Fewer Doom - 8 November 2022

Motoring Podcast - News Show

FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT TEMPORARY REPRIEVE

Before we had even published last week’s show the news about Britishvolt had changed from receivership to saved. More details are now available, as Glencore have given the company a five week lifeline. Britishvolt has again asked the UK Government for an early release of £30 million in funding. To learn more about what has happened, click this Move Electric link here.

Peter Campbell has produced a Twitter thread with more context and information, click here to read.

The Guardian has an article asking if the Government is doing enough for the car industry, click here to read that.

FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL IN TROUBLE

Arrival, the EV light goods vehicle company, appears to be in more trouble than some thought. There has been a fire in one of their vans, there are reports of low moral and a company wide email from the CEO expressing his anger at leaks to the Financial Times. On top of that, some really silly management decisions such as thinking of opening an office in Mauritius and trying to develop an electric jet plane. For more click another Peter Campbell Twitter thread here.

GHOSN’S RESCUE TEAM SENT BACK TO US

The father and son team who helped Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan have now been sent back to the US, where they will serve the remainder of their sentence. To read more, click this Bloomberg link here.

NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES OCTOBER 2022

The SMMT has released data on the New Car Registration figures for October 2022. They have risen 26.4% over 2021, but that was an appalling month. Battery electric vehicles were a big portion of the spike. Added to which the just announced canned Fiesta finally makes it back in the Top 10 Most Registered vehicles for the month, at No.1, pipping the Nissan CashCow by two! To read more about this, click here for the SMMT article link.

ASTON MARTIN DOWNGRADES OUTLOOK FOR 2022

CEO Amedeo Felisa has stated that supply issues and logistics are at the core of their problems that have led to them cutting back on forecasts for margins and deliveries in 2022. However, he went onto say that the steps being taken mean 2023 onwards will be much better. Share prices dropped on this news. Click here for the BusinessDay article to learn more.

BENTLEY DOUBLES PROFITS IN FIRST QUARTER

Bentley has announced that it increased profits in the first quarter, thanks to sales improving in the US, Europe and the UK. These more than offset the drop in China, Middle East and Africa. New model derivatives and personalisation are the reasons why, according to the company. Learn more by clicking this BusinessLive link here.

SAUDI ARABIA AND FOXCONN JOINT-VENTURE

The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund and Foxconn have agreed on a joint-venture that will result in the first Saudi car company, called Ceer, making EVs. This is all part of the Kingdom’s move from oil dependency. More can be found out about this by clicking the Autofutures article link here.

TESCO AND PODPOINT INTRODUCING CHARGES

Tesco and PodPoint have announced that they will begin charging user who charge car at their sites. The rate will be 28p/kWh, which could well be cheaper than some residential tariffs. With the increase in wholesale electricity prices, this is no surprise. Click here to read more on the Move Electric article.

DIESEL PRICES ROCKET AGAIN

In October diesel shot up, on average, 10p per litre to just over £1.90. However petrol has not increased much. The disparity is becoming much more pronounced. OPEC brought in their planned cut in oil production, which is in support of Russia. All this whilst we see record profits being announced again and again. To read more, if you can bear it, click this Autocar link.

LONDON AND SALFORD EXTEND ESCOOTER TRIALS

TfL has announced it is extending the escooter trial in the capital, until the end of May 2024. The new tendering process is being opened. Meanwhile Salford Council has stated that Lime will continue being the provider of the service in their area. To read about what’s happening in London, click this Autocar link here. For more on the story in Salford, click this Move Electric link.

WANDSWORTH COUNCIL CAN NOW ISSUE SPEEDING FINES

Once just the domain of the police, the monitoring and prosecution of drivers speeding, but no more. Wandsworth Council has started an eight month trial where they can fine speeders £130 for exceeding the limit, but not add points to their license. They have argued that police mainly stick to main routes for speed monitoring and ignore smaller roads, but speeding still occurs. Click this BBC News article to read more.

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NATHALIE MCGLOIN RECOGNISED AS FIRST RACING QUADRIPLEGIC WOMAN

The Guinness Book of Records has officially recognised Nathalie McGloin as the first ever racing quadriplegic woman. This is on top of the fact she is the FIA’s Disability and Accessibility Commission president, races, runs the Spinal Track charity and generally takes the phrase “you can’t do that” as an incitement to show whoever said it how wrong they are. We are delighted for Nathalie, she is an amazing woman and inspiration. Click here to read the Jalopnik article telling you more.

To learn more about the charity Spinal Track, click this link here.

OLD CAR NEWS

Audi axes the A5 Cabriolet

Audi has said that the A5 Cabriolet will be removed from sale, as it is at it’s end of life and there will be no replacement. Poor sales and an internal “consolidation” of the lineup finds no room for the soft top. Click here to read about this on Autocar.

LUNCHTIME READ: GROUP B WARRIORS REMEMBER RALLYING’S DARKEST HOUR

Often, when Group B is mentioned, it is all about the insane machinery, but there is a darker side to that period. This piece from Motorsport Magazine offers a different view on it, without the rose tinted glasses. A sobering but fascinating read, which you can access by clicking this link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: 43 MOST CONTROVERSIAL CARS EVER

This week we give a huge list of cars that caused controversy for a host of reasons, to run through. As ever, don’t forget to tell the chaps if you agree with their choices. Click here for the Motoring Research list.

AND FINALLY: PORSCHE SOUND BAR WITH EXTRA AUTHENTICITY

For a mere $12,000 you can get a sound bar from Porsche, that is extra special because they’ve slapped a rust exhaust box from a 992 GT3 on top. For, erm, reasons. The speaker chucks out 300w of noise, which is a lot, but for a fraction of the price you can get the original speaker without the clunky metal fixed to it. Click here to see more on The Register.