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Vehicles parked during lockdown are being targeted by criminals stealing catalytic converters for their precious metals, according to the RAC and Ageas.

There has been a “marked rise” in the theft of catalytic converters since the start of the first lockdown just over a year ago, says Ageas Insurance.

Three-in-10 of all theft claims reported are now related to catalytic converters. Before the lockdown catalytic converter theft only accounted for around one-in-five.

Ageas reports that most thefts have happened while cars have been parked at home, either on the driveway or the road. However, the insurer says that in a very small number of cases thieves had targeted vehicles in supermarket car parks while the driver was shopping.

“Drivers are often oblivious of their vehicle’s catalytic converter being stolen,” said RAC spokesman Simon Williams. “Our patrols are often called to attend cars that have suddenly become excessively noisy. On investigation it’s very often the case that the car’s catalytic converter has been stolen.”

Part of a car’s exhaust system, catalytic converters contain a honeycomb coated with precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium which help to filter harmful gases from the vehicles’ exhaust systems.

The RAC says that when the global value of these metals increase it usually leads to a spike in thefts. Prices of rhodium hit a record highs earlier this year, up more than 200% since March 2020.

The RAC is recommending drivers and fleets get in the habit of taking extra precautions to guard against this type of crime.

With, most offences taking place at night, the RAC says it makes sense to park a vehicle in a well-lit and residential location or a garage if available.

“When away from home, look for car parks that have security patrols and are covered by CCTV,” added Williams. “It’s also a good idea to look for the ParkMark logo at car parks as this shows they have met certain security standards.”

However, as Ageas’ data shows, Williams says that even taking sensible precautions may not necessarily make you immune to this type of crime.

Robin Challand, claims director at Ageas, said: “While catalytic converters are just one component of a car, their theft can often result in a driver’s car being written off.

“We hope that by shining a spotlight on this type of crime, we can arm motorists with the information they need to protect their vehicles.”

The warning for fleets from Ageas and the RAC comes after CompareTheMarket reported that catalytic converter thefts had increased across England, last year.

It analysed police data which revealed London has the highest instances of catalytic converter thefts over the three-year period, and each individual year, with a total of 15,237 from 2017 to 2020. Birmingham saw the second-highest amount of thefts.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

An American magazine has highlighted how Tesla’s Autopilot system can be “tricked” into operating while there is no one in the driver’s seat.

Consumer Reports highlighted the issue using a Model Y vehicle on a private test track.

The experiment follows the death of two men in a Model S last week, which crashed while no one was in the driver’s seat. Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims the Autopilot system wasn’t activated at the time of the collision.

Consumer Reports demonstrated that the Model Y was able to make several trips up and down a test track, with no driver, automatically steering along painted lane lines. The system did not send out a warning or indicate in any way that the driver’s seat was empty during the experiment.

“In our evaluation, the system not only failed to make sure the driver was paying attention, but it also couldn’t tell if there was a driver there at all,” said Jake Fisher, CR’s senior director of auto testing, who conducted the experiment.

Tesla vehicles, like those from a number of manufacturers, determine whether a driver is present by examining steering wheel inputs. If there is weight on the wheel, even if the driver’s hands are elsewhere, the vehicle assumes a driver is driving and paying attention.

Devices that add weight to the steering wheel and “trick” the system have been openly available to purchase since 2018.

Consumer Reports questioned why Tesla doesn’t include monitoring of the seat occupancy sensor, that is already used for seat belt warnings and airbags, as part of the Autopilot system

The magazine also highlighted that companies like BMW and Ford use a camera to ensure the driver is looking at the road ahead.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Two men have died after the Tesla they were travelling in hit a tree in Texas at the weekend. Police believe no one was driving the vehicle at the time of the impact.

The car, a 2019 Model S, then burst into flames. The emergency services took four hours to extinguish the blaze and used more than 100,000 litres of water, according to reports.

Both occupants, said to be in their 50s, were found in passenger seats of the vehicle. One in the rear and one in the front. The incident happened less than half a mile from the owner’s property.

Investigators believe the driver may have activated the car’s Autopilot mode – Tesla’s driver assistance function which can control steering, acceleration and brakes within lanes on motorways – before switching seats.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk claims the car was not using Autopilot at the time and was not equipped with the brand’s Full Self Driving (FSD) package.

Tesla has repeatedly faced criticism for the way it markets its assistance systems as ‘self-driving’. Last year, German courts banned the manufacturer from making such claims.

It’s common for Tesla owners and fans of the brand to share videos clips or images of Tesla models supposedly driving themselves, with one American woman filming her child asleep in the driver’s seat of a Model 3 while it travelled on the motorway.

Speaking to Autocar Magazine, Matthew Avery, research director at Thatcham Research, described the Texas crash as “an incredibly sobering illustration as to why education and correct naming are so important to the safe use of driver assistance systems”.

He said: “A lack of understanding of system capability is causing confusion around driver responsibility, and accidents like this sadly back that up. System names should not be misleading.”

In February 2020, an investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model X being driven on Autopilot in Mountain View, California, found that the driver was distracted using his mobile phone. 

It was determined that the Tesla Autopilot system’s limitations, the driver’s overreliance on the Autopilot and the driver’s distraction – likely from a mobile phone game app – caused the crash.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Average CO2 emissions for new car registrations have fallen below 100g/km for the first time for members of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

During the Q4-2020 reporting period, average CO2 emissions were 98g/km compared to the average UK car fleet of 114.2g/km, according to its latest Quarterly Leasing Survey.

The size of the BVRLA leasing fleet stood at 2,505,979, of which 83% are cars and 17% are LCVs.

Nearly one-fifth of leasing members’ fleet now has some form of electrification with 5% of the car fleet being pure EV and 15% hybrid. This figure is only set to grow, it says, as BVRLA members have pledged to register 400,000 new battery electric cars and vans per year by 2025.

BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: “The vehicle leasing sector remains at the forefront of road transport decarbonisation and members continue to innovate to provide more individuals and businesses with access to affordable low- and zero-emission vehicles.”

The vehicle leasing sector has not been immune to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and while the total LCV fleet size grew by 0.7%, the total car fleet reduced by 5.3% year-on-year.

The fall was largely driven by a 9.3% fall in car business contract hire, with a 3.2% growth in personal contract hire offsetting some of the market reduction.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Hyundai Ioniq models have been found to pass their MOT test for the first time more frequently than any other car.

In a study compiled by What Car?, the electrified model came out on top with a 96.18% average first time pass rate.

The Ioniq sits above the BMW i8, which is also powered by an electrified powertrain, achieving a 95.97% pass rate.

What Car? analysed more than 745,000 anonymised MOT records published by the Department for Transport to find out the models that had the best rate for passing the MOT test at the first attempt*. Models aged from three to eight years old and with a sample size of at least 100 cars were included in the study. 

Korean, Japanese and German models dominate the top 10, while the Jaguar F-Type (2013-present) is the highest-placed British model in the study sitting in 14th place with an average MOT pass rate of 90.83%.

The Tesla Model S (2014-present) is the highest ranking pure electric vehicle, in 26th place, with an average pass rate of 89.94%. Although there are many premium models in the top 50, there are also several affordable small cars, including the Peugeot 108 (2014-present) and Toyota Aygo (2014-present).

What Car? has also ranked the top and bottom brands for MOT pass rates. As well as achieving the highest average pass rate, Porsche is the only brand to gain a pass rate of more than 90%. Although Ssangyong has the lowest MOT pass record, its result of 76.98% means that more than three quarters of its models passed their MOT the first time.

Steve Huntingford, editor of What Car?, said: “One of the first things used buyers do is check a vehicle’s MOT record to see how well it’s been maintained and if it’s suffered lots of faults. Our extensive study reveals the models with the best MOT pass rates, ranging from large SUVs to city cars. Buyers can use it to help them choose the most dependable models.

“Although the top 50 list contains several prestige cars, that tend to have lower mileage and immaculate service records, it’s reassuring to find some budget and family cars in the mix.”

The full list can be viewed at: www.whatcar.com/news/top-50-used-car-buys-based-on-mot-pass-rate/n22897

What Car? Top 10 list for MOT first time pass rate:

Ranking	Make and Model	Average MOT test pass rate	Average mileage at MOT test
1	Hyundai Ioniq (2017-present)	96.18%	22,710
2	BMW i8 (2014 – 2020)	95.97%	21,738
3	Porsche Boxster (2012 – 2016)	94.10%	22,243
4	Lexus NX (2014 – present)	93.82%	32,413
5	Porsche 911 (2012 – 2019)	93.72%	20,484
6	Porsche Cayman (2013 – 2016)	92.94%	23,224
7	Porsche Macan (2014 – present)	92.91%	32,289
8	Mazda MX-5 (2016 – present)	92.62%	16,399
9	Lexus RX (2016 – present)	91.95%	27,721
10	Mazda CX-3 (2015 – present)	91.91%	25,652

Top 10 manufacturer MOT pass rates 

Rank	Brand	Average MOT test pass rate	Average mileage at MOT test
1	Porsche	91.15%	32,041
2	Tesla	89.94%	44,613
3	Lexus	88.72%	44,081
4	Subaru	88.46%	39,427
5	Honda	88.41%	35,809
6	MINI	87.45%	33,641
7	Audi	87.25%	46,791
8	Skoda	86.58%	45,932
9	Jeep	86.52%	35,224
10	Mazda	86.32%	40,941

Bottom 10 manufacturer MOT pass rates

Rank	Brand	Average MOT test pass rate	Average mileage at MOT test
1	Ssangyong	76.98%	37,911
2	Dacia	78.17%	39,401
3	Citroen	79.72%	38,207
4	Renault	80.20%	37,194
5	Alfa Romeo	80.73%	42,443
6	Vauxhall	81.20%	42,565
7	Fiat	81.22%	33,404

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have figured out how to extract lithium, an essential part of electric vehicle batteries, from seawater in a more cost-effective way.

The study, just published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science and titled “Continuous Electrical Pumping Membrane Process for Seawater Lithium Mining,” states:

Our method may serve as a feasible approach to secure the lithium supply for future energy usage.

The ocean contains about 5,000 times more lithium than on land, but it’s at extremely low concentrations – about 0.2 parts per million. So how do we capture it?

Here’s how the KAUST team tackled the challenge using Red Sea water (and an ion is a particle, atom, or molecule with a net electrical charge):

The KAUST team solved this problem with an electrochemical cell containing a ceramic membrane made from lithium lanthanum titanium oxide (LLTO). Its crystal structure contains holes just wide enough to let lithium ions pass through while blocking larger metal ions.

The cell contains three compartments. Seawater flows into a central feed chamber, where positive lithium ions pass through the LLTO membrane into a side compartment that contains a buffer solution and a copper cathode coated with platinum and ruthenium.

Meanwhile, negative ions exit the feed chamber through a standard anion exchange membrane, passing into a third compartment containing a sodium chloride solution and a platinum-ruthenium anode.

At a voltage of 3.25V, the cell generates hydrogen gas at the cathode and chlorine gas at the anode. This drives the transport of lithium through the LLTO membrane, where it accumulates in the side chamber.

This lithium-enriched water then becomes the feedstock for four more cycles of processing, eventually reaching a concentration of more than 9,000 ppm. Adjusting the pH of this solution delivers solid lithium phosphate that contains mere traces of other metal ions — pure enough to meet battery manufacturers’ requirements.

The researchers estimate that the cell would need only $5 of electricity to extract 1 kilogram of lithium from seawater, and the value of hydrogen and chlorine produced by the cell would more than offset the cost. Further, residual seawater could be used in desalination plants to provide freshwater.

Group leader Zhiping Lai says:

We will continue optimizing the membrane structure and cell design to improve the process efficiency.  By Graham Hill thanks to Electrek.co

Road safety organisation, GEM Motoring Assist is calling for new ways of assessing whether a driver is medically fit to hold a licence.

The call supports the latest report issued by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), which criticises current approaches to assessing driver medical fitness.

GEM is urging individual drivers to ensure they take responsibility for their own safety and fitness to drive. Family members should also be wise to the early signs of unsafe driving in their senior relatives, says GEM.

The starting point for establishing fitness to drive in the UK – and in many other European countries – is still an assessment based on age, despite studies showing that specific medical conditions, substance abuse, mental disorders, epilepsy and diabetes are also important factors when it comes to medical fitness to drive, according to GEM.

Neil Worth, GEM chief executive, said: “This report confirms that mandatory age-based screening of older drivers is ineffective in preventing severe collisions.

“It is concerning that the only requirement in law for anyone aged over 70 is to declare every three years that they are fit to drive.”

GEM says that an age-based self-certification system should be replaced by regular medical examinations for drivers of all ages, with checks on eyesight, hearing, vision, and blood pressure.

Worth added: “However, in the absence of an effective re-testing framework, it’s vital that we each take responsibility for our own safety.

“We want as many people as possible to enjoy the freedom of the open road as drivers, but safety must be the priority.”

GEM also warned fleet and business managers of the ‘increased likelihood’ of distracted driving when drivers get behind the wheel again amid the lifting of coronavirus lockdown restrictions. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Recommendations for who will be legally liable if an autonomous vehicle is involved in a collision or commits an offence are set to be published by the Law Commission before the end of the year.

The organisation has completed a consultation into the legal ramifications of the technology and is now assessing responses before making its final recommendations.

Jessica Uguccioni, lead lawyer of the Law Commission’s autonomous vehicles review, says: “One of the big things we’ve determined is that you can’t just keep the current system for enforcing road traffic rules when it comes to automated vehicles.

“At the moment you can basically lock people up if they do something really, really bad on the road, like dangerous driving, but that is just not going to work with the automated driving regime.

“We need to have a system which is much more based on ensuring safety to begin with, but then understanding why things have gone wrong and preventing them happening again because a single incident can have ramifications for many other vehicles.”

In the Law Commission’s consultation document, the organisation says different levels of automation should affect where liability lies.

If the vehicle is fully autonomous and can travel without a driver in them then any people in the vehicle are merely passengers so have no legal responsibility for the way the vehicle drives and are under no obligation to take over the driving.

Determining liability for autonomous vehicles which require a human driver to be in control of the vehicle at times is more complicated.

While there will be periods when the vehicle is fully autonomous or when it is being fully controlled by a human, there will also be times when the vehicle is transferring control to the driver.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

As I understand it, unlike other countries, in order to succeed in the class actions being taken out against manufacturers for fitting defeat devices that reduced the CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere whilst being tested, we have to prove that the owner or lessee of the vehicle suffered a financial loss.

The argument has been put forward that this could effect anyone in the ownership chain since manufacture through to current ownership. For example it is only recently that lawyers have announced actions against ALL car manufacturers.

So whilst no customer may have been affected at the time the cars were originally fitted with devices, as no-one knew about it, owners of the affected cars at the time the stories broke could have a case if their used car plummeted in value.

But with used diesels hitting an all time high the cases are set to fail. On to the story:

Prices of diesel used cars reached a new high during the first quarter of this year, according to Autorola’s latest online remarketing report.

Prices rose to a record of £14,769 from £13,847 in Q4 2020, a rise of 6.6% (£922) at an average age and mileage of 33 months and 25,437 miles.

Wholesale diesel sales also reached record levels for the second successive quarter comprising 43.6% of all used cars Autorola sold online during Q1 2021.

Hybrid used car sales were also strong during the first quarter, accounting for 5% of Autorola volumes. Prices fell back slightly to £14,812 on the back of a rise in average age and mileage to 35 months and 24,797 miles, which compares favourably with battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which saw a fall in both volumes and prices during Q1.

BEV prices fell by 19.6% (£3,391) from £19,978 in Q4 2020 to £16,047 in Q1 2021 as average age rose from 24 to 27 months.

Autorola saw BEV sales halve during the quarter as the trade cleared out its less desirable stock. EV prices continued to find any level of consistency having been as low as £11,100 and as high as £19,900 during the past 15 months.

Jon Mitchell, Autorola UK group sales director, believes diesels have been “written off” by many, because new car sales have fallen dramatically, but he says that in the used market demand and prices have been “very strong” for the past 12 months.

“We are likely to see this continue as used stocks begin to fall over the coming years,” he added. “The popularity of hybrids is becoming very consistent, while EV prices continue their rollercoaster ride and show no signs of stability.”

Autorola saw used petrol prices remain consistent in Q1, rising by an average of 2.6% (£286) from £10,706 in Q4 2020 to £10,992 as average age rose from 32 to 34 months and average mileage fell from 19,336 miles to 17,961 miles. Petrol cars accounted for 51.4% of Autorola’s total sales in the quarter, a fall from Q4.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A new type of electric vehicle (EV) charger that can deliver enough charge for 60 miles of driving in one minute is being developed in Poland.

Ekoenergetyka – Polska is working on a series of charging stations with the capacity to deliver charging speeds from 750 to 1500kW.

They will be known as the Network of Ultrachargers (NeU) and will launch in Germany and Poland by the end of 2023.

Initially, the chargers will have a capacity of 750kW – enough to provide 60 miles of range in one minute in the average passenger car or four minutes for 250 miles of range.

The company also claims that it would take around seven minutes to provide 60 miles worth of power to an electric truck.

Dagmara Duda, president of Ekoenergetyka-Polska, said: “In our R&D centres, we create and improve technologies and products that allow us to dynamically develop electromobility at its best, in all market segments, regardless of the location.”

The new solution will be implemented in Germany and Poland first. By the end of 2023, Ekoenergetyka and its partners will launch a network comprising 22 charging stations. The hubs will be located in the vicinity of motorways and in several urban centres, with the aim to serve, among others, utility vehicles and municipal services.

Ekoenergetyka-Polska has been designing and producing fast charging stations for EVs for 12 years. So far, the company has launched more than 1200 charging stations in 130 cities in 18 countries.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News