates still aren’t great and frankly totally inadequate if you charge via the public network. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here. PLUG-IN VAN AND LORRY GRANT EXTENDEDThe UK Government has extended the plug-in grant for van and lorries, until “at least 2027”. However, the money is coming out of the £650 million we were told was for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), which turns out to also be improving the charging infrastructure across the country. Click this Autocar article link here, to read more. DO NOT HOON YOUR EV FOR MORE BATTERY LIFEA recent study has been misreported, according to Aviloo, battery experts. Many read the results to mean one must be very heavy with the right foot to extend the battery lift of one’s EV. That is not the case. You can find out more by clicking this Carscoops article link here. TESLA DOES HAVE TO FACE CLASS-ACTION OVER SELF-DRIVING CLAIMSA recent hearing, in front of a judge, between those trying to pursue Tesla in a class-action over mis-selling their self-driving system that has yet to make it to market even though they have taken money from people for it, has resulted in permission being granted to pursue the company. If you want to read more, click this Reuters article link here. To read Ed Niedermeyer’s coverage of the hearing, click this link to his Bluesky post. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - BYD Atto 2BYD has revealed details of their Atto 2, a C segment electric SUV. Priced aggressively, at £30,850, it will
FOLLOW UP: GOVERNMENT CONFIRM ECG ELIGIBLE CARSThe UK Government has released the list of car models that are eligible for the Electric Car Grant (ECG). There are a few surprises, including how no cars meet the Band 1 £3750 grant requirements. Click this link here, from EV Powered, to read more. To see Nick Gibb’s Bluesky post, adding context to the question of how the Nissan Ayria was eligible, click this link here. For the UK Government’s official list of eligible car models, click this link here. FOLLOW UP: CITROËN ADDS MODELS TO ‘STOP-DRIVE’ RECALLCitroën has now added new models to the previous ‘stop-drive’ order over faulty airbags. Car Dealer is reporting that before this around 120,000 vehicles were affected by the issue. Now that the C4 and DS4, built between 2010 and 2011, plus the DS5 built between 2010 and 2013 there is just a fraction under 10,000 additional vehicles. Citroën was already receiving a backlash on the perceived slowness in addressing the problem, this will not help. If you wish to learn more, click this Car Dealer article link here. ROAD SAFETY CONSULTATION LAUNCHEDThe UK Government has launched a road safety consultation, with a number of issues being given prominent place. For example, once drivers reach 70, they will have to have formal eye tests every three years to show they are fit to drive. Drivers with non seat belt wearing passengers will receive points on their license. There are more besides. Click this Autocar article link to read more. UNSAFE ROAD VEHICLE NUMBERS RISE IN UKIn 2024, nearly 50% more vehicles that were found to be unsafe than the previous year. Tyres were the biggest issue but defective brakes too an alarming jump with 1190 drivers charged last year compared to 181 in 2023. To read more, click this Autocar article link here. LONGBOW ADD MANAGEMENT HEAVYWEIGHTS TO BOARDLongbow, the electric sports car start up, has announced that Mike Flewitt, Michael van der Sande and Dan Balmer are now on the advisory board. Flewitt was CEO of McLaren, van der Sande was at Alpine and Balmer was the boss of Lotus Europe. They will help the company as it works to bring a £65,000 lightweight two seater electric sports car out in 2027. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here. JLR THREATEN RIDICULOUS LEGAL ACTIONJLR sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter to the Rail Delivery Group, who run the National Rail website, due to them using the phrase “ranger and rover” to refer to ranger tickets and rover tickets. The car company decided that you are all too stupid to work out a rail company was not referring to a Range Rover. You will now only ever see the words if they are as follows, “ranger tickets and rover tickets”. If you wish to learn more,
JULY 2025 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONSNew car registrations fall, year-on-year, in July 2025 by 5%. Whilst the electric car grant is now available, which models are eligible and at what rate remains to be seen. This has had a knock on effect with registrations of EVs raising slower than expected. BEVs and PHEVs increased but all other powertrains declined. To read more, click this article linked from the SMMT, here. JLR PROFIT PLUNGE IN FIRST HALF OF 2025Mainly thanks to the tariff farcical situation, JLR saw profits in the second quarter of 2025, plunge by half. Whilst the UK has negotiated a deal that has been implemented, the EU’s one is not yet on stream, thus the Defender is still paying the price. Adding to their woes is the self inflicted issue of warranty costs, but outside of their control is volatile foreign exchange rates. if you wish to read more, click this Autocar article link here. LOTUS LOSE ONE CEO AND FIND ANOTHERMatt Windle has left Lotus, either of his own volition or was pushed, depending on who you listen to. The company has appointed Mao Jingbo, current president of China operations, to oversea the UK and European sector. This is the fourth head of the company in two years, with Windle lasting just four months. Click this Autocar article to learn more. ASTEMO INVESTS IN BOLTON SITEAstemo is investing £100 million at a site in Bolton, which will be staffed by 200 employees, to produce components for the next generation of EVs. They have received Government backing for this move. To find out more, click this article link from The Manufacturer. NISSAN OPENS TRUCK CHARGING HUBNissan has opened a truck charging hub on it’s production site, in Sunderland. This is open to the public, but they will also charge up electric cab units that they use for their own purposes locally. You can learn more, from this link here to a an electrive article. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Honda CivicHonda is updating the Civic, but you’ll have to be good to spot the differences, according to Motoring Research. Tweaks to the looks and the interior are the order of the day. Hybrid powertrain remains the same, as do the three trim levels. Prices start at £33,795. Click here to read more. Nissan MicraPrices and specs have been confirmed by Nissan for the new Micra. Order books open on 1 September and the starting price matches that of the Renault 5, which this is a rebadge of. The three trim levels are Engage, Advanced and Evolve. Prices start at £22,995. Click this Motoring Research article to read more....
FOLLOW UP: CAR FINANCE CLAIMSThe Supreme Court has ruled on car finance claims follow last years shock appeal decision that could have meant that lenders were liable for billions in compensation for mis-selling car finance schemes. The court has ruled that dealers do not have to work solely for the benefit of customers, which covers most claims, however if the commission rate is excessive then there is a possibility of a claim. What wasn’t covered in this is claims where the dealer and lender could increase the interest on their PCP or HP deal without telling the customer. Anyone who signed up to this is still able to claim. To read all about this complicated matter, click this link here from MoneySavingExpert. FOLLOW UP: RENAULT GROUP ANNOUNCE NEW CEOJust over a week after the interim CEO was announced, Renault Group have found their new permanent CEO, Francois Provost. He has been at the company for 23 years, with his latest position being head of procurement, partnerships and public affairs. Click this Autocar article link to learn more. JLR LOSE ONE CEO AND FIND ANOTHERAdrian Mardell is to retire from JLR, after 35 years at the company. The surprise news came out last week and by Monday the company announced his replacement, PB Balaji, who is the chief financial officer of Tata Motors. If you want to read more, click this Autocar link here. STELLANTIS MAKE A BIG LOSSFirst half year results are in for Stellantis and it is brutal. They have made a loss of £2 billion pre-tax. Tariffs are being blamed for a lot of it, but also a slow uptake on their B-segment offerings. The new CEO, Antonio Filosa, has said he will make tough decisions to help turn results around. To find out more, click this Autocar link here. PORSCHE TAKES PROFITS HITPorsche’s operating profits dropped €2 billion in the first half of 2025. Once again tariffs are being blamed, but also they continue to lose market share in China. The company is looking at ways to save money, on top of the job cuts it has previously announced. You can read more on this, by clicking an Autocar article link here. HELSINKI REPORTS NO FATALITIES ON ITS ROAD NETWORK IN A YEARHelsinki has not had a road traffic fatality, for over a year. Reasons for this excellent news are a combination of improved infrastructure, all road users working together, reduced speed limits, improved public transport and targeted police efforts. To find out more, click this yle article link here. TESLA FOUND PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FATAL CRASHA jury has found Tesla partially liable for a fatal accident that also caused life changing injuries to a passenger of a struck vehicle, after Autopilot was engaged. The driver of the Tesla vehicle claims he thought the driver assistance system would handle things whilst he retrieved his dropped phone. Tesla is to appeal the ruling. You can read more
FOLLOW UP: ELECTRIC CAR GRANT FALLOUT CONTINUESAs more details are revealed and more people begin to understand all of the ramifications of the UK Government’s Electric Car Grant. Firstly, the list of car eligible for the two tiers of payments will be confirmed on 11 August 2025. The scheme went live on 16 July 2025. Click here to read an Autocar article on this. Secondly, car companies can self-register cars for the scheme and as the rules include Fleet registrations, this opens up the ability for abuse. Whilst these cars contributed to the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, now tax payer’s money will be used to support car companies to be compliant. Click this link here to read more on that from Autocar. There are some suggesting that the overall scheme will have little affect, as was discussed on the show last week. Indicata, a motoring related data firm, has calculated that the grant will affect only 5.8% or 14.4% of new car registrations, dependent on which tier is sought. They also have used information from Italy’s attempt as a similar scheme that made a small impact. On top of all that they highlight the danger of dramatic depreciation for newly bought vehicles and those outside of the eligibility of the scheme. Click this link to read more from a Motor Trader article. Some manufacturers are forging ahead and offering discounts on their cars at the same rate as the lower tier of the grant. The likes of Alfa Romeo, GWM, Hyundai, Leapmotor, MG and Volvo have already made their move. Click this AutoTrader article for more.Another issued raised was that the scheme ignores the used market. The Independent Motor Dealers Association (IMDA) has called for a £1000 grant for used EVs. Click this Motor Trader article link here to read more. FOLLOW UP: EMPLOYEE CAR OWNERSHIP SCHEMES IN CROSSHAIRSThe UK Government first brought up, what it felt, was the unfair practice of Employee Car Ownership Schemes back in the autumn. This is where a member of staff gets a new car, for a short period of time and then moves onto a new car, whilst paying a much reduced contribution that anyone outside of the scheme would. Proposed legislation will mean anyone taking advantage of such a scheme will be taxed as though that was a company car. To read more, click this Motor Trader article link here. VW PROFIT DROPS 29% YEAR ON YEARVW financial results for the first half of 2025 show a drop of 29%, with a big hit in Q2 thanks to the US tariffs. Both the profit and revenue was down on market expectations. If you want to find out more, a...
FOLLOW UP: UK GOV ANNOUNCES ELECTRIC CAR GRANTFollowing months and months of calling on the UK Government to help private registrations with financial aid, the motor industry has got what it wants. Sort of. The Electric Car Grant has been announced that will be up to £3,750 off the price of a new car that is listed at under £37,000 plus other criteria, including how clean the grid is where the car was built. That last point effectively cuts out Chinese EVs due to their CO2 intensive energy supplies. The grant is active now, with OEMs and dealerships claiming the money back following registration. Added to which, it applies to all buyers and not just private, as was called for. Many within the industry have expressed their disappointment in the scheme, especially how it has ignored the second hand market plus the knock on effect this will have to depreciation. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. To read about the expected impact on Asian built cars, click this EVfleetworld article link here. FOLLOW UP: RENAULT GROUP APPOINT INTERIM CEODuncan Minto has taken over the interim CEO position at Renault Group, following Luca de Meo’s exit. Minto was appointed chief financial officer in March. The search for a new CEO continues. Click this Autocar article link here, to read more. CHINA THROTTLES BATTERY MATERIAL EXPORTSChina is once again reminding the world who controls almost all of the supply chain when it comes to electric cars. This time they have, due to being now classed as security relevant, implemented an immediate export restriction on battery material preparation technology, ie. stuff that goes into making battery cathodes used in electric cars and energy storage. No reason has been really given for the sudden move. You can find out more by clicking this electrive article link here. JLR CUTS JOBS AS SALES DROPJLR has announced it is seeking voluntary redundancies from management positions, following the last quarter’s drop in sales. The company said it expects no more than 500 roles to go. The reason for reduced sales is being mainly put at the feet of the US tariff mess. Click this Autocar article link here to read more. GEELY BUYS ZEEKERGeely has acquired the final 37.2% of Zeeker shares, that were listed on the New York Stock Exchange only last year. This will cost the Chinese company around $2.4 billion. Suggestions are this has happened due to the geopolitical outlook and adding them to the group enables greater cost savings thanks to increasing the economy of scale benefits when purchasing parts. You can read more by clicking this electrive article link here. UK GOVERNMENT OPENS AV TAXI CONSULTATIONThe UK Government is asking for our feedback on rolling out autonomous taxi and bus services. They are going to do it, be under no illusion, but we might be able to influence just how that looks, in terms of the information these companies must supply. To read more, a...
FOLLOW UP: MORE OEMS INVESTIGATED FOR DEFEAT DEVICESThe Times is reporting that more brands are now being brought into the Department for Transport (DfT) investigation into the use of defeat devices. This is where they pass the emissions testing regime but are set up to a different output when used on the public roads. Now there are 72 models from 27 brands being looked at. Click this article link to read more. LEVC TO CUT JOBS IN COVENTRYLEVC is to cut 180 jobs at it’s Coventry facility due to an increasingly difficult business conditions. The site is already running well below capacity, apparently. If you wish to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. CHERY IS COMING TO THE UKChery, the owner of Jaecoo and Omada, is coming to the UK with it’s own vehicles later in the year. They chose to announce this with two vehicles at Goodwood’s Festival of Speed. To read more, click this Motor Trader article link here. MUNRO TO EXPANDMunro, the Scottish EV maker who focuses on rugged commercial type vehicles, is planning to expand their operation following the appointment of a new chairman, Avinash Rugoobur. Following a period of testing the company expects to fulfil the order book that currently have. You can find out more, by clicking this EV Powered article link here. CAR THEFT DATAThe Loop Agency has investigated car theft data and decided to present it as number sold divided by the number stolen. This then gives a different perspective on the DVLA’s information, penalising smaller selling vehicles. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article link here. FRANCE TRIAL IN-ROAD CHARGING SYSTEMOn a short section of the A10 near Paris, in-road electric vehicle charging infrastructure is being installed ahead of a trial due to begin in September for charging your EV as you drive, via inductive charging. To find out more, click this EV Powered article link here. FRAUD CHARGES FOR RUNAWAY CAR DRIVERIn March 2024 the driver of a Jaguar I-Pace called the police to claim his car could not decelerate, this led to an incident that covered the M58, M57 and M62 in Lancashire and Merseyside. After being brought to a stop the police and JLR forensically investigated the car, which has resulted with the individual being charged with two counts of fraud, causing a public nuisance and dangerous driving. Click this EV Powered article for more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Fiat 500 HybridAfter 17 years, the Fiat 500 petrol...
Nathan Daniel Nicholson
what are the facts then? How many miles does it take? facts please? How many till an EV surpasses a gas powered car? knock off the high and mighty scoffs, and divulge actual facts. All you two do is wank to EV's all day, and discount anything contrary to EV- group-save-the-world-think. Buy a used car, make it road safe by making repairs, save money and resources by doing so, and that's how a difference is made right now. Recycle!!!! Reuse. Reduce listening to you two frauds. Fake fucking intellectuals. By the way, where is YOUR electricity coming from? Is it cleaner than burning a gas that comes out as something so clean it basically has no impact on pollution? Fuck, you're so far up your own EV assholes. You desperately want change thats being forced prematurely. Idiots.
Kevin Barry
As a Mini guy I was blown away by Dominic's father in law story. For years I have been asking if anyone knew any designers or engineers that worked at Longbridge. The lost skills has been uppermost in my thoughts also. What a great podcast this was. Thank you.
Kevin Barry
Bring back the Sinclair C5.....?
Kevin Barry
I cant access it. Is it a pay as you go job?
Kevin Barry
I couldn't hear where he went to buy a car overseas.