The week that was - 16 April 2024

Motoring Podcast - News Show

FOLLOW UP: BYD HELPED BY CHINESE GOVERNMENT

A report is claiming that BYD has received $3.7 billion, in funding from the Chinese Government, to help it to reach its dominating position. This is all part of the EU’s investigation into whether companies from the country have an unfair advantage thanks to state aid. Click this Yahoo Finance article link for more information.

FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT SITE TO BE SOLD BY COUNCIL

The site of the ill-fated Britishvolt battery factory is to be sold by the local council, to a company that wishes to create a data centre, after the new ‘owners’ Recharge Industries, have still failed to pay the monies owning. If you wish to learn more, click this BBC News article link here.

WLTP DOES NOT REFLECT REAL WORLD USE REPORT FINDS

Two reports from the European Court of Auditors have shown that the testing regime, WLTP, results, do not come close to real-world usage on the public roads. Other conclusions have also been inferred by the investigation, however we would urge caution as not enough detail has been provided in how the data was calculated and if that was correct or even valid. But, there are now calls for the system to change, once again, at a time when the car industry is under enormous pressure from multiple vectors. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.

2023 LOSSES FOR LOTUS

Lotus announced losses for 2023, of £594 million. Whilst this does sound a lot and quite scary, we must all remember the transformation that is undergoing the company right now. They are fundamentally changing how they do things and the cars they produce in an incredibly short period of time. For more detail, click this Autocar article link here.

BIT OF A WEEK FOR STELLANTIS

Stellantis, and in particular their CEO Carlos Taveres, had quite the last seven or so days. First off there was the public spat about the Italian Government trying to cosy up to foreign car companies, to encourage more manufacturing jobs in the country, which Taveres warned over such moves. You can read more, by clicking this link to a Reuters article.

That’s not all though, Taveres then had to fend off questions over which brand or brands the Stellantis Group were going to ditch. He refuted these claims as “fake news”. Click this Autocar article link for more.

You’ll have to wait till New New Car News for the third piece of Stellantis news.

VW INVESTING MORE IN CHINA

Volkswagen has announced that it will be investing $2.7 billion in a Chinese manufacturing site. This is quite odd, as only recently the “roof is on fire” speech from their CEO and huge cost-cutting efforts across the group. On top of which, there is ever increasing growth over concerns about workers rights and the likes at current and partner production facilities within China. If you want to read more, click this Reuters article link here.

STRICTER CO2 RULES FOR EU LORRIES AND BUSES

The EU has agreed to implement stricter rules on CO2 emissions, for lorries and buses. There are some exemptions. Click this electrive article link for more.

FUNDING FOR ELECTRIFYING LONDON BUSES

A part public and private financing scheme has created a fund of £100 million, to help electrify the buses of London. This includes the infrastructure and buses themselves. To find out more, click this Engineering and Technology Magazine link here.

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NEW NEW CAR NEWS -

Alfa Romeo Milano, erm, Junior, yes Junior

The third headache of the week for Stellantis was the row about the name for the new Alfa Romeo SUV. Launched under the name of Milano, an Italian member of parliament falsely claimed it couldn’t be named such as it wasn’t built there. Alfa confirmed they didn’t want a fight and have changed it to Junior.

This is another platform share within Stellantis, to keep costs down. Click this Autocar article link to find out the details.

Kia Sorento

Kia have updated their large SUV, the Sorento. A favourite of the towing fraternity, it will come with powertrains to ensure they are kept happy. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.

Morgan Plus Four

Morgan have updated the Plus Four and minimised the design following the changes required in 2020 when they utilised a new platform. Click this link to an Autocar article, to find out what has changed and how good it looks in green!

Rimac to supply batteries to BMW

Rimac will supply the next generation of cars, from BMW, with their latest battery technology, that takes advantage of round cells. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.

Lexus goes electrified only

The ICE only LC and RC F are being removed from sale, by Lexus. As we mourn the loss we encourage you to click this Autocar link here to find out more.

LUNCHTIME READ: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ROADSIDE DINER

BBC News has an article about the timeline of Little Chef, a once stalwart of UK roads helping to refresh and refill hungry travellers, that disappeared some years ago. To read more about this icon of the road, click the link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: 24 AMAZING MOMENTS FROM GOODWOOD MEMBERS’ MEETING

We are giving you two videos to check out and select you favourite clip from the 2024 Goodwood Members’ Meeting. First up, click this link here for the 13 Wildest Moments. For the 11 best moments of Sunday, click this link here.

AND FINALLY: PRIUS PHEV RACING SERIES

In South Korea a new racing series is about to begin, this one being a one-make series for the new Toyota Prius PHEV. You can learn more by clicking this link to an article from The Autopian, here.