Several online sources are reporting that a number of German car manufacturers are planning to recall large numbers of vehicles as part of the ongoing vehicle emissions scandal. Sources suggest Mercedes, Opel and Porsche as well as Volkswagen and its Audi brand are to recall certain diesel vehicles. BBC news reports that over 600,000 cars are set to be recalled, citing German media reports.
Volkswagen is to offer “substantial compensation” and initiate a car buy-back scheme in US following the diesel emissions scandal. However, there are not expected to be any such measures in the UK or Europe. Final details of what the company is offering are expected to be announced in June, but what is offered is expected to be “substantial”. In the 24 hours after VW made this deal public, Mitsubishi announced that 625,000 of its cars came with inaccurate emissions figures. This was followed by the news that Mercedes’ parent company Daimler AG is launching an internal investigation into its own emissions testing.
Daimler AG has confirmed that it is conducting an “internal investigation regarding its certification process related to exhaust emissions in the United States”. This action follows a request from the US Department of Justice (DOJ). As a result the company says it will “investigate possible indications of irregularities and of course take all necessary actions.”
Nexen Tire has ranked 4th out of 12 tyre brands in the passenger car segment of the 2016 JD Power Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study, marking a considerable improvement in customer satisfaction from last year.
British firm TyrePal is launching a new tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to help OEM trailer builders and trailer fleet operators tackle the problem of tyre blowouts on HGV freight trailers.
The TyrePal trailer TPMS indicator consists of TyrePal sensors on each tyre and a robust indicator that can be mounted inside or outside the trailer. The indicator can operate independently of the truck to provide an immediate visual and audible alert when the sensors report rapid pressure loss, tyre overheating, under-inflation or over-inflation.
SMMT figures show that the new van market finished the first three months of the year on a high, with a 3.3 per cent uplift in demand in March. The 63,913 registrations made in the month represented some two thirds of the quarter’s total volume, with 98,906 new light commercial vehicles (LCVs) hitting British roads in the year to date – up 1.2 per cent on the same period in 2015.
RMI Bodyshops, (NAB & VBRA), have commenced a series of activities looking into the use of non-oe parts in the UK body repair market.
There are three main focus areas for the activities: The robustness of the parts approval programmes from suppliers; the commercial incentive schemes being used to drive the use of such parts; and the transparency of the use of these parts to the consumer.
“It is encouraging to see that new car registrations were up an impressive 5.3 per cent in March following demand for the new 16-plate change” said Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers across the UK, commenting on the SMMT’s new car registration figures.
The UK’s new car market grew by 5.3 per cent in March, making it the biggest ever month since the bi-annual plate change began in 1999, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
518,707 new cars were registered in March, only the third time the market has surpassed half a million units in a single month. The month rounded off a record quarter, in which 771,780 new cars were registered – a 5.1 per cent increase over the first quarter in 2015.
Recession, sanctions plus the plummeting oil price has had a devastating impact on the outlook for trailer demand in Russia. A year ago Clear International’s analysis suggested 24,000 trailers were wiped from the forecast published in March 2015. Six months ago a further 8,000 trailers were removed from the prognosis. In the current forecast yet another 4,000 trailers have been removed from the Russian outlook.
The London Motor Show will take place this year from the 5th-8th May at Battersea Evolution. There will be an exclusive preview evening on Thursday 5th May where HRH Prince Michael of Kent will cut the ribbon to open the Show.
Over the three days, some 35 car brands and 130 models will be showcasing the latest vehicles with prices ranging from £8,000, to in excess of £200,000, to cater to everyone’s pocket. There will also be unique supercars – on show in London for the first time.
Jaguar has filed patents for three electric cars. The patents include plans for an EV-Type model, plus additional plans for cars called the I-Type and the I-Pace, which are believed to be electric versions of the F-TYPE sports car and F-PACE crossover.
The new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 has been accredited with OE fitments on the Mercedes- Benz E-Class. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 will be fitted in a range of sizes from 17 to 20 inch rims, section width ranging from 225 to 275, and aspect ratio spanning from 30 to 55. All tyres will be marked ‘MO Extended’ indicating tyres built by Goodyear for Mercedes-Benz as well as providing Goodyear’s Run on Flat technology in all fitments.
Apollo Tyres has appointed Steven Smidlein as the senior vice president for North America. This new role will be based in the firm’s New Jersey office and will see Smidlein reporting to Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman and managing director, Apollo Tyres Ltd. An OE specialist, with previous experience at Goodyear, Steven Smidlein has spent most of his career working in various executive roles for car makers such as Chrysler, Honda and Accura in the US. According to the Apollo, Smidlein’s latest role sees him take responsibility for ”building the brand and sales in North America for both, Apollo and Vredestein”.
British car manufacturing figures for February 2016 show that car manufacturing is still booming. According to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), output rose 13.1 per cent compared with February 2015.
Reflecting the growing popularity of UK-built cars both at home and abroad, February’s performance puts production for the year-to-date up 10.6 per cent over the same period last year. Output for the domestic market rose 24.4 per cent in the month, accompanied by a 9.1 per cent increase in export production.
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