Men In Sheds - 21 December 2021

FOLLOW UP: CHANGES TO TOWING RESTRICTIONS NOW IN FORCEAfter recently confirming that the changes to the towing rules had not, in fact, changed, we were informed by one eagle-eyed listener that as of 16 December 2021, they have changed. To find out who is allowed to do what, compared to who was allowed to what previously, click the Government’s own guidance link here. PLUG-IN CAR GRANT ALLOWANCE CHANGED AGAINOnce again , the Government has changed the eligibility of the plug-in grant with no notice at all. The criteria is that if you select a car that has a book price of less than £32,000 new, you will receive £1,500 grant, down from £35,000 and £2,500 respectively. To learn more, click here for the Motoring Research article. Some manufacturers have reduced their prices so that certain models are still capable of collecting the grant, to find out which no longer qualify at the time of recording, click the YesAuto link here. CONGESTION CHARGE TIMING ADJUSTED OVER CHRISTMASBetween Christmas Day and 3 January 2022, the Congestion Charge will not be enforced at night, in a bid to help out the beleaguered West End. This was, clearly, an idea before the scale of the Omicron variant was known. But, from February 21 2022, the timing will change back to 07:00 to 18:00 daily when the congestion charge will be applicable. For more information, click the Evening Standard article here. NICHE UK FIRMS SUPPORTED BY SUPPLIER SUPPORT WITH EVS WEVC and Equipmake, are working together to help niche UK manufacturers electrify their range and help them deal with new and impending legislative changes. To find out more about the companies and the work they do, click here for the Autocar article. VOLVO AND NORTHVOLT JOINT INVESTMENT IN BATTERY FACTORYVolvo, with the help of Northvolt, will be opening a battery research and development centre and factory near Gothenburg next year. Investment is in the region of £2.5 billion for the factory. Volvo wants to try and control better the cost of EV batteries but also produce them in as environmentally protective manner as possible. To read more, click here for the YesAuto article. ALBERT BIERMANN RETIRESIn news that took the chap’s breath away, it was announced that Albert Biermann is to retire from Hyundai. He will be retained as an advisor, but steps away from day to day activities. He is, of course, lately known for the amazing job he has done with the N cars from Hyundai. To read more about this and who his successor will be, click the Autocar article here. TOYOTA HIT BY SEMI-CONDUCTOR SHORTAGES AGAINToyota has extended the stoppage time of their Land Cruiser and Lexus production thanks to supply chain issues, mainly due to chip shortages which are due to Covid related issues. Where some suggested the industry was coming out of the issues it appears that the more pessimistic predictions are proving more accurate. To read more, click the BBC News article here. For a round up of how the rest of the industry is effected, click here for the Autocar article. TOYOTA ANNOUNCES FUTURE STRATEGYAkio Toyoda presented the vision for Toyota and Lexus’s future, with 15 new electric vehicles front and centre of that future. There will be a total of 30 battery electric vehicles launched by 2030. This is a huge step, especially as it is only happening in eight years. There are many who have chided Toyota for not moving to EVs quicker and amazingly some who still thought this was not good enough. To find out more, click the Autocar article here. To see how Toyota Rickrolled us all, click The Drive article link 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——————————————————————————-REVIEW OF 2021Alan and Andrew run through some of the stand out items from 2021, in this week’s second half of the show. Have a lovely Festive break and stay safe everyone!