Author: PA Media

The proportion of electric vehicle breakdowns caused by running out of charge has fallen by nearly three-quarters since 2019, new figures show.

Just 2.1% of callouts received by the AA from stranded EV drivers in the UK during the first five months of this year were for depleted batteries.

That is down from 8.0% across the whole of 2019.

The AA partly attributed this to a spike in the number of public charging devices, with Zapmap figures showing the total has soared from 24,909 at the end of April 2022 to 42,566 a year later.

AA president Edmund King believes an increase in the number of domestic and workplace chargers is another reason for the drop in incidents of EVs running out of electricity.

The fear of running out of charge – often referred to as range anxiety or charging anxiety – has been cited as a key barrier to people switching to electric motoring.

Mr King, who will address the EV Infrastructure Summit in east London on Wednesday, said: “Our data on out of charge EVs clearly shows charging anxiety does not match the reality.

“The drop in out of charge breakdowns is a clear sign that range, infrastructure and education are improving.

“Of course, we need a concerted effort to continue the rollout of reliable and accessible charging to fill in the gaps and to address the problem for those that don’t have off-street parking to charge.”

He added: “There has never been a better time to buy a used EV as many prices have dropped dramatically in the last six months.

“Once the car has been purchased, the running and servicing costs tend to be much lower.”

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

Jeremy Clarkson has revealed that one of the pranks on The Grand Tour: Eurocrash includes James May’s car “ending up” inside a restaurant.

In the latest instalment of the motoring travel programme, Clarkson, May and Richard Hammond go on a 1,400-mile road trip through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

The Prime Video special, which will form the second part of series five, also sees the former Top Gear trio “sample some Soviet style Formula 1, are attacked by deadly archers, recruit a famous racing driver and take part in a spectacular Fast and Furious climax”.

When asked about the pranks during the trip, Clarkson said: “If you’re driving on roads and staying in hotels, as we did here, that means you get to the hotel in time for a drink.

“And then obviously, after a couple of drinks, ideas come to mind and so, James’ car ends up inside the restaurant, as a result of the drink.”

Hammond said May, 60, “had every reason” to make their lives a “misery” by adding “profoundly embarrassing and deeply irritating” sound effects to his car.

The 53-year-old presenter added: “He rewired it so that when I hit the brakes, it sounded a bell and when I used the indicators, it sounded a variety of sirens.

“When throttling past a certain point of acceleration, it played bagpipes. The worst was when I put the roof down or up, it loudly broadcast a message in the local language which suggested I was impotent.”

In the show, May also buys a “beige” and “bizarre and terrible” American subcompact Crosley car for around £12,000 while bidding online.

He said a “sort of benefit in disguise” was that he did not have to see Hammond and Clarkson as much because he was so slow in the vehicle.

May added: “I don’t mind being left on my own as much as the others would probably make out because, as you’ve just indicated, there is a certain relief to it. But I had to balance that with the misery of being in a horrible car.”

Clarkson – who also hosts Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon – said the trio are returning to Africa in another upcoming part of The Grand Tour.

He said: “This one’s a hard one. It’s hard if you’re young and fit, but I’m really not fit and I’m very fat and I’m 63 now.”

The Grand Tour: Eurocrash will be available on Prime Video on Friday June 16.

Glasgow has become the first Scottish city to enforce a low emission zone (LEZ).

From Thursday, all vehicles entering the city centre must be compliant with emission standards or face a fine.

Glasgow City Council said the policy will protect public health by tackling “unacceptably high” levels of air pollution, but opposition parties say the policy will affect livelihoods and businesses.

Number plate recognition cameras will be used to enforce the LEZ.

When a non-compliant vehicle is detected in the zone, a penalty charge notice will be issued to the registered driver.

The first phase of the scheme focused on buses and saw a year-on-year improvement in the proportion of low or zero emission buses servicing the city centre.

Councillor Angus Millar, convener for climate and transport, said: “I am proud that Glasgow has fully rolled out the first of Scotland’s low emission zones, joining hundreds of cities across Europe who have introduced similar initiatives in ensuring cleaner, more breathable air.”

Mr Millar said air pollution has been in breach of legal limits for decades and “actively harmed” Glaswegians’ health.

He added: “While the vast majority – up to 90% – of vehicles currently entering the city centre will be unaffected, the LEZ standards will address the small minority of vehicles which pollute the most, disproportionately creating the harmful concentrations of air pollution.”

But George Redmond, the Labour group leader for Glasgow City Council, said he had “genuine fears” about the impact the policy would have on the night-time economy in the city.

Many taxi drivers have had to purchase new vehicles that are legally compliant with the new LEZ guidance.

Mr Redmond said: “We want an LEZ scheme that is fit and proper for the city.

“We have asked for a delay of 12 months that will give drivers time to prepare.

“I have genuine fears of the impact this will have on a night-time economy which is still recovering after a devastating pandemic.”

Tory councillor Thomas Kerr said the proposals had been “rushed” and that council chiefs had not taken into consideration the impact of the pandemic.

The Tories have joined Labour in calling for a delay to the LEZ until June 2024, arguing that taxi drivers needed more time to “get themselves back on their feet”.

Mr Kerr said: “Drivers have lost two years of income. Unite the Union is estimating around 1,000 taxi drivers could be off of our roads.

“That is extremely worrying.”

But campaigners believe cities “must be redesigned” to be healthier places where people are not forced to breathe in “toxic levels of air”.

Gareth Brown, chairman of Healthy Air Scotland and policy and public affairs officer at Asthma + Lung UK Scotland, said: “With one in five Scots developing a lung condition like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in their lifetime, for them, air pollution can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks and flare-ups.

“Air pollution in Glasgow is shockingly 4.5x World Health Organisation levels, so it is clear that we need to make tackling air pollution a national priority with low emission zones just the start.

“Our cities must be redesigned to be far healthier places, where people can walk and cycle and not forced to breathe in toxic levels of air.”

The LEZ covers the area of the city centre bounded by the M8 motorway to the north and west, the River Clyde to the south and Saltmarket and the High Street to the east but does not include the motorway itself.

A vehicle can only drive within an LEZ if it meets the specified emission standards, which are Euro 4 for petrol cars and vans, Euro 6 for diesel cars and vans, and Euro VI for buses, coaches and HGVs.

A national online vehicle checker by Transport Scotland is available to check for compliance with LEZ emission standards.

Motorcycles and mopeds are not included in the current LEZ schemes and no restrictions will apply.

There are some exemptions, such as for blue badge holders, and zone residents have an extra year to prepare.

Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dundee will enforce their LEZs next year.

Drivers should be charged on a per-mile basis in a major overhaul of the UK’s motoring taxation system, according to a new report.

A pay as you drive scheme in the UK should initially apply to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) such as electric cars before being expanded to cover all vehicles, centre-right think tank the Centre for Policy Studies said.

This would replace the “outdated and onerous tax system” of fuel duty and vehicle excise duty (VED), the document stated.

The Future of Driving report warned that the Treasury faces a “£25 billion fiscal black hole” as annual receipts from fuel duty dwindle, with motorists switching from petrol and diesel cars to electric models.

Under the plan to charge motorists on a per-mile basis, drivers of ZEVs would pay “significantly less” than those behind the wheel of petrol and diesel models to avoid “denting the take-up” of greener vehicles.

All vehicles would receive an annual allocation of tax-free miles, with more for those owned in remote areas with fewer transport alternatives.

The Government could announce that the new system will apply to all ZEVs from a certain year “towards the end of the decade”, according to the report.

It acknowledged that some drivers are “wary of the state tracking their movements constantly”, and suggested charges should be paid by a monthly direct debit, with no recording of where and when road users drove.

ZEV drivers who took part in focus groups conducted for the report “instinctively understood that the current tax-free status of their driving could not continue indefinitely”, the Centre for Policy Studies said.

The report added: “Petrol and diesel drivers rightly pointed out that it was unfair that EV drivers today contributed nothing to the upkeep of the roads, despite causing significant damage given their weight.

“Thus, while no-one likes to have their taxes put up, there was a begrudging consensus that the current system would have to adapt to the new future of ZEVs, and that those currently driving an electric car would have to stump up down the road.”

Electric vehicles are generally heavier than traditionally-fuelled vehicles due to the added weight of their batteries.

ZEV drivers do not pay fuel duty or VED, but road maintenance is funded by national and local taxes, rather than motoring taxes.

Dillon Smith, Centre for Policy Studies energy and environment researcher and report co-author, said the recommendations “can lead to fairer, better and more efficient taxation while tackling congestion and improving air quality in our big cities”.

Tom Clougherty, Centre for Policy Studies research director and co-author, added: “We shouldn’t replicate the old, punitive tax system, but it is still important that all drivers pay a fair amount for the roads they use.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has to “walk a tightrope” as rushing to replace lost fuel duty income “risks stifling the green transition Government is desperate to promote”.

He added: “Given the imperative to get to net zero carbon, and the political sensitivity surrounding any changes to road taxes, the Chancellor might well conclude that losing a few billion pounds a year is a price worth paying to save the planet.”

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We are making sure that motoring tax revenues keep pace with the switch to electric vehicles, whilst keeping it affordable for consumers, and have no plans to introduce road pricing.

“With the EV transition accelerating, it’s right that all drivers start to make a fair tax contribution through changes to Vehicle Excise Duty but we continue to support the electric vehicle revolution through over £2.5 billion in incentives.”

British motorists are being urged to report ‘every blemish, crack and crater they see’ to councils to highlight the deteriorating state of the UK’s roads.

The AA is wanting to make 2023 ‘The Year of the Pothole’ by pushing drivers to report any damage to UK roads after the firm recorded a steep increase in the number of cars stranded by pothole damage in the first few months of this year.

According to the AA, it attended 52,000 pothole-related breakdowns in April 2023 – a 29 per cent increase on the same month in 2022. It says that an average of 1,735 drivers have had their vehicles damaged by poor-quality roads in April.

Councils have a responsibility to inspect the UK’s roads and keep them in good shape, but they can’t be held accountable for damage that hasn’t been recorded. The AA has said it is therefore ‘in everyone’s interest’ to report any damage, as well as give the authorities a better picture of ‘the crumbling state of the UK’s roads’.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said; “The pothole pandemic looks set to remain for quite some time, with little hope of a cure on the horizon.

“In order to help government and councils understand the true state of our roads we need the public to report every pothole they see. Regardless of their size, depth, the type of road and its position in the lane, we need to make 2023 ‘The Year of the Pothole’ so we can get our roads repaired.

“Potholes come in all shapes and sizes, each one posing a different type of danger. While the worst are like deep caves, shallower splits that snake across the surface can catch the wheels of cyclists causing severe damage.

“On safety grounds alone, we need to do all we can to shine a light on the awful condition of UK roads.”

Councils across the UK have different ways of reporting potholes, with motorways and major trunk roads being the responsibility of National Highways. Websites such as ‘FixMyStreet’ will automatically log and send reports to the relative council in relation to potholes.

Road deaths in Britain rose 9% last year, leading to calls for the Government to give the issue “the attention and resources it deserves”.

Department for Transport (DfT) figures show 1,695 people were killed in crashes in 2022, up from 1,558 a year earlier.

Three out of four fatalities were male, and 384 were aged under 30.

The DfT said it works “tirelessly to improve road safety for all”.

Last year’s total number of road deaths represents a decline of 1% from 2013 and 3% compared with 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic affected travel patterns.

Separate DfT figures show daily traffic volumes in Britain were typically around 97% of pre-virus levels in 2022.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said the latest casualty statistics “make for gloomy reading”.

He added: “While the lack of progress over many years in bringing overall casualty numbers down is itself a cause for concern, the figures for the number of men – of all age groups, but especially the young – who are killed on our roads is stark.

“Every person killed is one person too many and we feel improving road safety needs to be given the attention and resources it deserves.

“We urge the Government to take a serious look at reintroducing casualty reduction targets to give the whole topic much more focus on a national stage.”

Mr Dennis added that ministers should review whether the long-term decline in the number of full-time road police officers has led to a worsening in driver behaviour and an increase in casualties.

A DfT spokeswoman said: “We welcome a continued decrease in road casualties compared with 2019 levels, and work tirelessly to improve road safety for all, including through our Think! campaign, updating the Highway Code to protect the most vulnerable road users, and recent funding of £47.5 million towards improving the 27 most dangerous roads in England through the Safer Roads Fund.”

The Government is set to miss its target for the installation of high-powered electric vehicle (EV) chargers at motorway services in England, according to new analysis.

In March last year the Department for Transport (DfT) pledged to “ensure that every motorway service area has at least six rapid chargers by the end of 2023”.

But RAC research shows only 27 out of 119 motorway services in England currently meet that target.

It stated that fitting high-powered chargers is “not straightforward” and urged ministers to “make this process simpler”.

Rapid charge points can add around 100 miles of range to an EV in 35 minutes.

They are seen as crucial to encouraging more motorists who use their cars for long journeys to make the switch from petrol or diesel to electric.

The RAC analysis is based on statistics from charger locator service Zapmap.

A DfT document from March 2022 stated that “many operators” of motorway services had “embraced the ambition” to install six high-powered chargers by the end of 2023, with “over 70%” of locations having a plan to deliver this.

It added: “We will continue to work with site operators to ensure that every site is reached.”

RAC EV spokesman Simon Williams said: “Our findings show there is much work to be done before the end of the year if the Government’s target is to be met.

“Installing these types of units is not straightforward as connecting to the electricity grid is expensive and time consuming, but clearly more needs to be done to make this process simpler than it is currently.

“While we understand the Government is taking steps to expedite matters, the importance of ensuring sufficient high-powered charging is readily available up and down our motorway network can’t be emphasised enough.

“A lack of charging facilities is rapidly becoming one of the most widely quoted reasons for drivers not going electric.

“All parties involved in making installations happen must work together to overcome this obstacle.”

Quentin Willson, automotive journalist and founder of EV campaign group FairCharge, said: “When you look at how quickly Tesla put their Superchargers into the motorway service network, you’re forced to wonder why the Government is working at such glacial speed to do the same.

“We simply must pick up the pace.”

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030.

A DfT spokesperson said: “While 97% of motorways service areas already have charging available, industry has plans to install many 100s more chargepoints in the coming months.

“We‘ve put more than £2bn into accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, and our £950m Rapid Charging Fund will further boost charging to support long distance journeys, including at motorway services.”

No new major road building projects in England starting before 2030 will be created, National Highways has proposed.

The Government-owned company has advised ministers it should focus on completing ongoing and delayed schemes, as well as improving existing roads.

Many National Highways major projects are behind schedule and over budget.

Public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) warned in November 2022 that 33 schemes were delayed by as much as three years, meaning those planned for between April 2020 and March 2025 will cost an estimated £3.3 billion more than initially expected.

Projects such as building a dual carriage and tunnel near Stonehenge, Wiltshire, and the Lower Thames Crossing between Kent and Essex have not received development consent.

In its proposal for the third road investment strategy (RIS3), which will cover the five-year period from April 2025, National Highways is proposing to work on existing projects.

The company plans to focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries through modifications to single carriageway A roads.

It wants to increase investment in smaller schemes valued at between £2 million and £25 million to tackle safety and congestion problems, often by improving slip roads and junctions connecting to local roads.

There are also plans for 2,500 public electric vehicle chargepoints.

Roads minister Richard Holden said: “Our roads are vital to our economy, and the plans set out today will help to enhance connectivity and boost growth, while protecting the environment.

“Working with National Highways, we are committed to delivering safe, reliable journeys and reducing congestion in a way that supports our path to net zero.”

National Highways chief executive Nick Harris said: ”Our network of motorways and A-roads has a critical role to play over the next 30 years in supporting growth and levelling up.

“They bind together the regions and nations of the UK, facilitating national and international trade, and even under conservative forecasts demand for the network will continue to increase up to 2050.

“While we strive to maintain safe and reliable journeys for the vehicles that rely on our network each day, we know that ever higher levels of social and environmental responsibility will, quite rightly, be required of us.

“This means we will need to find new and innovative ways to continue connecting the country by facilitating active travel and public transport, and also using digital technology to help customers make more informed decisions and managing our network more efficiently.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Achieving the vision for the strategic road network that we need requires two big challenges to be addressed: the fact that many of the roads and the structures that carry or span them are now decades old and in need of costly but essential structural maintenance, and the fact that absorbing more traffic without adding more capacity generally means more congestion.

“The fastest growing challenge faced by our roads is likely to be the effects of climate change.

“More extreme temperatures and rising levels of rainfall will lead to additional road closures and extra damage.

“Maintenance budgets need to go beyond filling in the potholes and painting the white lines to making sure routes are weather-proof. This won’t be cheap, but it is essential.”

Rishi Sunak is facing demands to renegotiate the UK’s Brexit deal amid warnings the car industry in Britain faces an “existential threat” without changes, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

Vauxhall’s parent company Stellantis told MPs it will be unable to keep a commitment to make electric vehicles in the UK without changes to the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) with the European Union.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said “we need a better Brexit deal” to ensure firms such as Vauxhall can continue to operate in the UK.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has raised the issue with Brussels, the Government said, and she has a pre-arranged meeting with Stellantis chiefs on Wednesday.

She has also raised the motor industry’s concerns about the TCA with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, according to Whitehall sources.

Stellantis – which also owns Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat – employs more than 5,000 people in the UK.

The firm told a Commons inquiry into the supply of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) that their UK investments were in the balance due to the terms of the trade deal.

Under the TCA, from next year 45% of an electric car’s value should originate in the UK or EU to qualify for trade without tariffs, with higher requirements for batteries.

Without meeting the requirements, cars manufactured in the UK would face a 10% tariff, making domestic production and exports uncompetitive with cars built within the EU or countries such as Japan and South Korea.

Professor David Bailey, from Birmingham Business School, said: “I think there is a kind of existential threat to the UK car industry.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Car makers have been saying for some time, they can’t meet those rules as they tighten up, and they’re going to potentially be facing tariffs.”

Meanwhile, the Labour leader told BBC Breakfast that although re-entry to the EU was not on the table “we do need to improve that deal”.

“Of course we want a closer trading relationship, we absolutely do. We want to ensure that Vauxhall and many others not just survive in this country but thrive,” Sir Keir said.

“Because there are jobs bound up, there are families watching this morning either employed by Vauxhall or a similar place who are deeply worried about what this means.

“So yes we need a better Brexit deal. We will make Brexit work. That doesn’t mean reversing the decision and going back into the EU but the deal we’ve got, it was said to be oven-ready, it wasn’t even half-baked.

Stellantis, the world’s fourth biggest car maker, committed to making electric vehicles at its Ellesmere Port and Luton plants two years ago.

But in a submission to the Commons Business and Trade Committee, the company said the Brexit deal was a “threat to our export business and the sustainability of our UK manufacturing operations”.

It called on the Government to reach agreement with the EU to maintain existing rules until 2027, rather than introduce next year’s planned changes.

Stellantis said the rise in the cost of raw materials during the pandemic and energy crisis meant it was “unable to meet these rules of origin”.

The company said that 10% tariffs would mean manufacturers “will not continue to invest” and will relocate.

“To reinforce the sustainability of our manufacturing plants in the UK, the UK must consider its trading arrangements with Europe,” Stellantis told the inquiry, listing Honda’s closing of its site in Swindon and investment in the US as examples of its impact.

Stellantis said there will be “insufficient battery production” in the UK or Europe to meet government targets in phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2025 and 2030.

“It we are unable to rely on sufficient UK or European batteries, we will be at a major competitive disadvantage. In particular against Asian imports,” it said.

“We need to reinforce the competitiveness of the UK by establishing battery production in the UK.”

Electric cars and batteries were among the final parts of the Brexit deal agreed between then prime minister Boris Johnson and president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in 2020.

Darren Jones, Labour chairman of the Business and Trade Committee, said the Government “has failed to secure UK car battery production”.

“Exports to the EU will be more expensive and car production will leave the UK, according to evidence submitted to our inquiry,” he added.

A Government spokesman said: “The Business and Trade Secretary has raised this with the EU and is determined to ensure the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing, especially as we transition to electric vehicles.

“We are supporting the industry through the Automotive Transformation Fund and Advanced Propulsion Centre to develop a high-value end-to-end electrified automotive supply chain in the UK and support cutting-edge automotive technologies.

“In the coming months, the Government will build on these interventions with decisive action to ensure future investment in zero emission vehicle manufacturing.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury was convicted of speeding just days after the coronation of the King.

Justin Welby was ordered to pay £510 in total for exceeding a 20mph limit in the Kennington borough of Lambeth on October 2 last year, a court spokeswoman said.

The archbishop also now has three points on his licence after being caught by a speed camera in his Volkswagen Golf on the A3036 Albert Embankment.

He was convicted and sentenced at a private hearing at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday – the same day he condemned the Government’s plans to tackle the small boats crisis as “morally unacceptable and politically impractical”.

The conviction, which was first reported by the Evening Standard, also came just days after the coronation of King Charles.

Mr Welby admitted the offence online, was fined £300 and ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £90 in costs, the court spokeswoman said.

The prosecution was conducted through the Single Justice Procedure – allowing the court to deal with the matter through written evidence in a private hearing.

A Lambeth Palace spokeswoman said the Archbishop was aware of the speeding offence but had not been notified that it had gone to court.

The spokeswoman said: “He has tried to resolve this and pay the fine three times.

“He has all the paperwork to prove that he has tried to pay.

“Admin errors seem to be causing problems.”