PG Carz World

Driver complaints about high beams are commonplace, though specialists say US roads need to be better lit A few weeks ago, I was driving along a dark road at night. Suddenly, I couldn’t see. The headlights of the cars behind and ahead of me were, by my most conservative estimate, as bright as the surface of the sun. For a few seconds, I was blinded. I managed to pull over and waited for my vision to return. Complaints about the brightness of modern headlights have become commonplace. On X, thousands of users have tweeted about headlights being too bright. The subreddit r/fuckyourheadlights has over 35,000 members who post blurry photos of offending high beams and LED headlights. Outlets like the New York Times and NBC News have written about the risks of headlight glare. Advocacy groups have called for bans on LED headlights. And the UK government launched a review into the dangers of headlight glare earlier this year, after many driver complaints. Continue reading...

Plans are further blow to Europe’s hopes of creating a homegrown electric car battery Volvo Cars plans to buy out the struggling battery maker Northvolt from their jointly owned gigafactory in Sweden in another blow to Europe’s hopes of creating a homegrown electric car battery. Novo Energy, a joint venture between Volvo and the Swedish battery company, was launched in 2021 with a plan to create a “fully integrated and frictionless environment” for developing new battery technologies with a staff force of 3,000 to start production in 2025. Continue reading...

Owner of Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot brands pushes back against rules that force sale of more electric vehicles Business live – latest updates The owner of car brands including Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot has reported a steep fall in sales, blaming production delays and flagging European demand. Stellantis reported revenues on Thursday of €33bn (£27.6bn) for the July to September quarter, a drop of 27% compared with the same period a year earlier. Continue reading...

Drop comes as carmaker faces battle with unions over plan to shut three factories in Germany Volkswagen has reported a 60% drop in profits amid a slump in sales in China, with the carmaker emphasising the difficulties it faces as it prepares to close factories in Germany for the first time. Germany’s biggest carmaker has told workers it is considering shutting three plants serving its main Volkswagen brand in its home market and cutting staff pay, raising the prospect of an extended battle with unions representing 120,000 German employees. Continue reading...

German carmaker warns of stagnation in the European sector amid news of deeper-than-expected action Business live – latest updates German carmaker Volkswagen is planning to shut at least three factories in its home country, lay off thousands of workers and cut pay by 10%, according to the company’s union. The deeper-than-expected cuts come as the company faces weak sales and slow expansion in the electric vehicle (EV) sector amid tough competition from Chinese manufacturers. Continue reading...

US firm Wolfspeed and German car parts supplier ZF postpone plans over doubts about viability A project to build a €3bn factory making microchips for electric vehicles once hailed as part of a “return of the industrial revolution” in Germany has been put on hold, as the crisis in the country’s hi-tech manufacturing industry deepens. The US company Wolfspeed and the German car parts supplier ZF have postponed plans to build an EV chip factory, adding to problems caused by a delay to two large-scale factories belonging to the US chip giant Intel and possible factory closures being considered by Volkswagen. Continue reading...

Rachel Reeves urged to shelve fuel duty plans and overhaul taxes amid expected switch to electric vehicles A pay-per-mile road pricing system must be brought in now, according to Tony Blair’s thinktank, which is urging the chancellor to overhaul motoring taxes. Rachel Reeves is widely expected to confirm the end of a temporary 5p cut in fuel duty, and possibly announce an inflationary rise in the tax paid on petrol and diesel at the pumps, in her budget next Wednesday. Continue reading...

Oliver Zipse tells Paris motor show 2035 cutoff point for CO2-emitting cars is ‘no longer realistic’ Business live – latest updates The EU’s plans to ban the manufacture of traditional combustion engines from 2035 will shrink the industry, BMW’s chief executive has warned as the German car industry battles with increased competition from China in the electric vehicle sector. In a comment that will alarm Brussels, Oliver Zipse told the Paris motor show the 2035 cutoff point for CO2-emitting cars was “no longer realistic”. Continue reading...

Stellantis chief warns that longer transition to EVs is a ‘big trap’ at Paris motor show Business live – latest updates Bosses at two of Europe’s biggest car manufacturers have called an acceleration of Europe’s transition to electric vehicles as tensions continue in the EU over the race to ban the traditional combustion engine. Carlos Tavares, the chief executive of Stellantis, which owns the Peugeot, Vauxhall, Jeep and Citroën brands, and Martin Sanger, the sales chief of Volkswagen passenger cars, used the Paris motor show to warn those, including political parties on the right, fighting the switch to green driving. Continue reading...

Insufficient investment and the withdrawal of subsidies and incentives are damaging a sector that is vital to the green transition Earlier this year, a French experiment offered a startling glimpse of what progressive green policymaking can achieve. In an effort to boost demand, Emmanuel Macron’s government introduced a social leasing scheme allowing less well-off commuters to pay an affordable monthly rate for a new electric vehicle (EV). Within a month, demand boomed to the extent that the scheme was abruptly suspended . According to ministers, French carmakers couldn’t keep up with the sudden surge of interest. This autumn, companies such as Renault and Peugeot are facing a different kind of problem. Governments across the EU have withdrawn subsidies and incentives , and are failing to provide reassuring levels of investment in charging infrastructure and grid capacity. As a consequence, EV sales are badly off the pace in the journey to 2035 zero-emission targets. Ac...

A Dodge Ram 1500 is bigger than a Panzer I tank and campaigners say heavy trucks are ‘lethal’ in collisions The engines rev, the guitars thrum and a gruff narrator lays out why the vehicle occupying the driveway is more than just a machine. “A truck is a tool,” he says, “but a Ram – a Ram is life.” So begins an advert for the Ram 1500, a pickup truck slightly bigger than the Panzer I tanks of Nazi Germany and almost as heavy. It is growing in popularity in Europe, with the number of Rams arriving on the continent up 20% in 2023 from the year before, according to registration data from the European Environment Agency. Road safety and environmental campaigners in the UK and Europe are aghast as the latest, most extreme cases of North American car bloat – giant pickup trucks – are increasingly crossing the Atlantic. Continue reading...

Analysts criticise lack of detail about the ‘robotaxi’ showcased by CEO Elon Musk Elon Musk unveils Tesla Cybercab self-driving robotaxi Tesla shares have fallen by 8%, wiping about $60bn from the company’s value, after the long-awaited unveiling of its so-called robotaxi failed to excite investors. Shares in the electric carmaker fell to $219.40 in early trading on Friday after an event in Hollywood, where CEO Elon Musk revealed a much-hyped driverless vehicle. Continue reading...

Sir John Armitt says charging per mile ‘inevitable’, with move to electric vehicles likely to create £35bn tax shortfall Britain must prepare for the widespread use of road pricing to make up a £35bn shortfall in tax revenues from the transition to electric vehicles, the country’s top infrastructure adviser has said. Sir John Armitt, the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), said it was time for a “proper public debate” about the future funding of the road network and other critical projects. Continue reading...

Superber space, superber comfort, superber tech. As eight-time winner of What Car? Best Estate, you wouldn’t think Superb could get much better. Well, jump into the all-new Škoda Superb, turn on the seat massage and prepare yourself for an even superber experience Continue reading...

Acquisition by Anglo-Australian miner comes despite global headwinds in electric car market Rio Tinto is to buy the US company Arcadium Lithium for $6.7bn (£5.1bn), in a huge bet on the energy transition despite global headwinds in the electric car market . The Anglo-Australian metals and mining company said it would pay $5.85 a share for the US-based lithium miner. That represents an almost 90% premium to Arcadium’s closing price of $3.08 a share on 3 October, the day before news of a potential deal emerged. Continue reading...

Deal for electric zero-emission vehicles worth £500m supports 500 jobs in Northern Ireland and 2,000 more across UK Business live – latest updates Transport group Go-Ahead has announced a £500m investment in up to 1,200 UK-built electric buses from Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus. The order is expected to support about 500 manufacturing jobs and create a new line at Wrightbus, based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

Forty businesses sign open letter to Sadiq Khan saying extending £15 daily levy to electric vans will backfire More than 40 businesses ­including Ocado, the AA and Openreach have called on the mayor of London to abandon plans to extend the ­congestion charge to electric vans. On Christmas Day 2025, drivers of electric vehicles will start ­having to pay the same £15 a day charge as those driving petrol and diesel ­vehicles in central London. Continue reading...

I assumed it would get easier to run an EV, but without a decent infrastructure it’s getting harder and harder My partner and I were relatively early adopters of an electric vehicle, buying a Renault Zoe in autumn 2020 during the pandemic. It seemed to make sense to get aboard. After all, the future was electric, wasn’t it? After the first year, I wrote an article in this paper about what the experience was like. It was something of a saga. We discovered the charging infrastructure was a chaotic world of different companies and apps. We experienced – and overcame – range anxiety (will the car go as far as the battery says?), only for it to be replaced by charge anxiety (can you find a charger that works?). We underwent lifestyle changes, some good (like more train use), some bad (like gender division setting in over apps and charging points). We didn’t dare undertake a 700-mile drive across France. But in spite of the difficulties, the article ended on a relatively positive note. C...

Decision opposed by five countries including Germany, where car firms say it could be ‘fatal’ blow for industry Carmakers ramp up pressure on chancellor for EV sales subsidies EU leaders have given the green light to extra tariffs on electric vehicles from China despite opposition from five countries including Germany, where car manufacturers condemned the decision as a potential “fatal” blow for the auto industry. The European Commission – which provisionally approved the step in June after an inquiry found that Beijing’s state aid to auto manufacturers was unfair – now has free rein to impose steep tariffs for five years from the end of this month. Continue reading...

Bosses say cost of complying with zero-emission vehicle mandate is ‘astronomical, and unsustainable’ UK electric car sales hit a record high in September, even as bosses from big carmakers told the chancellor that government targets were putting too much pressure on the industry. The British industry sold 56,300 electric cars during the month, the highest on record, according to preliminary data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. Continue reading...

Government rules out bailout for key project in European green industrial transition as job cuts announced Just three years ago, Sweden’s then prime minister, Stefan Löfven, visited Northvolt’s base near the Arctic Circle in Skellefteå – Europe’s first homegrown battery gigafactory – and declared the city “the future” in the fight against the climate crisis. Its work had huge significance for Sweden and the world, the Social Democrat said. The arrival of the battery manufacturer was not only supposed to be a flagship project for Sweden’s “green industrial revolution” but hailed as Europe’s big hope against dependence on oil and imported batteries from China. Continue reading...