Motoring Podcast - News Show

The Department for Transport (DfT) is investigating claims that 47 car models emissions are not the same as the official test figures, with the accusation that they are manipulating the emissions. The DfT is attempting to establish if a defeat device is being used. You can learn more, by clicking this FleetWorld article link here.

After announcing they would partner up, Rivian and Volkswagen have signed the partnership agreement. This will include extra investment from VW, taking the full price up to $5.8 billion. Click this EV Powered article link to read more.

Caterham bring us the most “luxurious” and pricey Seven variant yet, with a price tag of a smidgen under £80,000. Celebrating 20 years of the CSR chasis, which allowed for those of us on the slightly larger side of things to be more comfortable, this bespoke model will come with features, fittings and materials not available elsewhere. Click this EVO article link to read more.

Toyota showed off an electric van that truley is a multipurpose vehicle. They have imagined it as an urban centric vehicle providing transport for people, being a mobile retail area, a coffee shop and more. Not content with that, the outdoor activities market get a version too, which added chunky tyres and obligitory stuck on elements. Both look fab, we want both and we want them now. But they have been cleverly thought out too. You can see more, by clicking this Yanko Design article link here.

If you remember, Alan asked why the wording of the end of UK sales of the F-Pace was so specific. We now know that the rest of the globe will no longer be able to buy one from 2026. Click this Autocar article link here, which clears up the issue.

Do you too feel that modern supercars are all a bit much? Let alone hypercars and even hyper hatches are becoming too extreme for UK roads. Well, you are not alone, check out this link from Mr Jalco’s Mostly About Driving to possibly find an answer to it all.

We are increasingly struggling to find good List of the Week article to share with you. If you find one, please do send it our way and if its good enough we’ll put it on the show!

Top Gear have nine adverts for you to check out, which are bound to bring back memories. Do you agree with Alan, on his choice and/or his comments about Andrew, and what about Andrew’s choice? Let us know. Click here to see what is on offer.

A neuroscientist found that rats could drive. Not only that, it appears to be bringing them joy, which they even have begun to anticipate. This all has lots of implications for us humans. Click this link from The Conversation. Alan reminds everyone why the podcast is called what it is too.

Volkswagen UK will have a new managing director, in Damien O’Sullivan, following the request by Alex Smith to leave the company. O’Sullivan moves from Audi Ireland. If you wish to learn more, click this article link from AMOnline.

Hyundai announced that Jose Muñoz will be the new global CEO of the brand, as Jaehoon Chang is promoted to vice chair. Muñoz has been heading up Europe, the US, India, the Middle East and Africa. To read more, click this Autocar link here.

Xpeng will be launching in the UK, by bringing their G6 electric SUV coupe early 2025. More models are due to follow. You can learn about their plans, by clicking this AM Online article link here.

Leapmotors are being brought to the UK, by Stellantis. They will be in 50 dealerships by the end of 2024. Offering their city EV, the T03 that frightens Alan, and an EV SUV, the C10. Expect prices to be very competitive. AM Online has more, which you can read by clicking this link here.

Tesla has announced the sixth recall for the Cybertruck, this year. Which is an astonishing feat. This time, some vehicle’s drive inverter could manfunction meaning a loss of drive. Click this TechCrunch article link to read more.

A study in the United States has found that Tesla has the worst fatality rate for occupants of its cars, narrowly beating Kia and Buick. A Top 3 of shame there. To read about the research and results, click this Road&Track article link here.

Andrew was invited, by Hyundai UK, to try out the new Santa Fe, their large hybrid SUV. What has changed? How have they executed those changes? Will it be successful?

Listen to the Alan and Andrew discuss the first impressions of the car, following the amount of driving they crammed in.

To find out more from Hyundai, about the Santa Fe, click this link to their website here.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed the new car registration figures, for October 2024. They are not good. For the month of October the market is 6% down on 2023. Even Fleet dropped, for the first time in a long while. One bright spark, no pun intended, is that EV registrations grew to 20.7% market share for the month. This is to be expected as the end of 2024 approaches and so do the fines for not hitting the mandated levels. Click this link to read more, from the SMMT’s own article.

Following a court ruling regarding commission on finance agreements, the industry has been thrown into turmoil as there are questions on what they need to do in order to be compliant. Some companies have halted all offerings for car finance until the situation is clarified. You can find out more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here.

The number of brands that are reporting challenging results, after Q3, has grown. There is a real problem for the industry, globally, and it might not get better anytime soon. Expect a lot of management word salads, littered with the likes of “efficiencies” and “cost-cutting” etc.

BMW’s woes thanks to the ongoing brake recall and huge profit drop, can be read about by clicking this Reuters article link here.

To read about Audi’s problems, click this Autocar link. Audi plan to cut jobs to help save money, click this Reuters article link here, to find out what that means.

Toyota are also hit by problems, with quality issues, safety recalls, plant stoppages and a Chinese market that is proving tough for all but the home grown brands. Click this Yahoo Finance article link to read more.

Honda announced a surprise drop in profits, thanks in large part to the ongoing issues in the Chinese market as their economy struggles. Click here to read more from a Yahoo Finance article link.

Nissan are not immune to the industry wide slump. They announced the cutting of around 9,000 jobs and dramatically that they are entering “emergency mode” as profits drop 304%. You can read more, from Autocar, by clicking this link here.

JLR profits hall 10%, which is being blamed largely on the aluminium supplier issue discussed a few weeks ago, click this Liverpool Business News article link for more.

Lotus are far from immune to the problems the industry are suffering from, as they announce they will be shedding around 200 jobs at their Hethel site, ahead of the Lotus Technologies (Chinese sister brand that brought out the Emeya and Eletra EVs) financial results announcement later in the month. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.

Rivian, the EV maker who recently signed a deal with VW Group, lost just over $39,000 per car sold in the last quarter. You can read more, by clicking this article link from The Autopian.

For context and more information about what is going on, click this article link from The Autopian, which discusses Nissan, Audi and Stellantis, but from a mainly US perspective.

Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) are beginning an investigation into the complaints over modern headlight glare. They will set up monitoring devices to establish if the anecdotal reports are valid and if so, what is causing the issue. If you wish to learn more, click this BBC News article link here.

Fisker, who is being investigated by the SEC in the United States over their collapse into bankruptcy, has made the claim that they lost $6 million due to a hired remote member of staff, who turned out to be a North Korean agent that funnelled the money to the regime’s missile projects. They are not the only car maker to be targeted. Click this Torque News article link to learn more. Thank you, to Damien Scully for sending us this fascinating item!

Suzuki has revealed their first own developed EV, the eVitara. They have chosen to use a familiar name, which will come with two batteries. The larger giving an estimated 250 mile range. The vehicle is expected to sell from just under £35,000 in the UK. Click this Autocar article to read more.

Bentley announced that their first EV, which is due in 2026, that will be the world’s first “true luxury urban SUV”, whatever that is. With little other details the chaps are left to speculate about “urban SUV” and “true luxury”. They also stated that their EV only goal has been pushed back to 2035. If you want to hear more, click this Autocar article link here.

At the US customisers show, SEMA, Kia unveiled two rugged, go anyway variants on their EV car and van the EV9 and PV5. They have been suitable raised up, had chunky tyres added and a number of off-road adventure accessories fitted. They look great. But the PV5 is what caught the attention of the chaps the most. We are now hoping that the PV5 becomes a people carrier. Click this EV Powered link to read more.

Friend of the show, Nir Kahn, tells us a bit about his history, his philosophy for future vehicles and what he is going to be working on next. Very much worth your time in reading this LinedIn piece from him, which can be accessed by clicking here.

We are increasingly struggling to find good List of the Week article to share with you. If you find one, please do send it our way and if its good enough we’ll put it on the show!

Autocar have another slideshow for you to run through, this time with a selection of vehicles from SEMA. Do you agree with Alan and Andrew’s choices? Click this link to find out.

Taco Bell is expanding their footprint in the UK by opening at five locations on the UK’s motorway network. Click this link to a Motorway Services article, listing each of the places you can get Mexican food from soon.

Andrew was invited, by Volkswagen UK, to sample a selection of the revised Golf, as part of the 50th Anniversary of the model. We hear what VW has achieved in that time, Alan asks if he’s speaking to the real Andrew and the chaps ask how does one benchmark the benchmark?

Listen to the Alan and Andrew discuss the first impressions of the cars, following his short time with each of the models.

To find out more from Volkswagen, about the Golf hatch, click this link to their website here.

For the estate, click this VW link here.

On the 31 October, the EU tariffs for China made EVs went live. Click this electrive article link here to read more.

This has caused SAIC to take the European Commission to court over the amount it has been charged. You can read more via this electrive article link here.

China, it is claimed, has instructed home grown EV makers to not build plants in the EU to get around the extra charges. Once again, electrive have an article link here for you.

Additionally, they now want to know the lifecycle of rare earth minerals in Western supply chains. Check out this link to a China Digital Times link here.

Following a court ruling regarding commission on finance agreements, the industry has been thrown into turmoil as there are questions on what they need to do in order to be compliant. Some companies have halted all offerings for car finance until the situation is clarified. You can find out more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here.

As listeners will be aware, Audi plans to close their Belgium plant in early 2025. However, they have been unable to find a suitable buyer to take on the property and run it. To learn more about this, click the electrive article link here.

Labour has revealed their first budget, since being voted into power. Fuel duty and the extra relief, is staying in place. However, there are big changes for VED rates, Benefit in Kind (BiK) thresholds, classification for double cab pickups and more. Click this AMOnline article link here to read more.

For more on fuel duty and first year VED rates, click this Autocar article link here.

To read about the BiK changes, click here for an Autocar article.

If you wish to learn more about the changes to taxation for double-cab pickups, click this link from Professional Pickup.

Volkswagen Group profits plunge €3 billion in the latest financial report. The VW brand itself is causing heavy drag thanks to an operating margin of just 2%. The information comes out at a key time when the company is negotiating the future with the unions. Click this Autocar article to read about the financial situation.

For more context, we give you this article link from InsideEVs that you can click here. However, they are underplaying why Germany doesn’t want tariffs on Chinese made EVs.

Stellantis have reported on their sales figures for Europe and the United States. The numbers are not good. There is a drop for both markets, although the company is trying to gloss over this publicly. Click this AMOnline article link to read more.

For context of the struggles the group has in the US, click this link from The Autopian.

As Alan correctly predicted, we quickly found out where Maria Grazia Davino has moved to after her sudden departure from heading up Stellantis’s efforts in the UK. She will lead the expansion in Europe that BYD is planning. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline link here.

The Italian Government has outlined plans to remove €4.6 billion in aid to the automotive industry, as it allocates it to other matters. Stellantis, who have been busy fighting with the Government, will be a big loser if this is the case. Click this Reuters article link to read more.

The owner of McLaren Group, Mumtalakat the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, is “exploring” the possibility of selling off the company as it has reached a non binding agreement with CYVN Holdings who have invested in Gordon Murray Technologies, Foreseven and Nio. You can find out more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.

Royal Mail has announced, finally, which electric Peugeot vans it will purchase. They will be taking 1,100 e-Partners and 1000 e-Experts. To read more, click this link to an electrive article, here.

Hyundai has show us their latest vision for a hydrogen powered SUV, most likely a strong indication of what the new Nexo will look like. And that is, a bit Ioniq 5 and a bit Pontiac Aztek. To see for yourself, click this Autocar link here.

Ian Callum has added technology and style to create another road legal Jaguar C-X75, this time in a gorgeous sage green colour. Apparently there has been some debate on whether it is a good looking supercar or boring. Judge for yourself. Click this Autocar link for more.

Jaguar will now not sell any new cars in the UK until 2026. This will, according to the brand’s MD, give them time to “reset”. We worry they will be irrelevant by the time the come back. Click this Autocar article link to read more.

A study has concluded that complex audiobooks cause too much distraction for drivers, as they exert a lot of mental effort to take in and understand what is being said. However, there is a balance, as too little stimulation causes drivers to mentally switch off. Click here to read more, from The Autopian, and access the direct link to the study.

We are increasingly struggling to find good List of the Week article to share with you. If you find one, please do send it our way and if its good enough we’ll put it on the show!

Check out what Autocar have listed as the best selling US cars of all time. Do you agree with the choices the chaps made? Don’t forget to tell us. Click this link to see more.

Collecting Cars, the auction site, has teamed up with Tamiya to create a Sand Scorcher livery which you can buy the RC car with. But not only that, they have wrapped a real GR Yaris in the same livery. Click this Hagerty article link here to read more.

Andrew was invited, by Kia UK, to try out the refreshed Picanto and new Sorento. Book ending the ICE and hybrid model range, the city car Picanto and large SUV Sorento show how the company caters to many different needs.

Listen to the Alan and Andrew discuss the first impressions of the cars, following his short time with each of the models.

To find out more from Kia on the Picanto, click this link to their website here.

If you want to discover more about the Sorento, click this link to the Kia website here.

Information has come out as to the extent that Volkswagen Group are considering how to save the $4 billion they state they need to. This includes closing up to three German plants, reducing wages, reducing bonuses and more. Unions have reacted angrily whilst VW has not commented on the claims. To find out more, click this Reuters link here.

A year ago the CEO of JLR, Adrian Mardell, apologised for how long it was taking to repair their customer’s vehicles. This situation is still not resolved. Problems with their supply chain, which not all are their fault, as well as the supply hub they switched to has meant that around 10,000 customer cars are off the road. Click this Autocar article to read more.

The car company co-founded by Jenson Button, Ant Antsted and Dan Bednarski, to build a low volume supercar based on a modern interpretation of the Lotus Type 62, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. This is a debt restructuring move and does not mean the company is folding. There are also two court cases being brought against Ansted and Bednarski over financial matters related to the company. In order to find out more, click this Road & Track article link here.

China has deported a senior Volkswagen executive, Jochen Sengphiehl, over claims he failed a recreational drug test. He was held by authorities for 10 days before the action was taken. Many questions come from this, is it real or China flexing? You can read more, by clicking this Reuters article link here.

Bosch has sued Rivian for breach of contract, which caused Rivian to counter sue. Rivian cancelled their contract for electric drivetrains from the supplier as they will use their own in-house developed ones. Bosch are, understandably, unhappy at the loss of business, whilst Rivian state that this issue is why they did not deliver as many cars as expected previously. Click this electrive link to find out more.

CATL has released information on a plug-in hybrid battery, that gives a claimed electric only range of 249 miles. This has the chaps confused. Why is it PHEV only? Sounds almost too good to be true, but is it? What are Alan and Andrew missing? You can read more on this, by clicking this Autocar article link here.

Stellantis are the latest company to announce when they will be road testing their solid state batteries. Using a fleet of Dodge Charger Daytonas, for some reason, they will be trying them out on the roads in 2026. To read more on this, including the list of others who have claimed they will have solid state batteries in cars, click this Autocar article link here.

Hyundai and Toyota have teamed up to hold their own motorsport festival in South Korea. What a brilliant idea! Click this Motoring Research article link to find out more.

Scout, the US brand owned by VW, has revealed their two initial models. This has caused excitement in their home country, whilst less so outside, which is reflected in Alan and Andrew’s takes.

You can read more, by clicking this DigitalTrends article link here.

InsideEVs also has an in depth article on the vehicles, which you can read by clicking here.

To run through the sales plans, click this article link from The Autopian here.

Morgan has revealed their run out version of the Plus Six, as production comes to an end. Only 30 examples of the car, which starts at £96, 995, will be sold. Click this EVO article to learn more.

Bad Obsession Motorsport have released a new episode of Project Binky, the heavily modified Mini. In this one we get to see Nick and Rich transform themselves into electrical engineers. Click this YouTube link to watch another fabulous episode from the lunatics.

Autocar have compiled another slideshow, this time about the best cars from dead car companies. There are some to be expected but also some excellent other options too. Do you agree with the picks the chaps made? Do tell us what you would want from all on offer. Click this link to see more.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Richard Scarry book, Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, a new edition has been published. You can click this link to Kottke to read more and access the huge Yale Review which is almost a Lunchtime Read on its own.

In this episode, Alan talks about taking a short break from his holiday/vacation, driving around the southeast of the USA to visit Porsche North America in Atlanta, Georgia, touring the impressive facility, and driving a 911 GTS and a Boxster GTS back-to-back on track.

In Sweden, the strikes by various workers from a variety of industries that serve parts of Tesla’s business has expanded to include the union Vision. Those that work on the Tesla Supercharger network will no longer service, repair or run maintenance on the charging stations. To learn more, click this Automotive News Europe article link here.

Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis and wielder of the big hammer affectionately named “cuts”, has said there will be an announcement in the next few weeks for the “correction” they will be making to the UK business. In recent months the company has threatened the UK Government, as seems to be their Plan A in all countries, with closing production plants. The main bugbear is the ZEV mandate and, in the company’s eyes, a lack of financial support from the Government. Click this Autocar article to read more.

Mario Gazia Davino has made the shock move of leaving the company with immediate effect. Peugeot UK’s new director has been promoted to run the UK operation for Stellantis, and also Peugeot until a successor can be found. There is a lot of upheaval and changes of personnel within the company, both in the UK and Europe, in recent times. If you wish to read more on this, click here for an article from Auto Retail Network.

Volkswagen Financial Service, one of the largest car finance operators in the UK, has been fined for failing to fairly treat customers in financial distress. The time period in question is January 2017 and July 2023 and covers around 110,000 customers. On top of the £5.4 million fine, the company has agreed to pay compensation in the order of £21.5 million to customers who suffered harm. In order to find out more, click this AMOnline article link here.

JLR has appointed Angela Shepherd, as the group’s new sales director to help it transition to the luxury market. JLR are trying to move to a hybrid dealer and agency model. Click this AMOnline article link to learn more.

In an attempt to create a company that is “designed to increase simplicity, speed and collaboration and reduce complexity by flattening our structure”. The most senior person to be impacted by this is the Chief Commercial Officer and deputy to the CEO, Björn Annwal. To read more on this matter, click here for an electrive article link.

Peter Charters has left Maserati with immediate effect and has been replaced by Mariangela Del Vecchio. She will also be looking after Scandinavian operations. You can read more, by clicking this AMOnline article link here.

Morgan Motor Company’s CEO, Massimo Fumarola, is to leave the company and be replaced by the chief technical officer, Matthew Hole. Click this Autocar article link to learn more.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation in to the driver assistance system from Tesla, Full Self Driving Beta. There are concerns that it is unable to detect objects in some weather conditions, such as bright sunshine or fog. Click this BBC News article link here, for more.

We round up the Paris Motor Show, with Andrew being a bit ‘meh’, overall and Alan feeling a bit more positive about what was shown to us.

Click this Autocar link to read more.

Matteo Licata, writing for Hagerty, dissects the Tesla “We Robot” event. He’s much more polite that the chaps are, as we all not so much saw behind the curtain but question if there was a curtain at all to peak behind. Click this link to read that article.

To watch the latest Looking Out: The Podcast episode, click this YouTube link here.

Autocar being us another slideshow, this time covering cars we all wanted but never made it to production for one reason or another. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to tell him what you would have from the many options. Click here to see what is on offer.

The Drive brings us an article on what happens and what it feels like when the Xbox racing game, Forza Motorsport decide to add your car to the game. Click this link here to read about that.

The European Commission has approved tariffs on Chinese EVs. There are a number of stories behind this:

• European Commission Approves Tariffs On Chinese EVS - Autocar
• EU Rejects Chna’s Proposal for €30,000 minimum price - electrive.com
• Why EU rejected China's compromise on EV tariffs - Automotive News Europe
• JLR encourages further talks in plea to avoid EU-China tariff war - Autocar
• EU-China EV dispute: Beijing retaliates with levy on French brandy - Automotive News Europe

The trial for ex. Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn, has been delayed due to his current ill health. A new timeline is being planned and will be announced in due course. Click this Automotive News Europe article for more.

Fiat has announced that the current pause in production of the 500e will continue for longer, which the company claims is down to the low demand for EVs. Or is it the reduced demand for the 500e? To read more on this, click here for an Autocar article.

SMMT has released the new car registration figures for September. The overall figures are still down significantly on the Before Times, pre-Covid. There has been a lot of things said and written about these which require more than surface level analysis that has occurred. EV numbers were once again good.

But the SMMT is leaning heavily into calling for Government assistance for Private consumers. Which rather counters all the claims that cost is not a driving factor in the growth of EVs not being as fast and large as many expected and hoped. If you wish to learn more, click this SMMT link here. You can also see more on the industry’s calls for help, click this link from The Guardian.

In the past few weeks several car brands have issued warnings on their expected profits. Mercedes, Stellantis, Aston Martin, BMW and Volkswagen for a second time. More can be found on all of that by clicking this Reuters article link here.

Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis with a penchant for cutting costs, is set to step down from the company in 2026. The job of finding a successor has begun. Also, it was announced that all brand futures would be considered and confirmed on two to three years, which leaves it a job for the new boss. The rest of the management structure is also going to be ‘shaken up’. For further reading, click this Autocar article link here.

The Spanish Government has given Stellantis and CATL a grant to build their battery factory in the country. Stellantis has yet to decide if they will build their next EV in Spain, but this may help. Click this Automotive News Europe article link here.

Northvolt, the Swedish car battery maker, has put the subsidiary Ett Expansion AB into receivership following the cancellation of the expansion project they were controlling. To read more, click this Automotive News Europe article link here.

Brembo, the brake maker, has agreed to buy Ohlins Racing for $405 million. This does seem like a sensible amalgamation as the parts are close to each other on the car. Click this Reuters article link to read more.

Kia has revealed a retro mod or adaptation of a 1996 Pride being fitted with an EV drivetrain. What a fun thing to have done! Click this Autocar article link for more.

Vauxhall has announced that they are cutting the price of electric Corsa and Astra models. In the announcement, the perception of the brand and the costs of their EV was discussed (again popping the nonsense about how price isn’t a stumbling block for EV adoption). Click this Autocar link to see what the reductions are.

Caterham has announced that they have partnered up with Yamaha to produce the electric powertrain for the Project V due out in the “coming years’. You can read more by clicking this Autocar article link here.

Thanks to Ian, at HubNut, we are recommending his report on the second Rustival event where all cars are welcome. Continuing the vibe of everyone just enjoying cars and not being snobs we are treated to over an hour of this wonderful event. There are others on YouTube who have covered this, which you should go seek out, after clicking and watching this link here.

Autocar being us another slideshow, this time covering cars we all wanted but never made it to production for one reason or another. Do you agree with Alan’s choice? Don’t forget to tell him what you would have from the many options. Click here to see what is on offer.

The Drive brings us an article on what happens and what it feels like when the Xbox racing game, Forza Motorsport decide to add your car to the game. Click this link here to read about that.