Woke up angry - 16 July 2024

UK CAR FACTORIES HALVE CARBON EMISSIONS
The UK car manufacturing industry has managed to cut carbon emissions by half in the past 25 years. On top of which, water use has dropped significantly. This comes from the SMMT’s 25th annual Sustainability Report. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline link here (www.am-online....) .
JLR SALES INCREASE
JLR, in the last quarter, saw their sales to dealers (wholesale) rise for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The reason being given is the new body shop opening at Solihull. The Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender made up 68% of wholesale numbers. Foreign markets such as China and particularly the US also grew. Click this Autocar article link to read more (www.autocar.co...) .
They also announced that the Jaguar lineup will be cut down to just one model, due to lack of profitability. Only the F-Pace will be sold by the Jaguar brand until they announce their new models, aimed at the luxury market. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline article link here (www.am-online....) .
RENAULT OFFERS EV CONVERSION TO MASTER OWNERS
Owners of Master III vans are being offered a conversion to EV, by Renault in France. At a cost of €26,900 + tax the vehicles will have a maximum range of 124 miles. This is significant saving on a new electric van, but with a limited range. To read more about this, click here to go to an electrive article (www.electrive....) .
AUDI MAY CLOSE BRUSSELS PLANT
Due to a lack of sales, of the Q8 e-tron, the future of the VW Group plant in Brussels is under consideration, with the ultimate move being to close it and stop selling the model. Whilst Volkswagen Group has just announced it is investing heavily in Rivian, it has financial issue to sort as they and shareholders lower their earning expectation. Click this Reuters article link here to read more (www.reuters.co...) .
US STUDY QUESTIONS SAFETY CLAIMS OF ADAS
A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute (IIHS), in the United States, has questioned how effective some of the advanced driver assistance systems actually are and if they do mitigate road incident rates. This covers technology which claims to be partial automation, not crash avoidance such as automatic emergency braking. Their conclusion is that partial automation adds nothing when it comes to additional safety. You can ream more, by clicking this link from IIHS here (www.iihs.org/n...) . To read the TechRadar piece associated to this, click here (www.techradar....) .
NEW CAR THEFT ATTACKS HIT HYUNDAI AND OTHERS
With the use of an emulator, thieves can trick a car into thinking the key is near enough to allow access and starting of the car. This has hit the Hyundai Group with several models from their range being targeted. The device is made to look like a Nintendo Game Boy and can cost between €16,000 - €30,000. Vehicles that are claimed to be susceptible, apart from the Hyundai Group, include Mitsubishi, Renault, Mercedes and Nissan. To read more, click this article link from InsideEVs (insideevs.com/...) . For more context click this link to a post from Dr Ken German on LinkedIn ( / dr-ken-german-8a88b67a... ) .
BLACKWALL AND SILVERTOWN TUNNELS TO GET TOLLS
Transport for London has announced that they will be imposing tolls on both the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels in 2025. The claim is the prices, which change for peak and non-peak, will reduce congestion. If you wish to find out more, click this link from The Guardian here (www.theguardia...) .
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