FOLLOW UP: GERMAN PROSECUTORS AGREE DEAL WITH POETSCH AND MUELLER
Parent company Porsche Automobil Holding SE has paid Stugartt prosecutors €1.5 million for them to drop further investigations into the claim of market manipulation levelled at Hans Dieter Poetsch and Matthias Mueller. They reiterate that the pair have done nothing wrong. To read more, click the Reuters article here.
FOLLOW UP: CLEAN AIR ZONES ON HOLD
Leeds and Bristol have announced that their planned Clean Air Zones are now postponed, due to air quality levels being above the minimum threshold thanks to less traffic. As they do not meet the criteria for Government funding, the local councils are not implementing their plans. They are actively looking at non-charging options and encouraging continuation in the recent work patterns and lifestyle changes. To read more about Bristol’s position, click here for the BristolLive article. To learn more about the situation in Leeds, click the BBC News article here.
ACTIVE TRAVEL SCHEMES BEING CLOSED
Councils are beginning to close some of the active travel schemes they implemented, off the back of the Department of Transport’s £250 million green roads initiative. Complaints have come from local residents and business owners, who cited extra congestion and harm to local businesses. To read more, click here for the Autocar article.
DETAILS OF STRATEGIC ROAD INVESTMENT
The Government first announced it would be spending £27.4 billion with Highways England to improve the road infrastructure, now adding the detail of what the money will be spent on. This has caused an uproar from environmental groups who claim the CO2 impact of these works has been underestimated due to looking at national and local impacts and benefits. To read more, click the Autocar article here.
JUDGE REJECTS ATTEMPT TO BAN OFF-ROADING IN LAKE DISTRICT
A campaign, from the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement (GLEAM), to ban off-roading on green lane tracks has been rejected by a judge. The High Court has dismissed the legal action on all counts. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.
PORSCHE INVESTIGATES ALLEGED PETROL ENGINE MANIPULATION
Porsche is investigating claims that software and hardware changes were allegedly made to some petrol engines after they received type approval. This is on the back of Audi being investigated for possible exhaust manipulation of their 2.0 four-cylinder petrol engine fitted to Q5s, by the Offenberg region. Hopefully, this does not lead to another 5 years plus story for the chaps to cover! To read more, click the Autocar article here.
CO2 LEVELS OF OEM FLEETS ON THE RISE
At the end of this year, manufacturers need to have an average fleet CO2 level of 95g/km, whereas last year saw an average of 121.8g/km. The global pandemic, drop in sales and many countries dipping into technical recession has added further
