Boris Bus-t: Red bus maker Wrightbus goes into administration, putting 1,300 jobs at risk September 25, 2019 Britain’s embattled manufacturing industry was dealt a fresh blow this morning as Wrightbus entered administration, putting nearly 5,000 jobs at risk. The company, which is famous for building the so-called Boris bus Routemaster model in London, had been suffering from cash flow shortages, and had been looking for a new owner. Read more: Wrightbus in [...]
Electric-powered regional flights ‘could be taking off by 2030’ September 24, 2019 The next decade will yield the launch of electric flying taxis and electric planes entering the market in both regional flights and private aviation, according to research. A paper by Citigroup researchers predicts electric technology will begin disrupting the so-called general aviation market, which includes flights carrying between two and 14 passengers, by 2022. Meanwhile, [...]
Labour plots further £5bn investment in electric car industry September 24, 2019 Labour has pledged to spend £2bn on the construction of three electric car battery factories in parts of the country which have lost thousands of car industry jobs in the last year. The plan would see a Labour government plough the money into so-called gigafactories in south Wales, Stoke and Swindon, with each site employing [...]
Labour hopes to lease 30,000 electric cars to public in climate drive September 23, 2019 Labour has unveiled plans to roll out a fleet of 30,000 electric hire cars onto Britain’s roads in a bid to help tackle climate change. Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey today said Labour would spend £300m to provide its so-called People’s Zipcars if it came to power, which people across the country could rent via [...]
World will have twice as many planes in the skies in 20 years, says Airbus September 18, 2019 The world will have twice as many passenger jets in 2038 as are currently in the skies, Airbus forecast today, as the plane maker raised concerns over a potentially damaging tariff war between the EU and the US. The European plane maker has hiked its forecasts for jet plane demand to 47,680 aircraft by 2038, [...]
Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos ‘nearing deal’ to build car in Bridgend September 16, 2019 Billionaire entrepreneur Jim Ratcliffe is said to be closing in on a deal to build a sport utility vehicle (SUV) in Bridgend, the town where Ford is bringing down the shutters on an engine factory which employs 1,700 people. Ineos, Ratcliffe’s chemicals firm, has been in negotiations for months over where to build the car, [...]
Cobham investors give green light to £4bn private equity takeover September 16, 2019 Investors in aerospace giant Cobham have approved a £4bn takeover by private equity firm Advent International, despite fierce opposition from the company’s founding family. More than 93 per cent of investors approved Advent’s offer of 165p per share, which marked a 50 per cent premium on Cobham’s three-month average share price and was previously recommended [...]
Engineering specialist Ricardo suffers amid global car industry downturn September 12, 2019 Engineering consultancy Ricardo’s shares fell seven per cent today after it reported that its automotive business struggled last year. The London-listed firm enjoyed a rise in revenue and growing order books in the year ending 30 June, but its division which serves the car industry was hit by a “pretty awful year” in the wider [...]
Frankfurt Motor Show: Car industry bosses warn against no-deal Brexit September 10, 2019 Bosses at car makers BMW and Vauxhall, which collectively employ more than 7,000 people in the UK, have warned about the destructive effects a no-deal Brexit could have on the automotive industry. Workers at BMW’s Mini factory in Oxford could face losing work in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to the car maker’s [...]
Chinese car maker Geely invests in flying taxi startup Volocopter September 9, 2019 Geely has hedged its bets on a German startup which hopes to bring flying taxis to cities around the world, as the Chinese firm looks to branch out from its traditional automotive business ventures. The car maker has taken a minority stake in Volocopter, which hopes to bring air taxis to Chinese cities, and said [...]