British electric vehicle manufacturer Tevva has entered into a strategic partnership with Ecobat, a global leader in battery recycling, for the repair, repurposing and recycling of its lithium-ion batteries. The partnership kicks off with a 12-month pilot phase for first-life battery management, with the opportunity to expand into additional energy storage and recycling solutions.
While Tevva’s focus remains trained on building and delivering its battery-electric 7.5t vehicle, testing and development of its hydrogen-electric counterpart continues apace. Four Tevva engineers: Charlie Cordell, Byron Dolman, Ryan Clark and Toby Hurst were doing exactly that recently, with a ‘range test’ of Tevva’s dual-energy prototype truck. The exercise saw the foursome accumulate more than 1,000km (approximately 620 miles) in the 7.5t hydrogen-electric vehicle, driving between Tevva’s London HQ and the Scottish border at Berwick-on-Tweed – England’s most northernmost town.
A new automotive report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) anticipates 5-10 per cent growth for European car sales in 2023. European car sales climbed 12 per cent in January, helped by easy year-earlier comparisons, fewer supply-chain hurdles and pent-up demand that boosted registrations. While these new figures may bode well for sentiment, they still trail 2019 considerably, 25 per cent lower. In BEV share, the UK led other European nations, but other major markets now have the benefits of far more generous subsidies reducing the cost of the shift to electric powertrains.
The number of electric and hybrid-electric cars on the road is growing, and Tecalemit has introduced a lifting solution that addresses this change in the vehicle parc. It says the two-post Azur SF/9235/EVR offers a “comprehensive range of features to meet the needs of modern workshops” and as such represents the “future of vehicle lifting solutions.”
The Vehicle Remarketing Association believes there is an imbalance in government incentives between new and used electric vehicles. It says more needs to be done to ensure a healthy market for used models. The association is calling for this support to feature in the Spring Budget. VRA chair Philip Nothard said: “The government should be applauded for doing much in recent years to encourage uptake of new EVs, especially through low personal company car taxation. This has been notably successful and electric power now makes up a significant proportion of new car sales. However, the used car sector has so far been left to look after itself when it comes to EVs and, as shown with dramatic price falls in recent weeks and months, demand is extremely variable even for the relatively low numbers of electric cars now making their way onto the used market.”
Enso, which describes itself as “the world’s first sustainable tyre manufacturer”, reports that it has “successfully proven the benefits of specialist electric vehicle (EV) tyres” in trials conducted as part of the TfL FreightLab Innovation Challenge. According to the company, Enso tyres outperformed standard-fit tyres both in terms of reducing particulate matter (PM) emissions by up to 35 per cent and improving energy efficiency by up to 10 per cent in a 15-month trial.
The expansion of Bridgestone Enliten into the replacement tyre market will commence in Europe this year with the launch of Bridgestone Turanza 6 and Duravis Van products featuring the technology. The tyre maker plans to debut a total of eight Enliten products for the European aftermarket in 2023, a figure representing around five per cent of all Bridgestone passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyres in the European replacement market.
The UK new car market grew 14.7 per cent in January to reach 131,994 units, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), setting the tone for an anticipated countercyclical year of growth. This was the best start to the year since January 2020’s pre-Covid 149,279 units and is the sixth successive month of expansion.
Building on its 2015 foundation, the UK-owned Davanti Tyres brand has developed a comprehensive range of products for the car and light truck segments while increasing its penetration via distribution partners in international markets. With its products produced in East Asia and its sister distribution company Oak Tyres handling UK distribution, the brand can offer an informed perspective on current car tyre market trends. Tyres & Accessories talked to Davanti Tyres sales director for UK and Ireland, Sean Maddocks about tyre imports, car parc evolution, and the latest Davanti products.
British electric vehicle manufacturer Tevva has reached another major milestone after securing European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) for its 7.5 tonne battery-electric truck. It means that Tevva can start producing and selling in volume across the UK and Europe and represents the key regulatory step in the development and commercialisation of all vehicles, including electric trucks.
As is being reported around the world with varying levels of schadenfreude, last year UK car production reached its lowest level since 1956. A total of 775,014 cars were produced in the UK in 2022, 40.5 per cent below 2019 figures and way under half the record production of 1,971,311 achieved half a century ago. The SMMT strives to highlight the positive news within this result, and stresses that production of electric vehicles reached a new record during 2022.
A survey commissioned by Apollo Tyres has found that only six per cent of motorists in the UK are able to correctly identify a tyre’s load rating. Worse still, it turns out we’re only half as good at accomplishing this task as the Germans are. Thankfully, younger Brits give hope that this may change in future.
China will continue to dominate global battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in 2023, despite an increase across all major markets, says GlobalData. However, the leading data and analytics company notes that other regions may catch up, as growth in China slows. Al Bedwell, director, global powertrain at LMC, a GlobalData company, comments: “China’s BEV growth will moderate in 2023, after a meteoric rise in 2022 of more than 100 per cent year-on-year (YoY). The country’s slowing economy and unavoidable retail price increases will dampen Chinese BEV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) demand, though much volume will still be added.”
The first entirely electric Škoda to wear the brand’s go-fast vRS badge arrives in UK showrooms this week. This is of course the Škoda Enyaq Coupé iV vRS, a 299PS EV capable of completing the 0-62mph sprint in just 6.5 seconds and achieving a top speed of 111mph. Enyaq Coupé iV vRS models are equipped with black 20-inch Taurus wheels as standard or optional 21-inch Vision wheels with an anthracite finish. Original equipment tyres come courtesy of Bridgestone, Hankook or Pirelli.
BKT wants us to know that it is “ready” for electric mobility in the off-highway segment, and is denoting products it has tailored for such vehicles with a new E-Ready sidewall logo. E-Ready made its debut at last November’s SIMA exhibition in Paris on the Agrimaxfactor 70 series tractor tyre range, and BKT plans to gradually extend its use to all products in this category.
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