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Dutch-controlled company informs customers about suspension but is said to want to de-escalate trade war Nexperia, the EU-based automotive chipmaker at the centre of a geopolitical dispute, has suspended supplies to its Chinese factory, stepping up a trade war that threatens to halt production at carmakers around the world . The company wrote to customers this week informing them all supplies to a Chinese plant had been suspended. Continue reading...

European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association say carmakers are relying on reserve stock of Nexperia chip after China’s export ban Carmakers in the EU are “days away” from closing production lines, the industry has warned as a crisis over computer chip supplies from China escalates. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) issued an urgent warning on Wednesday saying its members, which include Volkswagen, Fiat, Peugeot and BMW, were now working on “reserve stocks but supplies are dwindling”. Continue reading...

Considerations include changes to headlight standards and clampdown on illegal sale of overly powerful bulbs With nights getting longer and the clocks going back, the bright glare from oncoming traffic has caught the attention of the UK government, which is considering changes to headlight standards and a clampdown on illegal sales of overly powerful bulbs. More than a quarter of drivers say bright headlights made them nervous of driving in the dark, according to a survey published on Tuesday by the RAC motoring services company. Continue reading...

Autonomous cabs are a staple in some US cities – but how will they cope with London’s streets? Gwyn Topham and Johana Bhuiyan report Today in Focus presenter Helen Pidd enjoys a ride in a driverless taxi in Austin, Texas, as transport correspondent Gwyn Topham examines whether the technology can adapt to London’s medieval streets when Waymo robotaxis arrive in the UK capital next year. They are joined by Johana Bhuiyan , a senior tech reporter at the Guardian US, who has been chronicling the ups and downs – and many false starts – of the autonomous car industry for a decade. Continue reading...

Japanese carmaker’s deal with Chinese rival part of EU-sanctioned offsetting scheme to help head off £13bn in fines The Japanese carmaker Nissan is to team up with its Chinese electric vehicle rival BYD in a bid to offset their carbon emissions and avoid EU penalties for 2025, it has confirmed. It is part of a wider offsetting scheme the EU has sanctioned for the car industry that could help manufacturers of combustion engine cars head off an estimated £13bn in fines. Continue reading...

Some drivers say vehicles using new version of full self-driving system can travel above speed limits The US main transportation safety regulator said on Friday it is seeking information from Tesla about a new driver assistance mode dubbed “Mad Max” that operates at higher speeds than other versions. Some drivers on social media report that Tesla vehicles using the more aggressive version of its full self-driving (FSD) system could operate above posted speed limits. Continue reading...

Former Paralympics champion says inaccessible charging points show government ‘has forgotten about us’ Campaigners including Tanni Grey-Thompson have warned that disabled drivers are at risk of being locked out of the electric car transition because of inaccessible chargers. The former Paralympics champion and the Electric Vehicle Association England are pushing for the government to introduce standards to ensure chargers are easy to reach. Continue reading...

Detroit automaker expects 2025 adjusted core profit to be between $12bn and $13bn as it faces weakening EV market General Motors lifted its financial outlook for the year and slightly lowered its expected hit from tariffs , as the automaker awaits expected relief on tariffs in the US while confronting a weakening market for electric vehicles . The company now expects its annual adjusted core profit to be between $12bn and $13bn, compared with its prior estimate of $10bn to $12.5bn. The Detroit automaker said tariffs would hit its bottom line less than anticipated, lowering its updated impact to a range of $3.5bn to $4.5bn, from a previous $4bn to $5bn. Continue reading...

Top transport safety regulator to determine if self-driving vehicles failed to follow traffic laws for stopped buses The US’s main transportation safety regulator said on Monday it had opened a preliminary investigation into about 2,000 Waymo self-driving vehicles after reports that the company’s robotaxis may have failed to follow traffic safety laws around stopped school buses. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is the latest federal review of self-driving systems as regulators scrutinize how driverless technologies interact with pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. Continue reading...

Plug-in hybrids pollute more than their manufacturers claim – and delay the real shift to electric and shared mobility “Why the future is hybrid,” chirruped the Economist in 2004. While electric vehicles (EVs) looked like science fiction, that prediction looked prescient. Fast‑forward 20 years and battery technology has improved dramatically; EVs are affordable. Last week it emerged that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) aren’t very green. The sales pitch had been that motorists could use “clean” battery power for city jaunts and dirty petrol for longer trips. This promised sustainable travel without the anxiety of a limited range. But real‑world tests, by the European non-profit Transport and Environment, show that PHEVs emit just 19% less carbon dioxide than petrol and diesel cars – far short of the 75% claimed in the lab. Hybrid vehicles are, however, very profitable. Carmakers can charge top dollar for what are essentially re-engineered petrol cars with a batter...

Waymo plans London robotaxis as early as 2026, but the history shows hype, hesitation and a few missed turns The age-old question from the back of the car feels just as pertinent as a new era of autonomy threatens to dawn: are we nearly there yet? For Britons, long-promised fully driverless cars, the answer is as ever – yes, nearly. But not quite. A landmark moment on the journey to autonomous driving is, again, just around the corner. This week, Waymo, which successfully runs robotaxis in San Francisco and four other US cities, announced it was bringing its cars to London . Continue reading...

Driverless cabs | Able-bodied and disabled | George, Stourbridge’s station cat | Marina Abramović show | Nominative determinism In assessing the merits of driverless taxis ( Driverless taxis from Waymo will be on London’s roads next year, US firm announces, 15 October ), passengers should consider the cautions presented in Christian Wolmar’s book Driverless Cars: On a Road to Nowhere. Adherence to Isaac Asimov’s first law of robotics (“A robot may not injure a human being”) requires the taxi to stop if a person steps in front of it. Highway robbery or worse may be facilitated. Prof Clive Coen King’s College London • Your article ( Parliamentary staff of colour earn £2,000 less than white colleagues, study suggests, 12 October ) says that disabled employees earn £646 less a year “than able-bodied colleagues”. Disabilities come in many forms, not all physical. Some of us are able‑bodied and disabled. Sara L Uckelman Durham Continue reading...

Analysis of 800,000 European cars found real-world pollution from plug-in hybrids nearly five times greater than lab tests Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) pump out nearly five times more planet-heating pollution than official figures show, a report has found. The cars, which can run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted by European carmakers as a way to cover long distances in a single drive – unlike fully electric cars – while still reducing emissions. Continue reading...

Cars with human safety drivers will appear in coming weeks as permissions are sought for fully autonomous rides Driverless taxis from Waymo will be available for hire on London’s roads next year, the US company has announced. The UK capital will become the first European city to have an autonomous taxi service of the kind now familiar in San Francisco and four other US cities using Waymo’s technology. Continue reading...

After charging, there was a power system malfunction but MG closed the case and insisted a safety check was at our own expense Our MG5 electric car became dangerously out of control, but MG won’t do anything about it. The car suffered a power system malfunction after we had used a charger at a motorway service station. Continue reading...

Carmakers accused of cheating air pollution rules have faced little punishment in UK but trial brought by 1.8m motorists is about to begin “Little lungs are still paying for Dieselgate every day,” says Jemima Hartshorn, founder of the Mums for Lungs campaign group. Her own young daughter has suffered serious breathing problems, which at their worst involved the harrowing experience of having to pin her to the floor to administer an inhaler. It is 10 years since the scandal erupted, exposing cars that pumped out far more toxic fumes on the road than when passing regulatory tests in the lab. But Dieselgate is far from over. Continue reading...

NHTSA reported Teslas driving through red traffic lights and driving against direction of travel during a lane change US automobile safety regulators have opened an investigation into Tesla vehicles equipped with its full self-driving technology over traffic-safety violations after a series of crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the electric carmaker’s self driving assistance system, which requires drivers to pay attention and intervene if needed, had “induced vehicle behaviour that violated traffic safety laws”. Continue reading...

Customers on Charge Anytime deal who drive fewer than 700 miles a month say they will be left with higher bills Electric vehicle owners fear they will be left out of pocket after the energy supplier Ovo announced changes to a popular charging deal which could double the cost for some customers. Drivers who have an energy contract with the company can currently charge their vehicles at any time of day or night for 7p a kilowatt hour (kWh), making its Charge Anytime deal the cheapest on the market. Continue reading...

CEO Elon Musk touts SUV and sedan, with starting prices of $39,990 and $36,990, as way to tap wider swath of buyers Tesla rolled out “affordable” versions of its best-selling Model Y SUV and its Model 3 sedan, but the starting prices of US$39,990 and US$36,990 were too high, some said, to attract a new class of buyers to the electric vehicle brand. CEO Elon Musk has touted the car as a way to tap a wider swath of buyers, saying last year that a price below $30,000, after incentives, was the key. Continue reading...

Ahti Heinla on bringing his tech to small towns, its effects on jobs – and whether he’s still interested in money City dwellers around the world have long been used to rapid delivery of takeaway food and, increasingly, groceries. But what they are not entirely used to – yet – is the sight of a robot pulling up to their front door. The co-founder of Skype, Ahti Heinla, believes his new venture is about to change that. Heinla is the chief executive of Starship Technologies, a startup that, he claimed, is able to operate deliveries run by trundling robots at a small profit – and cheaper than a human delivery driver, even in small towns and villages where delivery has not previously been viable. Continue reading...

EVs rise nearly a third in September compared with a year earlier, as plug-in hybrids jump by 56% British electric car sales hit a record high in September as new taxpayer subsidies helped to attract buyers in the most important month for the market. Battery EV sales rose by nearly a third in September compared with a year earlier, to 72,800, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. Continue reading...

Electric vehicle buyers in the US are rushing to take advantage of expiring federal tax credits Tesla’s third-quarter deliveries trounced Wall Street estimates on Thursday after several quarters of weak performance, powered by an unusual sales boost from US electric vehicle buyers rushing to lock in popular tax credits before they expire at the end of September. Tesla said it delivered 497,099 vehicles in the third quarter, up 7.4% from 462,890 a year earlier. It also delivered 481,166 units of its Model 3 compact sedan and Model Y crossover in the September quarter, well above Wall Street expectations. The carmaker is set to report quarterly results on 22 October. Continue reading...