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…
Electric vehicles are gaining traction amongst consumers, no doubt, but before we see mass adoption there is one concern I have that hasn’t been properly addressed. Beyond high prices, limited range and poor charging infrastructure, a critical reason that I see why the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) will take longer is that people want bigger and therefore heavier cars. And crazily, it’s not just SUVs I’m…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51731757 The above link from the BBC homepage announces the proposal for petrol stations across the UK to adopt more environmentally friendly E10 petrol to replace the current E5. This is good news indeed and will be interesting to see if Boris discusses this proposal specifically while chairing his first cabinet meeting on climate change today. The "E" in E10 stands for ethanol - in this case…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51612880 I'm all for black box devices being fitted in cars to monitor the driving habits of new drivers to help them become better drivers. The idea being that if you demonstrate that you are a good driver, you will be rewarded with lower insurance premiums. While I do recognise that this does have an air of "Big Brother watching you", in my opinion new drivers should…
This is a very interesting article in the Guardian written by Gwyn Topham because, rather unfortunately, it flags what I've often been worried about. Namely, the decrease in private cars being offset by the increase in both Uber (drivers) and Amazon delivery vans. The article provides interesting points regarding congestion in London streets and how it hasn't improved at all since Uber first hit our streets back…