Dolphin Surf will start at £18,650 – among the cheapest new vehicles on sale in Britain
The Chinese manufacturer BYD has launched its cheapest model in the UK, in the latest stage of its efforts to overtake Tesla as the world’s biggest electric carmaker.
The Dolphin Surf will start at £18,650, a price that puts it among the cheapest new vehicles on sale in Britain.
Continue reading...Motoring organisations warn of heavy traffic, and delays and cancellations will hit two rail routes out of London
The bank holiday getaway is likely to be a tricky one, with transport analysts predicting congested roads and the year’s busiest day so far for departing airports, while long-distance rail passengers dodge the start of more engineering work.
Motoring organisations forecast traffic to be at its worst on Friday, with many drivers surveyed apparently taking an extra day off before the long weekend and half-term break for most schools in England and Wales.
Continue reading...Global oil prices tumble after reports that Opec+ is ready to raise output despite weaker demand for fossil fuels
Global oil prices have tumbled by more than $1 a barrel in a sign that pressure on households at the petrol pumps could ease further.
The price of Brent crude fell to $63.86 a barrel on Thursday following reports that the Opec oil cartel and its allies may increase their production for July, despite weaker global demand for fossil fuels.
Continue reading...Analysis suggests there could be 500,000 additional plug-in hybrid electric cars on Britain’s roads by 2030
The UK government’s weakening of rules on electric car sales is likely to result in significantly more carbon emissions as sales of plug-in hybrids rise, according to analysis.
Relaxed rules could result in as many as 500,000 additional plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) on UK roads by 2030, according to modelling by T&E, a campaign group on transport and the environment. PHEVs combine a small battery with a polluting petrol engine and tend to be much more profitable than pure battery electric cars.
Continue reading...Questions arise over election proposal to axe penalties for high-emitting cars after revelations Toyota RAV4 model used in analysis has been discontinued
The Coalition’s claim cars will be more expensive as a result of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has come under scrutiny because at least one of the opposition’s headline figures is based on a car no longer on sale.
The revelation casts doubt on a key Coalition election proposal to eliminate penalties for cars that emit CO2 beyond regulated limits, to ensure “Australians save thousands when buying a new car”.
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Continue reading...Enthusiasts gathering on Good Friday – renamed Carfreitag – face curbs on unauthorised tuning, illegal races and pollution
Police in Germany have announced a crackdown on illegal racing and the unauthorised modification of cars as members of the so-called tuning scene meet across the country for the start of their annual season.
The Good Friday holiday marking Christ’s death on the cross, called Karfreitag in German – from the Old High German word kara, meaning sorrow – is otherwise known by the extreme car enthusiasts as Carfreitag (car Friday) for its unofficial gathering of the “tuners” and “car posers”.
Continue reading...AA says ‘cash-guzzling’ councils are adding clean-air levies to parking tariffs and resident parking permits
Drivers are being caught out by hefty price rises to park their cars, as councils across England impose parking surcharges on petrol and diesel vehicles.
An estimated one in five councils now add clean-air levies to parking tariffs and resident parking permits to deter polluting vehicles.
Continue reading...Transport secretary says overhaul in response to Trump tariffs supports car firms and climate goals
Labour’s changes to electric vehicle (EV) rules in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a negligible impact on emissions, the transport secretary has said.
Keir Starmer has confirmed plans to boost manufacturers, including reinstating the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
Continue reading...Carmaker reportedly has yet to announce plan for repairs after telling motorists not to charge their cars
Thousands of drivers have reportedly been left in limbo after warnings that their car could catch fire due to a battery defect.
Ford issued an urgent recall of its Kuga plug-in hybrid car in early March, warning drivers not to charge the battery because of a risk it might short-circuit while on the road. The problem could cause a loss of power or a fire, according to the recall notice. Four weeks later, the manufacturer has yet to announce a timescale for repairs and owners report that it is failing to respond to their requests for an update.
Continue reading...Elliott Ingram was stunned at how a thief made off with his Ioniq 5 deploying a device to mimic the smart key – and says he should have been warned
The motor manufacturer Hyundai faces legal action over allegations it failed to warn its customers that one of its most popular models of electric cars could be stolen “effortlessly in seconds”. Elliott Ingram, an expert in digital security, was stunned when a CCTV camera installed at his home recorded a hooded thief stealing his Hyundai Ioniq 5 car in less than 20 seconds.
The thief is believed to have used a device, available online, to mimic the car’s electronic key. It is the latest in a spate of thefts involving the vehicle, and many owners now resort to a steering lock. Ingram’s car was later recovered by police, but he is terminating the lease and seeking compensation from the motor company. He says the South Korean car giant should have alerted customers to the security vulnerabilities.
Continue reading...Opposition says Labor’s national vehicle emission standard is ‘poorly designed’, despite data showing uptick in green vehicle sales
Australia’s love-hate relationship with fuel-guzzling utes and SUVs is now a looming election issue, after the Coalition indicated it may rethink Labor’s vehicle emission standard.
On Tuesday the shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie, called Labor’s vehicle emission standard “poorly designed” and said the Coalition will have “more to say” about it when the opposition releases its own transport policy before the election.
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Continue reading...Talks to take place with operators about the scheme, announced in 2020, which has failed to make any grants
Ministers are considering diverting money from a £950m scheme to install rapid chargers for electric cars on the UK’s motorways, announced five years ago, after it failed to make a single grant.
Much of the cash allocated to the rapid charging fund (RCF) could be redirected to investments in other charging schemes, or to support the transition to electric vehicles more broadly, although decisions have yet to be made, according to a person close to discussions in government.
Continue reading...Letter from Elon Musk’s firm to US trade representative warns of ‘downstream impacts’ of tit-for-tat tariffs
Elon Musk’s Tesla has warned that Donald Trump’s trade war could expose the electric carmaker to retaliatory tariffs that would also affect other automotive manufacturers in the US.
In an unsigned letter to Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, Tesla said it “supports fair trade” but that the US administration should ensure it did not “inadvertently harm US companies”.
Continue reading...Committee warns of serious injustice to disabled motorists and those reliant on public chargers
The rollout of electric vehicle chargers across Britain is “patchy”, behind deadline and ignores the needs of disabled drivers, the parliamentary spending watchdog has found.
A report published by the public accounts committee (PAC) warned that the charging points needed to give drivers confidence for the switch to EVs were still lacking, particularly on Britain’s biggest roads.
Continue reading...Northvolt, which claims to run Europe’s first homegrown gigafactory, admits it depends on Chinese suppliers for cathode active material
The Swedish startup Northvolt has admitted that a vital component of its batteries is imported amid claims that the company, which claims to run Europe’s first homegrown gigafactory, depends on Chinese suppliers.
It comes as a documentary programme to be shown in Sweden on Wednesday by the national broadcaster SVT, exposes the company’s failure to build a truly homegrown battery after its attempts to produce its own cathode active material at its Northvolt Ett factory in Skellefteå, northern Sweden, were unsuccessful.
Continue reading...Five-year-old platform intended to make drivers’ lives easier will only be supported until the end of March
It was hailed as “the future of UK parking”, intended to remove one of the bugbears of modern life: the need to sign up to a plethora of different apps in order to park your car.
But a big question mark now hangs over the future of the National Parking Platform (NPP), a government-funded scheme designed to make drivers’ lives easier by letting them use one app of their choice to pay for all their parking.
Continue reading...Under-30s risk a huge hike in huge car insurance premiums later in life if handed the IN10 endorsement
Young people using private electric scooters on roads and pavements risk facing huge insurance premiums when they want to drive a car, says the comparison website MoneySuperMarket.
It emerged this week that almost 800 children aged 13 to 16 had been issued an IN10 endorsement – the code used by the police for “using a vehicle uninsured against third-party risks” since the start of 2020. It stays on a person’s driving record for four years from the date of the offence.
Continue reading...Demonstrations across the US against tycoon’s ties to Trump highlight potential risks to firm’s reputation and sales
Protesters gathered outside Tesla dealerships across the US on Saturday in response to Elon Musk’s efforts to shred government spending under the president, Donald Trump.
Groups of demonstrators up to 100-strong gathered outside the electric carmaker’s showrooms in cities including New York, Seattle, Kansas City and across California. Organisers said the protests took place in dozens of locations.
Continue reading...Researcher at Swansea University says tiny plant spores mixed into bitumen can extend surface lifespan by 30%
For all motorists, but perhaps the Ferrari-collecting rocker Rod Stewart in particular, it will be music to the ears: researchers have developed a road surface that heals when it cracks, preventing potholes without a need for human intervention.
The international team devised a self-healing bitumen that mends cracks as they form by fusing the asphalt back together. In laboratory tests, pieces of the material repaired small fractures within an hour of them first appearing.
Continue reading...The digital option will be made available through a government app, but will not be mandatory
The UK is to introduce digital driving licences this year as the government looks to use technology to “transform public services”.
The digital version of driving licences will be available in a virtual wallet in a government app, instead of being added to existing Google or Apple wallets. It could be accepted as a form of ID when voting, purchasing alcohol or boarding domestic flights.
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