Auto News 5

UK car production fell by 15.3% in February, with 123,203 units manufactured, according to figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Declining demand in the UK and in key European and Asian export markets resulted in output falling for the ninth consecutive month.

Visteon, which claims to be the leading supplier of automotive digital instrument clusters, has claimed an industry first: a fully digital instrument cluster displaying holographic objects for the redesigned Peugeot 208.

News 28 Mar, 2019

The Chinese automotive group has bought a 50 per cent share in Smart, with the aim of producing a new all-electric Smart car by 2022

An independent committee set up by Nissan Motor to it advise on how strengthen corporate governance following the arrest of Carlos Ghosn last November found that the former chairman wielded too much power at the Japanese automaker.

Daimler has struck a deal with Chinese automaker Geely for a 50:50 joint venture based in China to develop and operate the Smart brand globally as an all-electric carmaker.

News 28 Mar, 2019

Skoda’s mid-size and large SUVs get a fresh 187bhp 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine, priced from £31,820 and £34,120 respectively

News 27 Mar, 2019

The latest version of Audi’s super estate has been caught on camera, hammering its way around the carousel at the Nurburgring

Volkswagen and Amazon Web Services (AWS) said they would develop the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud together and have agreed a multi-year, global deal to jointly carry out the project.

News 27 Mar, 2019

A heavily-camouflaged mule for the all-new Honda Jazz has been caught on camera undergoing handling testing

Today's launch of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in central London is a welcome step on the road to cleaning up urban air quality but will not stop 'dirty diesels' from entering the capital despite controlling access based on emissions, says publishers of the AIR Index. The AIR (Allow Independent Road-testing) Index is an independent vehicle emissions rating for cars from A (the best) to E (the worst) that provides the on-road urban NOx emissions using the same independent test on every vehicle, to show the relative impact a specific vehicle has on air quality. However, AIR's own testing has found that the Euro emissions standards bear little resemblance to what comes out of a car's tailpipe in urban driving. There is huge variation in Euro 6 diesels, and although the latest are very clean there are still millions of dirty diesels on European roads that can emit in excess of Euro standards for urban NOx, yet still gain free access to ULEZ. The AIR Index is calling on policy makers in London and across Europe to make clean air zones more effective by tackling the issue of dirty Euro 6s - using ratings such as the AIR Index- to bring air quality into legal compliance as soon as possible. To learn more, we spoke to Nick Molden, co-founder of the AIR Index.

BMW reportedly is considering more car production in the UK and is said to be in talks to take over Honda's Swindon factory once the Japanese automaker ends output there in 2021.

China is cutting subsidies on electric vehicles to encourage local manufacturers to rely on innovation rather than government assistance as the industry matures and costs fall, a media report said.

News 27 Mar, 2019

Geely owned Lynk & Co to launch a Mercedes GLC Coupe-rivalling SUV, spy shots show

Renault is intending to restart merger talks with Nissan within a year and is also interested in acquiring Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) according to a report in the Financial Times.

Opinion 27 Mar, 2019

Despite its pioneering safety history, Volvo is being more ambitious than ever before in its pursuit for safety, says John Mcllory

Volkswagen Group Spanish unit Seat will launch six electric and plug-in hybrid models by 2021.

Speed limiting technology on vehicles could become mandatory for all vehicles sold in Europe (and the UK) from 2022, after new rules have been provisionally agreed by the EU.

Doesn't it seem a long time ago that we thought of SEAT as a maker of small cars? The addition of the new 4.7m long Tarraco means the brand now has a third SUV, putting it in competition with the VW Tiguan Allspace, Skoda Kodiaq and Peugeot 5008 for the first time.

FAW seems content to see its own brand slide rapidly in China but the opposite is happening with two of its other divisions. Bestune, renamed from Besturn, is flourishing, as is Hongqi and there are some intriguing future models not too far away.