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A new statistical release from the Department for Transport (DfT) has highlighted an increase in speeding on UK roads during the first Coronavirus lockdown.

It follows numerous reports from road safety organisations and Police forces across the country that speeding had become more prolific as the nation’s roads emptied in line with national restrictions.

The latest data shows that 63% of cars exceeded the speed limit on 30mph roads during Q2 (April to June) 2020, compared to 56% during the same period in 2019.

There was also a 7% rise in the percentage of cars exceeding the speed limit on 60mph single carriageway roads – up from 10% in Q2 2019 to 17% in Q2 2020.

The percentage of speeding motorists rose by 1% on motorways, to 53%.

As restrictions eased later in Q2, road traffic began to return to normal levels, and speed limit exceedance also started to return to levels more similar to 2019.

The DfT report stated: “The annual speed compliance statistics show very little variation in compliance with the speed limit from year to year, so without the coronavirus pandemic, we would expect speed limit compliance to have remained in line with previous years.”

The worst speeder in the first three weeks of the lockdown was caught in West Yorkshire driving at 151mph on the M62 motorway, according the RAC. This was 11mph faster than the next fastest recorded which was 140mph on the A14 in Suffolk.

Six forces – The Met, Northamptonshire, Gwent, Staffordshire, Kent and Humberside – all caught motorists driving at speeds in excess of 130mph and three others – Police Scotland, The Met and Lancashire – recorded drivers at speeds over 120mph.

The highest speed seen in a 40mph limit was 134mph – 94mph above the limit – recorded by the Met on the A10 in North London, while Cambridgeshire Police detected a car being driven at 73mph in a 30mph area.

Derbyshire Constabulary also caught a driver going at 108mph on the M1 – 68mph above the speed limit. The only other force whose highest speed was in a 40mph limit was Bedfordshire – here the driver was clocked at 104mph on Airport Way in Luton.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “This data confirms what we previously suspected: lower traffic volumes sadly led to some shocking levels of speed limit disobedience, particularly on 30mph limit roads.

This dangerous behaviour unnecessarily put lives at risk during the first national lockdown when more people were walking and cycling.

“Empty roads should not be an excuse to drive dangerously and it would be frightening to think one of the legacies of the lockdown is a complete disregard for speed limits and other road users’ safety.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Civic slipping down the table leaves German cars occupying the top six places, reports Matt de Prez

The Audi A4 has retained its crown as the FN50’s most reliable car for the second year running, achieving the lowest number of mechanical breakdowns and warranty repairs among the UK’s 50 largest leasing companies.

It rose to victory last year – where it topped the charts for the first time – fending off its keenest rival, the BMW 3 Series, although BMW remains the UK’s most reliable car maufacturer.

In total, 80 models received a ranking by leasing companies in the 2020 listing.

Having launched in 2015, the A4 received a mild-facelift last year – bringing cleaner mild-hybrid engines and revised infotainment.

An all-new 3 Series launched in the same year, however, beating the A4 in the 2020 Fleet News Awards to win both the Best Premium Car and Best New Company Car trophies.

Whether the new model will enable the brand to reclaim its position at the top of the FN50, as it did between 2015-2017, remains to be seen.

Comparing this year’s figures with the previous shows a major move for the Honda Civic. It topped the chart in 2018 before slipping to fifth place last year. In 2020, the Civic has dropped again and now sits in seventh position.

Golf’s strong performance

It means the top six is populated entirely by German cars this year, with third place occupied by the Volkswagen Golf.

It’s a strong performance for the model, which is the best-selling fleet car in the UK and was replaced by an all-new model earlier this year.

The Golf pushed BMW’s 5 Series down to equal fifth place with the Audi A3 – also replaced by an all-new model this year – which climbs the chart from 11th and makes Audi and BMW the only brands to have two cars in the top five.

Mercedes-Benz enters the table in fourth place, with its C-Class model ranking in the top 10 for the first time since 2016.

It’s second entrant, the E-Class, has also climbed the table from ninth to eighth place this year – having placed 13th in 2018 – a good result that reflects the saturation of the newer generation car among leasing company fleets since it launched in 2016.

Hyundai makes an appearance in equal ninth position, with the i30 giving the brand a spot in the top 10 list for the first time.

Rounding off the top 10 is the ageing, but the nonetheless exceedingly popular, Nissan Qashqai.

It ties with the i30 in ninth place after a one-year hiatus and is the only model representing the crossover segment in this year’s top 10.

Both the Volkswagen Passat and Škoda Octavia dropped out of the table this year, placing 12th and 15th respectively.

The Audi A1 (23rd), Toyota Yaris (40th), Toyota CH-R (28th), Kia Sportage (33rd) and Ford Focus (16th) have all slipped out of the top 15 this year, although it should be noted that the margins between many of the models are very small.

While BMW failed to top the reliability ranking with its 3 Series, and the 5 Series lost ground this year, it still retained its title as the Most Reliable Manufacturer overall.

The Munich giant remains undefeated for six years.

Leasing companies ranked 27 models this year. Audi has held on to its number two spot this year with a strong performance from its A4 and A3 models, while Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen sit third and fourth, respectively.

Honda has dropped from fifth to eight place this year, while Toyota – which saw improved positions for the Aygo (17th) and Prius (23rd) versus 2019 – has crept up one position to secure the final place in the top five.

Hyundai places sixth, while Volvo shoots up the table, occupying its highest ever position: seventh.

Volvo’s performance reflects its dramatic growth in the fleet sector, with strong year-on-year increases in registrations growing the presence of its vehicles on FN50 fleets.

Seat takes ninth place and is the VW Group’s third most-reliable brand, according to the FN50 survey.

Mitsubishi climbs two places, meanwhile, and occupies 10th position.

Kia drops out of the top 10 to 13th, having placed ninth in 2019 with the Ceed now its top rated model, in 18th place. Equally, Ford has dropped from 10th to 14th and has no cars in the top 15 reliability list (although Focus just misses out in 16th place).

Renault turning a corner

Renault may be happier, appearing in the top 15 for the first time.

The French brand appears to be turning a corner, with the Captur rising to 12th and both Mégane and Kadjar receiving a ranking.

This year’s newcomers mean that Mini (16th) and Vauxhall (19th) have been pushed from the top 15 list altogether.

How are models/brands ranked?

Each FN50 leasing company provides its top 10 most reliable models and most reliable brands and the ranking is based on 10 points for first place, nine for second and so on.

Some leasing companies also provide reliability data to add robustness to the survey responses. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The total market value for UK primary vehicle body repairs has fallen by 26.6% to £3.57 billion in 2020, as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, new research suggests.

Furthermore, the report on the UK vehicle body repair and motor insurance market, published today (Monday, November 30) by independent market research company Trend Tracker, says accident repair volumes will not return to pre-Covid levels until 2022.

The Emerging from Covid-19 – The UK Vehicle Body Repair and Motor Insurance Market 2020-2023 Market Study reports that accident repair volumes declined by 30% in 2020.

However, it says that as repair costs have continued on an upward trajectory, predominantly due to the increased complexity of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and an increasing number of vehicles with hybrid or electric powertrains, the financial loss to the sector is calculated at 26.6%.

Mark Bull, director of Trend Tracker, said: “Anecdotally, the volume demand for insurer-funded accident damage repairs fell by approximately 80% overnight as the initial nationwide lockdown came into effect in March, however they had steadily recovered to approximately 75% of pre-Covid levels as Government restrictions eased, until November that is.

“The Trend Tracker research has monitored repair volume and values throughout the year to calculate quantitative figures that show a projected annual loss of £1.3bn in 2020 to the UK vehicle repair industry.”

Of the £1.3bn market contraction, which can readily be viewed as a direct saving to motor insurers’ claims expenditure, £5.6 million is attributed to a loss of parts sales, £4.1m as lost labour sales and £2.6m as lost paint sales, with the remainder being additional and consumable items.

“We would expect traffic volumes to return to greater levels during 2021,” Mark Bull, Trend Tracker

Meanwhile, offsetting some of the financial loss to the vehicle body repair market, the cost of repairs continues to rise year-on-year.

Since 2018 to the first half of 2020, overall repair costs generated via the Solera Audatex system have increased by 10.2%, from an average of £1,860 to £2,050 per repair.

Taking a longer-term view, since 2013 overall repair costs generated via the Solera Audatex system have increased by 48.5% and they show no sign of slowing, due primarily to ever-increasing vehicle complexity.

Bull explained: “While we know that 2020 has been devastating for many businesses across all sectors, the vehicle body repair sector was very much on the road to recovery until lockdown 2.0 came into effect.

“However, with the excellent news that a vaccine will be available shortly, we would expect traffic volumes to return to greater levels during 2021, which should correlate to a V-shape recovery in terms of the number of accident damage claims.

This is encouraging for bodyshops, although we predict that pre-Covid work volume will not return until 2022.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Road users have sent more than 50,000 dashcam recordings of potential traffic offices to police forces since 2017, with one-third resulting in action.

Police forces across the UK receive more than 35 pieces of footage every day, according to a freedom of information request sent to every UK constabulary by What Car?

Just over 10% of the incidents captured on film were severe enough to warrant a court prosecution and 9.6% resulted in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN).

A further 10.5% resulted in the driver being asked to attend a driver awareness course, and 3.0% of drivers were given a warning.

The use of dashcams by drivers and other road users has increased by around 850% since 2017, when insurance companies started accepting footage as evidence for claims and the courts first used footage to convict an offender.

The What Car? research found Dyfed-Powys Police in South Wales is the most active in using dash cam footage.

It has taken action over 81.3% of the videos it’s received, with 40.2% of offenders receiving a warning, 18.6% of them were prosecuted in court and 18.4% were asked to attend a driver awareness course, while just 4.0% were handed an FPN.

London’s Metropolitan Police received the largest volume of submissions – nearly 25,000 videos over four years – and acted in 45.4% of cases, issuing court proceedings to 18.9% of offenders, driver awareness courses to 13.9%, FPNs to 9.6% and warnings to 2.9%.

The report comes one month after Fleet News reported that 3,805 videos were uploaded to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal in just 90 days.

The National Dash Cam Safety Portal, which allows motorists to quickly and securely upload footage of dangerous driving to the relevant police authority, is now being used by 33 forces.

Fleet operators and their drivers are being urged to share dashcam footage with police to help prosecute dangerous drivers and improve road safety.

Police forces that have taken the highest share of actions per footage received –

Police Force	Number of dash cam videos received 2017 – 2020	Number of videos resulting in action by Police Force	Percentage of videos resulting in action by the Police Force
Dyfed-Powys Police	375	305	81.3%
Norfolk & Suffolk Constabulary	1877	966	51.5%
Northamptonshire Police	612	300	49.0%
Metropolitan Police Service	24,799	11,247	45.4%
Gwent Police	728	306	42.0%
Warwickshire Police	1875	722	38.5%
Gloucestershire Constabulary	470	180	38.3%
Humberside Police	272	94	34.6%
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary	1182	379	32.1%
North Wales Police	1857	516	27.8%

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The Government should focus on decarbonising the fuel, not the vehicle, a new report into the future of Britain’s automotive industry has said.

The ban of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 “wasn’t helpful”, said the Decarbonising Road Transport: There is no Silver Bullet report, commissioned by companies including Honda, Aston Martin, Bosch and McLaren.

It encouraged manufacturers to follow the lead of Polestar and Volkswagen in being more transparent about the emissions generated during the production of each model, after research found the manufacture of EVs generates 63% more CO2 than its petrol or diesel equivalent.

The report said a Polestar 2 would need to run for around 49,000 miles before its carbon footprint became smaller than that of a diesel Volvo XC40.

However, this figure – and much of the interpretation in included in the press release – has been disputed, with analyst Michael Liebrich saying this figure is actually nearer 16,000 miles.

Dr Uwe Gackstattar, president of Bosch Powertrain Solutions, called on the Government to leave engineers to come up with the solutions.

Andy Palmer, former CEO of Aston Martin, said it was vital to understand there were many routes to net zero.

He added: “You can demand zero CO2 from the tailpipe, but a lot of CO2 is then produced in manufacturing.

“And while synthetic fuels are not CO2-free at the tailpipe, they can be at production and expulsion. There are lots of solutions and it’s important we make that distinction.”

The report said making all new vehicles zero emissions at the tailpipe works only if the energy grid is zero emission and addresses only those new vehicles sold each year, which is around two million.

Introducing renewable fuels impacts on all vehicles in the legacy car parc – around 40 million – 10% of which are more than 20 years old.

Report recommendations

The report made six recommendations:

• The focus should be on the decarbonisation of the fuel, not the vehicle in order to meet the country’s climate change ambitions.
• The decarbonisation of the legacy fleet is as much of a problem as new vehicles. We need to address both.
• We need to recognise the differing technology needs of different vehicle types.
• Encourage greater transparency from automotive OEMs on the whole vehicle CO2 footprint of their products
• Ensure a clear link between renewable energy generation and transport decarbonisation
• Taking a technology neutral approach to decarbonisation. Allows industry to continue to innovate, offering customers a range of solutions to meet their needs.

The report points out battery electric vehicles face a number of challenges, but “play an integral role in the decarbonisation of road transport”. It added: “They are becoming increasingly viable for a growing number of people.”

Andy Eastlake, managing director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, which provided some specific information to report author Clarendon Communications, said: “We need to do more than just electrify the fleet.

“We are still selling diesel and petrol cars, the engines of which could play out until 2050, so we have to look at decarbonising fuel.”

In a later statement, LowCVP said the recent media interpretation of the report does not in any way reflect the organisation’s position.

“Lifecycle analysis (sourced from Polestar in the report) has not been properly contextualised in several media reports,” it said.

“These highlight a single snapshot to suggest only modest emissions benefits arising from EV adoption.

“As stated in the report, energy grids in UK and elsewhere are rapidly decarbonising and EV battery and associated production processes are also improving so the lifecycle impacts of electric vehicles are on a sharply improving trajectory.

“LowCVP has been a lead proponent of efforts to incorporate the full life-cycle analysis of road transport CO2 emissions and other sustainability factors into policy decisions and will continue to do so.

“However, this is a complex area and analysis of life-cycle impacts should be seen as a key part of the process towards achieving zero emissions transport and not – as in this case – as a misleading tool to undermine progress.”

‘Driving an EV is better for climate’

Fiona Howarth, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, added: “Studies have consistently shown that EVs emit significantly less lifetime emissions than internal combustion engine cars.

“In 95% of the world, driving an EV is better for the climate than a petrol car and in countries like Sweden and France, where most electricity is low carbon, emissions are around 70% lower – a massive environmental benefit.

“Unlike their fossil fuel counterparts, EVs also get cleaner as we decarbonise our energy grids.”

“If we’re serious about tackling the climate emergency, there is no question that we should all aim to walk, cycle and take public transport where possible, but if you’re going to drive make it electric.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Production process problems have been blamed for recalls by Ford and BMW affecting more than 46,000 cars, including almost 5,000 in the UK.

Ford recalled more than 20,000 Kuga plug-in hybrids in August after it found, in some instances, faulty batteries had overheated when charging, causing a fire. Owners, including around 1,800 in the UK, were advised not to charge their cars and to operate them in ‘EV Auto’ mode only.

Ford also sent affected customers a £500 fuel card for use at BP fuel stations, acknowledging that the fuel economy of the PHEV “may not be what customers may have expected when they took delivery”.

The manufacturer has now announced a fix for the problem, which will involve the entire drive battery pack being replaced.

The work will be carried out towards the end of December for customers who already have their vehicles, with the recall expected to take until late March to complete.

“We will be communicating with customers directly later in November to arrange a time to implement the replacement,” it said.

Following Ford’s recall, BMW revealed it has identified almost 3,000 plug-in hybrid models in the UK that could be at risk of a battery fire.

It has now issued a recall and suspended delivery of affected new models as a preventative measure. A total of 26,700 vehicles are said to be involved worldwide, of which around 2,930 are either with UK customers or awaiting delivery.

The recall affects plug-in hybrid versions of the 3, 5 and 7 Series, the X1, X2, X3 and X5 SUVs, the 2 Series Active Tourer and the Mini Country-man PHEV, built between January 20 and September 18, 2020. It also affects i8s built this year.

“I see this is as just another recall and it doesn’t cause me any concern about the technology,” Debbie Floyde, Bauer Media

In a statement, the German carmaker said particles may have entered the battery during the production process, which could lead to a short circuit within the battery cells when it is fully charged. This may lead to a fire.

BMW says it is currently working on a solution to the fault. Until a remedy is available, drivers have been instructed to not charge their vehicle, not to drive in manual or sport mode, and to not use the shift paddles.

Ford also acknowledged that the issue had arisen in the production of the car’s battery, which is sourced from an external supplier.

“The root cause has been identified as a battery cell contamination issue in our supplier’s production process,” it said.

The two recalls come a year after Kia recalled more than 5,000 Niro hybrid and plug-in hybrid models due to an electrical relay that could overheat.

Vehicle fire data

Data obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that in 2019 the London Fire Brigade dealt with 54 electric vehicle fires compared with 1,898 petrol and diesel fires.

Vehicle registration numbers from the Department for Transport (DfT) show there are 50,000-plus plug-in cars licensed in the capital out of a total 4.63 million licensed cars.

Looking at the London Fire Brigade data, that would suggest an incident rate of 0.04% for petrol and diesel car fires, while the rate for plug-in vehicle is more than double at 0.1%. So far this year, there have been 1,021 petrol and diesel fires and 27 EV fires in the capital.

Leasing companies are reporting a surge of interest in plug-in vehicles thanks, in part, to new, EV-friendly company car tax rates introduced in April.

Plug-in vehicles, both PHEV and pure electric new registrations, accounted for 12% of all new registrations in October, while Tusker reported that more than 45% of all its new orders over the past 30 days have been for pure EVs.

Group fleet manager at Bauer Media, Debbie Floyde, has first-hand experience of the issue after a BMW 330e on her fleet suffered an electrical fire.

The car was left on charge on overnight at the employee’s home, but the following morning he discovered the car had not charged and there was a fault on the dash saying that the car was using power while stationary.

On closer inspection he found that both his outside plug socket and the charging unit plug had melted.

However, the experience has not put Floyde off electric cars.

“I see this is as just another recall and it doesn’t cause me any concern about the technology,” she said.

“We have lots of drivers interested in having an electric car and we’re happy for them to make that choice.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The number of public electric vehicle charging devices has increased 18% in the UK over the past year to 19,487.

The figure is included in the latest Electric Vehicle Charging Device Statistics report produced by the Department for Transport, which says that, of these, 3,530 were rapid devices.

This is an increase of nearly 10 times since 2015.

Rod Dennis, RAC data insight spokesman, said: “The rise in the number of charge points across the UK is very encouraging and sends all the right signals to drivers who might be thinking about opting for an electric model next time they change their car.

“Add in the fact that many people with electric cars can charge from home and overall it’s a positive picture.

“But there’s still a way to go and the focus now needs to be on installing as many fast chargers as possible, given that less than a fifth of public chargers are rapid.

“While the speed of fully charging an electric car can’t compete with the five minutes or so it takes to fill up a petrol or diesel model, a greater number of faster chargepoints could help tempt more people to ‘go electric’ sooner.”

The DfT report says there is an uneven geographical distribution of charging devices within the UK.

London has the highest level of charging device provision per 100,000 of population with 63, while Northern Ireland is lowest with 17. The UK average is 29 per 100,000 people.

Some UK local authorities have bid for Government funding for charging devices, and others have not.

The report says most of the provision of charge points has been market led, with individual charging networks and other businesses such as hotels choosing where to install devices.

Charlie Jardine, founder and CEO, EO Charging, the electric vehicle charge point and charging software developer, added: “It’s great to see an 18% increase in public chargers this year with a 7% increase in available chargers in the last quarter alone.

“We look forward to seeing this number grow as electric vehicles are set to be an essential part of how we ‘build back better’ from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Whilst increasing the availability of public charge points is an important step in overcoming the barriers to EV adoption, 59% of vehicles on roads are company vehicles so businesses must carefully consider installing their own EV charging infrastructure.

“We’ve seen much evidence of businesses leading the way on this in recent months, with significant demand from our customers transforming their fleets across the UK and Europe from diesel and petrol to electric.”

At the end of last month, Richard Jones, managing director of Lex Autolease – the UK’s largest leasing company – labelled the country’s charging infrastructure “not-fit-for-purpose”.

He told Fleet News parts of the country are poorly served, limiting the wider adoption of EVs.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

BMW has unveiled its iX: its first purpose-built fully electric SUV, offering more than 500PS and a range of up to 373 miles.

A similar size to the X5, it will rival the Audi e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQC when it goes into production in the second half of 2021.

The iX features two electric motors – a 121PS one to drive the front wheels and a 400PS on to power the rear wheels.

It will be offered with different battery options with the range-topping model featuring a battery of more than 100kWh.

The iX can be charged at up to 200kW, allowing the battery to be charged from 10% to 80% in under 40 minutes.

The standard charger works at 11kW which means the battery can be charged from 10% to 80% in 11 hours.

BMW says the iX will offer a new level of connectivity through the presence of 5G and cloud technology, with some functions which need a lot of computing power carried out in the cloud, where they can be processed faster than in the car.

Frank Weber, member of the board of management of BMW AG, Development, said: “We are setting new industry standards with the technology in the BMW iX.

“The iX has more computing power for data processing and more powerful sensor technology than the newest vehicles in our current line-up, is 5G-capable, will be given new and improved automated driving and parking functions and uses the high-performing fifth generation of our electric drive system.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Cars have grown by as much as 55% since the 1970s, leaving drivers little room to squeeze out of them in parking bays that have remained the same size, new research suggests.

Parking guidelines haven’t changed in 50 years, says CarGurus.co.uk, which conducted the research.

The recommended 2.4m x 4.8m leaves drivers little room to get out their parked car, it says, which is contributing to the thousands of incidents that occur in car parks every year, costing drivers and fleets dear.

In the most extreme example, CarGurus research found that today’s Land Rover Range Rover takes up to 86% of the standard parking space, leaving just 21cm of room for drivers to get out. In contrast, the 1970s model took up just 69% – the same footprint as today’s Ford Focus.

Research by the automotive shopping site, compared the most popular cars currently on UK roads, which had an equivalent available in the 1970s, showing how their footprint on the typical parking bay has grown.

As cars have grown, many of the most popular vehicles are leaving little space for drivers to get out. For example, the 10th generation Honda Civic, one of the biggest growers from its first generation, now takes up 71% of the parking space, ballooning from 49% in the first generation and leaving just 30cm of space for drivers to get out.

Chris Knapman, editor at CarGurus.co.uk, said: “It’s understandable why cars have grown so much over the years, and the dramatically improved safety standards of modern cars versus those of years gone by is an obvious benefit. However, as many motorists will no doubt confirm, it’s disappointing that parking space guidelines haven’t been updated accordingly.”

The Mini Hatch was the biggest grower on the list; 55% larger and taking up 20% more of the typical parking space than the original that was produced between 1959 and 2000. This means it offers 16cm less room for drivers to get out.

“Many of the latest cars are at least available with technology to help with parking,” Chris Knapman, CarGurus.co.uk

The Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series, Ford Focus, Ford Mondeo, Mercedes E-class, Peugeot 308, Vauxhall Insignia and VW Passat have also all grown significantly to leave drivers with less than 30cm space to exit the vehicle.

Despite many cars already proving to be a tight fit in standard parking spaces, the growth spurt appears to be unrelenting with CarGurus’ research finding cars are continuing to grow by an average of nearly 3% from generation to generation6, meaning squeezing out of parking spaces will continue to become more and more challenging for drivers.

Knapman said: “Many of the latest cars are at least available with technology to help with parking, including parking sensors, reversing cameras, 360-degree view cameras and automatic parallel and bay parking functions.

“Some even equip cars with features to help prevent car park damage, such as door edge protectors and Citroën’s Airbump Technology.

“However, it is of course worth noting that no matter how easy the technology makes it to park, if the space is too small for your car none of it will help you to physically squeeze out of the driver’s seat.”

CarGurus.co.uk compared the dimensions of the 23 most popular cars on the road today which had an equivalent available in the 1970s.

CarGurus’ Car Dimensions Comparison: 1970s vs. 2020

Ranking	1970s Make & Model	Space to open door (cm)	Area of parking space used up	Today’s Make & Model	Space to open door (cm)	Area of parking space used up	% increase in area
1	Morris/Austin/ Rover Mini (1959-2000)	50	37%	MINI Hatch 3dr (2014-)	34	57%	55%
2	Fiat 500 (1957-1975)	54	34%	Fiat 500 (2007-)	39	50%	47%
3	Honda Civic 1st Gen (1972-1979)	45	49%	Honda Civic 10th Gen (2016-)	30	71%	44%
4	Peugeot 104 (1972-1988)	44	43%	Peugeot 208 2nd Gen (2019-)	33	61%	42%
5	Renault 5 (1972-1985)	44	47%	Renault Clio V (2019-)	30	63%	36%
6	Mazda 323 3rd Gen (1977-1980)	40	53%	Mazda 3 4th Gen (2019-)	30	70%	31%
7	Audi 80 (1972-1978)	40	58%	Audi A4 B9 (2016-)	28	76%	30%
8	VW Passat B1 (1973-1981)	40	58%	VW Passat B8 (2015-)	28	76%	30%
9	Vauxhall Nova A (1982-1993)	43	48%	Vauxhall Corsa F (2019-)	32	62%	29%
10	VW Golf MK1 (1974-1983)	40	52%	VW Golf MK8 (2020-)	31	67%	28%
11	Ford Escort MKII (1974-1980)	42	54%	Ford Focus MKIV (2018-)	29	69%	28%
12	VW Polo MK1 (1975-1981)	42	49%	VW Polo MK6 (2018-)	32	62%	26%
13	Ford Fiesta MK1 (1976-1983)	42	48%	Ford Fiesta MK8 (2017-)	33	61%	25%
14	Range Rover Classic (1969-1996)	31	69%	Range Rover L405 (2012-)	21	86%	25%
15	Toyota Corolla 3rd Gen (1974-1981)	42	54%	Toyota Corolla 12th Gen (2019-)	31	68%	25%
16	Ford Cortina MKIV (1976-1979)	35	64%	Ford Mondeo MKIV (2014-)	27	78%	22%
17	Vauxhall Cavalier MK1 (1975-1981)	37	64%	Vauxhall Insignia B (2017-)	27	79%	24%
18	BMW 3 Series E21 (1975-1983)	40	61%	BMW 3 Series G20 (2019-)	29	75%	23%
19	Vauxhall Astra MK1 (1979-1984)	38	57%	Vauxhall Astra MK7 (2015-)	30	69%	21%
20	Peugeot 304 (1969-1980)	42	56%	Peugeot 308 2nd Gen (2013-)	29	67%	19%
21	BMW 5 Series E12 (1972-1981)	36	68%	BMW 5 Series G30 (2017-)	27	80%	17%
22	Mercedes 190 (1982-1988)	36	64%	Mercedes C-class 4th Gen (2014-)	30	74%	14%
23	Mercedes W123 (1976-1986)	31	73%	Mercedes E-class 5th Gen (2017-)	27	79%	8%

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The UK’s automotive trade body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), is calling on the UK Parliament to ratify the Brexit trade agreement.

MPs are debating the draft deal with the EU today (Wednesday, December 30) after Parliament was recalled to put the deal into law, a day before the UK severs ties with the European Union.

The SMMT wants the immediate ratification of the draft UK-EU Trade and Cooperation agreement (TCA), to ensure all automotive companies benefit from continued tariff-free trade from January 1.

It says that the draft TCA delivers across several areas for UK automotive, keeping the sector connected to a market that accounts for eight out of 10 of its vehicle exports.

Furthermore, the SMMT says that the TCA delivers on the core ask to avoid tariffs for most finished vehicles, parts and components.

Mike Hawes, the SMMT’s chief executive, explained that for automotive, Brexit has always been about “damage limitation”.

“The draft Trade Cooperation Agreement, while no substitute for the completely free and frictionless trade with Europe we formerly enjoyed, will address immediate concerns,” he said.#

“The TCA provides the opportunity for tariff and quota-free trade, foundations on which the industry can build.

“Even with immediate ratification, however, there will be just hours to adjust to new trading rules, so a phase-in period is critical to help businesses adapt.

“All efforts should now be made to ensure its seamless implementation, with tariff-free trade fully accessible and effective for all from day one.”

The SMMT says that the inclusion of specific provisions on transitional phase-ins for both electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries is also welcome.

However, it argues that the deal does not deliver some key asks, including formalising co-operation on the development of regulations and standards after the end of transition.

Nor does it prevent increased administration and potential for friction at the border, as we leave the single market and customs union, it said.

Hawes continued: “Further ahead, we must pursue the wider trade opportunities that Brexit is supposed to deliver while accelerating the UK’s transition to electrified vehicle manufacturing. 

“With the deal in place, Government must double down on its commitment to a green industrial revolution, create an investment climate that delivers battery gigafactory capacity in the UK, supports supply chain transition and maintains free-flowing trade – all essential to the UK Automotive sector’s future success.”

The eleventh-hour post-Brexit trade deal struck between the UK and the EU has been welcomed by the fleet and leasing industry.

It had faced a significant rise in costs, with tariffs imposed on cars and vans, if no deal had been agreed when the UK exits EU trading rules tomorrow (Thursday, December 31). By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News