Everyday Batteries for Everyday Cars - 28 February 2023

FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT BOUGHT BY RECHARGE INDUSTRIESThe troubled British battery startup has been bought by Australian firm Recharge Industries, but that means a pivot to battery storage and away from automotive - at least for the moment. Click here to read the main BBC story and click here for the thread by Peter Campbell of the Financial Times.STELLANTIS POSTS RECORD PROFITSStellantis has posted record profits while also recording a 41% rise global EV sales. Is this because of supply chain constraints forcing them to focus on building their most profitable models?Click here to read the Autocar story.CITROEN BOSS STEPS DOWNIn a surprise move, Citroen boss Vincent Cobée has left the company.Click here to read the Motor1 story.SONO STYMIES SOLAR SIONGerman solar panel startup Sono has ended its project to produce the Sion solar-augmented EV, instead it’s going to focus on producing solar cells suitable for vehicles through its existing partnerships.Click here to read the Move Electric story.MOBILITY APP SHOWS CO2 COST OF BUSINESS TRAVELA new app can help calculate the total CO2 cost of employee business travel across all modes and can help benchmarking against similar organizations.Click here for the full Autocar story.ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS TO HELP EV MOTORWAY CHARGING National Highways is planning an £8million investment in containerized battery EV chargers for some high demand English service stations with limited electricity supply.Click here for the full Motoring Research story.More funding for Councils to expand ev chargingSome English councils have won a share of £56million to expand their local EV charging networks.Click here for the move Electric Story.Firms greenwashing their products face steep finesNew rules will prevent companies from selling their products and services on claims that may be false or impossible to prove.Click here for the Guardian article.Bentley W12 reaches the end of the line in the BaturBentley’s W12 engine will bow out in 2024 in the limited-production Batur.Click here for the Autocar article.If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCASTNEW NEW CAR NEWS:Vauxhall Corsa - The Vauxhall Corsa is to receive a facelift to incorporate the “Vizor” grille as seen on the Mokka and Astra. Oh, and a performance electric version. You can read more by clicking this Autocar link.Updated Peugeot 508 PSE Revealed - The handsome Peugeot 508 will receive a facelift, so far Peugeot has only shared details for the powerful PSE plug-in hybrid. You can read more by clicking this Evo link.Audi TT Final Edition - The car that launched 1,000 mood boards, the Audi TT, will be retired soon. Its last hurrah in the UK will be the “all the spec” Final Edition. You can read more by clicking this Evo link.DESIGNER’S MOOD BOARDHyundai and Genesis design chief, SangYup Lee, is World Car Person of the Year 2023. You can read more, including a list of the other four finalists, by clicking this Motoring Research link.LUNCHTIME READ: Spyshots: The Golden Age of Tip-OffsThis week’s longer read is about the late 1990s anthe work of Hans Lehmann, Brenda Priddy and others capturing the test vehicles that manufacturers really didn’t want us to see. At least, not at that point. You can read the Hagerty article by clicking this link.LIST OF THE WEEK: 29 Car Brands We’d Like To Bring BackMotoring Research has compiled a list of defunct brands ready to return. Which would you most like to see return to the roads? To see the list and browse the slideshow, click this link.AND FINALLY: There May Be More Behind That Weird Hyundai Ad You've Seen Than You RealizeThe Autopian has noticed a strance Hyundai Ioniq 5 variant appearing in internet adverts, so they investigated and foudnd that it may not be a composite after all. You can find out more by clicking this link.