Is the UK Government's strategy for electric car adoption a special case or a basket case for consumers, wonders Professor Jim Saker, regular Automotive Management contributor and president of the Institute of the Motor Industry.
Direct warnings to the UK Government about the feasibility of ZEV Mandate targets without more work to get motorists into electric cars appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
The used EV market is showing signs of decline, according to recent data from Marketcheck, with sales slipping while petrol vehicle sales achieved a yearly peak.
The move by the Treasury to sound out how best to deal with mass compensation claims has been welcomed as a positive step although immediate certainty is critical for car loan providers, according to motor retail tech business iVendi.
The Government is launching a national awareness campaign, 'Fake Always Breaks' about the dangers of buying counterfeit car parts, including wheels, airbags and brakes that can leave cars unsafe.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the UK Government "wants to make EVs as affordable as possible" and it sees big fleet deals as an advantage in bringing more low priced used EVs into the market for private motorists.
The Government's aims for zero carbon motoring will need to do more to convince a general public which is happy to be greener if it doesn't cost them more money or time, notes AM's regular columnist Professor Jim Saker, president of the Institute of the Motor Industry.
While there are positive signs of an industrial strategy for automotive and investment in EV infrastructure, the new government's actions will be determined by political uncertainty and competing national priorities.
When motorists want one thing, but policies are driving OEMs to offer less of it, it risks the prosperity of the UK motor industry, argues AM's regular columnist Professor Jim Saker.
The chief executive of Stellantis has slated the UK ZEV mandate, claiming it could drive carmakers to flood the market with EVs, ultimately threatening their own viability.
Shoreham Vehicle Auctions (SVA) has called for key industry stakeholders to work closely with the tax office to shape new legislation on double cab pick ups.
The UK Government has reiterated it is "committed to keeping the transition to electric vehicles affordable" in a response to members of the House of Lords who have been urging it to do more to ease motorists concerns about a future driving EVs to reduce tailpipe emissions.
Consumers who have witnessed new and used cars become significantly more expensive since 2020 are unlikely to beat a path to dealerships as a result of the National Insurance cut in Jeremy Hunt's 2024 Spring Budget.
The absence of any measures in the Spring Budget targeted at jumpstarting market demand for EVs has been widely condemned as a missed opportunity.
The Government has changed its mind about how it taxes double cab pick-up trucks, a week after it said that from July 1, 2024, these trucks would be treated like cars for tax purposes.
This year could go down in history for the automotive industry, for the most unusual reason, writes AM's regular columnist Professor Jim Saker, emeritus professor of Loughborough University's business school and president of the Institute of the Motor Industry.
The UK would be wise to appoint a ‘car czar’ charged with coordinating efforts to promote electric vehicles,
Dealers have shared concerns that the Government's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate will create a forced new electric vehicle (EV) market in 2024.
A director of an AM100 dealer group has branded the UK Government’s zero emissions vehicle strategy “a bloody shambles” after targets were reaffirmed by the Department for Transport yesterday.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has officially announced the implementation of a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate slated to take effect next year.
