SMMT welcomes hydrogen infrastructure
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has announced an £11 million investment towards the development of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure in the UK. The investment will see the UK’s hydrogen infrastructure grow to up to 15 refuelling stations nationwide, and is part of government’s drive to make the UK a global leader in ultra-low emission vehicles. Joint-funded by government and industry, the project will allocate funds to: install and run up to seven new customer-facing hydrogen refuelling stations (£7 million); upgrade existing hydrogen refuelling stations (£2 million); and to acquire around 40 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles for the public sector (£2 million). The announcement was made by Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock MP, while visiting Honda, Nissan and Toyota in Japan.
Continue ReadingATS gears up for winter switchover for fleets
ATS Euromaster is once again switching over thousands of its customers’ tyres to winter rubber as fleets begin to prepare for the colder months ahead. The tyre and vehicle servicing expert has placed initial orders for approximately £7 million worth of the specialist tyres, and its network of 345 centres is already seeing customers requesting their summer tyres be removed and winter tyres fitted.
Continue ReadingDon’t pay unnecessary fees, warns DVLA
The DVLA warns that when applying online for a driving licence or to tax a vehicle, motorists should always make sure they use the official Gov.uk site. DVLA has been made aware of several websites offering a check and send service for driving licence or vehicle tax applications. Some sites exaggerate the nature of the services they provide, or deliberately underplay the services that people can get for free or at a lower cost from official sources.
Continue ReadingThink! campaign highlights rural road dangers
Rural roads may look idyllic, but the latest Think! campaign from the Department for Transport says that they are deadlier than they look. Consider; three people die each day on average on rural roads and the number of people killed on country roads is nearly eleven times higher than on motorways. In addition, a quarter of drivers have had a near miss and one driver in twenty has had a collision on a country road.
Continue ReadingMichelin keep J. C. Trans (UK) on the road
Leicester-based haulier J. C. Trans (UK) has recorded an 88 per cent reduction in tyre failures per quarter, after adopting a full Michelin tyre policy for its 15-strong fleet.
Continue ReadingPirelli wins BMW Supplier Innovation Award
Pirelli has been presented with the 2014 BMW Supplier Innovation Award, a prize that the German manufacturer gives to its most innovative suppliers every year. The Italian tyre firm was awarded the ‘best innovation in quality’ prize at a ceremony held yesterday in Amsterdam, for its Real Dynamic Curing technology: used in the tyre vulcanisation process.
Continue ReadingApprentice wage increase is good news, says RMI
“The RMI welcomes the news of the planned £1 minimum wage increase for apprentices in the UK,” said Sue Robinson, director of the Retail Motor Industry Federation, the leading automotive trade body in the UK.
Continue ReadingNTDA Tyre Industry Award 2014 winners announced
The winners of the 2014 Tyre Industry Awards were announced on 8 October at the 85th annual NTDA Dinner. The awards once again generated wide interest within the British industry, with 14,000 votes cast across the five voting categories. In the Tyre Centre of the Year category, Encircle Marketing’s series of mystery shopping exercises dictated the winner; all four finalists were rewarded by a plaque.
Continue ReadingBrityrex 2014 opens
Brityrex 2014, which runs till Thursday, opened at Event City in Manchester today. Key announcements from today include the launch of a new Aeolus partner incentive at KRT, Interstate launched a new truck tyre brand (Dynacargo) and more.
Continue ReadingValeo launches new lighting catalogue
Valeo Service UK has unveiled a new lighting & signalling catalogue featuring more than 302 new part numbers. New additions include: 76 Halogen head lamps, 64 Xenon head lamps, 4 LED head lamps, one Ballast, 23 front lamps including 13 daytime running lights (DRL), 31 fog lamps and, 74 rear lamps including 15 lamps for LED versions.
Continue ReadingIncreased volume depresses September used car values
Average UK used car values fell in September from the record levels achieved over the summer months as volume began to return to the marketplace, according to the British Car Auctions latest Pulse report. The headline average value of a used car fell by £572 (7.1 per cent) to £7,429, with performance against CAP Clean falling slightly to 97.5 per cent.
Continue ReadingAugust CV production falls
UK commercial vehicle production fell by 1,642 units in August as the 2014 calendar saw some plants take additional shutdown, compared to last year, for retooling according to SMMT figures.
Continue ReadingSurvey reveals 64 per cent of all UK travel is done by road
A new National Travel Survey reveals that 64 per cent of all travel in the UK is done by road, confirming the British love of motoring. In fact, car and van trips account for 77 per cent of the distance travelled on an average year, in a survey of 6,830 UK households. Whether its city slicking or cruising through the countryside, Europcar, the leader in car hire services in Europe, helps Brits get out on the road and enjoy stress-free travel, all year round with a vehicle to suit every budget and every traveller.
Continue ReadingRegistration plate change boosts September car sales
The SMMT’s new car registration figures for September show that sales were up 5.6 per cent; the biggest September since 2004. The new ‘64’ number plate boosted volumes, with September marking the 31st consecutive month of growth in the new car market.
Continue ReadingThe Parts Alliance acquires Car Parts & Accessories
CPA, established in 1995, employs 120 people in 12 branches serving Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey. It has a delivery fleet of 60 vehicles and a turnover approaching £12 million. The acquisition was completed on Friday 26 September with CPA’s Managing Director Keith Anderson and other CPA leaders continuing with the autoparts distributor. CPA becomes part of the Eastern Alliance of HgCapital-owned businesses within The Parts Alliance, the others being Allparts Automotive and SC Motor Factors.
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