Industry News

Electric vehicles are slowly becoming an established part of the world’s transport ecosystem, but while Norway is known as the green car capital, it might surprise some people to learn that France is leading the way in electric vehicle infrastructure. According to the new Electric Car Index from OSV Ltd, the UK’s leading independent vehicle professionals, the French installed more than a third more electric vehicle charging points (11,987) in the last year than anywhere else in the world – only Germany (ranked fifth overall with 1.1% market share and a single buyer incentive) came close, with 7,937 – putting them at the top of OSV’s electric vehicle index.

Do you know about the new changes to car tax? If you do, you’re part of a minority as it’s been reported that a majority of British drivers are unaware of these new changes. Confused.com have found that 61% of motorists are unaware of the new changes to the VED bands that came into effect on April 1st of this year (2017). They also found that just 11% of the 2,000 drivers surveyed fully understood the new rules which means that 9 out of 10 of drivers aren’t completely aware how the changes will affect them next time they register a new or used car. According to the study carried out by confused.com, those surveyed felt that not enough had been done to publicise the changes which has left many unaware of the changes.

Since 2013 it has been reported that more than 50,000 people with disabilities have had their specially adapted vehicles taken away. This is part of a new government clamp-down on these vehicles after changes to disability benefits. The scheme, known as the Motability scheme, entitles disabled people to lease adapted cars, scooters or powered wheelchairs using part of their benefit. However, Motability have said that since the changes to disability benefits have come into effect, more than 50,000 people have had those vehicles taken away from them. This, according to AutoExpress, is 900 people a week.

What is Brexit? What is the Electoral College? How to play Pokemon Go? How to move to Canada? How many remote control cars does it take to pull a full-sized Hilux? All burning questions, all desperate for answers. These were the the most commonly asked questions entered into Google of 2016. Okay, the last one wasn’t but it’s the one Toyota decided to answer in a new series of short films in which the off-roader is pitted against the “Hog Heaven” hero, Tamiya Hilux Bruiser 4X4...a remote controlled car. The Tamiya Hilux Bruiser 4X4 is a remote controlled car that was released in 1985. It has a 3 speed transmission and solid axle leaf spring suspension. It has a metal ladder frame chassis and a sleeper cab made of injection-molded ABS plastic. It even has clutch mechanisms and you can buy LEDs to make realistic lights.

The original Mini has been named the best British-built car of all time according to Britain’s most influential car bosses and Auto Express. The original Mini beat the likes of the E-Type Jaguar and the Land Rover Defender to the top spot after a rigorous voting process to find the best-British built car. Beating 75 models that rolled off production lines in the UK, the judges were asked to pick their top 10. This was to be based on sales, groundbreaking design or unbeatable performance. Judges included Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer and Ian Robertson, BMW’s sales and brand board member.

If you’ve been keeping up to date with the news recently you’ll see that in amongst Donald Trump and North Korea, the Snap Election and Brexit, there has been quite a bit of news surrounding diesel cars. While there is no official announcement just yet, it is thought that next week the government will announce confirming that owners of older diesel cars and vans will receive money from the government to reduce the number of old diesel cars on the roads in the UK. It should be noted here that this is a developing story, and is changing day by day. Therefore, all information is correct as of 24th April 2017.

It’s something you thought you’d only see in utopian sci-fi movies but later this month the first ever production-ready flying car is due to be shown at the most exclusive supercar show in the world, the Top Marques Monaco. The vehicle was first revealed as a concept back in 2014 and has been built by AeroMobil, a Slovak pioneering company. The vehicle is fully functional as both an aeroplane and a four-wheel car and is powered by hybrid propulsion with the wings sweeping back against the body when it is in driving mode. The vehicle is alleged ‘production ready’ with motor authority reporting that it has a Rotax 912 four-cylinder air-cooled engine with 100 horsepower and a top speed of 124mph in the air. On the road it can supposedly reach 99mph with a mpg of 35.3. Apart from that, technical details are slightly thin on the ground. However, we expect more details to be revealed closer to the show.

Celebrating their 15th year of collaboration, Jeep and Mopar are launching a new range of concept vehicles ahead of the Moab Easter Jeep Safari in Utah. The vehicles in the new line up include a Jeep Grand One and a Jeep Safari. The Grand One was commissioned to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Grand Cherokee and boasts 18-inch, lace-style wheels and an extended wheel-base. It also features a 5.2 litre V8 engine with a four-speed automatic transmission. There is also the Jeep Luminator, so named after its powerful lighting capabilities, and the Quicksand. The Quicksand, based on the Wrangler, has been designed for those “who love the sand life” according to Mopar. It has a chopped hardtop and windshield and also comes with 32-inch Mud-Terrain tyres at the front and 37-inch tyres in the rear.

Rock and Rolls-Royce? The luxury brand have teamed up with British icons to create one-off vehicles that celebrate “the illustrious career of a British pop and rock legend”. Each of the musicians included were personally involved with the design of their Wraith to create a piece of memorabilia unlike no other. So, who was involved? Don’t worry, we aren’t going to show you a picture of a Wraith designed by James Blunt, Rolls-Royce have chosen some of the greatest music legends to come out of our small Island.

Would you try and outrun the police if they were chasing you in a Lamborghini? We didn’t think so, and neither do the Italian police force who have just been given a brand new Lamborghini Huracan. The Huracan has a top speed of 190mph (300km) and can reach 100km in just 3.2 seconds. The keys were given to the Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti and will soon be on the roads in northern Italy.