Over the last couple of weeks I've seen an uptick in articles highlighting the issues we face in the wake of the Government's recent announcement for the abolishment of new car sales of both petrol and diesels by 2030. The Guardian newspaper had this to say about the extraction of lithium - a key material used in EV batteries - while a Sunday Times article writes on…
This article from the Guardian highlights two separate owners of an identical VW Passat GTE who both experienced problems related to the hybrid systems. In both cases, VW refused to shoulder the cost of the very expensive repairs based on the fact that their respective 3 year warranty's had expired. In both cases the warranty had literally JUST expired, too. Ouch. Thankfully the Guardian was able to…
At last, Honda’s first all-electric city car – the Honda e – has arrived to our sunny shores. What’s it like, I hear you ask, and is it better than its direct competitor, the Mini Electric? Let’s find out! Firstly, style. The Honda e has a refreshing take on previous generations of small Honda’s. You’ll have to be of a certain age to remember the 1st generation…
Covid19 has undoubtedly wreaked havoc on new car sales year to date, and sales figures for this past September certainly reinforced that: just 328k new cars were registered here in the UK which was the worst September this century. This represents a -4.4% drop from last September while year to date, we’re down -33%. Ouch. The writing has been on the wall for a while - August…
An op ed was recently posted on the BBC website suggesting that Elon Musk's most important business would not be his car, Space X, public transport or tunneling companies but his somewhat more boring involvement in the advancement of battery technologies. Batteries - rechargeable or otherwise - have always had a love hate relationship with anything electrical. For older folk reading this, you will recall the days…
Barron's reports that Americans are getting back behind the wheel with a vengeance. Good news for all the manufacturers and dealers out there but also good news for parts companies, automotive insurers and rental car companies, too. Wall Street analysts are now in agreement that various sectors of the car industry offer good opportunities for investors to dip their toes. While Car Sleuth isn't in the business…
June 1st marked the day that car dealerships up and down the country could re-open as part of the Government’s phased “re-boot” of the economy. This is contingent on car dealerships showing that they can meet the COVID-19 secure guidelines to protect shoppers and workers. This includes one-way systems, hand sanitising stations, protective screens and more frequent cleaning/de-sanitising of each car. All visits to showrooms must be…
As has been widely reported, the Government is being lobbied by the car industry to re-enact a scrappage scheme (or "cash for clunkers" as I like to call it). The proposal is pretty straight forward and is similar to the one introduced back in 2009; an older, more polluting car can be traded in at any dealer with £2500 off the sticker price of any new car.…
No doubt you’ve read about the massive drop in oil prices. Never before has the price of oil actually dipped into negative territory. Strangely, 2014 doesn’t seem like that long ago when the price of a barrel of oil was $100! Today, oil producers are actually paying buyers to take oil off their hands. Will this translate to forecourts up and down the country giving away petrol…
Sadly, it has become abundantly clear that every corner of the world is being impacted by the coronavirus. The health and wellbeing of family and friends, and the global population in general, is at the forefront of our thoughts. After that, the health of the economy is a major concern. Small businesses will undoubtedly suffer as people are forced to stay home and self-isolate. Worryingly, many may…