Sunak’s EV U-turn is ULEZ-related smoke and mirrors
A week before we went to press, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK would no-longer be phasing out ICE vehicles by 2030. Rather, the deadline would be pushed back to 2035. Not only was that decision a u-turn, it was a policy decision explicitly designed to slow down sales of electric vehicles, as number 10’s official statement at the time testifies: “Under revised plans, the Government will move back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by five years, so all sales of new cars from 2035 will be zero emission. This will enable families to wait to take advantage of falling prices over the coming decade if they wish to.”
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Vaculug sustainable thinking fleet forum sold out
Vaculug’s second Sustainable Thinking Fleet Forum of the year is officially sold out. Vaculug representative report that they are “excited to be hosting this exclusive event, as it demonstrates their commitment to promoting sustainability and driving positive change within the tyre industry and fleet management sector”.
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Government commits £80 million to improve bus services
Roads Minister Richard Holden has confirmed allocations for 64 local authorities across England from the £80 million investment in the Bus Service Improvement Plan+ (BSIP+) for 2024-25. Local authorities can use the funding to improve local buses by bringing in new services or routes, extending timetables through new morning or evening buses, or by making tickets cheaper.
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Half of drivers say government policy means they won’t buy EVs before 2035
In the week prior to Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the ICE ban would be pushed back from 2030 to 2035, 42 per cent of drivers planning to buy a new car said they expected it to be a low-emissions vehicle (either fully electric or hybrid), according to research carried out for Kwik Fit. However, following the announcement, Kwik Fit’s researchers found that the proportion planning to opt for a low-emissions vehicle has now dropped back to 38 per cent. The figures indicate that the number of car buyers planning to choose an EV or hybrid has dropped by more than two million since the ban has moved from 2030 to 2035.
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Industrial tyres: Quality and durability are built-in sustainability arguments
The term resilient tyres refers to a particularly durable sub-segment of the industrial tyres business, but it also neatly highlights the strengths of the especially business-to-business-orientated material handling sector. While industry observers often highlight the consistency of the wider commercial vehicle segment – especially truck tyres – material handling tyres have also remained stable in the face of adversity and are arguably just as critical to business and therefore national economies. In addition, the turmoil of recent years has led to significant changes in the distribution and service side of the material handling tyre business. That’s why October’s issue takes a closer look at industrial tyres in general and material handling tyres in particular.
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CL Tyres adds Southampton location en route to national coverage
In May, fast-growing industrial tyre business CL Tyres bought Manchester-based Fork Truck Tyres. Since then, the business has continued to grow. With the company continuing to expand at a rate of knots, Tyres & Accessories got in touch with director Steven Pye in order to find out how the integration is going and what’s happening next.
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MTS chooses Arcom AR03 MIX tyre racks, AR04 pallets for Bellshill warehouse
Micheldever Tyre Services’ new Scottish warehouse is being fitted out with a racking solution from the Polish supplier Arcom, continuing a long-standing cooperation between the companies. The facility in Bellshill, Scotland, near Airdrie in the east of Glasgow, is the latest in a series of joint projects between MTS and Arcom; MTS has chosen a proven and versatile rack for vertical, horizontal, and column storage that can be stacked up to 9 metres high. The AR03 MIX is largely suitable for passenger car tyres, while AR04 pallets are being employed as a supplement for storing SUV tyres up to 80cm in diameter. With this combination, the warehouse can be adapted easily to changing goods and the number of stored tyres. In case of no demand for some pallets, they can be easily disassembled, folded, and transported elsewhere.
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EV tyres: epyx fleet data shows 6,350-mile deficit in life versus petrol, diesel vehicle tyres
Tyres fitted to electric vehicles (EVs) face a shortfall in longevity versus those fitted to petrol or diesel cars, new fleet data from epyx suggests. The first tyre change for electric cars is taking place at an average of 17,985 miles and 551 days old, compared to 24,641 miles and 585 days for hybrids, and 24,335 and 670 days for petrol and diesel cars. On average tyres fitted to EVs are lasting 6,350 fewer miles than equivalents on internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles. The data is taken from epyx’s 1link Service Network platform. Car and van fleets totalling more than four million vehicles use 1link to manage and process SMR.
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Bridgestone tyre safety survey: 81% of drivers never check their tyres
A survey of 2,000 UK car owners conducted online by Research Without Barriers on behalf of Bridgestone generated some damning figures for tyre safety. Of the drivers surveyed, 81 per cent admitted to never checking their tyres, and only 14 per cent described them as the most important safety feature on their cars. Other headline statistics from Bridgestone’s research include 54 per cent not knowing that driving on illegal tyres is an extremely dangerous act, only 31 per cent of motorists admitting to being well informed on road safety matters and just 12 per cent checking their tyre treads once a fortnight, the recommended interval between checks. For more on this story, click through to the consumer tyre advice website from the Tyrepress team, WhatTyre.
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Maverick Diagnostics partners with Grup Eina on vehicle technical support
Maverick Diagnostics is cooperating with Grup Eina to bring access to 1.6 million known fixes and an expert helpdesk to those using its subscription service.
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First Stop, ETB networks commence Customer Centricity Week
The First Stop and ETB Autocentres networks began their Customer Centricity Week on 25 September. Both networks plan to offer a ‘delightful experience’, targeting the generation of more repeat-business and an increase in recommendations. In order to achieve this, they have created a new customer framework to raise standards among staff with three objectives: gaining loyalty and recommendations from customers, to be customer-centric, and to create what it calls “the best customer journey in the automotive retail industry.”
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Majority of dealers expect improvement in used car market, says survey
More than half of dealers (55 per cent) expect 2024’s used car market to be better than this year’s, new research shows. September’s Startline Used Car Tracker shows that 45 per cent also believe there will be better stock supply and 43 per cent that demand for electric vehicles (EVs) will increase. However, just 25 per cent expect there to be an improvement in consumer confidence.
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Mahle supports Dingbro’s 50th anniversary event
Mahle Aftermarket UK recently supported Dingbro’s 50th anniversary trade event in Aberdeen. The company’s regional sales manager, Phil Nicholson, and technical manager, Alan Povey headed to Dingbro’s company headquarters in Aberdeen to celebrate 50 years of the brand. The trade event was a great success with over 1000 garages and 100 suppliers in attendance, discussing the latest and greatest in the automotive aftermarket.
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UK Garage and Bodyshop Event team take on the Emerald Isle for Ben Automotive
The UK Garage and Bodyshop Event (UKGBE), presented by Automechanika Birmingham, will participate in this year’s Bangers4Ben rally. Its team, dubbed the Dublin Driving Dolls, will travel 1,500 miles across Ireland over four days (7-10 October) alongside other entrants in their very own ‘bangers’, all of which cost less than £750. The rally will cross the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Dublin, hitting the winding roads of Ireland, before completing the tour back in Dublin and the ferry back to Britain. UKGBE has partnered with LKQ Euro Car Parts and established aftermarket business owners Louise Baker and Rachel Murray on its entry.
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IGA BIG Awards Raises £10,000 for Automotive Charity Ben
The automotive community came together in a show of support at the Independent Garage Association (IGA) BIG Awards 2023, raising £10,000 for the automotive charity Ben to help the charity continue to provide vital support to the automotive sector.
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