Land Rovers are the used cars that dealers make the most money on, according to new data released today.

The British brand’s SUVs accounted for four out of the top five used cars with the biggest profit margins in 2022, according to Dealer Auction’s ‘Retail Margin Monitor’ report, which shows how much money on average car dealers made on the vehicles they sell.

The results are calculated by monitoring what the cars sold for on its dealer-to-dealer portal, and then what they’re retailed for on partner’s Auto Trader’s website.

Land Rovers have dominated the monthly list throughout the year, with the Land Rover Discovery 4 being the vehicle with the biggest profit margin, at £4,340. This Discovery was also the most profitable car in 2021, when the average margin on it was £3,060.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport came second with a £3,770 profit, followed by the Range Rover Sport (£3,710) and Range Rover Evoque (£3,560). The Audi Q5 was the only non-Land Rover to appear in the top five, with an average profit margin of £2,980.

In fact, out of the 10 most profitable used cars in 2022, only one wasn’t an SUV – the Audi A5, which rounded off the list, with a margin of £2,640.

Dealer Auction’s Kieran TeeBoon said: ‘We saw steadfast consistency in the top-selling models month-to-month in 2022, even outside of Land Rover. The Volvo XC60 [ranked eighth in the year], for example, appeared in all but one top 10 listing last year.

“In other areas of the table, we’re seeing premium brands continually trending high, but their most profitable models are changing. The BMW X5 that appeared in third place in 2021 did not rank at all in 2022. However, we saw the appearance of the BMW X3 in ninth spot, indicating the importance of using available data to stay on top of trends.”

Biggest used car profit margins 2022 (models)

Source: Dealer Auction

1. Land Rover Discovery 4 – £4,340
2. Land Rover Discovery Sport – £3,770
3. Range Rover Sport – £3,710
4. Range Rover Evoque – £3,560
5. Audi Q5 – £2,980
6. Kia Sorento – £2,770
7. Audi Q3 – £2,760
8. Volvo XC60 – £2,720
9. BMW X3 – £2,660
10. Audi A5 – £2,640

Mini has announced a new offer that gives customers of its Electric hatchback a free home charger.

Many manufacturers used to offer a free or subsided charger, but with the government vastly cutting the grants available for electric car owners, it’s something rarely offered these days.

However, Mini says it’s looking to promote ‘easier, more efficient charging at home’ with the offer of a complimentary free Pod Point charger, which also includes installation. The charger is three times faster than using a standard three-pin plug and allows the battery to be charged from flat to 80 per cent in three hours.

With the Pod Point app, owners are able to check their charging activity, track costs and schedule charging for off-peak times when electricity is generally cheaper.

The offer is available to all Mini Electrics ordered between January 1 and March 31. For customers that already have a home charger, or don’t have off-street parking, for example, Mini is offering a £750 towards a finance deposit.

Already included is a 12-month subscription to Mini Charging, which allows easier access to 11,000 charging points in the UK and 173,000 across Europe, including networks like Ionity, Instavolt and BP Pulse.

Introduced in 2020, the Mini Electric remains the British brand’s only EV, and is based on the firm’s best-selling three-door Hatch. Offering comparable performance to the petrol Cooper S version, it’s able to travel up to 145 miles on a single charge.

In the middle of January 2022, then-prime minister Boris Johnson trumpeted the thousands of skilled jobs the Britishvolt gigafactory was expected to create.

Almost exactly a year on, the site on the outskirts of Blyth, Northumberland, is deserted, save for two security guards who confirmed no workers were there.

Announcing the Government was backing the ambitious project with cash from the Automotive Transformation Fund 12 months ago, Mr Johnson said Britishvolt would employ 3,000 people directly – with another 5,000 in the pipeline.

It was thought the Government put in around £100 million towards the £3.8 billion project and, last January, Mr Johnson talked of the plant being part of the UK’s “global green industrial revolution”.

Britishvolt expected to make 300,000 battery units a year, fulfilling the demand for around one in four vehicles sold on the British market.

The plan was to develop the 95-hectare site, where a coal-burning power station once stood, and use Norwegian hydro-electric power transmitted 447 miles under the North Sea via the world’s longest inter-connector.

When it was first announced in late 2020, it was hoped the investment would be comparable in the North East to that of Nissan in Sunderland in the 1980s.

But the firm could not secure funding to take the project on and has gone into administration with the loss of 300 jobs.

Opposing political figures in the North East hope it could still happen.

Labour’s North of Tyne elected mayor, Jamie Driscoll, said: “This is still the best site in the country for a gigafactory and I’m sure we’ll see interest in it.”

And Ian Levy, Tory MP for red wall seat Blyth Valley, said he will ask the Government to continue its automotive fund commitment with a future developer.

He said: “The UK automotive industry’s need for a battery gigafactory remains and the site on the Blyth Estuary is still the best in the country with a large area, excellent power connectivity, a deep-water port, strong workforce supply and easy access to the national road network.”

Amazon says the next season of Clarkson’s Farm is still in production, despite the broadcaster’s comments about the Duchess of Sussex that were deemed misogynistic by critics.

While Amazon has been reportedly looking to part company with Jeremy Clarkson following his comments regarding the Duchess of Sussex in The Sun in December, a spokesperson has confirmed to the PA news agency that the third series of Clarkson’s Farm is “currently in production to launch at a later date”.

The spokesperson wouldn’t comment or add anything more to reports of ties between Amazon and Clarkson being cut, but the second series of Clarkson’s Farm will still be released on Amazon Prime Video on February 10.

Amazon’s statement followed a lengthy apology by Clarkson, published on Instagram yesterday, where he said: “I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles in my head. This is me putting my hands up.”

In the post, Clarkson, who also presents ITV’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire, said that ITV and Amazon “were incandescent”. He also said that “on Christmas morning, I emailed Harry and Meghan to apologise to them too”.

However, a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said yesterday: “On December 25 2022, Mr Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. The contents of his correspondence were marked private and confidential.

“While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his long-standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny.

“Unless each of his other pieces were also written ‘in a hurry’, as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.”

Clarkson, 62, presented Top Gear between 1988 and 1998, then more prominently between 2002 and 2015, but was dropped by the BBC after an altercation with a member of production staff.

Along with fellow Top Gear presenters Richard Hammond and James May, he then moved to Amazon Prime Video to make The Grand Tour. He subsequently created Clarkson’s Farm, which documents his efforts to run an Oxfordshire farm that he bought in 2008.

A Ford Mustang Mach-E has been converted into a hearse, becoming one of the first electric vehicles of its type.

Created by specialist funeral vehicle supplier Coleman Milne, based in Bolton, it’s thought to be the first hearse based on Ford’s Mustang Mach-E SUV, and continues the brand’s long-running history of using Ford vehicles, predominantly the recently discontinued Mondeo.

Called the Etive after the Scottish river, it’s being tested at the Millbrook proving ground, where 40,000 miles of road usage trials are being carried out before it’s set to be type-approved by the end of March.

Its extended shape allows for up to seven passengers including three bearers, with the vehicle having a flat, full-length deck for a coffin and ‘ample space for personal tributes’ plus a glass roof. An electric tailgate is also available as an option.

Based on the ‘Standard Range’ Mach-E, it features the same 75kWh battery, with the firm saying it’s ‘capable of delivering an estimated range of up to 200 miles’, which is unsurprisingly less than the 273-mile range of the regular Mustang Mach-E.

Graham Clow, national sales director at Coleman Milne, said: “We have long championed the electric hearse at Coleman Milne and we’re proud to welcome the Etive hearse and limousine as the latest additions to our range.

“The excellent, long-standing relationship that we have with Ford enabled us to model the range on its Mach-E platform. The Mach-E is the perfect base for a comfortable, quiet and respectful hearse and limousine, while also providing funeral directors with all the benefits and innovations found in today’s electric vehicles.”

The Mustang Mach-E hearse will be offered in left- and right-hand-drive configurations for the UK and other European markets, with the first test vehicles set to be available from the middle of 2023.

Motorists could be stuck in congestion nearly twice as bad as current levels if self-driving cars become commonplace, a Government report warns.

Department for Transport (DfT) traffic projections for England and Wales show delays may rise by up to 85% from 2025 to 2060 in that scenario.

The analysis is based on connected and autonomous vehicles making up half of the car fleet by 2047, and a “fast uptake” of electric vehicles.

This would lead to more traffic by “increasing the mobility of the elderly and those who do not currently hold a driving licence”, according to the report.

But the document, published last month, claims “the ability to work or relax while travelling in a self-driving car” means occupants will be “more amenable to sitting in traffic”.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding told the PA news agency: “There are currently 5.9 million licence holders aged 70 or over in Britain, so we know the demand for mobility is there among those of a senior age.

“In the foreseeable future, automated vehicles offer the tantalising prospect of independence for the many millions more people who fall into the older age group but for whatever reason – cost, medical impairment – don’t currently drive.”

Mr Gooding predicted that the way in which autonomous technology is deployed will be significant.

He said: “If everyone insists on having their own driverless car then traffic volume and parking pressures will rise.

“However, if we are prepared to access these vehicles on-demand and forego personal ownership then we could have a win-win situation: quieter roads, fewer cars shared by the many, and cheaper transport.”

Recent analysis by traffic information supplier Inrix found that UK drivers lost an average of 80 hours last year due to congestion, a seven-hour increase from 2021.

London was found to be the world’s most congested city in 2022, with drivers in the capital spending an average of 156 hours sitting in traffic.

Writer and broadcaster Christian Wolmar, the author of Driverless Cars: On a Road To Nowhere, insisted that the Government should “not be trying to accommodate” the levels of traffic which it is feared self-driving cars will generate.

He said: “We should be doing everything in our power to ensure that doesn’t happen.

“The idea that you have a technological fix to congestion is nonsensical.”

Mr Wolmar described the suggestion there will be a “critical mass” of self-driving cars by 2047 as “fanciful”.

He added: “I think there is zero chance of there being driverless cars that operate in mixed areas with other traffic in any large amount or in any difficult situation.

“There has been very little real progress in terms of creating cars that could go anywhere in any conditions.

“It doesn’t look feasible.”

Fully driverless cars are not legally permitted in the UK but autonomous features are being developed by car makers.

Oxford-based technology company Oxbotica completed its first fully autonomous, driverless vehicle test on public roads in May 2022.

In August last year the DfT said it expected self-driving vehicles to be available for use by 2025.

The research was not welcomed by self-driving firm Wayve which was critical of the modelling used.

Kaity Fischer, its vice president of commercial, said: “Self-driving vehicles will be an integral part of a safer, more efficient and more sustainable transport system.

“The Government’s modelling was based on the private ownership of self-driving cars, but here at Wayve we are optimising our technology on electric vehicles for fleet customers in sectors like last-mile delivery and shared mobility services.

“Self-driving vehicles, when used in electric fleets, will ultimately lead to faster journey times and reduce the number of vehicles on the road, cutting congestion and emissions.”

Motorists who bought a Tesla in recent weeks expressed their anger after the car maker slashed prices by thousands of pounds on Friday.

The starting price for a Model Y has been cut by £7,000 to £44,990 while the price for an entry level Model 3 has been reduced by £8,100 to £42,990.

They were the top two best-selling cars in the UK last month, with a total of 16,368 registered at the previous, higher prices.

Consumer website Electrifying.com calculated that drivers who bought a Tesla last month could have saved a total of £130 million if they had waited for the discounts, which are being implemented around the world.

Tesla, led by billionaire Elon Musk, slashed its prices after its deliveries for the last three months of 2022 were below market expectations.

Several members of a Facebook group for UK Tesla owners expressed their frustration at the policy.

One wrote: “I just picked up the car yesterday. What should I do? Go to Tesla and give back the car? I can’t believe after a few hours from picking up the car I lost £5k.”

The reductions were described as “shocking” by one person, who wrote that they “paid £5,000 more last week”.

Another described a period in late November and early December as the “worst three weeks to get a new Tesla in history” due to the subsequent price cut combined with other issues.

He added: “(It) would be nice if they made a gesture to us.”

Electrifying.com chief executive Ginny Buckley said: “Carmakers will usually carefully manage prices and incentives to avoid crashing used values and upsetting customers.

“This controversial move from Tesla is bound to send shockwaves through the industry, with the premium brand now sending signals that it’s becoming much more mainstream.”

James Baggott, editor in chief of Car Dealer Magazine, said: “While these price cuts are great news for new Tesla buyers, there will be 16,000 owners who took delivery in December who will be furious they paid the higher price.

“This will also have a big impact on used Tesla prices. Our research has found Tesla prices fell by more than a fifth last year and these new price cuts will have a severe negative impact on the used car market.

“Tesla buyers who have not yet taken delivery of their cars and ordered via the old price will be able to cancel their orders under distance selling regulations and order at the new price – but for those who have already take delivery there’s little they can do.”

Tesla said in a statement: “Our focus on continuous product improvement through original engineering and manufacturing processes have further optimised our ability to make the best product for an industry-leading cost.

“As we exit what has been a turbulent year of supply chain disruptions, we have observed a normalisation of some of the cost inflation, giving us the confidence to pass these through to our customers.

“As local vehicle production continues to increase and we gain further economies of scale globally, we are making Model 3 and Model Y even more accessible across EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa).”

Price cuts in China introduced last week led to protests by owners demanding compensation.

Tesla has made major price cuts to its Model 3 and Model Y electric cars as the firm looks to make its EVs ‘more accessible’.

Overnight, it dropped the prices of all its Model 3 and Model Ys, with some being lowered by as much as £8,000.

Previously, the Model Y – the third most popular new car in the UK in 2022 – started from £51,990, but this has now been reduced to £44,990. The range-topping Performance model, however, has seen its price drop by £8,000 from £67,990 to £59,990.

The Model 3 has seen similar cuts in price, with this electric saloon’s starting price being dropped from £51,090 to £42,990 – representing a 16 per cent fall.

In a statement, Tesla said it was able to make the cuts because of ‘normalisation in production costs’.

The statement said: “Despite significant challenges last year ranging from the semiconductor shortage, energy crisis, logistics constraints and further Covid-related disruptions, we continued to lay the foundations for our future growth by regionalising production and supply chains. We also began the transition to a more evenly spread distribution strategy to diminish logistical and delivery peaks.

“Our focus on continuous product improvement through original engineering and manufacturing processes have further optimised our ability to make the best product for an industry-leading cost. As we exit what has been a turbulent year of supply chain disruptions, we have observed a normalisation of some of the cost of inflation, giving us the confidence to pass this through to our customers.

“As local vehicle production continues to increase and we gain further economies of scale globally, we are making Model 3 and Model Y even more accessible across Europe.”

People who have already placed their Tesla order at the old price will be forced to stick with that unless the American firm offers refunds or a price match.

It follows news earlier this week that used Tesla prices are dropping drastically, with three of the five overall most heavily depreciating electric cars being models from the firm, according to car valuations expert Cap HPI. The Tesla Model 3 was the worst, with like-for-like models dropping by 23 per cent in price in a 12-month period.

A Conservative MP has encouraged the Government to consider withholding funding from Transport for London (TfL) unless plans to expand the city’s ultra-low emission zone are dropped.

Gareth Bacon, MP for Orpington, hit out at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, calling the plan “appalling” and a “cash grab” during a question in the House of Commons.

He asked if ministers could be encouraged to withhold funds from TfL until the Labour mayor “decides to withdraw this insane plan”.

Speaking during a session of questions related to the business of the House, Mr Bacon said: “It’s something that would do nothing to improve air quality and will be economically disastrous for poorer people, both in outer London constituencies like my own of Orpington, but also in terms of people living outside Greater London.

“It’s simply a cash grab. The mayor has no mandate to do it and it’s overwhelmingly opposed by people in outer London.

“So could my right honourable friend encourage colleagues across Government to consider withholding funds from Transport for London until he decides to withdraw this insane plan?”

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt replied: “Whatever the merits or otherwise of setting up such a scheme, to do it at a time when businesses are recovering from a pandemic, and it’s not obviously just businesses in London, it’s also in surrounding areas, tradesmen and others that would be coming in for materials or to do jobs.

“I know it… has had a hugely detrimental impact on many firms and I will certainly… raise this with the Secretary of State.”

Mr Khan announced plans last year to extend London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to cover the whole of the capital from August 29 2023 in an effort to boost air quality.

TfL estimates that on an average day about 160,000 cars and 42,000 vans that use London’s roads would be liable for the £12.50 Ulez fee.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Toxic air is a matter of life and death. Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely each year due to the toxic air in our city and the mayor makes no apology for making the tough decision to expand the ultra-low emission zone, which will bring cleaner air to five million more Londoners.

“85% of vehicles in outer London are already Ulez compliant and, for those that aren’t, the mayor has announced the biggest scrappage scheme yet – £110 million – to help the Londoners who need it most amid the cost-of-living crisis, including low-income and disabled Londoners.

“The aim of the Ulez is, and has always been, to reduce emissions from road transport in order to reduce the health impacts of air pollution and the related cost to the NHS and businesses.

“All of the net revenue is spent on improving public transport and active travel options in London. The Ulez is proven to be effective – reducing toxic air pollution by nearly half in central London.”

UK councils issued an average of nearly 20,000 parking fines each day last year, according to new analysis.

Figures obtained by Churchill Motor Insurance suggest fines were handed out by local authorities at a daily rate of 19,631 in 2022.

That is a 12% rise from the previous year.

This increased revenues for councils to an estimated £777,287 per day last year, up £35,113 from 2021.

The analysis is based on data provided by the 230 UK councils that responded to Freedom of Information requests.

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), also known as parking fines, are issued when motorists break parking regulations, such as by parking on double yellow lines or on a single yellow line at a prohibited time.

Fines can be up to £130 in London or up to £70 outside the capital.

The penalty is usually halved if a driver pays within 14 days.

Islington Council in north London issued more fines than any other local authority, with a daily average of 1,012.

Birmingham City Council (373), Southampton City Council (313) and Cardiff Council (279) issued the most parking fines outside London.

Nicholas Mantel, head of Churchill Motor Insurance, said: “Motorists across Britain are regularly being caught out by increased and sometimes complicated parking restrictions.

“We would encourage drivers to always check parking signs carefully to ensure they avoid any expensive fines.

“If motorists do receive a parking fine, they have 28 days to pay it or appeal to an independent tribunal.”

Recent analysis by the PA news agency found that the number of parking tickets issued by private companies in Britain reached an average of nearly 30,000 per day between April and June last year, up 50% from the same period in 2021.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Whichever way they turn and wherever they decide to stop, on-street and off-street, drivers are faced with the threat of parking sanctions.

“Between the 20,000 tickets issued by councils daily and the 30,000 dished out by private parking companies, motorists are seemingly facing a positive flurry of fines and charges – around one every two seconds.

“Parking rules are there for a reason and should be respected but at a time when household budgets are under such pressure these numbers beg the obvious question of whether millions of drivers are really risking a big bill for poor parking, or whether over-enthusiastic parking enforcement is putting other objectives, like revitalising our post-pandemic high streets, at risk.”

A spokesperson for the Local Government Association, who represent councils in England and Wales, said: “Income raised through on-street parking charges and parking fines is spent on running parking services. Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, including fixing the £11 billion road repairs backlog, reducing congestion, tackling poor air quality and supporting local bus services.”