FOLLOW UP: NHTSA INVESTIGATES MORE WAYMO INCIDENTS The National Highways and Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating further incidents involving Waymo vehicles. The nine extra are focused on stationary or semi-stationary items such as gates, chains and utility poles. If you wish to learn more, click on this TechCrunch link here. F…

FOLLOW UP: EU TO IMPOSE TARIFFS EU politicians have indicated that they will impose tariffs between 25-30% on Chinese EVs imported to the European Union. This comes after the US raised their tariff level to 105% for Chinese EVs. The move has been expected but the amount was not known. This has brought out divisions within the EU as France and Germa…

FOLLOW UP: CAZOO TO ENTER ADMINISTRATION The online car retailer has taken the step to announce that it will appoint administrators for its subsidiaries to help protect them from creditor’s debt enforcement. Cazoo also stated, to investors, unless it found urgent investment it would fold. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline article link he…

FOLLOW UP: EU WARNS OVER LACK OF COOPERATION WITH PROBE The EU has accused BYD, Geely and SAIC of not providing enough detail for their investigation. Due to this, apparent, lack of cooperation the tariffs that will be imposed are going to be higher than they might have been. The timing of this is important as the Chinese President is visiting Euro…

FOLLOW UP: CONTINENTAL FINED $107M FOR DIESELGATE Continental, the automotive parts supplier, has been fined €100 million for its part in the dieselgate scandal. The fine was such due to the full cooperation of the company and changes they have subsequently made to their compliance structures. There are six weeks for Continental to pay the fine. Cl…

FOLLOW UP: WALES TO CHANGE SOME ROADS BACK TO 30MPH Ken Skates, the Welsh Government Transport Secretary, has announced that some of the road limits recently changed from 30mph to 20mph, will now revert back to the original limit. This is an acknowledgement that the implementation of the reduced road speeds has not been as carefully executed as sho…

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 li…

FOLLOW UP: RENAULT AND VOLVO GROUP PRESENT EV VAN JV Flexis is the name of the joint-venture between Renault, the Volvo Group and transportation company CMA CGM, that will develop EV vans aimed at urban and last mile deliveries. This will fill the gap in both Renault and Volvo’s offerings to the commercial vehicle industry. For more information, cl…

FOLLOW UP: LUCID RAISES $1B FROM SAUDI ARABIA THe luxury EV maker, Lucid, has received a further $1 billion in investment, from the Saudi Arabian sovereign fund, Public Investment Fund. They also increased the number of vehicles they expect to produce in 2024 compared to 2023, still only 9,000 cars though. If you wish to learn more, click this link…

FOLLOW UP: RENAULT VOLVO JV FOR EV VANS IS ON Last week we discussed the Reuters article that stated Renault and Volvo will announce that their joint venture for electric vans will shut in early April. This turns out not to be the case. Thanks to Renault sources we can confirm the JV is still very much on. Click this article link from AMOnline to r…

FOLLOW UP: RENAULT AND VOLVO TO SHUT EV VAN PROJECT Renault and Volvo will announce that their joint venture for electric vans will shut in early April. There is no detail on why this is. Click here for more information, via the Reuters article link. UK GOVERNMENT PREPARES TRADE SANCTIONS ON CHINESE EVS At a SMMT conference, the Transport Secretary…

FOLLOW UP: EU CONSIDERING RETROACTIVE TARIFFS ON CHINESE EVS The investigation, by the European Union, into if China subsidises the homegrown EV makers has, within an interim report, stated there is enough evidence to show there is unfair assistance. On top of this, imports have increased 14% since the investigation began. The fear is, if the rate …

FOLLOW UP: AGENCY MODEL CLARIFICATION Thank you to all who responded to Andrew’s request for more information on how the agency model works for car retails. We can now confirm, the query about who carries the financial liability, does in fact lie with the manufacturers now. To see who is moving to this model, click this link to an Auto Retail Netwo…

FOLLOW UP: VOLVO TO SELL SHARES IN POLESTAR We begin to get the answer of what difference Volvo cutting funding will mean to their Polestar relationship, as they look to offload a large portion of the shares they hold. The plan is to drop from 48% of shares down to 18%. For more information, click this electrive article link here. STELLANTIS TO CON…

FOLLOW UP: CRUISE APPOINTS FIRST EVER SAFETY OFFICER In a move that should have more people stunned, Cruise has announced their first every safety officer. Steve Kenner has worked at a number of places in the autonomous vehicle industry. Louise Zhang, who is a VP of safety and systems will remain in her role. Astonishingly. If you wish to learn mor…

FOLLOW UP: ARRIVAL GOES INTO ADMINISTRATION The inevitable has happened at Arrival and the company has brought in receivers to try and sell on the company assets. Last year they announced they were focusing only on their large van, but this has not been produced. Claims of macroeconomic conditions have been laughed at, following the revelations of …

FOLLOW UP: PARIS VOTES TO CHARGE EXTRA FOR HEAVY CARS Just under six percent of eligible Parisians voted on charging extra for non resident parking permitted heavier vehicles, with 54.6% voting for this. Therefore, internal combustion engined cars (ICE) weighing over 1.6 tonnes and electric vehicles weighing over 2 tonnes, will be charged extra. Cl…

FOLLOW UP: CRUISE’S ACCIDENT FAILURES ARE WORSE THAN GUESSED The ‘independent’ review by a legal firm employed by both GM and Cruise has produced their first report into the incident where a pedestrian who was knocked into the path of a driverless taxi was hit and dragged by the car. They try to claim that no one really meant to deceive the regulat…

FOLLOW UP: VW AND GERMAN GOV LOSE ENGINE FIX FIGHT A German environmental group has won its court case against the Volkswagen Group and the German Government for allowing the use of thermal windows in engine emissions, for the last eight years. Whilst the regulator allowed it the court ruled they should not have. You can learn more by clicking this…

FOLLOW UP: CAR MAKERS LOBBIED AGAINST INCENTIVES FOR SMALL EVS In the consultation over the introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which came into force on 1 January 2024, documents have revealed that some manufacturers fought against rules that encouraged more efficient, smaller and lighter vehicles. Not a great look for the car …

FOLLOW UP: RIFTER NOT BERLINGO, BAD ANDREW During the Year of unintended consequences - 19 December 2023 episode, Andrew stated that Alex Grant has an e-Berlingo, which is incorrect. Alex has the more stylish e-Rifter, which shares a lot of the platform but is not the same. Apologies Alex, Andrew has been suitably chastised for his error. FOLLOW UP…

In this episode, Alan talks all about his 2019 Lexus GX460 Premium. Since this was recorded, the replacement GX550 has been announced, and Alan has taken it on a 5,000-mile road trip to Wyoming and back. The 4.6 litre V8 has become more efficient over time; it’s underlined its ability to remain very comfortable for long periods of time, and, sadly,…

Follow Up: RULES OF ORIGIN DELAY AGREED Leaving it until almost the last moment, the EU and UK have agreed to delay implementing the rules of origin legislation, which would’ve hit car makers in both Europe and Blighty. This was expected to happen and there was an almost audible sigh of relief from the car industry. You can find out more on this, b…

Follow Up: CRUISE FIRE NINE EXECS IN ACCIDENT AFTERMATH Following the internal investigation by GM, into the incident where a pedestrian was dragged by a Cruise driverless vehicle, nine executives from the company have been sacked. Departments affected include Legal, Government Affairs, Commercial Operations and Safety and Systems. On top of that G…

Follow Up - EU and UK Agree to 3-Year Rules of Origin Delay UK and EU politicians have agreed to delay the introduction of EV Rules of Origin by three years—more details in this Autocar story. Follow-Up - Tesla Vs. Nordic Unions - Unions Ahead Tesla continues to rebuff cooperation with Nordic unions, making life hard for Tesla. The Guardian covers …