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In the UK we are constantly talking about EV’s and how we will only be able to buy an electric vehicle from 2030 and therefore, along with the rest of the developed countries, save the planet! But what about India and Africa and even America where some people travel hundreds of miles to buy a loaf of bread? Will charge points be available in the middle of a desert or jungle?

Porsche believe that this will be a problem and are developing a solution that keeps the internal combustion engine (ICE). Here’s a report on what they are doing.

Research into replacing fossil fuels with synthetic efuels could mean there’s life in the combustion engine yet.

Batteries are the main power source that vehicle manufacturers and governments around the world consider feasible for new cars in the future, but Porsche is to build a factory producing eFuels, hinting that carbon-neutral synthetic petrol and diesel have a role to play, too.

Synthetic fuels, or eFuels, are compatible with conventional internal combustion engines, and can be produced via carbon-neutral processes that potentially offset the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated when the fuels are burnt.

Porsche is teaming up with German industrial giant Siemens, energy firms Enel and AME, and petroleum company ENAP to build a pilot factory in Magallanes, southern Chile.

The plant will initially produce just 130,000 litres of eFuel by 2022, with a target of 55 million litres a year by 2024, and 550 million litres by 2026. Those amounts are minuscule, given that figures from the Petrol Retailers’ Association show that the UK alone uses 46.5 billion litres of petrol and diesel every year.

But Porsche’s project indicates that reports of the death of internal combustion-engined cars may be exaggerated. Synthetic fuels are often talked about as an alternative for aircraft, ships, heavy goods and construction vehicles, where batteries, which lack the energy density of conventional fuel, are not currently viable. Porsche’s Chilean eFuels will be used in motorsports, at Porsche Experience Centres and in production cars.

The Haru Oni plant in Chile will take advantage of the region’s strong winds to generate clean electricity from turbines built by Siemens. Fuel will be made at the plant by using wind power to dissociate hydrogen and oxygen molecules from water, with CO2 filtered from the air being combined with the hydrogen to make synthetic fuel.

The factory is being funded with an initial 20 million Euros (£18m) from Porsche, plus eight million Euros (£7.2m) from the German government. Porsche’s chief executive, Oliver Blume, said eFuels are a “worthwhile complement” to electric cars, and “an additional element on the road to decarbonisation”.

“As a maker of efficient, high-performance engines, we have broad technical expertise,” Blume added. “We know what fuel characteristics our engines need in order to operate with minimal impact on the climate.”

Christian Bruch, CEO of Siemens Energy, called the German government’s support for the project “an important signal”.

What are efuels?

Petrol and diesel are hydrocarbons – they are composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms. But while conventional fuels are derived from oil, eFuels get their hydrogen from water and carbon from the air, with these elements then combined to mimic the structure of petrol, diesel and other oil-derived fuels.

The energy used to create synthetic fuels can be renewable, and while burning them generates carbon dioxide (CO2), capturing carbon from the atmosphere during synthesis can offset this. eFuels can also be a good way of storing energy generated by renewable sources during times of low demand.

Synthesising eFuels is expensive, though. A single litre of diesel eFuel costs £4 before taxes, according to the Royal Society scientific institute. While such fuels have been around for a century or so, producing them on a meaningful scale globally is also a challenge.

Costs could be reduced with further development and economies of scale, but critics highlight that in addition to the significant expense they bring, the cleanliness and carbon neutrality of eFuels relies on several assumptions being made about their production, as well as how and where they are burnt.  By Graham Hill Thanks To Auto Express.

According to EV information website Zap-Map, there are 21,068 public chargers in the UK, of which 3908 are rapid chargers and 11 are ultra-rapid. If you don’t mind using one of the slower options, you should still be able to charge for free or a minimal fee.

Pod Point and Source London are among the larger companies that offer free charging (in some cases after a small initial fee) at certain locations.

It’s also worth investigating which smaller public charging companies are operating in your area. The Energise network only has a small number of charging points in southeast England, but once you’ve paid a £1 connection fee, its units are free to use.

Kent County Council also has a small number of chargers available on the same basis. There are similar options in many parts of the UK.

Another low-cost option is the ZeroNet network, which is run by the Zero Carbon World charity. Chargers are mostly in the car parks of hotels, restaurants and other hospitality industry locations, and many businesses offer free charging for customers, although parking charges might be payable while the charger is in use.

Potentially the cheapest way to charge away from home is to use the Zap-Home and Zap-Work network of chargers; the former are at EV owners’ homes and the latter on the premises of small businesses. Coverage is good all over the UK and the chargers can be used by anyone who’s registered with Zap-Map. Many are free, and those that aren’t free cost £3 to £5 per charge.

New code of practice for home charger installers

The Electric Vehicle Consumer Code for Home Chargepoints (EVCC) is a code of practice that’s been introduced for companies installing EV chargers to consumers. It has been designed to ensure that manufacturers, suppliers and installers of home chargers meet specific high standards so that consumers can have the confidence to use them for installation.

Companies signing up to the EVCC commit to no-pressure selling techniques and a high level of customer service and aftersales care. If a customer has a problem with an EVCC-registered company, they can go through a formal complaint process and use a free mediation service provided by Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd, which is a non-profit organisation with experience in operating codes of conduct for renewable energy companies.

Car insurance for electric cars

LV is the first mainstream car insurer to offer a policy specifically for owners of electric vehicles.

The policy includes a roadside recharging service in case your car runs out of juice anywhere in the UK (courtesy of a tie-up with specialist assistance provider AFF) or free recovery to the nearest charging point. Using these services won’t affect your no-claims discount.

The policy also provides accidental damage, fire and theft cover for your car’s battery pack, plus your charging cables, wallbox and adapters. By Graham Hill thanks to What Car

A survey of 2,000 UK adults has revealed that 46% of drivers ignore the alerts.

One in five claim they will drive for two or three days before investigating issues.

Two in five ignore them hoping they’ll go off and a third leave them in fear of expensive repair bills.

Motorists are being warned to not ignore illuminated dashboard warning lights in their cars when they return to the road after – or during – the third national lockdown.

A survey of 2,000 UK adults by dealer group Robins & Day revealed that almost half fail to immediately address the alerts, with many neglecting them out of laziness.

And by continuing to use their car when a warning light is telling them not to, motorists are risking causing more damage to their motors and could see repair costs spiral.

The dealer network’s poll found that 46 per cent of adults ignore a warning light on the dashboard of their car.

Of the 2,000 people surveyed, 19 per cent said they would continue to use their vehicle for two or three days with a warning light illuminated before seeking to get the problem sorted.

This is the case even if the warning light is red to signify it is a serious issue that need immediate action.

Amber, orange or other colour lights often mean something needs checking by a garage but the vehicle can still be driven.

When asked why they don’t action the warnings by taking the car to a dealership or garage, two in five (40 per cent) said they disregard it as a fault with the dashboard light itself, expecting it to go off again sooner or later.

Incredibly, over a third (34 per cent) try to push it to the back of their mind over fears of expensive repairs, while another quarter (24 per cent) cast the issue aside out of sheer laziness.

Explaining the results of its study, the dealer group said: ‘Whilst it is completely reasonable not to know every single light on a dashboard, ensuring you have enough knowledge of the basics to help you diagnose a potential problem with your vehicle will prove to be a priceless skill, should an issue arise.

‘However, our study found that just a fifth (21 per cent) of UK drivers could identify the basic warning lights on their dashboard such as ‘low tyre pressure’ and ‘check oil’. Fifteen per cent of those surveyed believed they could identify all of the basic warning lights unaided, if required.

‘Our research also highlighted that three per cent of Brits did not know that their car manual was there to help them to identify any issues with their vehicle.’

You could fail an MOT

While failing to remedy a dashboard warning light can cause a more expensive problem, it can also cause issues if you’re taking your car for an MOT test.

Under current rules, some warning lights can result in an automatic fail.

These include alerts for problems with airbags, the electronic parking brake, electronic stability control, headlight main beam, electronic power steering, brake fluid level or issue with the seatbelt pre-tensioner.

The Law & Your Insurance

Failing to investigate the cause of a dashboard warning light is also illegal. More than one in ten drivers (12%) do not know this and 10% are unaware it can invalidate their insurance policy, according to Robins & Day.  By Graham Hill thanks to This Is Money & Robins &Day

Used car buyer is given a court summons after doing a 100-mile round trip to collect a secondhand Volkswagen Golf.

Although car dealers are still allowed to sell new and used cars during the UK’s third coronavirus lockdown, it seems that buying a used car is against the current guidelines.

As of 5 January 2021, people in England, Scotland and Wales were told to stay at home as much as possible and only go out for exercise or essential journeys, such as buying food and medicine or to go to work if they cannot work from home.

This is why officers from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG), which covers Staffordshire and the West Midlands, reported the driver of a used Volkswagen Golf, who was returning from collecting the vehicle.

A tweet from the CMPG stated: “A 100-mile round trip to pick up a car in a private car swap deal isn’t a good or lawful reason to be out at 10pm.”

Speaking to Car Dealer Magazine, a spokesperson for CMPG said: “While it is not necessarily a breach of Covid-19 rules to buy a replacement vehicle if required for essential travel, a car swap is not deemed appropriate during the current lockdown restrictions.”

Nona Bowkis, a solicitor from motor trade legal expert Lawgistics, confirmed that private car sales do appear to be against the current lockdown rules, but that click and collect services that adhere to Covid-safe guidelines can continue at car dealerships.

She said: “From the comments on this story, it is clear that people can easily confuse the guidance with the law. The guidance talks about essential journeys, but the law only talks about requiring a ‘reasonable excuse’ to make a journey.

The law states that people can leave home to collect ‘goods which have been ordered from a business’ and this is why customers can legitimately travel to collect a vehicle ordered online or over the phone from a dealer.

“That said, doing a private car swap deal that requires a 100-mile round trip does seem to break both the law and the guidance,” she added.

The CMPG later reported on Twitter that the Golf driver had initially been stopped to investigate other offences when the “Covid-19 breach came to light”.  By Graham Hill thanks to What Car

It wasn’t that long ago when I warned diesel car drivers about the threat of particulate filters being stolen because of the precious metal content. Clearly with no exhaust fitted to an electric car we thought that this problem would disappear but it seems that the metal thieves have found an alternative.

The alternative is the copper inside the charging cables. Up until recently the cables were pretty thin as they were used to charge slowly. But with the ultra-fast chargers requiring heavy duty cables the copper content has massively increased. And with few cars having a locking device and being left unattended whilst charging the cables have been easy picking for the scrap metal thieves.

Even though some manufacturers now have locking devices fitted, some as simple as a padlock it would be no problem to cut the cables at each end using insulated heavy duty cutters or banging a nail into the cable to short it and blow the fuse then cut with ordinary cutters.

Of course this will all change when under road chargers appear requiring the driver to simply park over the charge pad – like a wireless charger to charge a mobile phone. But whilst tests have been very successful these chargers are some way away. In the meantime here is one driver’s experience:

 Last night I had my type 2 cable stolen from a public charge point in Manchester centre (UK) I was also issued with a £70 fine for using a electric parking space without charging.

Here’s the weird bit:

I was charging until 21:07.17 at which point I was notified my charging was interrupted. I have the charge logs from the supplier (ChargeYourCar) to authenticate this time.

The ticket for parking without charging was issued at 21:09. This means that the parking attendant wrote down my details (reg, model, colour) within 100 seconds of my cable being stolen/charging stopping.

I’ve reported the theft to the police but they say they’re unable to do anything. I’m going to go down later and see if anywhere has captured those 100 seconds on CCTV.

How is this possible? I was a 20 minutes walk away from the car at the time of the theft. I thought that once a charge was started both ends of the cable were locked. The charge started at 17:41 and continued with no problems until the cable was stolen at 21:07.

Could someone use a clone of a supercharger button (I know they unlock / open charge ports on every Tesla) to unlock and steal the cable? The cable was about £250 I think.

The time between the cable theft and me receiving a ticket sees suspiciously short (100 seconds) could the parking attendant be responsible? Did they tip off a friend to come and steal it?

The police mentioned it had happened a few times recently. The firm issuing the ticket was Indigo Parking on behalf of Salford City Council. By Graham Hill thanks to Reddit

TfL issued £130 million of fines over 12 months to drivers not paying the Congestion Charge, over twice the revenue raised from drivers paying the daily fee!

Motorists have been fined £130 million over a 12-month period for driving into the London Congestion Charge zone without paying, it has been revealed.

The fine for failing to pay the Congestion Charge is £160 – reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days – and Transport for London (TfL) issued over 817,000 such penalty charge notices (PCNs) in the 12 months up to September 2020.

Of these PCNs, more than 60 per cent were issued after June 2020, when the daily Congestion Charge fee was increased from £11.50 to £15, with hours of operation increasing from 7am to 10pm, and the toll moving from five, to seven days a week.

Data obtained from TfL by Citroen via a freedom of information request also shows the organisation received £52 million in revenue from Congestion Charge payments over the same period, meaning fines resulted in significantly more income.

Drivers who enter the Congestion Charge zone, which covers a small area of central London, have three days to pay. Electric vehicles are currently exempt from the charge, as are plug-in hybrids that emit under 75g/km of CO2 and have an electric-only range of at least 20 miles.

Eurig Druce, Citroen UK’s managing director, suggested electric cars were one way drivers could avoid paying the Congestion Charge, saying EVs “help drivers save significantly on running costs” and also “eliminate the chance of unexpected and expensive fines for forgetting the Congestion Charge zone payment and other low emission zone tariffs.”

The £12.50 per-day ULEZ (ultra-low emission zone) applies to drivers of pre-Euro 4 petrol or pre-Euro 6, and covers the same area of central London as the Congestion Charge zone, with affected motorists having to pay both fees.

The ULEZ will extend to cover regions of London within the North and South Circular roads, although there are currently no plans to extend the Congestion Charge Zone.  By Graham Hill thanks to Auto Express

It is always risky predicting The Next Big Thing, but Abarth might just have it. It’s not the 595 Scorpioneoro you see here which, while unquestionably a stylish special edition, is based on a car that’s been on sale for well over a decade. No, the really exciting thing is how potential owners can try the car out.

Because Abarth has just started a trial that will see prospective 595 buyers sent a wooden crate, inside which rest Bose headphones and a virtual reality (VR) headset. Pre-loaded on this headset is a three-minute film, which takes viewers on a ‘virtual test drive’ through stunning Welsh vistas in a 595 Scorpioneoro.

I’ve tried VR in the past, and let’s just say that when used for corporate videos, the experience is underwhelming. But what Abarth has done with its virtual test drive – the world’s first, no less – is nothing short of spectacular.

Beginning on Black Rock Sands beach in North Wales, we’re introduced to both the car and our co-driver, Stef Vilaverde, a died-in-the-wool Abarth fan and YouTuber. The beginning is short, but gives time to appreciate the surroundings. In front of you stands the car, but tilt your head up (in the real world) and you can see the sky and clouds.

Turn around and you’re faced with headland cliffs, the camera angle and audio moving with your eyes and ears; it really looks and sounds like you’re stood on the Welsh coast. No time to dwell on the scenery, though, as the roar of the 595’s exhaust draws you back to the car in time to see it blast across the sands.

We’re in the passenger seat for most of the rest of the test drive, and as far as your eyes and ears are concerned, you’re in the car. Turn your head to the left and watch the crystal-clear lake waters of Llyn Ogwen pass by; face ahead and Snowdon looms into view ahead of the 595’s bonnet; look inside the cabin and you can make out details like the Scorpioneoro’s limited-edition plaque.

It’s an immersive experience, and when Stef activates the sports exhaust and gives the 595’s 163bhp 1.4-litre engine a blast, the audio is as engaging as the visuals. Another camera angle sees looking from outside the car at road level; facing forwards reveals rushing tarmac, turning behind shows the bonnet of the 595 bobbing away, inches from your eyes.

There are a couple of limitations. Even though the gear has to be returned to Abarth, the cost of VR headsets means it’s doubtful every manufacturer could offer every customer a VR drive (Abarth’s trial is operating only from Vospers dealership in Exeter – for now).

And while the wooden crate the gear arrived in is a cool nod to past Abarths (which had performance upgrades in a similar box) the crate itself is too large and heavy to be handled easily by all.

But with real-world test drives likely to be problematic for some time, VR could be an important tool for car makers, dealerships and, of course, buyers – not least because as well as leaving me yearning to drive a 595 Scorpioneoro, the virtual world brought excitement and variety after months being cooped up.

How does virtual reality work?

VR films are created using a camera with multiple lenses that film 360-degree footage with no blind spots; a 360-degree microphone with several channels is also used. Software stitches the recordings into a seamless ‘bubble’ of footage; camera mounts that might be in shot are also removed.

A VR headset displays the all-encompassing footage on two small screens directly in front of your eyes, motion sensors determining where you are looking; tilt your head up, for example, and the footage follows, mimicking what your eyes would see if they were the camera.  By Graham Hill thanks to Auto Express

Once upon a time we needed police on our roads to catch speeding motorists and those driving dangerously. But then came speed cameras to constantly survey speeding hotspots and now we have the public, happy to fit dash cams or download an app on their mobile phone, turning it into a dash cam, in order to use footage to report motorists breaking the law.

Initially dash cams were used to record accidents and certainly to refute claims from those carrying out ‘cash for crash’ crimes. But now everyone is becoming a policeman making it less necessary to have police patrolling the roads. What next? Will the Government look again at mobile apps that the public could use, as they do in Canada, to photograph those who are illegally parking in exchange for a piece of the fine?

Here is what the RAC has to say about the police inside your car.

Police are receiving an average of 89 dash cam clips of alleged motoring offences every day, with motorists being urged to ‘always drive as if you are being watched by the police’.

In 2019, 32,370 pieces of dash cam footage were sent to the 24 UK police forces that responded to a Freedom of Information request by the RAC – more than twice as many as the 15,159 received the previous year. Furthermore, 8,148 (25 per cent) of the clips received in 2019 resulted in a prosecution.

The Metropolitan Police received 8,082 dash cam clips in 2019 – more than any other force. Surrey was second with 3,542 and West Midlands third on 3,242. Fourth was Gwent Police, which received 3,037, while Greater Manchester Police were sent 2,940.

The footage received by police forces covered a variety of motoring offences, including dangerous driving, careless driving or driving without due care and attention, driving too close to cyclists, contravening red traffic lights, contravening double white lines, contravening ‘no entry’ signs, illegal use of a handheld mobile phone and evidence of vehicles apparently without MOTs.

Dash cam manufacturer Nextbase runs a footage portal where drivers can upload clips to 33 police forces. It’s said to have saved 170,000 hours of police time over two years.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said dash cams are a “game-changer”, with drivers able to easily submit clips to the police without a road traffic officer needing to have witnessed the incident.

He added: “As so many drivers and cyclists are now using dash cams and helmet cameras, every road user needs to be very conscious that any of their actions that aren’t in accordance with the law could end up with the police. Some will inevitably find this out the hard way while others will hopefully become increasingly mindful of it.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Auto Express

It should come as no surprise to anyone in the industry that another car manufacturer has been accused of using emissions defeat devices to fool the emissions tests. I was one of the first to say that when VW were found to be using such devices that the problem goes industrywide. It was common knowledge that this was going on, it was just a matter of time before they were found out.

It all started years ago when manufacturers would tape up car doors and remove trim and even door mirrors to reduce drag when checking fuel consumption. They did similar things when emission rules were introduced but when inspectors finally started to check the tests they had to come up with something more creative.

On to the report:

Vauxhall is the latest manufacturer to face claims that some of its diesel engines were fitted with emissions ‘cheating’ devices or software.

It follows similar accusations against Mercedes-Benz, Fiat-Chrysler and the Renault-Nissan alliance, in the wake of the Volkswagen ‘dieselgate’ scandal.

Law firm Milberg London says it is launching a case against Vauxhall for drivers who bought or leased certain models manufactured between 2009 and 2019.

A statement issued by the car maker said: “Vauxhall Motors is not aware of any such claim and rejects any accusation of using illegal defeat devices. Our vehicles meet the applicable regulations.”

More than a million people could receive compensation if the claim is successful.

Edward Cardington, partner at Milberg London LLP and lead lawyer for the Vauxhall Pay Up Campaign, said: “The Vauxhall Pay Up campaign has set out to prove that Vauxhall cheated both the emissions tests and hardworking British drivers.

“Motorists were promised a combination of low environmental impact and high driving performance that appears to have been impossible in real driving conditions. Put simply, clean diesel looks like a myth and Vauxhall’s cars did not provide the performance drivers paid for.”

The Vauxhall Pay Up campaign will claim under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading regulations. These laws state that customers who were sold products with misleading information could receive anything between 25% and 75% of the cost of the product they purchased in compensation.

Potentially affected models highlighted by Milberg London include diesel versions of the following Vauxhall models: Astra, Cascada, Corsa, Insignia, Mokka, Movano and Zafira. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

RAC patrols attended almost 1,500 call-outs in the last three months of 2020 for pothole related breakdowns, despite reduced traffic volumes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysis of fourth quarter RAC breakdowns for National Pothole Day reveals there were 1,461 call-outs for damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels reveals, representing nearly 1% (0.9%) of all RAC attendances.

While the pothole proportion of all RAC breakdowns is down on the previous quarter, it is identical to the same period in 2019 and slightly higher than 2018 (0.8%). The RAC says this is concerning given the lower traffic volumes brought about by coronavirus travel restrictions as in theory, less traffic should mean less damage to road surfaces.

Looking across the UK, the South East saw the largest number of vehicle problems most likely to be caused by potholes at 242 – equating to 17% of all the pothole-related call-outs dealt with by the RAC’s expert local patrols.

While this could be attributed to the region being more densely populated, this is unlikely to be the case for the South West which saw 12% of all the RAC’s pothole breakdowns (173), almost the same number as the North West (170).

The RAC’s Pothole Index, which is a long-term indicator of the health of the UK’s roads available, suggests the overall standard of road surfaces has been improving since the start of 2019. Having begun at 1.0 in 2006, the index currently stands at 1.44 which means drivers are nearly one and a half times as likely to experience damage caused by a pothole as they were 15 years ago.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “While the actual number of pothole-related call-outs our patrols have attended is down significantly compared to the same time in 2019 due to lower traffic volumes in the pandemic, they account for the same proportion (0.9%) of all RAC rescues which clearly demonstrates there are still far too many poorly maintained roads.

“We realise council budgets are under incredible pressure due to the coronavirus, but we badly need the Government to recognise the significance of local roads and take a fresh look at how to fund them.

“The Government’s approach of allocating funding to councils from various pots on an annual basis means authorities are always having to play catch-up by fixing potholes rather than focusing on preventative maintenance. We would prefer to see them make five-year funding settlements which would allow councils to make longer-term plans for their roads.

This could be funded by introducing a similar scheme to the National Roads Fund which ringfences money paid in vehicle excise duty by road users in England for the upkeep of major roads.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News