Future EV designs offer drivers more space and leisure, with fewer parts making production more sustainable Take any petrol car sold today and show it to a mechanic working on a Ford Model T 100 years ago and there is a fairly good chance they would understand roughly how it works. An internal combustion engine at the front turns the wheels, carrying a driver behind a steering wheel, some passengers and luggage. The advent of electric cars changes everything. No longer will the shape of the car be defined so rigidly by bulky engines, exhaust gas handling or driveshafts. At the same time, digit ..read more

Manufacturers hit by shortages of both staff and semiconductors as a result of the pandemic The number of cars rolling off UK production lines last month slumped to the lowest June level in almost 70 years, as car manufacturers were hit by shortages of both staff and semiconductors. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said just over 69,000 cars were produced in UK car plants last month, the lowest June total since 1953, although this excludes June 2020 when factories were slowly getting back up to speed after the first lockdown ..read more

Stellantis plan will secure jobs of 1,000 workers as well as 3,000 in supply chain Vauxhall owner Stellantis has announced that it will invest £100m to build electric cars and vans at Ellesmere Port, in Cheshire, in a move that will make it the first large plant in the UK dedicated exclusively to electric vehicles. It will build four electric vans and their passenger car equivalents at the UK factory under Stellantis’s Vauxhall, Opel, Peugeot and Citroën brands, replacing the Astra family car which will be built in Germany instead ..read more

Stellantis poised to announce move after talks with UK government over financial support for Wirral factory The Vauxhall owner Stellantis is poised to announce plans to build a new electric van at its Ellesmere Port plant, securing the immediate future of the site. The company has been in talks with the UK government over financial support for further investment in the factory on the Wirral in north-west England, which has been considered in jeopardy since the Brexit vote ..read more

Campaign group says tax bill for main service company could be wiped out under ‘super-deduction’ policy Amazon could “entirely wipe out” the tax bill of its main UK service company by taking advantage of the chancellor’s £25bn “super-deduction” tax break, according to analysis by a tax fairness campaign group. The super-deduction, announced by Rishi Sunak in the budget on Wednesday, will allow companies such as Amazon to offset 130% of investment spending on plant and machinery against profits for the next two years, starting next month. The chancellor explained that if a company spent £10m on ..read more

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders cuts 2021 forecast after 35.5% year-on-year decline Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The car industry has had its worst February for sales since 1959 as dealerships across the UK remained closed through national lockdowns. British consumers bought only 51,300 cars in the month, a 35.5% year-on-year decline, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT ..read more

Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant is one of many whose future lies in the hands of the merged auto giant Carlos Tavares is an unashamed petrolhead, with a rally-racing hobby that harks back to an earlier automotive age. Yet carmakers like Stellantis, which he leads, and its rivals have had to set aside affection for roaring internal combustion engines as environmental rules set the limits for the industry. Stellantis was formed in January in a €50bn (£43bn) merger between France’s Peugeot and Italian-American Fiat Chrysler, in one of the clearest responses to the Tesla-driven electric revolution ..read more

Owner Stellantis says plant could close without financial support from UK government The owner of Vauxhall has claimed it is considering the closure of its Ellesmere Port factory unless the UK government offers financial support after extended negotiations. An executive of Stellantis, the carmaker, on Thursday said it hoped to reach a binding agreement with the government on aid ..read more

Chief executive of newly formed carmaker warns future of UK production depends on government The future of Vauxhall’s UK car production will depend on government support after the “brutal” decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, according to the boss of Stellantis, the newly formed carmaker. Stellantis was officially created on Saturday after the completion of the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot, the owner of the Vauxhall brand. The merger, first announced in October 2019, has created a global automotive giant with 400,000 employees and 14 brands ..read more

Campaign group says tax bill for main service company could be wiped out under ‘super-deduction’ policy Amazon could “entirely wipe out” the tax bill of its main UK service company by taking advantage of the chancellor’s £25bn “super-deduction” tax break, according to analysis by a tax fairness campaign group. The super-deduction, announced by Rishi Sunak in the budget on Wednesday, will allow companies such as Amazon to offset 130% of investment spending on plant and machinery against profits for the next two years, starting next month. The chancellor explained that if a company spent £10m on ..read more