Got it right once - 5 November 2024

FOLLOW UP: EU CHINA TARIFFS UPDATEOn the 31 October, the EU tariffs for China made EVs went live. Click this electrive article link here to read more. This has caused SAIC to take the European Commission to court over the amount it has been charged. You can read more via this electrive article link here. China, it is claimed, has instructed home grown EV makers to not build plants in the EU to get around the extra charges. Once again, electrive have an article link here for you. Additionally, they now want to know the lifecycle of rare earth minerals in Western supply chains. Check out this link to a China Digital Times link here. FOLLOW UP: FINANCE INDUSTRY THROWN INTO TURMOILFollowing a court ruling regarding commission on finance agreements, the industry has been thrown into turmoil as there are questions on what they need to do in order to be compliant. Some companies have halted all offerings for car finance until the situation is clarified. You can find out more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here. FOLLOW UP: AUDI TO CLOSE BRUSSELS PLANT IN 2025As listeners will be aware, Audi plans to close their Belgium plant in early 2025. However, they have been unable to find a suitable buyer to take on the property and run it. To learn more about this, click the electrive article link here. LABOUR’S FIRST UK BUDGET Labour has revealed their first budget, since being voted into power. Fuel duty and the extra relief, is staying in place. However, there are big changes for VED rates, Benefit in Kind (BiK) thresholds, classification for double cab pickups and more. Click this AMOnline article link here to read more. For more on fuel duty and first year VED rates, click this Autocar article link here. To read about the BiK changes, click here for an Autocar article. If you wish to learn more about the changes to taxation for double-cab pickups, click this link from Professional Pickup. VW GROUP PROFITS DOWN €3billion Volkswagen Group profits plunge €3 billion in the latest financial report. The VW brand itself is causing heavy drag thanks to an operating margin of just 2%. The information comes out at a key time when the company is negotiating the future with the unions. Click this Autocar article to read about the financial situation. For more context, we give you this article link from InsideEVs that you can click here. However, they are underplaying why Germany doesn’t want tariffs on Chinese made EVs. STELLANTIS SALES DROP IN EUROPE AND THE USStellantis have reported on their sales figures for Europe and the United States. The numbers are not good. There is a drop for both markets, although the company is trying to gloss over this publicly. Click this AMOnline article link to read more. For context of the struggles the group has in the US, click this link from The Autopian. MARIA GRAZIA DAVINO TO LEAD BYD EUROPEAN EXPANSIONAs Alan correctly predicted, we quickly found out where Maria Grazia Davino has moved to after her sudden departure from heading up Stellantis’s efforts in the UK. She will lead the expansion in Europe that BYD is planning. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline link here. ITALY IS DUE TO CUT SUPPORT FOR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRYThe Italian Government has outlined plans to remove €4.6 billion in aid to the automotive industry, as it allocates it to other matters. Stellantis, who have been busy fighting with the Government, will be a big loser if this is the case. Click this Reuters article link to read more. MCLAREN OWNER POTENTIALLY SELLING The owner of McLaren Group, Mumtalakat the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, is “exploring” the possibility of selling off the company as it has reached a non binding agreement with CYVN Holdings who have invested in Gordon Murray Technologies, Foreseven and Nio. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar article link here. ROYAL MAIL FINALLY AGREES ON WHICH EV VANS TO BUYRoyal Mail has announced, finally, which electric Peugeot vans it will purchase. They will be taking 1,100 e-Partners and 1000 e-Experts. To read more, click this link to an electrive article, here. 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 PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Hyundai InitiumHyundai has show us their latest vision for a hydrogen powered SUV, most likely a strong indication of what the new Nexo will look like. And that is, a bit Ioniq 5 and a bit Pontiac Aztek. To see for yourself, click this Autocar link here. Ian Callum Jaguar C-X75Ian Callum has added technology and style to create another road legal Jaguar C-X75, this time in a gorgeous sage green colour. Apparently there has been some debate on whether it is a good looking supercar or boring. Judge for yourself. Click this Autocar link for more. Old Car Dead News: Jaguar F-Pace pulled from sale in the UKJaguar will now not sell any new cars in the UK until 2026. This will, according to the brand’s MD, give them time to “reset”. We worry they will be irrelevant by the time the come back. Click this Autocar article link to read more. LUNCHTIME READ: COMPLEX AUDIOBOOKS ARE MORE DANGEROUS FOR DRIVERSA study has concluded that complex audiobooks cause too much distraction for drivers, as they exert a lot of mental effort to take in and understand what is being said. However, there is a balance, as too little stimulation causes drivers to mentally switch off. Click here to read more, from The Autopian, and access the direct link to the study. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST SELLING AMERICAN CARS OF ALL TIMEWe are increasingly struggling to find good List of the Week article to share with you. If you find one, please do send it our way and if its good enough we’ll put it on the show! Check out what Autocar have listed as the best selling US cars of all time. Do you agree with the choices the chaps made? Don’t forget to tell us. <a...