PG Carz World

The 500kg Microlino is part of a new set challenging the ever-increasing domination of huge cars Driving through central London in a tiny Microlino electric car, barely visible between the hulking SUVs, it’s surprising to be the focus of so much attention. “Yes, Lego car!” shouts a scaffolder. Made by Micro, the family-owned Swiss company behind the mini-micro kick scooters, and modelled on the bubble cars that had a brief heyday in the 1950s, the two-seater is only 2.5 metres long – marginally smaller than a Smart car . The most unusual feature is its one and only door (there is also a rear hatch for accessing the boot), which is at the front. The windscreen and bonnet swing open to let you in. Continue reading...

Carmakers are scrambling as new EV models arrive amid a glut of supply – and Australian buyers are likely to benefit More models, increased competition and excess stock have created an EV buyer’s market. Unprecedented discounts have made electric cars more affordable than ever as carmakers scramble for market share. Continue reading...

The FCA is considering opening a compensation scheme for customers after an influx of complaints When Gary Hill took out a £12,500 loan to pay for a new family vehicle in late 2014, he had no idea that the north London dealership he had travelled to from his home in Bedfordshire could have sway over his monthly payments. But the 45-year-old was in a bind, having started a new job that no longer gave him access to a company car. Hill agreed to pay £335 a month over more than five years to take home a Nissan Qashqai, piling costs on to a household budget already supporting three children and the up-keep of his family home. Continue reading...

Analysis of real-world data suggests annual cost of fuelling PHEVs is nearly double manufacturers’ claims Drivers of bestselling plug-in hybrid cars pay £500 a year more on fuel for their cars than manufacturers’ figures suggest, according to analysis of real-world data, largely because owners tend to charge them less frequently than expected. Laboratory tests of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) suggest that fuel should cost £560 a year, but real-life data suggests the cost is nearly double that, at £1,059 a year, according to analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a climate research group. Continue reading...

Petrolheads are quick to scorn the idea of electric car racing, but the series’ chief executive is sure that time, technology – and even geography – are on his side Jeff Dodds has been a fan of Formula One “all my life”, he says. That is probably a good thing because, as chief executive of electric racing series Formula E, he must find the comparison with its fossil-fuelled cousin is constant. So he takes it head-on. Such is the growth and improvement in technology in Formula E that one day, he says, it is “realistic that a question will be asked about whether both can exist together”. Talking to the Observer in the race company’s west London headquarters, he adds that maybe one day, as Formula E develops, “they won’t [both exist]”. Continue reading...

Billionaire makes U-turn over levies, telling Paris tech conference they distort the market and inhibit trade Elon Musk has criticised US government tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, describing the levies as “not good” and a distortion of the car market. The Tesla chief executive had previously supported trade barriers but he performed a U-turn on Thursday during a video appearance at a Paris tech conference. Continue reading...

Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree on tariffs against China. The world has lost its biggest cheerleader for globalisation The biggest shift in American politics has nothing to do with Stormy Daniels or Michael Cohen, Fox News or golf courses. Indeed, its author is not Donald J Trump. Yet the implications stretch far beyond this year’s presidential elections, and affect countries across the world. The era of free trade is dying, and the man bringing down the guillotine represents the party that in the past three decades has been evangelically pro-globalisation: the Democrats. Last week, Joe Biden imposed tariffs on a range of Chinese-made goods. Electric cars produced in China will now be hit with import tax of 100%, chips and solar cells 50% and lithium-ion batteries 25%. These and other tariffs on goods worth an estimated $18bn a year amount to a rounding error in the giant US economy. And in an election year, Mr Biden, who hails from Scranton , Pennsylvania, is fretting about suppor...

Chelsea flower show | 3D-printed bricks | Tom Lehrer | Saving on electricity | Electric boilers While it is good news that a sustainable garden has won a prize at Chelsea flower show ( Garden with terracotta 3D-print bricks wins Chelsea flower show green medal, 20 May ), surely all of the gardens should be environmentally sustainable? Otherwise what are we saying, that you can garden either way? This is ludicrous, given the vital need to stop doing anything unsustainable. Dr Jennifer Poole Romsey, Hampshire • A garden made from 3D-printed bricks uses an awful lot of energy printing the bricks. If Giulio Giorgi wanted to give his garden a low carbon footprint, why didn’t he have them made by hand? James Driver Chiddingfold, Surrey Continue reading...

Electric and hybrid vehicles are quieter than cars with combustion engines, making them harder to hear, especially in towns and cities Hybrid and electric cars are more likely to strike pedestrians than petrol or diesel vehicles, particularly in towns and cities, according to an analysis of British road traffic accidents. Data from 32bn miles of battery-powered car travel and 3tn miles of petrol and diesel car trips showed that mile-for-mile electric and hybrid cars were twice as likely to hit pedestrians than fossil fuel-powered cars, and three times more likely to do so in urban areas. Continue reading...

Comments come as Commission president hints EU could impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles Business live – latest updates Janet Yellen, the US treasury secretary, has urged the EU to intervene urgently to dampen the growing export levels of Chinese cut-price green technology including solar panels and wind turbines, pushing European leaders to move to a full-scale trade war. At the same time she urged German bank executives on Tuesday to step up efforts to comply with sanctions against Russia and shut down efforts to circumvent them to avoid potential penalties themselves that could see the US cut them off from dollar access. Continue reading...

Michael Wilkinson has had a good experience using a smart meter when charging his electric car and using a heat pump. But other readers remain unconvinced about their benefits Recent letters about smart meters ( 14 May ) reported some readers’ bad experiences, but it’s not all negative – our smart meter is allowing our household to cut carbon and save money. In combination with our electric vehicle charger, the smart meter allows us to automatically charge our car at times when there is less demand on the grid and higher renewable-energy generation. This helps balance the grid, and I only pay 7p per kWh to charge the car. This works out at about 1.5p per mile to drive. The smart meter also works with our heat pump and allows me to pay 15p per kWh for electricity to heat my home. The heat pump’s efficiency means that this works out at about half the price of gas for the same amount of heat. Continue reading...

A Guardian survey of leading climate scientists revealed their despair about the future. John Coghlan , Rachael Orr , Natalie Bennett, Dr Robin Russell-Jones and Gregory Johnson find reasons to keep on fighting I must commend the Guardian and Damian Carrington for the excellent reporting on the views of leading climate scientists ( ‘Hopeless and broken’ Why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair, 8 May ). I have experienced climate despair, which has led me to take part in non-violent protests, and I can certainly bear witness to the fact that this kind of collective action goes a long way to offset the despair. However, protest is not for everyone. There are other ways to play our part. We can help to accelerate the energy transition. Some 51% of final energy consumption is for heating and cooling, and 32% is for transport, according to the International Energy Agency , so we must ditch the old boiler and invest in a heat pump, and swap our petrol car for an electri...

Plans for a sprawling factory in rural Michigan making batteries for electric cars offer an economic lifeline, but for some residents there is a big problem: the parent company is in China Set among green rolling hills and tall pines, Lori Brock’s storybook farm encapsulates northern Michigan. A five-day-old mare bucks around a pen, while small black pigs roam through a barn and donkeys graze in fields bordered by white fences. It is a bucolic way of life in Green Township, but one that Brock and many of her neighbours believe could be threatened by an unlikely adversary – China’s Communist party. Continue reading...

Stellantis deal with Leapmotor aims to cash in on imports as Biden imposes 100% tariff in US Biden announces 100% tariff on Chinese-made EVs Business live – latest updates The global carmaker Stellantis is to sell cheap electric cars made by its Chinese partner Leapmotor in Europe, including the UK, as it criticised Joe Biden’s decision to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs imported to the US. Stellantis, which owns brands including Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall, will start selling two Leapmotor models in September, at prices of less than €20,000 (£17,200). UK sales will start in March 2025. Continue reading...

White House levy to protect US makers from cheap imports likely to inflame trade tensions The US president, Joe Biden, has announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of a package of measures designed to protect US manufacturers from cheap imports. In a move that is likely to inflame trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the White House said it was imposing more stringent curbs on Chinese goods worth $18bn. Continue reading...

President likely to add sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells to range of levies set up under Donald Trump Joe Biden is expected as early as next week to announce fresh tariffs on Chinese trade, with levies focused on strategic sectors including electric vehicles, in a review of measures first put into place under Donald Trump . An announcement planned for Tuesday will keep the blanket tax rises introduced by the president’s predecessor but supplement them with targeted levies on industries connected to EVs, including batteries and solar cells, according to reports. Continue reading...

Sector wants tax cuts, better buying incentives and more electric charging points as sales in EVs stall Car manufacturers have called for urgent action to reignite the switch to electric vehicles, after sales figures showed slowing demand among ordinary motorists for battery-powered cars. While overall UK registrations grew by 1% in April year-on-year to 134,000, the increase was entirely driven by fleet sales, with private buyer sales down by almost 18% on last year. Continue reading...

Japan’s SoftBank leads largest investment to date in a European artificial intelligence company Business live – latest updates The UK self-driving car technology startup Wayve has secured more than $1bn (£800m) of investment to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence-powered vehicles, with the funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank. The $1.05bn investment is backed by the Japanese conglomerate along with the California chipmaker Nvidia and Microsoft, and is the biggest investment to date in a European AI startup. Continue reading...

About 6,000 have been installed this year, a quarter of them rapid chargers that can power up a car in under an hour The UK has installed a record number of public electric car chargers this year, as companies race to keep up with the increasing number of battery vehicles on British roads. Nearly 6,000 new chargers were installed during the first three months of 2024, according to quarterly figures from data company Zapmap published by the Department for Transport. About 1,500 of those were rapid chargers, capable of charging a car in less than an hour. Continue reading...

Our inadequate electricity network is stopping the building of thousands of new homes. And the necessary move to low-carbon heating and cars is only increasing demand Oxford has a severe housing problem. With house prices 12 times the average salary, it has become one of the least affordable cities in the country . Its council house waiting list has grown to more than 3,000 households, with many having to live in temporary accommodation. An obvious solution is to build more homes, but those trying to do this face a big barrier: electricity. Continue reading...

China’s president arrives as EU anti-subsidy investigations and tensions over espionage, Ukraine and Taiwan continue China’s president, Xi Jinping, is to visit Europe next week for the first time in five years, in a tour that will take in the unlikely trifecta of France, Hungary and Serbia. The visit comes as China pushes to avoid a trade war with the EU, while attitudes towards Beijing in the bloc are hardening after multiple spying scandals and China’s ongoing support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

The electric carmaker’s Cybertruck was recalled last month after safety concerns emerged over the accelerator pedal. Kari Paul reports Last month Tesla recalled its Cybertrucks after malfunctions involving the accelerator pedal were reported. It is the latest blow for the US electric carmaker, which has been hit by a series of embarrassing failures since the Cybertruck was delivered to customers late last year. Kari Paul , a technology reporter for Guardian US, talks to Michael Safi about Tesla’s recent struggles, from safety issues to supply-chain delays. Can the company’s embattled chief executive, Elon Musk, turn its fortunes around? Continue reading...