FOLLOW UP: MORE BAD NEWS FROM ARRIVAL
Arrival announced that it has a cash problem, as in not enough to get it through to the end of next year. They are looking at cutting more costs, which is rumoured to include large layoffs in the UK as it focuses the operation in the US. To read more, click this article here from Yahoo Finance.
FOLLOW UP: PORSCHE CLASS ACTION SETTLED IN US
In diesel gate news we find that a US judge has approved a settlement of $80 to $85 million for the class action brought against Porsche over emission tampering and misleading fuel economy information. Porsche also have to pay $25 million legal fees. There is also an extra $250 per vehicle that has Sport+ fitted. Further information can be found by clicking this Automotive News article link.
EURO 7 ENGINE RULES ANNOUNCED
If both manufacturers and environmental groups are both unhappy with the new regulations for Euro 7 internal combustion regulations, does that mean they are pretty close to being right? Manufacturers are shouting it is too tough and the environmental groups are screaming it is too weak. Click here to read the Autocar Business article about the proposals. For some more context, on one of the trickier parts, is a thread from Julian Rendell discussing the constant monitoring tech that does not exist, which you can read by clicking here. More context can be found in this excellent article from Emission Analytics, who talk about the balance the regulations have hit. Click here to read that.
JLR REDUCES LOSSES IN LAST QUARTER
Thanks to the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, Jaguar Land Rover reduced their losses to £175 million, when £302 million the previous year. Sales were up to £5.3 billion, a jump of 36% on the three months previous and 20% on the same period last year. To read more about this click the BusinessLive article here. For some extra context, click the Tweet from Peter Campbell.
CONTINENTAL DATA STOLEN IN HACK
Continental, the Tier 1 supplier to much of the automotive and mobility industry, has been hacked by the group called LockBit. The group claims to be selling 40 terabytes of the company’s data to anyone willing to stump up $50 million. Continental stated it was hit in August this year but it had “averted” the attack, yet also confirmed to Handelsblatt business newspaper that data had been stolen. Not a great look when you desperately need to get your customers to trust you and your systems. This is potentially very bad for a wide range of mobility and automotive related areas due to Continental having a lot of fingers in a lot of pies. To read more about the incident, click this article link from SecurityWeek. You can learn more about the potential sale of the data by clicking this SecurityWeek link.
RENAULT CONTINUES TO EVOLVE
Big news from Renault this week. Firstly, they are entering a joint-venture with Geely on internal combustion engines and hybrid technology. Added to which, Renault are splitting the company into five divisions, Ampere (EV centred), Alpine (the sporty one), Mobilize (financial services), The Future is NEUTRAL (recycling focused), and the previously mentioned Geely joint-venture. To read more, click this FleetNews link here. You can click here, for another great Peter Campbell thread on Twitter.
SLOUGH SUSPENDS ESCOOTER TRIAL
Slough Council has suspended their escooter trial until, at least, June 2023. The current trial was ending soon and they are taking the opportunity to reevaluate the scheme and decide if they will put it back out to tender. Click here to find out more from Move Electric.
FRANCE WANTS SOLAR PANELS OVER CAR PARKS
The French Government has mandated that all car parks, with a capacity of at least 80, will be required to fit solar panels over the top. Those with 80-400 spaces have five years and those over 400 have three years in which to meet the new requirements. The calculation is that 11 gigawatts could be generated by this. Click here to read more on The Guardian.
WALSALL M6 SHUT DURING THE NIGHT
Highways England has announced that from 14 November to 15 December, the M6 northbound will be shut between Junctions 7 and 10 during the night. This is to allow for planned resurfacing works to be safely completed. You can learn more, by clicking this BBC News article here.
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WRC: RALLY JAPAN
Hyundai recorded a 1-2 finish to the final round of the 2023 WRC, with Neuville winning and Tanak second in his last race for the team. Takamoto Katsuta came third with his third career podium. Evans was leading for much of the rally, but a puncture put paid to that as his luck, which seems to have only been bad this year, continued. There were dramas throughout the field, with perhaps the most spectacular being Sordo’s Hyundai which caught fire and was destroyed. Still no word on what happened. Breen’s miserable time in M-Sport picked up where it left off, as he slipped off the road on Friday, hitting an Armco barrier. If he is still with the team next season it will be a surprise.
To read all about the event, click this DirtFish link here.
To find out what we learned, click this link to the DirtFish article.
If you want to find out what Colin Clark had to say about the drivers, click this DirtFish link.
Toyota revealed their Rally2 car, as expected, click the DirtFish link here to see it.
NEW NEW CAR NEWS
Volvo EX90
Volvo has finally revealed their flagship EV, the EX90, a large SUV cost around £100,000. It is packed with tech and safety features, as you would expect. There are also moments of unexpected delight, for example the way the headlights work, as can bee seen by clicking here for Daniel Golson’s tweet.
The car will host a 111kWh battery, with an efficiency of 2.9 miles per kWh, giving a range between 364 and 360 for the Twin Motor and Performance models. Though, the charging speed can be up to 250kW, meaning 10-80 percent charge in about 30 minutes.
There is much made about the safety and driver assistance technology. Lidar is fitted as standard and is the bump at the top of the outside of the windscreen. This sensor is to help provide data to the safety and assistance systems.
To read more about the car and what Volvo have packed into it, click this Autocar link here.
Plenty are complimentary about the design of this, including The Lonely Car Designer, who took to Instagram to show their love of what was revealed. Click here to chuckle along.
But, ti does bring into sharp relief that we are being presented with yet another luxury and expensive EV, rather than anything towards the affordable end of the market. Click here to read a CAR Magazine article asking where have all the cheaper cars gone?
OLD DEAD CAR NEWS
KIA Stiner is axed
To much wailing and gnashing of teeth, ok, so maybe just from Andrew, KIA announced that the Stinger is being withdrawn to allow space for the EV6 GT. We will see more and more of this as we approach the deadlines for EV only vehicles, but still this one does, erm, sting. Click here to learn more.
LUNCHTIME READ: I TOOK MY RIDICULOUS CAR TO THE NÜRBURGRING AND YOU CAN TOO
Antony Ingram, shares with us via Hagerty, his talks of taking his Smart to the ‘Ring alongside his chum’s Suzuki Wagon R. Cars you may not feel are appropriate for such a place, but he tells us all why that is a wrong assumption. Click here to read this wonderful tale and maybe become a smidgen inspired.
LIST OF THE WEEK: 12 SUPERCHARGED CARS THAT MADE FORCED INDUCTION A FEATURE
Again, Hagerty is supplying the link we are recommending you click, this time for 12 supercharged cars. Click here to see them all in their wondrousness. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to tell the chaps which you’d have out of all these.
AND FINALLY: MERCEDES-AMG ONE RECORD LAP NORDSCHLEIFE
The Lunchtime Read is all about travelling around the ‘Ring slowly, but this is about going VERY fast. Click here to watch the record lap from the Mercedes-AMG ONE, it is something to behold. Also, doesn’t take very long.
