Mercedes-Benz UK has lauched its new Agency scheme for selling cars with a reduced role for traditional dealers. It says the programmes creates a new way to purchase a new car, providing customers with a contemporary and luxury buying experience. In the week before it introduced its Agency scheme, the car maker was in the High Court where preliminary hearings were outlining an estimated 300,000 … [Read more...]
Global collapse of van production to be felt for 2020
Global commercial vehicle production volumes in 2020 compared to 2019 are forecast to be down 22 percent , some 650,000 units to 2.6 million units, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the most recent analysis from IHS Markit. Individual regional forecasts are set to a downtrend, and supply chain impacts are being felt, as the consequences of the virus have shuttered … [Read more...]
Newslines 20 March
Volkswagen has paid out £28.5 B in fines and settlements, and the German carmaker expects costs to add another £2 B, Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter told media. It was caught hiding excessive levels of toxic diesel emissions in 2015, leading to management changes and hundreds of regulatory probes and lawsuits but has so far resisted UK compensation. Vauxhall’s new Corsa is available on … [Read more...]
Newslines 18 February
Jaguar I-Pace manufacturing in Austria has halted for a week, because it cannot get enough traction batteries from LG Chem’s Poland plant. It is the brand’s fourth best seller, reaching 17,355 units last year and the Polish plant also makes packs for Ford Mustang Mach E and forthcoming Transit E. Although nothing has been given to UK customers, Volkswagen Group is compensating some German … [Read more...]
Uber blamed for rising pollution in urban areas
Uber is adding more polluting car trips to already-clogged European cities such as London and Paris, new analysis suggests - contributing to air pollution and climate change and exploding the company’s sustainability claims. Data compiled by Euromonitor for European research and campaign group Transport & Environment shows a surge in the number of Uber drivers officially registered as … [Read more...]
Newslines 27 August
BMW, Mercedes, Tesla and Ford models made in the USA and exported to China will be more seriously affected as a trade war escalates. China’s counter measures to the US tariffs rising will take effect on 1 September and more will be rolled out on 15 December. VW is cleaning up its act and business in the wake of the 2015 diesel emissions scandal which has cost it about €30 Billion. The VW staff … [Read more...]
Newslines 16 April
German prosecutors are pressing criminal charges against former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn in connection with the automaker's manipulation of diesel-emissions testing, reports Automotive News Europe. Four other executives are also being charged, said the prosecutors' office in Brunswick in VW's home of Lower Saxony and all are charged with fraud and violation of competition … [Read more...]
Tougher MoT gas-tests see failures soar
Tough new emission tests this year have doubled the failure rate for older cars, and vans have gone up over four times as much. The DVSA reports that since May when the lower limits were set there have been 744,592 failed cars which have been fixed or scrapped compared to 350,472 in the same time last year. This year, 238,971 diesel and 505,721 petrol models were recorded with this major … [Read more...]
Tougher MoT test begins tomorrow.
A newer and tougher MoT test begins tomorrow. More vehicles than ever are expected to fail and the worst will be prevented from leaving the test station until they pass. Diesel powered models will face more stringent emissions tests. GoCompare Car Insurance is warning drivers they could invalidate their insurance if they fail to hold an up-to-date MOT certificate for their vehicle. The … [Read more...]
Bosch claim diesel breakthrough slashes pollution
Bosch says it can reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides to extremely low levels. The new development was revealed at the company's annual press conference, where Bosch announced record sales revenue of €78.1bn, and said the technology will enable vehicle manufacturers to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) so drastically that they will comply with future limits, without the need for any … [Read more...]