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...