Driverless cars set for UK roads by the end of the year April 28, 2021 Britain’s roads could see their first driverless cars by the end of the year after the Department for Transport gave an autonomous driving system the green light today. Officials said that the technology could improve road safety by reducing human error, which contributes to over 85 per cent of accidents. In a statement this morning, [...]
Lotus to invest £2bn in switch to electric and revamp of UK plant April 28, 2021 Sports car maker Lotus will build electric vehicles in the UK as part of a £2bn investment push aimed at massively increasing its production capacity. The Hethel-based firm yesterday announced that it would switch to selling only electric cars by 2028. Its last combustion engine car, the Emira, will launch this summer. As part of [...]
Mercedes maker Daimler to cut hours of 18,500 workers due to chip shortage April 21, 2021 Mercedes maker Daimler today said it would cut the hours of some 18,500 workers at its factories in Germany due to the current shortage of semiconductor chips. The auto giant also said it would halt production at two plants for a temporary period of time. A spokesperson for the Stuttgart-headquartered firm said that it was [...]
World’s biggest semiconductor maker warns that shortage could continue into 2022 April 15, 2021 The world’s biggest semiconductor maker this morning warned that the current chip shortage could well last into 2022. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) said that it was doing everything it could to alleviate the drought of the processors, which are vital for a vast range of electric devices. Chief exec C. C. Wei told investors [...]
Exclusive: Covid-19 drives Londoners behind the wheel sooner than planned April 14, 2021 London dwellers are now more likely to buy a car sooner than planned than in any other region of the UK as a result of Covid-19. New figures from Close Brothers Motor Finance, shared exclusively with City A.M., show that over a fifth of Londoners – 21 per cent – are now more likely to [...]
Car sales pick up in March as market shows signs of life April 6, 2021 Car sales rose 11.5 per cent in March as the UK market began to show signs of life after a dire year for the automotive industry. According to data from the Society from Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), sales remain around 37 per cent below the monthly average for March between 2010-2019. The third month [...]
Honda to sell Swindon factory to developer Panattoni March 26, 2021 Honda will sell on its Swindon factory to industrial property developer Panattoni when it leaves the site in July, it was announced today. It is expected that the site will be handed over to the European firm in the spring of 2022, the carmaker said. It did not disclose the value of the deal. Following [...]
Car production tumbles again in worst February for a decade March 26, 2021 UK car production fell 14 per cent last month as the sector suffered its weakest February for over a decade. Just 105,008 units rolled off production lines last month, according to new figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was the eighteenth straight month of declining car production in [...]
What’s causing the current global shortage of semiconductor chips? March 25, 2021 The modern world runs on semiconductors; everything from mobile phones to washing machines depends on these tiny microchips. But few industries are so totally dependent on these microprocessors as the automotive sector, as has been proved time and again over the last couple of months. Since the shortage was first flagged at the beginning of [...]
US governors urge Biden to pressure semiconductor firms on global shortage of automotive chips February 26, 2021 A bipartisan group of eight governors from U.S. automotive states urged President Joe Biden today to do more to press semiconductor firms to address a global shortage of automotive chips that has cut some vehicle production. Governors of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas, South Carolina, Alabama and Missouri co-wrote a letter to Biden asking him [...]