FOLLOW UP: FCA FINANCIAL REDRESS CONSULTATION

Following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that some forms of historical car financing was illegal the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened a consultation into how those effected should be compensated. Some from within industry are unhappy at what is being covered and the potential exposure in terms of repayments. To find out more, click this article link here from Broker News.

STELLANTIS MANAGEMENT AND PLAN CHANGES

Stellantis are getting a new European boss, with Emanuele Capellano taking over from Jean-Philippe Emperato, who takes the reigns at Maserati. This is the latest move by the new CEO of the group, Antonio Felosa, as he continues to shape the company in a way he feels will bring success. Click this Autocar article for more.

Talking of shaping the company, in the US Stellantis announce a huge investment of over £10 billion to help the North American brands bring new models to market including, it is being suggested, V8 power plants. Click this Carcoops article link here to find out more.

ASTON MARTIN PROFIT WARNING

Aston Martin gave a warning to investors that it will not hit the target of profitability by the end of 2025, as hoped. Blame is being laid at the feet of weak demand and delays to the Valhalla hypercar. Adding further pain is that they share several suppliers with JLR who have been dealing with the knock on effect of the cyberattack. If you wish to read more, click this Business Matters article link here.

MUNRO GETS FURTHER INVESTMENT

Munro, the Scottish off-road EV start up, has secured a further £2 million funding from an existing and other investors. This will enable them to expand their production facilities and create up to 300 new jobs as they aim for an annual production capacity of 5000 vehicles by 2031. To read more about this success story, click the EV Powered link here.

CHINA RESTRICTS RARE EARTH EXPORTS AGAIN

China is reminding the world exactly how much power it has, in terms of controlling global manufacturing, by adding more restrictions to some rare earths that are used across industries, including automotive. You can find out more, by clicking this Chatham House article link here.

To read the latest from Ed Conway, about rare earths, click this Substack link here.

JEEP OTA UPDATE BRICKS CARS

Another week and another story of an Over the Air (OTA) update having unintended consequences on cars and their owners. This time Jeep issued an update last week that has put some cars in ‘limp home mode’, whilst others have been bricked. Once more, much of the car industry does not seem to get software and how much harm doing it badly reflects back on manufacturers. Click this link from The Autopian to read more.

2024 UK ROAD SAFETY STATISTICS

The UK Government has published the 2024 Road Safety Statistics report, which have a slight percentage reduction but are effectively a flat line on the last 14 odd years.

To be noted this year is a change from how incidents are reported by police as no longer are Contributing Factors (CF) used but instead Road Safety Factors (RSF). There are six groups and new coding within each group and the changes are strange, some might say over stretching their remit. One example is the group “Speed”, this has six codes, of which only two have anything to do with speed and should be classed elsewhere. Additionally, most police forces are yet to use RSF in reporting, if they report at all.

When dissecting the figures, you will not be surprised that following the recoding “Speed” is scored the most. They have even changed last year’s report to reflect this new way of doing things, and “Speed” is now the number one factor when it was fifth or sixth in the old system.

To read the annual report, click this Department for Transport link here.

If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

NEW NEW CAR NEWS - ‘Affordable’ Teslas

Tesla has revealed images and details of their ‘affordable’ Model Y and Model 3s. Essentially they have stripped them of much and yet only shaved around $5000 off the price. You can find out more by clicking this link from The Autopian.

Dacia Spring refresh

Dacia has refreshed the driving dynamics and power for the Spring, which retaining the 140 WLTP mile range. Prices are expected to remain the same. This should mean it outperforms the Leapmotor T03, which is their only competator at the price point. Click this link from Autocar for more.

Aston Martin DB12 S

Good job Aston Martin said the DB12 S was new as its really hard to tell the difference these days. But they have fettled with lots of handling and chassis settings to improve the handling and control of the car. Power is up too. Click this EVO article link here to play spot the difference.

LUNCHTIME WATCH: CATALYTIC CONVERTERS ARE SIMPLE

Technology Connections YouTube channel has started a new series focusing on the engine side of cars, with the first video explaining catalytic converters and how they work. Thanks to a great presentation style you’ll enjoy learning all about them. Click this link here to watch.

LIST OF THE WEEK: 34 TIMES JAPANESE MARQUES GOT IT RIGHT

Classic & Sports Car provides yet another list for you to enjoy, this time 34 of the big hitters from Japan. Click this link here to try and pick just one from those suggested, we found that a very hard task.

AND FINALLY: SUBARU SVX 30 YEARS ON

We are effectively giving you a Lunchtime Read as the And Finally, thanks to Jon Burgess fighting off the internet telling him “facts” and “the truth” about a car he himself actually owns. This is a great read about a wonderful car, click this Hagerty link here to read all about it.