FOLLOW UP: RENAULT NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES
During last week’s discussion about the SMMT New Car Registration figures the chaps remarked at how impressive the increase by Renault was. Alan has donned his deerstalker and polished his magnifying glass in an effort to investigate why. They had an increase in their core fleet business but also their best-ever month as part of the Motability scheme.
END OF BAILOUT TALKS BETWEEN JLR AND UK GOVERNMENT
JLR and parent company TATA’s talks with the UK Government over financial help have ended. Reports are that the company did not meet the requirements to receive taxpayers funding. Additional sticking points appear to be suggested requirements for an acceleration of their electrification process. TATA has announced that they are continuing to discuss possible options for financial help with the Government. To read more, click the Autocar article here.
NOKIA WINS PATENT RULING AGAINST DAIMLER
Nokia has won a legal dispute, with Daimler, over the use of their patented technology without a license. Daimler is appealing the ruling. In separate actions, Nokia is being investigated for abusing its position in the market, in the EU. The centre of all of this is the fee Nokia charges to license its mobile communication technology, which Daimler and others want to stop being charged on the basis of each car sold. To read more, click the Bloomberg article here.
KUGA PHEV SALES HALTED AND RECALL ISSUED
The newly launched Ford Kuga PHEV has a temporary ban on sales, issued a recall and informed owners to not charge their high-voltage battery until they have had their car serviced and fixed. The exact issue is still unclear. To read more, click the Autocar article here.
TOYOTA TO USE AMAZON CLOUD STORAGE FOR CONNECTED CARS
As part of Toyota’s move to create and offer its next-gen mobility services, they are utilising more of Amazon’s cloud storage and professional services. Some services could be for fleet managers to monitor their service needs or driver behaviour based insurance to access information. To read more, click The Register article here.
MOTORWAY ROADWORK SPEED TO LIMIT TO BE RAISED
Some sections of motorway roadworks are to have their speed limits reevaluated, with the potential to increase up to 60mph. Simon Wickers explained to Andrew why this may be the case and what factors are considered, which you can read by clicking the link here and also clicking here. To read more about the item, click the BBC News article here.
GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION ON AUTOMATED LANE KEEPING ASSIST SYSTEMS
In the next potential step for introducing automated technology on the road, the UK Government has launched a consultation about Automated Lane Keeping Assist systems. The system will take over driving the vehicle, in motorway conditions, without direct input from the human driver by regulating the speed, distance from vehicles around and keeping in the lane occupied. To read more, click the link to the official release...
