Month: January 2023

Unmarked mobile speed camera vans are now being used in the UK as police acknowledge a ‘worrying escalation’ in falling driving standards.

Northamptonshire Police has started rolling out what it calls ‘unmarked mobile enforcement vehicles’ across the county. The force says it is being done in a bid to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on its roads. There were 44 deaths there in 2022.

It says that since the first Covid-19 lockdown there has been a ‘worrying escalation’ in collisions caused by poor driving, and that its Safer Roads Team have taken the ‘unusual step’ of deploying unmarked speed camera vans.

The police force says its unmarked vans will be used at various locations across Northamptonshire, and that it will prioritise routes that have regular collisions or where there is ‘intelligence’ of poor driving.

Safer Roads operations manager Matt O’Connell said: “We know that people change their driving behaviour when they see a marked police vehicle and using unmarked vehicles is nothing new. However, this is the first time we’ve adopted this approach when it comes to mobile enforcement.

“It’s easy to criticise this approach as being motivated by ticket numbers or revenue. However, we see all too often the devastating consequences the loss of a loved one has on those left behind.

“We’re not going to apologise for how we police our roads if we take the most dangerous drivers off them, especially if it means that we stop just one person from being killed or having to come to terms with a life-changing injury.

“However, with the level of offending across the county, we need to do something different, and the use of unmarked mobile enforcement vehicles might make people think twice before taking unnecessary risks in Northamptonshire.”

BMW has put the brakes on the supply of its cars to police forces in the UK.

BMW’s International & Specialist Sales Division, situated in Park Lane, Mayfair, closed this week, having previously been in charge of the sale of specialist vehicles, such as those used by police forces in the UK.

BMW told Car Dealer Magazine that it would ‘prioritising sales to retail and corporate customers’ and move away from sales to the police and other authorities.

The halt in sales to the police comes in the wake of many UK forces restricting the use of BMW police cars which use the N57 diesel engine.

Some forces stopped them from being used for high-speed duties, instead operating them for ‘less stressful’ operations. The N57 diesel engine features in a number of BMW police vehicles, including the 330d, 530d and X5.

BMW said the problem with the N57 engine was down to the ‘particular way’ police use the vehicles and that there was ‘no need for action on any civilian vehicles’.

In a statement, BMW told Car Dealer: “With high demand for our cars continuing to outstrip supply, we will be prioritising sales to our retail and corporate customers in the future and moving away from some areas of our authorities and specialist business.

“BMW Park Lane has historically been responsible for specialist vehicle sales and so now is being restructured.

“It is proposed that some responsibilities will move into the BMW UK National Sales Company (NSC) in Farnborough. BMW Park Lane is now entering into a consultation period with a small number of impacted staff.”

The average price of petrol has fallen below 150p per litre for the first time in more than 10 months.

Figures from data company Experian show the average price of a litre of the fuel at UK forecourts on Monday was 149.7p.

The reduction of nearly 42p from the record high of 191.5p in July last year, is “a huge relief for drivers”, according to the AA.

The last time the average price of petrol was below 150p per litre was on February 24, last year, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Diesel’s average price on Monday was 172.2p per litre, down nearly 27p compared with the record 199.1p last July.

A 12-month cut in fuel duty of 5p per litre – worth a saving of 6p when VAT is taken into account – was introduced on March 23, 2022.

AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “A 41.8p a litre crash in the average pump price of petrol is a huge relief for drivers, cutting £22.99 from the cost of filling the typical car tank.

“Fuel at 150p a litre is still historically way above the April 2012 record of 142.48p, the previous yardstick of dire pump prices.

“Worse still, road fuel is set for a 6p jump in March when the fuel duty cut comes to an end.

“Indicative of the chaos of UK pump pricing and the rampant exploitation of drivers by many fuel retailers, the AA spotted supermarket and non-supermarket retailers yesterday charging less than 140p a litre in South Wales and Northern Ireland.

“How fuel stations in areas of big populations and high volume sales can charge well over 10p more for fuel than in largely rural parts of the UK is a question that the Competition and Markets Authority will have to address.

“The AA hopes that 2023 will be a year of transformation for fuel prices, where greater pump price transparency, mirroring Northern Ireland’s fuel price checker, will direct motorists to retailers charging fair prices and re-invigorate the level of competition seen before the Covid pandemic.”

London’s roads remain the most congested in the world as life is “returning to normal” as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic recedes, new figures show.

Drivers in the capital spent an average of 156 hours sitting in traffic in 2022, according to a report by traffic information supplier Inrix.

It is the second year in a row that London has topped the global congestion ranking, which covers more than 1,000 cities across 50 countries.

The length of time lost to jams in the city is 5% above pre-coronavirus levels.

London was ranked the world’s eighth most congested city in 2019.

Bob Pishue, transportation analyst and author of the report, said: “It is great to see civic and commercial life returning to normal, but unfortunately we’re seeing congestion inching closer to, if not exceeding, pre-pandemic levels.

“We must manage congestion while improving mobility and accessibility in cities to avoid it hurting economic recovery and impacting the quality of life of commuters and residents.”

Chicago in the US was found to be the world’s second most congested city last year, with drivers spending an average of 155 hours stuck in traffic.

That was followed by the French capital Paris (138 hours) and the US city of Boston (134 hours).

Bristol has the UK’s second worst road congestion (91 hours), followed by Manchester (84 hours), Birmingham (73 hours) and Belfast (72 hours).

The UK’s five most congested road corridors were all found in London.

The most severe was the A219 southbound from Fulham to Morden – a major route out of the capital – on which drivers lost an average of 47 hours last year.

This was partly due to delays caused by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motorised vehicles.

Electric vehicle drivers are being charged more to top up their batteries on long journeys than people behind the wheel of petrol cars pay for fuel, according to new analysis.

The RAC said the average price of using rapid chargers on a pay as you go basis has increased by nearly 26p per kilowatt hour (kWh) since May, reaching 70.3p per kWh this month.

This rise – caused by the soaring wholesale costs of gas and electricity – means drivers pay around 20p per mile for their electricity when using the chargers.

The per mile cost for a petrol car achieving an economy of 40 miles to the gallon is just 17p.

The equivalent cost for drivers of diesel cars is 20p per mile.

Most electric car owners predominantly use slower chargers at home, which cost less than half the price of public rapid devices.

But those taking longer trips beyond the range of their car’s battery depend on rapid and ultra rapid public chargers to complete their journeys.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “For drivers to switch to electric cars en masse, it’s vital that the numbers stack up.

“In time, the list price of new electric models will come down but charging quickly has also got to be as affordable as possible.

“It continues to be the case that those who can charge at home or at work and who don’t use the public charging network very often get fantastic value – even given the relatively high domestic energy prices right now.

“Sadly, the same can’t be said for people who either can’t charge at home or at work, or who regularly make longer journeys beyond the range of their cars.

“There’s no question they have to pay far more, and in some cases more than petrol or diesel drivers do to fill up on a mile-for-mile basis.”

Figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show battery electric new cars took a market share of 16.6% in 2022, surpassing diesel for the first time to become the second most popular powertrain after petrol.

Some 22.9% of all new cars registered were plug-in vehicles, which includes pure electrics and plug-in hybrids.

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK will be banned from 2030.

The price of used Teslas has dropped significantly in recent months, with experts blaming the brand’s over-saturation of the market.

Data from car valuation experts Cap HPI showed that of the five worst-depreciating electric cars, three of them are Teslas.

The worst performing was the brand’s popular Model 3 saloon, which lost 23 per cent of its value, or £9,900, in the last 12 months.

The larger Tesla Model S saloon had dropped by 22 per cent over the period to make it the second worst EV for depreciation, while the Model X SUV had decreased in value by 13 per cent in the last year to take fifth position.

Slotting between were the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace, with these electric SUVs losing 15 and 14 per cent respectively over the period. Cap HPI’s pricing relates to 12-month-old examples with 10,000 miles on the clock.

Speaking to Car Dealer Magazine, which revealed the data, Chris Plumb, Cap HPI valuations expert said: “It has been well documented of late that new car sales of electric vehicles are going from strength to strength, but this is not replicated in the used car market. Battery electric vehicles remained the most challenging area of the used car market throughout the last month of 2022, as values reduced for the fourth consecutive month.”

Experts are blaming the drop in used EV prices on the sharp increase in energy costs, while Teslas specifically have suffered from an oversaturated market because of the huge numbers of new models being registered.

Tom Barnard, editor of EV website Electrifying.com told Car Dealer: “We saw at the end of 2022 that the market for new Teslas was saturated, and the company had to heavily discount and pre-register to try to move stock. That will naturally push down the value of older examples.

“Many of the older Model 3s will have been bought on leases and are now being returned after three years, with a large proportion being sold on the open market where they will find a natural price level rather than through the managed Tesla-owned channels.”

Tesla’s Model Y was the UK’s third most popular new car overall in 2022, while in total the American EV firm registered 54,622 cars in the year, putting it ahead of established brands like Peugeot, Land Rover and Skoda.

Mercedes is recalling nearly 324,000 vehicles in the US because the engines can stall while they are being driven.

The recall covers a range of models from 2012 to 2020, including the ML550, ML350, AMG ML63, ML250, ML400, GLE450, GLE300, GLE350, GLE550, GLE400, AMG GLE43 and AMG GLE63.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents on Thursday that water can accumulate in the spare tyre wheel well and damage the fuel pump control unit.

That can make the engines stall.

Dealers will check for water intrusion, install a drain plug and replace the fuel pump if needed.

Owners will be notified by letter starting from February 21.

Mercedes said in documents it is aware of 773 US warranty claims, field reports and service reports due to the problem.

The company said it is not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the defect.

A reduction in fuel prices last month “should have been far bigger”, according to new analysis.

The RAC said the average price of petrol in the UK fell by 8.4p per litre in December to 151.1p, while the price of diesel dropped by 9.4p per litre to 174.0p.

This came after fuel prices decreased by around 6p per litre in November.

But the RAC claimed that wholesale prices mean a litre of petrol and diesel should have been around 11p and 14p cheaper at the end of 2022 respectively.

This was even allowing for a retailer profit margin of 10p per litre, which is 3p more than the long-term average.

The RAC noted that Costco’s filling stations – which can only be used by the retailer’s members – are charging an average of 137.3p per litre for petrol and 158.4p per litre for diesel.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “On the face of it, December looks like it was a good month for drivers, with 9p coming off at the pumps on top of November’s 6p, but there’s no question that the drop should have been far bigger given how far wholesale prices have come down.

“For weeks we’ve been calling on the big four supermarkets to cut their prices more substantially to give drivers a fairer deal when they fill up, so even though they have reduced their prices collectively by more than 10p a litre in December, they are still nowhere near where they should be given the scale of the drop in wholesale prices.”

Business Secretary Grant Shapps wrote to fuel retailers on December 22 urging them to “ensure savings are passed on to consumers”.

This came after it emerged drivers were being hit by record Christmas getaway fuel prices.

Mr Williams added: “We hope the Business Secretary’s intervention just before Christmas puts more pressure on larger retailers to do the right thing.”

Supermarket Morrisons launched a promotion on Thursday enabling customers to save 5p per litre on fuel at its forecourts if they spend £35 in store.

The Nissan Qashqai has taken the crown as the UK’s best-selling car of 2022.

The popular crossover amassed 42,704 sales during the year, becoming the first British-built UK best-seller since 1998 in the process.

Figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed the Sunderland-built Qashqai to have topped the charts for the 12-month period overall, with 3,506 examples delivered in December alone.

To commemorate the achievement, Nissan has created a special gold-wrapped Qashqai designed to honour ‘the 7,000 Nissan employees from around the UK that have contributed to its success’.

Andrew Humberstone, managing director of Nissan Motor GB, said: ‘‘This is a landmark moment for a landmark car and it’s great to see how the latest generation Qashqai has struck a chord with car buyers here in the UK.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to see this car’s increasing success over the last 16 years, and it’s a fitting tribute to the skills and talents of Nissan’s excellent design, engineering, production and sales teams all around the UK.”

Often regarded as the car which kicked off the crossover boom, the Qashqai was first launched in 2007 and, since then, has covered three generations. Despite being a regular fixture in the monthly lists of best-sellers, this is the first time that it has come out on top for the 12-month period as a whole.

Supply shortages have been blamed for new car registrations falling to the lowest level since 1992.

Around 1.61 million new cars were registered in 2022, according to preliminary data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

That is down 2% compared with the 1.65 million registered during the previous 12 months and a quarter below pre-coronavirus levels.

The SMMT said the decline was due to manufacturers being unable to meet demand for new cars due to global supply chain issues such as semiconductor shortages, driven by coronavirus lockdowns in China.

The UK has reclaimed its position as Europe’s second largest new car market behind Germany after being overtaken by France in recent years.

Battery electric new cars took a market share of around 17% in 2022, surpassing diesel for the first time to become the second most popular powertrain after petrol.

Some 23% of all new cars registered were plug-in vehicles, which includes pure electrics and plug-in hybrids.

Although that was a record high, it represents a smaller year-on-year rise compared with the previous 12 months.

The market share for plug-in vehicles rose from 10.7% in 2020 to 18.6% in 2021.

December saw battery electrics claim their largest ever monthly market share of 33%, driven by a large number of Tesla cars being delivered.

The overall new car market recorded its fifth consecutive month of year-on-year growth in December, and the SMMT anticipates that new car registrations will increase by around 15% this year.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes described 2022 as “a very difficult year” but insisted there are signs that supply problems are “beginning to ease”.

He said: “Manufacturers have really struggled to be able to make the vehicles in sufficient quantities, primarily due to semiconductor shortages but there are other parts shortages behind that as well.

“Lockdowns in China have not helped, high logistics costs, more pressure on raw materials.

“The complexities of global manufacturing have really been brought to bear heavily on the industry this past year.”

He went on: “The automotive market remains adrift of its pre-pandemic performance but could well buck wider economic trends by delivering significant growth in 2023.

“To secure that growth – which is increasingly zero emission growth – government must help all drivers go electric and compel others to invest more rapidly in nationwide charging infrastructure.”

Mr Hawes called for a “significant ratcheting up of investment” in electric car charging.

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK will be banned from 2030.

The Nissan Qashqai topped the ranking of overall new car registrations in 2022 followed by the Vauxhall Corsa, Tesla Model Y, Ford Puma and Mini.

Erin Baker, editorial director at online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader, said: “The bright spot last year was battery electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids, which accounted for almost one in four of new car sales.

“But we’re worried this is unlikely to last after signs of a fall in consumer demand on our marketplace towards the end of 2022.

“EVs need to be easier to afford, charge and buy to keep sales on track and ultimately meet the Government’s targets.”

Confirmed figures will be published by the SMMT at 9am on Thursday.