Auto Trader snaps up leasing marketplace Autorama for £200m March 22, 2022 Auto Trader announced today it has snapped up Autorama, one of the UK’s largest digital leasing platforms, for £200m. Auto Trader will pay an initial £150m in cash, while an additional £50m will be paid in shares a year after, but vesting over the following two. Subjected to regulatory clearance, the deal will be completed [...]
BMW cuts 2022 profit margins as Ukraine war worsens supply chain issues March 16, 2022 BMW announced today it was cutting its 2022 profit margin forecast after the war in Ukraine caused new supply chain disruptions. The automotive maker said its EBIT margin will go down from between 8 and 10 per cent to between 7 and 9 per cent, warning supply chain issues could severely hinder production. Despite engaging [...]
Bentley doubles profits prompting EV model yearly roll out March 15, 2022 Bentley announced today it had doubled its 2021 profits, prompting the company to pledge the production of one electric car model per year. In the 12 months ended 31 December, the luxury car maker’s operating profit soared to €389m, €369m more compared with 2020. Following a 31 per cent increase in annual sales, the company’s [...]
Greenwich could lose TfL funding following LTN slashing March 11, 2022 Greenwich was warned it could lose Transport for London (TfL) funding after it decided to slash the low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme. The council, led by Labour’s Danny Thorpe, slashed the LTN after residents complained about the detrimental effect on traffic in the borough but now it’s being asked to explain the decision, the Evening Standard [...]
Drivers in Camden, Tower Hamlets and Lambeth among worst offenders in UK March 10, 2022 London is home to some of the worst drivers in the country, with Camden in particular having the fourth-worst record for crashes nationally. Four key London authorities have among the highest number of accidents per 100,000 registered vehicles, new figures show this week. The culprits were Camden, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, and Westminster, with other areas [...]
Aston Martin presses EV accelerator with Britishvolt partnership March 7, 2022 Deluxe car maker Aston Martin has pressed the electric vehicle (EV) accelerator, announcing today a partnership with UK battery technology firm Britishvolt. The partnership is expected to help the car maker launch its first fully electric vehicle in 2025. A joint team from both companies will be tasked to design, develop and industrialise batteries, working [...]
Polluting London drivers to be hit with daily fee of £12.50 as Sadiq Khan plans to expand Ultra Low Emission Zone to entire city March 6, 2022 London Mayor Sadiq Khan said today that he plans to expand the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to cover the entire city in a push to cut pollution and congestion. Mr Khan has asked Transport for London (TfL) to consult on extending the scheme’s boundary from the North and South Circular Roads to the [...]
Used car prices continue to grow but record trend expected to stabilise March 3, 2022 The average price of a second hand car in the UK has continued to grow, reaching in February a record 31.9 per cent year-on-year and like-for-like increase. Even though it marks the 23rd consecutive record month of growth, the 0.6 per cent raise is the lowest increase registered since April 2021. According to Auto Trader’s [...]
Hyundai to invest $16bn by 2030 in EV push March 2, 2022 Automotive giant Hyundai is set to invest more than $16bn by 2030 in its electric vehicle (EV) businesses. The push – which is part of a wider set of investments worth $79.2bn – will help the Korean car maker to achieve a 7 per cent share in the global electric car market by 2030. “Hyundai [...]
Vertu Motors upgrades trading performance following automotive tailwinds March 2, 2022 UK automotive retailer Vertu Motors has upgraded its trading performance for the year ended 28 February, as it continues to benefit from used and new cars’ gross margins. In a trading update published today, the group said it expected the adjusted profit before tax to be “not less than £75m,” after it delivered a significant [...]