It reads like the car enthusiast’s dream: pay a fixed subscription fee and swap to whichever car you want from a brand’s line-up as and when it suits you. Something sensible for the week and a sports car at the weekend? Drive electric day to day but switch to a diesel SUV for those long… Continue reading Inside the industry: Volvo is showing the subscription model can work for cars
Author: Autocar Magazine UK
Coventry gigafactory plans revealed
Plans to build an EV battery gigafactory have been unveiled by Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport. The West Midlands Combined Authority – which represents the region’s seven urban councils and is led by the West Midlands mayor – has endorsed the airport as its preferred location for the development. It’s claimed that the site could… Continue reading Coventry gigafactory plans revealed
Porsche to begin producing synthetic fuels in 2022
Porsche sports car boss Frank Walliser said the company is aiming to begin trials of its own synthetic fuel next year, and that it will be compatible with unmodified combustion engines. Speaking ahead of the unveiling of the new 911 GT3, he said: “We are on track, together with our partners in South America. For sure,… Continue reading Porsche to begin producing synthetic fuels in 2022
Jaguar Land Rover to test fuel cell powertrains within the year
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that fuel cell powertrain development forms a core part of its bold new ‘Reimagine’ transformation strategy, and will begin road testing prototypes within the next 12 months. Last year, the company detailed its Project Zeus initiative: a serious hydrogen power research project with the aim of developing fuel cell-powered versions… Continue reading Jaguar Land Rover to test fuel cell powertrains within the year
Electric Jaguar XJ scrapped as part of brand reinvention plan
The long-awaited electric replacement for the Jaguar XJ has been written out of the company’s long-term strategy as it looks to transition to an electric-only luxury brand from 2025. According to Jaguar Land Rover’s bold new Reimagine plan to transform the company’s fortunes, Jaguar will undergo “a renaissance to emerge as a pure-electric luxury brand with a dramatically… Continue reading Electric Jaguar XJ scrapped as part of brand reinvention plan
Inside the industry: EVs give scope for car industry to thrive again
The latest forecast from the SMMT suggests new car sales of just below 1.9 million this year, 15% up on last year’s disaster but around 100,000 down on predictions from October, when Lockdown Three seemed like a sequel too far. But while it’s impossible not to wince at the memory of the 2.69m sales made… Continue reading Inside the industry: EVs give scope for car industry to thrive again
Analysis: Why the British bus industry is on the up
Wrightbus, the Northern Irish bus manufacturer owned by JCB heir Jo Bamford, has announced the creation of more than 40 new jobs as it ramps up production of the world’s first hydrogen-fuel-cell double-deckers. It has made the move in response to the government’s pledge to help fund 4000 new British-built zero-emissions buses over the next… Continue reading Analysis: Why the British bus industry is on the up
Expand and deliver: Inside car buying start up Carzam
I’m supposed to be doing the interview, but the second I sit down in his office, Peter Waddell, a co-founder of Carzam, the online car supermarket that was launched in December, starts grilling me on my experience of buying one of his cars. Offence being the best defence, I blurt out that as a used… Continue reading Expand and deliver: Inside car buying start up Carzam
Real-life Q Branch: the cars of Aston Martin’s bespoke division
The real-life Q is quite different to the one you see on the big screen. He seems less absent-minded and eccentric, for a start. And, as far as we can tell, his pens don’t contain any explosive devices. Yet Simon Lane, in his role as head of Aston Martin’s Q bespoke division, is in charge… Continue reading Real-life Q Branch: the cars of Aston Martin’s bespoke division
James Ruppert: Larger dealers can still deliver cheap motoring
Buying a used car privately is temporarily banned, it seems. Clicking and collecting a car is problematic but permitted, as is a retailer delivering a car to you. This is all rather confusing, of course, and it seems to be working against bargain-hunting motorists, many of whom have only a small budget to play with.… Continue reading James Ruppert: Larger dealers can still deliver cheap motoring