ALISON JONES NAMED PRESIDENT OF SMMT
Alison Jones, Stellantis VP and Country Manager for the UK, has been announced as the first female President of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. She will take up her position on 1 January 2022. Dr George Gillespie OBE, steps down after a three year tenure as President. To find out more, click the SMMT article here.
UK CAR PRODUCTION WORST SINCE 1956
The continued pressures on the supply chain constrained the UK’s car production in October to on 64, 729 vehicles, the lowest since 1956. Whilst the chip shortage was a major factor, Honda permanently shutting the Swindon factory in July also impacted the figures. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article.
EV CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE OPENS
Milton Keynes is the preferred location for Intertek to open their electric vehicle centre of excellence, where they will test and develop EV powertrains. Costing £12 million, the centre will also develop powertrain components. To read more about this, click the Autocar article here.
REE EXPANDS UK OPERATIONS
REE, the Israeli electric start-up, is expanding their Warwickshire operations to include producing their ‘corners; product that combines suspension, wheel and electric drive in one compact package, effectively creating in-wheel motors. For more about this interesting company, click here for the Autocar article.
LONDON SCRAPPAGE SCHEME OVERSUBSCRIBED
The £61 million that Transport for London (TfL) had allocated to a ULEZ scrappage scheme has been oversubscribed and the budget is now used up. 23,300 applications were made, with 9,370 accepted. TfL also acknowledged that there would be a shortfall in ULEZ income at 91% of vehicles are compliant with the rules. To learn more, click the Evening Standard article here.
IONITY TO EXPAND NETWORK
Ionity is to expand their network of EV charging points across Europe by 2025, with a £700 million investment. The plan is to quadruple the number of 350kW chargers to 7000. For more information, click here to read the Autocar article.
COST OF EV CHARGING RISES WITH ENERGY PRICE SPIKE
The rising price of wholesale energy is now hitting the EV charging network, with organisations increasing their tariffs in line with the increases. The jump in prices is not insignificant either. To find out more about how you may be effected,
