FOLLOW UP: WHAT MAKES A SALE A SALE
With thanks to the SMMT we can now confirm that a “sale” is when there is a change in owner, so if a person or company continue their lease beyond the original time frame, that will not be added to the figures reported. Which makes the reported numbers even more impressive than the chaps originally thought.
CORNWALL SPARKS COMMERICAL EV DRIVE
Watt Electric Vehicle Company has announced that it plans to build up to 5000 electric commercial vehicles a year, from 2023. They will be utilising a ‘skateboard’ platform to aid modularity and allow different sized vehicles to be built. The first prototype will be revealed in 2022. These will be built at a new facility in the Midlands. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article.
TESLA AUTOPILOT INVESTIGATED IN US
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has launched an investigation into 11 traffic incidents that involved stationary emergency service vehicles, whilst the driver of Tesla vehicles were utilising the Autopilot feature. This is a very tight remit of investigation, however, the findings could effect the entire industry. To read more, click here for the Autocar article. For some context and background to this, click here for the Ed Niedermeyer Twitter thread.
NAT WEST TO INSTALL 600 CHARGERS
Nat West Bank wants to install 600 charging points across it’s branch network by 2023. Added to that they intend to change 300 of their fleet to EVs. This plan is aimed at helping the company and staff decarbonise their transport, but will also be available for customers. To find out more, click the ZapMap article here.
AUDI IMPROVES EV CHARGE CARD SERVICE
Audi has announced that for UK drivers, their one-card EV charging service will now cover 17500 charging points, which is almost 75% of the public chargers available. Their service has two tiers, with city and transit tariffs. Those who mainly do urban miles are only charged £4.91 per month plus a charging fee and transit is charged out at £16.81 per month plus charging fees because they need access to faster charging points. To read more, click the Autocar article here.
HYDROGEN STRATEGY ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNMENT
The Government is investing £240 million to help “kick start” the hydrogen “revolution” in transport and heavy industry, as part of their switch to a net-zero carbon future. A consultation has also been launched into how to fund the switch from fossil fuels to hydrogen. To read more, click here for the Autocar article.
Autocar, also has an opinion piece from Jesse Crosse, which looks at the announcement with a slightly raised eyebrow. To read this,
