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An investigation has revealed soaring numbers of unsolved vehicle crimes, with some inquiries into car thefts closed within 24 hours Police failed to catch any criminals who stole a car in more than 100 neighbourhoods across England and Wales last year, analysis by the Observer has revealed. A further 558 neighbourhoods with an average of at least one vehicle crime a week saw less than 2% solved, with a suspect caught and charged, according to figures published on data.police.uk , a site for open data on crime and policing. Continue reading...

In part eight of our series exploring myths surrounding EVs, we examine whether they will break our infrastructure Do electric cars really produce fewer carbon emissions? Are EVs too costly to tempt drivers? Is it right to have range anxiety? Cars have a weight problem. Consider the Mini, designed to save precious fuel during rationing ; it has ballooned in size. It is not alone. Cars have got bigger and bigger, with the rise of the SUV only accelerating the trend. Electric cars might look the same ( for now ) but they have one important difference: a heavy battery. Continue reading...

Plant on outskirts of Coventry could create up to 6,000 jobs and will be part of planned Centre for Electrification A Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries is in talks to invest more than £1bn to build a giant new factory on the outskirts of Coventry. EVE Energy, which says it employs 28,000 staff worldwide , is understood to be in talks to construct a 5.7m sq ft gigafactory, which will form one of the main parts of the planned UK Centre for Electrification, an investment zone in the West Midlands. Continue reading...

Italian car designer whose greatest creations included the Lamborghini Miura, the Maserati Khamsin and the Lancia Stratos Marcello Gandini’s cars were made to stop the traffic. The Italian designer, who has died aged 85, created supercars for the super-rich, and such exotic machines as Lamborghini’s Miura and Countach , Alfa Romeo’s Montreal and Maserati’s Khamsin were guaranteed to draw crowds of admirers when parked outside the grand hotels of Monaco, Rome or London. As the chief designer of the Bertone company, he also worked at the more modest end of the market, creating the little Autobianchi A112 and the original version of the Volkswagen Polo , and restyling the British Mini for the Italian Innocenti firm. For those wanting a miniature supercar, there was Fiat’s two-seater X1/9 , a striking little wedge with its four-cylinder engine mounted transversely behind the cockpit, mimicking the location of the Miura’s mighty V12. Continue reading...

Chair of Office for Space says move would boost prosperity, health and personal freedom and could help solve housing crisis A leading government adviser on cities has urged ministers to make urban areas friendlier for walking and cycling, saying this would boost prosperity, health and personal freedom, and could even help solve the housing crisis. In a report that takes a notably different stance to Rishi Sunak’s recent “plan for drivers” , which seeks to prioritise car use at the expense of active travel and bus use, Nicholas Boys Smith, who chairs the government’s Office for Space, said cars “diminish liberty as well as enhancing it”. Continue reading...

Deal between Japanese carmakers involves components and software amid race to catch up with Chinese EV firms Honda and Nissan have put aside the “traditional approach” of fierce rivalry to join forces and work together on electric vehicle technology as Japan’s carmakers try to catch up with Chinese competitors. The Japanese manufacturers will work together on technology for EVs, including components and software, after signing a memorandum of understanding on Friday. Continue reading...

Do you have to brush your own hair, own an umbrella or keep at least one hand on your steering wheel? Don’t blame these visionary thinkers “Things can only get better”, D:Ream promised, but they were wrong, and so were most people in history who have tried to predict the future. It never stopped us from trying, though, and a few visionaries have been pretty good at it. There was Leonardo da Vinci, of course, with his helicopters and fridges, and Joseph Glanvill , who in 1661 suggested moon voyages and communication using “magnetic waves” might be a thing. Civil engineer John Elfreth Watkins , writing in 1900, predicted mobile phones, ready meals and global digital media ( “ Photographs will be telegraphed from any distance. If there be a battle in China a hundred years hence, snapshots of its most striking events will be published in the newspapers an hour later ” ). Visionary US cartoonist Arthur Radebaugh ’s late 1950s and early 1960s Closer Than We Think series conjured wrist-wor...

In this week’s newsletter: Hear me out … but the traffic-dodging app may have started a domino effect that will bring down the Tories • Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article here There’s a theory I’ve been floating around for a while that I want to try on you: Google’s 2013 acquisition of Waze sealed the election for Keir Starmer. I know, but bear with me. If you want to read the complete version of the newsletter please subscribe to receive TechScape in your inbox every Tuesday. Continue reading...

The charger was the only fault, but it would cost more than the car was worth to replace We have a 2017 Renault Zoe electric car which we bought secondhand from a friend in 2020. We were initially very pleased with it. However, in July 2023, it stopped charging. It still drove fine, and there was nothing else wrong with it . We live in north-west Scotland, and as none of the local garages will deal with EVs it had to go on a low-loader to the Renault dealership in Inverness. Continue reading...

Research shows industry lobbying against support for solar panels and electric cars while enjoying subsidies itself The oil industry has fought against government support for clean technologies for more than half a century, the Guardian can reveal, even as vast subsidies have propped up its polluting business model. It lobbied lawmakers to block support for low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, electric cars and heat pumps as far back as the 1960s, analysis shows. Trade associations in the US and Europe stymied green innovations under the guise of supporting a “technology neutral” approach to avoiding the damage done by burning their fuels. Continue reading...

Vulkan activist group release 2,500 word letter claiming it set fire to pylon at factory that produces half a million electric cars a year Leftwing extremists have claimed responsibility for a dawn arson attack on an electricity pylon at the Tesla car factory in Berlin, which bosses said would halt production until the end of the week. In a 2,500 word letter released on Tuesday, the Vulkan (volcano) activist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the factory, which produces about 500,000 electric cars a year, consumed both natural resources and labour and was neither ecological or sustainable. Continue reading...

Exclusive : Electric car company says Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is running a ‘concerted public campaign’ by suggesting plan would push up price of popular cars Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails , free app or daily news podcast Tesla has launched a scathing attack on Australia’s main auto industry lobby group, accusing it of attempting to delay climate action by repeatedly making “plainly false” claims to the public about an Albanese government clean car policy. In a submission to the government about the design of a vehicle efficiency standard, Tesla sharply criticised the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), an organisation in which it holds a board seat and is an active member. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Purchases of electrical vehicles for commercial fleets power 14% year-on-year rise in 19th month of growth New car sales in the UK surged to the highest February figure in 20 years, boosted by companies buying electric vehicles for their fleets, even as private uptake of EVs declined. Registrations of new cars climbed 14% year-on-year to 84,886 vehicles last month, the best February performance since 2004, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Continue reading...