Category: News

BMW’s design director has said that he found the positive reception to the firm’s Neue Klasse concept to be a welcome surprise.

Adrian van Hooydonk said that he wasn’t aiming for controversy with the new concept, which showcases the future direction for BMW’s design. The futuristic electric model does incorporate a few hallmark BMW styling touches, including the prominent kidney grilles which, on the Neue Klasse, have been made smaller than we’ve come to expect from current models from the firm.

“If it hadn’t been like that, it would have been an unpleasant surprise,” van Hooydonk told Car Dealer at the Tokyo motor show.

“Because we were not looking for controversy. We are looking for a bigger change because we feel the more you push forward now, the longer your design will stay relevant.

“The world around us is now changing so rapidly, that we felt that it’s better and it is safer now to change a lot, rather than to not change enough.

“The risk of not changing enough is bigger than the risk of changing too much.”

Van Hooydonk took over from designed Chris Bangle in 2009 as the head of the design team responsible for BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce, alongside the Motorrad motorcycle arm of the company.

The Neue Klasse has been billed as one of the most important concepts to come from BMW and is said to depict what we could expect from the German brand in years to come.

Van Hooydonk added: “When you change the core of your brand, you want to be very careful. You want to be very conscious of what you do.

“But again, if you don’t push it, then in five years’ time, you might regret it. So that’s how we came up with [Neue Klasse].

“It effectively skips a generation. If people squint a little bit they will see BMWs from 1970s, and that’s okay with us.

“It’s not retro design, we feel it’s modern, but there are hints of our past and we think that’s a good thing. But this is a change that will happen at the core of the BMW brand and it will spread very quickly.”

BMW is set to launch hydrogen cars by the end of the decade but says that the UK risks lagging behind the technology.

Speaking at a recent hydrogen tech summit, BMW’s general manager for hydrogen technology, Dr Juergen Guldner, said that he would like to see the UK government ‘get behind’ hydrogen fuel by putting its backing behind a filling station network.

At present, the UK has just 12 hydrogen filling stations but this number dropped last year after Shell shuttered three, citing a ‘lack of confidence’ in the alternative fuel.

Shell has previously planned to expand the three sites – which were previously located at Cobham, Gatwick and Beaconsfield – throughout Britain, stating in early 2020 that it was working towards the opening of three more sites by the end of 2021. They failed to materialise, however, as Shell believed that hydrogen fuel cell cars still didn’t appeal to the public.

In contrast, Japan already has 164 operational hydrogen filling stations and has plans to expand this to 1,000 by 2030. In Europe, there are already plans to ensure that all major highways have access to hydrogen filling stations as well as for towns with more than 100,000 residents.

Dr Guldner told Car Dealer: “I think the UK government actually does have a role, at least in including hydrogen in its mobility strategy.

“When the UK government has a hydrogen strategy, there will be a lot of industry players that are willing to invest, that are willing to build a hydrogen economy, from production to pipeline transport, all the way to mobility and stations. But I think it’s lacking a little bit of public support.”

Dr Guldner said the UK was for a long time ‘on par’ with Europe when it came to hydrogen plans, but that is not the case any more.

He added: “Just make sure you’re not falling behind. I’m not going to advise the UK government, or the UK society, on what to do, but just make sure you don’t get left behind.”

Drivers’ anger at the condition of local roads has reached an eight-year high, with a third of drivers swerving to avoid a pothole, a new survey suggests.

Some 49% of respondents to a poll of 2,583 UK drivers commissioned by the RAC said the issue was their biggest motoring concern.

This is the highest proportion recorded in the annual survey since the motoring services company began asking drivers for their views on the state of local roads in 2015.

The previous high of 46% was in 2021.

In the latest poll, two-thirds of those questioned said the condition of the local roads they regularly drive on had deteriorated in the previous 12 months.

One in three (35%) respondents said they had swerved quickly to avoid a pothole and ended up crossing into another lane or going on to the wrong side of the road.

Concerns about the condition of local roads were largely due to poor surfaces, but other factors included faded markings, litter and signage visibility.

Drivers questioned were generally more positive about motorways and high-speed dual carriageways, with just 11% saying the condition of these roads was a major concern.

But 44% said their condition had worsened in the previous year.

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £14 billion.

Potholes often form when water enters cracks in the road surface, then freezes and expands.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Many drivers will be wondering why so many potholes appeared on the country’s local roads in the absence of a particularly cold winter.

“Sadly, a long-term lack of funding for maintenance and repair work means our roads are in such a fragile state that it only takes a little rainwater getting into existing flaws followed by some sub-zero temperatures for them to break down further.

“We have to bring the ongoing deterioration of our local roads to an end by giving councils the certainty of funding they need to be able to plan proper maintenance programmes which include resurfacing roads that have gone beyond the point where they can be patched up.

“This is why we continue to call on the Government to ring-fence 2p from every litre of existing fuel revenues over a five-year period which will give councils the funds they need to be able to plan proper maintenance programmes.

“It is plain wrong that drivers who contribute billions in tax every year have to put up with roads that are so far from being fit for purpose.”

Darren Rodwell, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, said: “Councils share the frustration of all road users about the conditions of our local roads.

“The LGA has long called for longer-term funding to tackle the issues facing our roads and we believe that Government should award local authority highways departments with five-yearly funding allocations to give more certainty, bringing councils on a par with National Highways.

“In the upcoming autumn statement we look forward to seeing more details on the recent £8.3 billion funding plan for roads maintenance.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The decision to redirect HS2 funding to other transport projects means that an extra £8.3 billion has been freed up to help local authorities fill potholes and resurface roads across the country, which is on top of the near £1 billion the Government already provides on average every year.

“We are investing a record amount of funding into tackling potholes and resurfacing roads, which will see highway maintenance funding to local authorities almost doubled over the next decade.”

– The survey was conducted in March by research company Online95.

The average cost of car insurance has risen by £338 in the last year with premiums soaring by £148 in the last three months alone.

It means that an average premium now stands at £924, with those in inner London forking out £1,503 on average – making it the most expensive area for drivers to get their cars insured. In Outer London, prices have risen by £446 in a year, increasing up to £1,187 on average.

Outside of the capital, drivers in Manchester and Merseyside are putting up with an annual increase of around £417, with average premiums now standing at £1,154. In the West Midlands, the cost of car insurance now stands at an average of £1,139 – or up £442 on the year prior.

Younger drivers continue to struggle under high insurance premiums, with those aged 21 and under now seeing average costs of over £2,000, according to Confused.com’s car insurance price index, which compared over six million quotes.

Louise Thomas, motor expert at Confused.com car insurance, said: “For another consecutive quarter, we’ve seen some of the highest inflation rates when it comes to car insurance.

“With prices up on average £148 (19 per cent) in just 3 months, and £338 (58 per cent) in 12 months, drivers are likely to be paying more than ever. So those who haven’t yet been affected should be wary of how pricing may affect them at their next renewal.”

However, those aged over 30 are still having to pay increasing amounts for cover, with drivers up to the age of 38 not paying less than £1,000 for their car insurance on average.

“But there are deals around and drivers can still save money, even if they’ve noticed their renewal has gone up. And in a time of financial uncertainty, this can be really helpful if you’re needing to watch your money more closely than before. So if you’re due to renew, consider ways in which you can keep costs down.”

Electric vehicle (EV) buyers face a £3,400 price hike from the start of next year unless post-Brexit trade rules are delayed, an automotive industry body has said.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called on the UK and EU to postpone the implementation of tougher rules of origin requirements on EV batteries.

Tariffs of 10% are due to be imposed on exports of electric cars between the UK and EU from January 1 if at least 45% of their value does not originate in the UK or EU.

Manufacturers will struggle to meet that threshold as battery production within Europe has not increased as quickly as hoped.

The SMMT estimated the tariffs could result in an average price rise of £3,400 on EU-manufactured pure battery electric vehicles bought in the UK.

Nearly half (49%) of all pure battery electric vehicles bought by UK buyers are from the EU.

The SMMT said conventional petrol and diesel vehicles would escape tariffs, which would “have the perverse effect of incentivising the purchase of fossil fuel-powered vehicles”.

It described a three-year delay in implementing the new rules of origin requirements as “a pragmatic solution” as it would allow time for European battery production to ramp up.

Speaking before an SMMT virtual global trade conference, the organisation’s chief executive Mike Hawes said: “UK automotive is a trading powerhouse delivering billions to the British economy, exporting vehicles and parts around the world, creating high value jobs and driving growth nationwide.

“Our manufacturers have shown incredible resilience amid multiple challenges in recent years, but unnecessary, unworkable and ill-timed rules of origin will only serve to set back the recovery and disincentivise the very vehicles we want to sell.

“Not only would consumers be out of pocket, but the industrial competitiveness of the UK and continental industries would be undermined.

“A three-year delay is a simple, common-sense solution which must be agreed urgently.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We need a joint UK-EU solution to avoid consumers facing tariffs on electric vehicles from 2024 which do not apply to petrol and diesel cars.

“We have raised this with the European Commission and industry and are ready to work with them to find a solution within the existing structure of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing.”

Two ads for Nissan’s Qashqai hybrid model have been banned for failing to make sufficiently clear the extent to which it needed petrol to run.

The first TV ad, seen in May and September, opened with small text stating: “*e-Power comprises a 100% electric motor-driven system, powered by a lithium ion battery and a petrol engine.”

The ad featured stylised footage of a car driving through a city at night while a voiceover said: “Who said electrification can’t spark excitement when unplugged?”

The second TV ad, seen in June, included an additional closing shot depicting DC superhero The Flash running around two Nissan cars and leaving a trail of sparks in his wake, with a voiceover stating: “Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail with e-Power. Get your own electrical superpower like The Flash.”

Four viewers complained this did not make the car’s source of power sufficiently clear.

Nissan said the ad made clear that the vehicle was part of their “e-Power” range that was neither hybrid nor fully electric but used a petrol engine and lithium-ion battery to power an electric motor which solely turned the wheels.

This was different from conventional hybrids where the wheels were powered by a petrol engine, electric motor, or a combination of both.

Nissan said the ads were no longer being broadcast in the form complained of, and that in future they would include additional wording to clarify that the vehicle was not a fully electric vehicle and required petrol to fuel the electric motor.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said viewers would understand the ads to mean that the car used “e-Power”, a new, electric technology that did not require it to be plugged in in the same way as electric-powered vehicles.

While the ad did not include any explicit claims in relation to the car’s environmental impact, the ASA said consumers were likely to understand that the car was a better choice for the environment than traditionally fuelled vehicles.

“However, because the ads did not make sufficiently clear the nature of the vehicle’s power source and because it required petrol to power the electric motor, which would produce tailpipe emissions, we considered that the ads were also misleading in this regard,” the ASA said.

“We concluded that the ads did not make sufficiently clear the extent to which the car required petrol and were therefore misleading,” the watchdog concluded.

It ruled that the ads must not appear again in their current form, adding: “We told Nissan to ensure that their future ads made sufficiently clear the nature of a vehicle’s power source.”

Nissan said: “We are disappointed with the ruling made by the ASA although of course we will respect their decision.

“We remain fully committed to helping our customers understand the different technologies available to them, including hybrid, e-Power and full electric. e-Power uses a petrol engine and a lithium-ion battery to power an electric motor. The electric motor alone drives the wheels, providing a uniquely exciting technology that brings customers who are not quite ready for a fully electric vehicle as close to the excitement of EV driving as possible.”

More than 600,000 British drivers face disqualification with “one touch of their phone”, a road safety charity has warned.

Analysis of official data obtained by IAM RoadSmart found that 547,287 drivers had six points on their licence as of August 5, and a further 94,088 had nine points.

The punishment for illegally using a mobile phone behind the wheel was toughened in 2017.

Those caught face six penalty points and a £200 fine.

Drivers who accumulate 12 or more points within three years are usually handed a six-month ban.

Varying amounts of points are handed out for motoring offences, such as three for using a vehicle with defective brakes, between three and six for speeding and 10 for drug-driving.

The number of drivers with six and nine points on their licence was 6% and 8% higher than a year earlier respectively.

The figures are based on analysis of a response to a freedom of information request to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) shared with the PA news agency.

Virtually all hand-held use of mobile phones on Britain’s roads is banned.

A loophole allowing drivers to escape punishment for hand-held phone use if they were taking a photograph or playing a game was closed by new legislation in March last year.

Department for Transport statistics show 22 people were killed and a further 148 were badly hurt in crashes on Britain’s roads in 2022 where a driver using a mobile phone was a contributory factor.

IAM RoadSmart director of policy, campaigns and standards Nicholas Lyes said: “It is astounding that there are more half a million drivers just one touch of their phone away from a driving ban.

“Anyone with six points on their licence that is tempted to text or take a selfie on their phone is not only risking a ban but is a potential danger to themselves and other road users.

“A pinging phone can be a massive distraction, so it is best to put it out of sight, out of reach and on silent.

“Drivers with any number of points on their licence – but especially those with six or nine – should not only evaluate their driving skills but think about the risk a driving ban could have on their livelihoods.

“Thankfully, education and training courses can play a role in making people safer drivers, along with changing behaviours and attitudes.

“There is a widely held suspicion that driving standards are deteriorating.

“The worrying jump in the number of people with points on their licence should be a wake-up call to the Government to roll out new enforcement measures and publish their updated road safety strategy.”

Some cyclists frequently use footage recorded by their head cameras to report illegal mobile use to police.

Michael van Erp, who runs the CyclingMikey YouTube channel, said he has reported 1,555 drivers for motoring offences since 2019, resulting in a total of 2,161 penalty points being handed out.

Annual revenues from council parking operations in England have reached nearly £1 billion, new figures show.

AA analysis of Government data published on Thursday found that English local authorities made a surplus of £962 million in the 2022/23 financial year.

That comprised of £673 million from on-street parking and £289 million from car parks.

The total for both types of parking was just £318 million during the previous 12 months, which was affected by coronavirus travel restrictions.

In 2018/19, before the pandemic, councils recorded a surplus of £936 million, which included £364 million from car parks.

AA head of roads policy Jack Cousens said: “Once again, official statistics show that councils have turned parking into a huge cash cow, not just a service to stimulate local trade and support workers and visitors.

“However, the nearly £75 million, or 20% crash in the surplus from car parks must be particularly worrying for cash-strapped councils.

“While the Covid fallout such as people working from home and the economic downturn are factors in the decline, hikes in parking charges by councils have contributed and helped to drive more shoppers online.

“In effect, many local authorities are killing the goose that lays the golden egg.”

Councils’ parking management involves operational costs but money is received through charges and fines.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, said: “Income raised through parking charges is spent on running parking services.

“Any surplus is spent on essential transport projects, including fixing the £14 billion road repairs backlog, reducing congestion, tackling poor air quality and supporting local bus services.

“Motorists can avoid fines by ensuring they observe parking and traffic rules that are only there to help all drivers get around and find parking safely, smoothly and fairly.”

The proportion of new cars registered last month that were battery electric was lower than a year earlier, new figures show.

Just 16.6% of registrations in September were pure electric compared with 16.9% in the same month in 2022, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.

At least 22% of new cars sold by manufacturers in the UK next year must be zero emission under the Government’s zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) mandate.

The decline in the market share of battery electric new cars last month was driven by a 14.3% decrease in registrations by private buyers.

Purchases for fleets rose by 50.6%.

The overall new car market increased by 21.0% in September with 272,610 vehicles registered.

September is traditionally a strong month for car sales due to the introduction of new number plates.

Under the ZEV mandate, manufacturers that fail to meet thresholds and do not make use of flexibilities – such as carrying over allowances from previous years – will be required to pay the Government £15,000 per polluting car sold above the limits.

Last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030 to 2035.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “A bumper September means the new car market remains strong despite economic challenges.

“However, with tougher EV targets for manufacturers coming into force next year, we need to accelerate the transition, encouraging all motorists to make the switch.

“This means adding carrots to the stick – creating private purchase incentives aligned with business benefits, equalising on-street charging VAT with off-street domestic rates, and mandating charge point rollout in line with how electric vehicle sales are now to be dictated.

“The forthcoming Autumn Statement is the perfect opportunity to create the conditions that will deliver the zero-emission mobility essential to our shared net-zero ambition.”

Ian Plummer, commercial director at online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader, said: “The big question is how some players in the industry reach 22% by the end of next year under the new ZEV sales mandate.

“Many face a difficult choice between selling fewer petrol and diesel vehicles, paying hefty fines or buying credits from all-electric new market entrants such as BYD, Tesla and Polestar.

“To square that circle, we could see prices come down to encourage consumer demand further.”

Alex Buttle, co-founder of used car marketplace Motorway.co.uk, said: “The majority of EV registrations are still from fleet users taking advantage of the favourable benefits offered to company car buyers.

“If the Government could now provide similar incentives to private buyers, we could see EV sales surge even further and the switchover accelerate in the run up to 2035.”

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “We believe it’s vital the Government shows its commitment to zero-emission driving and doing its bit to sustain demand by stimulating the less expensive end of the new electric car market.

“A refreshed plug-in car grant would go a long way towards helping more drivers switch to electric cars sooner.”

The average price of the UK’s most popular used cars fell by 1.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2023.

Analysis by AA Cars shows that despite the fall, average prices for the most searched-for cars remain 3.4 per cent higher than last year. The average price of the ‘most popular cars’ stands at £16,736 through July, August and September, contrasting the average price of £16,182 from a year prior.

It does, however, represent a decrease compared with the £16,965 average price recorded during April, May and June of this year.

The Mercedes C-Class saw the largest annual fall in price, dropping by 10.36 per cent to £19,225 from £21,424. In contrast, prices for the Kia Sportage increased by 13.9 per cent to £19,267 from £16,913 a year ago.

Prices for the Ford Fiesta – which has now been discontinued – fell on a quarterly basis but still remained higher than a year ago. The average price for the compact model now stands at £11,148, up from £10,851 a year ago.

Mark Oakley, director of AA Cars, said: “The average price of the UK’s most popular used cars continues to fall.

“Although prices on average are still higher than last year, this is not the case for every model and there are some great deals available for drivers prioritising good value for money.

“For drivers considering a greener car, this might be a good time to start looking. Ever greater numbers of EVs and hybrids are entering the second-hand market each month, boosting supply and choice and pushing down prices. Switching to a green vehicle can be a great way to future-proof yourself as more cities roll-out or expand clean air zones, not to mention saving on fuel bills.”

Prices for the 20 most popular electric vehicles and hybrids fell by seven per cent between the second and third quarters of 2023, with the average price for the most popular models listed by AA Cars standing at £19,932, down from £22,021 in the previous quarter. The fall in EV prices comes despite the demand for used battery-powered models soaring, with SMMT data showing that sales are up 81.8 per cent compared with a year ago.