Month: February 2023

Bentley will end production of its famed 12-cylinder petrol engine in April next year, the luxury car maker has announced.

More than 100,000 examples of the W12 engine have been built at the company’s factory in Crewe, Cheshire over the past 20 years.

The decision to halt production is part of the business’s move to electric motoring.

Bentley chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark said: “Our progressive journey towards sustainable luxury mobility means making changes to every area of Bentley Motors.

“When we first launched the W12 back in 2003, we knew we had a mighty engine that would propel both our cars and the brand forwards at speed.

“Twenty years and more than 100,000 W12s later, the time has come to retire this now iconic powertrain as we take strides towards electrification.”

Jim Holder, editorial director of magazine What Car?, described the W12 as “an icon of combustion engines, famed for its power, smoothness, refinement and more”.

He told the PA news agency: “It should be remembered as one example of the peak of what can be achieved technically with combustion engines.

“But Bentley and its customers are acknowledging that we are entering a new environmentally conscious era, where outright performance and luxury can still be attained, but in a less consumptive manner.”

Bentley said it hopes to “retrain and redeploy” the 30 workers involved in assembling and testing W12s.

All Bentley’s models will be available with the option of a hybrid powertrain when production of the petrol engine is stopped.

The company has pledged that all its cars will be fully electrified by the start of the next decade.

Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK will be banned from 2030, with new plug-in hybrids outlawed five years later.

Volkswagen Group-owned Bentley made record sales last year.

The company, which dates back to 1919, said it delivered 15,174 cars in 2022.

The 4% increase compared with the previous 12 months was driven by demand in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

F1 star Nigel Mansell has shuttered both his Mitsubishi and Hyundai franchises on Jersey.

The 1992 F1 World Champion had centred his car sales and aftersales operations from The Mansell Collection dealership in St Helier, but he’s now told customers that the vehicle sales side of the business will be closing.

Nigel Mansell and elder son Leo made a splash in 2014 when they said they’d be taking on a Mitsubishi new car and servicing franchise. Despite this latest move, though, Nigel’s younger son Greg has stated that The Mansell Collection’s motorcycle arm would continue.

Making the announcement via its website, director Greg said: “As of immediate effect, The Mansell Collection’s car sales, servicing and parts departments are now closed.

“This has come about due to Mitsubishi’s departure from Europe and two years spent struggling with Covid-19 and a subsequent loss of sales.

“Unfortunately, losing the brand had a knock-on effect with our second car brand, Hyundai.

“We certainly wish Mitsubishi and Hyundai all the best for the future with their new partner in Jersey, and we thank the car department for all their hard work over the years.”

Back in 2019, The Mansell Collection stated that it would be closing temporarily in order to create more space for its new car sales business.

Originally opened in 2013, The Mansell Collection is home to The Nigel Mansell Story – a museum that features some of the F1 star’s trophies and race-winning cars, including the Williams FW14B in which he won the world championship in 1992.

Drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) across England will benefit from thousands of new chargepoints, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.

A total of 2,400 new chargepoints will be installed in locations such as Cumbria, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and West Sussex as part of £56 million in public and industry funding.

Sixteen more local authority areas will receive money as part of the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme.

The three original pilot schemes – in Durham, the London borough of Barnet and North Yorkshire – will be expanded.

Councils will also be given support to work with private operators towards the installation of “tens of thousands more” chargepoints in the long term, according to the DfT.

Transport minister Jesse Norman said: “The Government is giving local authorities across England additional help today to energise their chargepoint roll-out plans.

“Today’s commitment will lead to thousands of new chargers being installed, and plans for tens of thousands extra in due course, so that more people than ever can make the transition to using EVs.”

Fewer than 9,000 public EV charging devices were installed in the UK last year, leading to claims that the infrastructure is not keeping up with demand.

Recent DfT figures revealed the number of devices available for use increased by just 8,680 from 28,375 in January 2022 to 37,055 12 months later.

The department said the Government has already spent more than £2 billion to support the move to zero-emission vehicles.

More than a fifth of new cars sold in the UK last year had a plug.

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

Driving test examiners have announced 10 days of strike action across England, Scotland and Wales.

More than 1,600 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will take rolling days of industrial action from March 6 to 28.

The strikes are the latest escalation of the union’s long-running campaign over pay, pensions and jobs.

The examiners took strike action earlier this year which the union said caused disruption to tests.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “The Government must put forward concrete proposals to resolve this dispute.

“The more ministers choose to ignore members’ concerns over low pay, the more angry our members become.

“Our members cannot choose to ignore the cost-of-living crisis.

“Ministers can choose to resolve this dispute by putting money on the table.”

Around 100,000 PCS members will strike on Budget Day – March 15 – with the increasingly bitter dispute remaining deadlocked.

A Land Rover Defender first used by the Duke of Edinburgh is heading to auction this weekend.

The Defender was registered in 2010 and used by Prince Philip after being built to his individual specification. This included being painted in the rare colour of Keswick Green and finished with a black cloth interior. Heated seats and Land Rover seat covers were also fitted.

The Defender 110 County has covered just 15,623 miles and is being sold from a ‘significant private collection of special motor vehicles’, according to Silverstone Auctions, which is selling the Land Rover and describes it as being in a ‘gleaming’ condition.

Accompanying the sale is a history file containing letters between George Hassall, director of royal and diplomatic affairs at Jaguar Land Rover, to David Key, head chauffeur to the Duke of Edinburgh. While in royal possession, the Defender is believed to have been assigned the duke’s personal registration number of OXR 2.

It was sold by online auction site Collecting Cars in June 2022 for £44,000 and is now being sold by Silverstone Auctions on Saturday, February 25 at its Race Retro sale at Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry, with a guide price of £50,000 to £70,000.

Other royal-related cars are also being auctioned, including a 2013 Bentley Mulsanne that was used for royal household duties, as well as a 1942 Ford GPW Jeep that was used by King George VI on a wartime visit to RAF Chelveston that same year.

Philip, who died in April 2021, had a strong connection with Land Rover, using green Freelanders for several years. He also designed his own specially modified Defender to carry his coffin.

Remote driving of vehicles from abroad should be banned in the UK, a Government-commissioned review has found.

The Law Commission of England and Wales made the recommendation in its advice to ministers on how to regulate vehicles being controlled by individuals in remote locations.

This technology is already used in controlled environments such as warehouses and farms, but potential future applications include the delivery of rental cars to customers.

The commission concluded that “difficulties in enforcement” mean remote driving from abroad should be prohibited “until appropriate international agreements are in place”.

It recommended that remote driving in public should only be allowed if companies obtain special permissions.

There is currently no specific UK legal requirement for a driver to be in the vehicle they are controlling.

The review also stated that a remote driver should be responsible for their actions in the same way as someone sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle, but there should be no liability for faults beyond their control such as connectivity failures.

Public Law Commissioner Nicholas Paines KC said: “Remote driving is an exciting technology, but before we see remotely operated cars on UK roads we must address safety concerns through strong regulation.

“Our advice concludes that in the immediate term, the Government would be able to address some gaps in the law around remote driving using existing powers, while also providing a path for companies to use the technology lawfully provided that their systems are safe.

“In the longer term, it could set up a full system of remote driving regulation.

“Regulations must respond to other fundamental concerns around security threats and liability in the event of an accident.

“Our advice paper sets out a roadmap for how the Government can address these problems, whilst also encouraging companies to innovate.”

Transport minister Jesse Norman said: “Remote driving is already being successfully used off-road in several industries and has huge potential to provide new services and safety features for road vehicles.

“The Government needs to ensure that safety is at the forefront of the use of any new technology, and the department will carefully consider the Law Commission’s recommendations.”

Traffic lights could become obsolete in 20 years, an engineer supporting a groundbreaking self-driving cars trial said.

Thomas Tompkin of Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) told the PA news agency “a seismic shift in the way our roads are laid out” is possible.

Two self-driving electric cars built by Japanese manufacturer Nissan have completed hundreds of laps around a 2.7-mile route featuring busy A roads in Woolwich, south-east London during the past two years.

This is part of the ServCity project to identify and overcome barriers to deploying autonomous vehicles in cities, which ends next month.

It is believed to be the UK’s first trial of driverless technology involving the use of roadside infrastructure as well as the vehicles’ own systems.

Around 270 cameras installed on the route by the SMLL relay information to the Nissan Leaf cars about potential issues ahead, such as buses stopped in the left lane.

This enables the cars to change lanes well before encountering obstructions, creating a smoother flow of traffic.

Mr Tompkin, head of network, infrastructure and operations at SMLL, estimated that the high-specification roadside systems cost “around one million pounds per kilometre” but claimed a wider rollout involving more basic technology could be done for a fraction of the price.

“That starts to become a bit more of a compelling business case,” he said.

“If we think about maybe 20 or 30 years time, can you start to then think about the infrastructure outside?

“Can you start to remove some of that infrastructure such as traffic signals?

“Obviously, there’s a lot of work to be done before that ever takes place.

“But that’s where you can start to see a seismic shift in the way our roads are laid out.”

Mr Tompkin said he hopes the UK will have “moved on a lot” towards “completely driverless cars” in public use by the end of the decade.

The Government has previously expressed its commitment to introducing legislation that will enable the use of self-driving vehicles.

ServCity’s cars have a qualified driver behind the wheel who can take control when needed.

A driver intervened on at least two occasions during media demonstrations earlier this week, to avoid a possible collision with a bus and to miss a chunk of road surface dislodged from a pothole.

The cars have covered more than 1,600 miles during testing, with no accidents, according to the project’s leaders.

Robert Bateman, who manages ServCity for Nissan, said there have been significant differences in London’s trials compared with those in the US and Japan.

“With London there’s more pedestrian interactions and crossings,” he explained.

“In Japan, everybody follows the rules. Not so in the UK.

“This is why Nissan has decided to do this research work here in the UK.

“Quite frankly, if you can get it right here you can then deliver an autonomous vehicle anywhere in the world.”

Mr Bateman insisted the cars are safer than those with a human in control.

He said: “The car is looking 360 degrees around it. That’s the autonomous vehicle system’s only job.

“It’s not eating a sandwich. It’s not texting. It’s not thinking what it’s going to be doing at work.

“It is 100% safer.”

ServCity is a £10.7 million consortium project involving Nissan, Hitachi, Connected Places Catapult, the University of Nottingham, TRL (formerly Transport Research Laboratory) and SBD Automotive.

Transport minister Jesse Norman said: “The Government has invested £7 million in this project to be at the forefront of innovation.

“Since then, ServCity has proven key to answer the practical questions of how to integrate self-driving vehicles into cities for the public good.”

Five Conservative-led councils said they have started a legal challenge over Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand London’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez).

The outer London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, together with Surrey County Council, issued a joint statement announcing they have launched a judicial review into the Labour mayor’s plan.

A spokesman for the mayor said it would oppose “any challenge to this vital scheme”.

The Ulez is currently limited to the area within London’s North and South Circular roads, but is due to be extended to cover the whole of the capital from August 29.

It will then border areas of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.

Drivers of vehicles that do not meet minimum emissions standards are charged a £12.50 daily fee for entering the zone.

The councils said they will challenge the Ulez expansion in the High Court on the grounds that “relevant statutory requirements” were not complied with, expected compliance rates in outer London were not considered, and the proposed scrappage scheme was not consulted on.

They will also claim the overall consultation process was not properly conducted and there was a failure to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the plan.

Leader of Hillingdon Council Ian Edwards said: “Ulez is the wrong solution in outer London as it will have negligible or nil impact on air quality but will cause significant social and economic harm to our residents.

“We believe Sadiq Khan’s decision to impose this scheme on outer London boroughs is unlawful.”

His counterpart at Surrey County Council, Tim Oliver, said: “We are committed to delivering a greener future, but it must be done in a practical and sustainable way.

“We are dismayed at the lack of discussion or consideration given to these proposals by the Mayor of London.

“The impact on many Surrey residents and businesses will be significant and we will not stand by and watch that happen with no mitigations offered from the Mayor.”

Conservatives in London previously claimed City Hall officials “manipulated” the final results of Transport for London’s (TfL) consultation by excluding some so-called “campaign responses”, which lowered the level of opposition in the final count from 62% to 59%.

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “While we’re aware of media speculation that an application for a judicial review has been made by four boroughs and Surrey County Council, neither the GLA (Greater London Authority) nor TfL have been served with their claim.

“We will be defending any challenge to this vital scheme.

“Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely every year due to air pollution.

“The Mayor is determined to protect the lives of Londoners who are growing up with stunted lungs and more at risk of heart disease, cancer and dementia due to our toxic air.

“The Mayor urges the councils involved to abandon this costly and unnecessary legal challenge and instead focus on the health of those they represent.”

Tesla is recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system to fix problems with the way it behaves around intersections and following posted speed limits.

The recall, part of a larger investigation by US safety regulators into the company’s automated driving systems, came after regulators expressed concerns about the way Tesla’s system responded in four areas along roads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in documents posted on Thursday that Tesla would fix the concerns with an online software update in the coming weeks.

The documents said Tesla was doing the recall but did not agree with an agency analysis of the problem.

The system, which is being tested on public roads by up to 400,000 Tesla owners, makes unsafe actions such as travelling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, failing to come to a complete stop at stop signs, or going through an intersection during a yellow traffic light without proper caution, NHTSA said.

In addition, the system may not adequately respond to changes in posted speed limits, or it may not account for the driver’s adjustments in speed, the documents said.

“FSD beta software that allows a vehicle to exceed speed limits or travel through intersections in an unlawful or unpredictable manner increases the risk of a crash,” the agency said in documents.

A message was left on Thursday seeking comment from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department.

Tesla has received 18 warranty claims that could be caused by the software from May 2019 through to September 12 2022. But the Austin, Texas, electric vehicle maker told the agency it was not aware of any deaths or injuries.

In a statement, NHTSA said it had found the problem during tests performed as part of an investigation into Full Self-Driving and Autopilot software that takes on some driving tasks.

“As required by law and after discussions with NHTSA, Tesla launched a recall to repair those defects,” the agency said.

Despite their names and claims by chief executive Elon Musk that Full Self-Driving vehicles did not need human intervention, Tesla said on its website that the cars could not drive themselves and owners must be ready to intervene at all times.

NHTSA’s testing found that Autosteer On City Streets, which is part of Tesla’s FSD beta testing, “led to an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety based on insufficient adherence to traffic safety laws”.

The recall covers certain 2016-2023 Model S and Model X vehicles, as well as 2017 through to 2023 Model 3s, and 2020 through to 2023 Model Y vehicles equipped with the software, or with installation pending.

Shares of Tesla fell about 2% in Thursday afternoon trading. The stock has rallied about 71% in the year to date, reversing 2022’s hefty loss.

London is the world’s slowest and second-most expensive city to drive in, according to new research.

It took an average of 36 minutes and 20 seconds to travel 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in the centre of the capital in 2022, geolocation technology specialist TomTom said.

That was one minutes and 50 seconds slower than 2021 and represents the longest time for a journey of that distance last year out of all the 389 cities in 56 countries analysed.

TomTom traffic expert Andy Marchant said people switching to road transport during rail strikes contributed to congestion in London last year.

India’s Bengaluru had the second slowest time at 29 minutes and 10 seconds, followed by Dublin, Ireland (28 minutes and 30 seconds) and Sapporo, Japan (27 minutes and 40 seconds).

Other UK cities ranked in the top 50 for congestion were Manchester (24th place with 23 minutes and 10 seconds), Liverpool (32nd place with 22 minutes and 20 seconds) and Edinburgh (42nd place with 21 minutes and 30 seconds).

Analysis of the cost of driving – based on the price of petrol, diesel and charging an electric vehicle (EV), and taking into account the impact of congestion on fuel consumption – found that London was the world’s second most expensive city to drive in last year, behind only Hong Kong.

Also in the top 50 list was Bristol (19th), Brighton (41st), Manchester (47th) and Edinburgh (48th).

TomTom found that the cost of using fast EV charge points in London was among the highest in the world last year.

To drive 10,000 miles in London in 2022 Londoners charging their cars in this way spent around £2,055, compared with £1,969 in Paris, £1,888 in Brussels, £1,794 in Berlin and £1,220 in New York.

Mr Marchant said: “Due to the configuration of the road network in central London, travel times even without traffic are some of the highest in the world.

“This doesn’t mean that London is the most congested city in the world.

“However, there is a clear link between increased traffic congestion and London’s slowest average speed in 2022.

“While strike action caused traffic congestion levels to soar, better traffic management based on real-time data intelligence is needed throughout the year to ensure viable traffic flows and the efficient use of city infrastructure.”