NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS FEBRUARY 2025
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has published the latest new car registration figures. Once again it is not great news overall, with a 1.0% decrease. However, BEVs are up 42% year-on-year but this is just 6253 extra electric cars. For the first time since October 2023 Private rose, but only marginally as Fleet decreased but is still doing all the heavy lifting. Interestingly Tesla registrations rose 21%. To read more, click this link to SMMT’s post.
MOTABILITY POSTS BIG LOSSES FOR 2024
Motability, the UK’s biggest fleet operator, that supplies cars to those who qualify for disability payments, posted a loss of more than £565 million for 2024. This is a huge drop from 2023, when they had profits of £748 million as well as a rise in revenue of 24%. Blame is being put on insurance, servicing and new car costs rising dramatically, with the additional penalty of depreciation being more than expected. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article here.
EU TO CHANGE CO2 AIMS AND PUSH FOR FANTASY TECH
The EU has announced the Automotive Action Plan. In their industrial strategy they will be targeting aspects to help the industry on the continent. CO2 targets are due to be relaxed, a push on charging infrastructure, incentives to buy EVs, help with battery raw materials and autonomous driving technology. Click this electrive article link here, to read more.
KIA MANAGEMENT PLAYS MUSICAL CHAIRS
Kia UK is the latest company to play managerial musical chairs, with the head of sales and head of marketing swapping offices. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here.
SELF DRIVING CARS CANNOT BE MADE TO WORK
An article in The Register, covering how academics are able to fool self driving car technology by adding simple stickers to road signs. In the piece they actually make it clear that the current development process will never work. Click this link to read it and understand the issue.
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NEW NEW CAR NEWS -
Volvo ES90
Volvo has unveiled their flagship electric saloon. Using a lot of the same stuff as the EX90 SUV, except 800V architecture instead of 400V. Prices are expected to start around £70,000 and run up to £90,000 for the top of the range Ultra spec. Two battery packs are available which give a variety of performances depending on configuration. Range of the smallest set up is expected to be a maximum of around 400 miles. Click this Autocar article to read more.
Volkswagen ID.Every1
Volkswagen has shown off the concept for their small, affordable electric car. Called the ID.Every1, the claim is the production car will look very much like this. Expected to have a maximum range of around 155 miles, costing around €20,000. The design is reminiscent of the Up! and is very simple, as cost is a key factor for VW with this car. You can read more, by clicking this Top Gear article here.
Volkswagen reintroducing buttons
Not only do VW treat us to a cute affordable car but also deciding we can have buttons again, for key controls. Volkswagen are saying this is due to customer feedback, hoping we all forget EuroNCAP are changing their scoring to ensure we do not have only touch screen interfaces. Click this Autocar article to read more.
UK Car of the Year 2025 - Kia EV3
Kia has won the overall UK Car of the Year award with their EV3, following in the footsteps or should that be tyre treads, of last year when the EV9 won. As a reminder, Andrew is one of the 30-odd judges for these awards. Click this link here to read more from the UK Car of the Year awards site.
LUNCHTIME READ: JAG MAN MUST DIE
As the dust has settled a bit, after the reveal of New Jaguar, we are sharing an article from Esquire, that discusses how the brand decided to move on from its past and the aims it has for the future. Whether they are successful, only time will tell. To read more, click here for the link.
LIST OF THE WEEK: 22 CARS POWERED BY BRITISH V8 ENGINES
Classic & Sports Car provide, once more, the list of cars for you to select from. This time, which is the one with a British V8 you’d like to have the most. Click here to see more.
AND FINALLY: RUSTIVAL 2025
Hubnut, has announced Rustival is returning in 2025. The date is 30 August and it will be located at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon. Click here to see more and sort your tickets.
To wet your appetite, here are the host’s reviews of Rustival 2, from last year.
Click Hubnut’s video link here.
To see Steph from I Drive A Classic, click here.
And for Furious Driving’s take on the last show, click here.
