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Citroen has reduced the price of its range topping e-C4 Shine Plus so that all versions of the electric car are eligible for the revised plug-in car grant.

The e-C4 Shine plus previously had an on-the-price of £35,545, but is now priced from £34,995.

It follows the Government’s decision to lower the eligibility threshold for the plug-in grant to £35,000.

The grant amount was also reduced from £3,000 to £2,500.

Eurig Druce, Citroen UK’s managing director, said: “We were disappointed to hear the news that the support for consumers to make the switch to a low emission vehicle had been reduced.

For this period of transition to be a success and for electrification targets to be met, both the industry and consumers need clearer long-term guidance and support on how we will get there.

“That said, I am proud that Citroen UK’s policy of ‘Fair Pricing’ ensures that consumers will continue to be able to benefit from the full Government Plug in Car Grant when purchasing their new e-C4.”

Pricing for the new e-C4 ranges from £30,895 to £32,495 (on-the-road) when the grant is applied.  All models come equipped with LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, 10-inch high-resolution touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Sat Nav with TomTom Live Services, Active Safety Brake, Lane Keeping Assist, electric parking brake, rear parking sensors, rear parking camera, electrically folding door mirrors, dual-zone climate control and Citroen Connect Box Emergency and Assistance System.

The car uses a 50kWh battery pack and a 136PS electric motor. It provides a range of up to 217 miles and an 80% charge will take 30 minutes on a 100kW rapid charger.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Buyers of new cars could face waits of six months or more and discounts could be slashed as the worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips continues to affect supplies.

Car buyers might also be asked to pay more for models with digital dashboards or built-in sat-navs – or not be offered those features at all – as manufacturers looks for ways to restrict the number of chips in each vehicle so they can keep production going.

Here, we answer key questions about the shortage, and how it could affect you.

What are semiconductor chips?

Semiconductor chips are a crucial component of modern car infotainment systems, digital dashboards, sat-navs and many other in-car electrical systems. As cars become more complex, they need more of the electronic devices to control systems. Chips are in particularly high demand right now for two reasons.

Firstly, the pandemic has driven up the popularity of consumer electronic devices such as smartphones, games consoles, laptops and tablets, diverting the supply of the chips away from the automotive sector. Car manufacturers were using far fewer chips for most of last year as heavily reduced demand led to factory closures.

Secondly, the increase in demand for new cars in the last quarter of 2020 meant many car makers exceeded their forecasts, and didn’t order enough chips early on to satisfy the demand for newly ordered cars.

Unfortunately for car makers, they are not the biggest users of computer chips so they have far less bargaining power over the producers than computer and phone companies, which buy around 90% of the supply. 

Although some of the simpler chips are made by automotive suppliers such as Bosch and Denso, it is estimated that 70% of chips for cars are made by one supplier in Taiwan, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Only 3% of its revenue comes from the automotive sector, so it’s highly unlikely to change its business plan to accommodate car makers.

Europe currently accounts for less than 10% of global chip production, although that’s 6% more than five years ago. It wants to boost that figure to 20% and is looking at investing 20-30 billion euros to make that happen. In the meantime, it’s predicted that the chip shortage could continue into the autumn or even into 2022.

Which car makers and models are affected?

Although the chip shortage is expected to affect all car makers, some have been more open about it. Ford has recently stated that it will produce 1.1 million fewer cars this year.

Its production will be down 50% in the second quarter and 10% down in the second half of 2021. So far, Ford has built 22,000 vehicles that are waiting for chips to be installed.

Ford temporarily stopped production at its factories in the US, Germany and Turkey earlier this year, and it says the closures will affect Galaxy, Kuga, Mondeo, S-Max and Transit Connect production until 31 July. The Fiesta and Puma will also be affected, but buyers should not face such lengthy delays for these models. 

Production lines at Audi, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Mercedes, Mini and Toyota plants have also been hit. JLR says there will be an impact on deliveries of the Jaguar XE, XF and F-Type and the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque, but it won’t affect the Range Rover, Jaguar F-Pace and Land Rover Defender. Mercedes models affected include the C-Class, EQC and GLC.

The ripple effect of the slow-down in car production is starting to be felt at dealership level, with one Ford dealer group saying that it would no longer be offering discounts on 10 of the 15 new car models it sells, including the Fiesta, Focus, Kuga and Puma.  

Car buyers may also have to do without certain electrical systems or pay more for them. Nissan is reportedly leaving navigation systems out of cars that would normally have them, and there have been reports that Renault is no longer fitting digital dashboards to certain models.

Peugeot has reputedly changed the instrument cluster on run-out models of the 308 from a digital unit to an analogue one so it can keep up with production of newer models, including the 3008 SUV. A 5.0in digital cluster from the Mini Electric that was expected to be standard on all other versions of the Mini has now been made an optional extra. By Graham Hill thanks to What Car

A consultation will be launched later this year to decide the distance a new hybrid electric vehicle can travel on zero emissions to remain on sale from 2030 to 2035.

Publishing its response today to a consultation on Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans, the Government also said it remained technology neutral and recognised that hydrogen could have a role to play.

Ministers confirmed in November 2020, that new petrol and diesel cars and vans would not be allowed to be sold in the UK from 2030.

New hybrid cars and vans that could drive a “significant distance” with no carbon coming out of the tailpipe, however, would be allowed to remain on sale until 2035.

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicle (OZEV) has previously explained that only plug-in and full hybrids will still be considered for sale from 2030 until 2035.

Full hybrids include the likes of the Toyota Prius and the Kia Niro, while mild hybrids, which are rapidly becoming the norm on most engines, are offered by Ford, with MHEV engines on the Fiesta, Puma and Focus.

In its response to the internal combsution engine (ICE) ban consultation, the Government says that it wants to increase the pace of transition to zero-emission driving.

“In doing so we recognise the importance of deploying a range of cleaner vehicle technologies from today up until the phase out dates,” it said.

“In particular, full hybrids and plug-in hybrids have a key role to play, both in reducing emissions and as a stepping-stone technology to help consumers and businesses adapt to zero emission driving.

“We are not banning the use of petrol and diesel cars and vans. These decisions only apply to new cars and vans. They do not apply to existing petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans which can continue to be driven and sold in the second-hand market.”

The Government says it recognises that a new target will be “challenging for different sectors of society and the economy”.

“Issues around affordability, range anxiety and infrastructure must be addressed to foster the willingness of drivers to transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs),” it added.

“Government takes a technology neutral approach on how this transition will be achieved. While it is true that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) dominate the current ZEV market, we recognise the potential of hydrogen as another solution for zero emission transport, particularly for heavier road vehicles.”

POSSIBLE DEROGATIONS

The Department for Transport (DfT) says that it will consider a “very limited range of derogations” to the phase out dates for specialist vehicles, including military service and emergency vehicles. A consultation on these derogations will be launched in due course.

It will also publish a delivery plan this year setting out major milestones towards the phase out dates and committed spending and regulatory measures. Progress against the plan will be monitored and reported publicly on an annual basis.

Furthermore, it will conduct a review of progress towards the phase out dates by 2025.

“Moving millions of vehicles to zero emissions is an enormous challenge,” said transport secretary Grant Shapps. “Government has already committed £1.5 billion to boost the early market, but now we are going further.

“We are backing our new phase out dates with over £2.8bn of investment to drive up the number of zero emission vehicles, accelerate the roll out of our world-class chargepoint infrastructure network, and to secure investment in gigafactories and other strategic technologies to develop the UK’s electric vehicle supply chain.”

In a Fleet News survey, conducted after the ICE ban was announced late last year, almost two-thirds of fleets said that implementing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 was too soon.

The Government had previously said it would end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

A consultation will be launched later this year to decide the distance a new hybrid electric vehicle can travel on zero emissions to remain on sale from 2030 to 2035.

Publishing its response today to a consultation on Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans, the Government also said it remained technology neutral and recognised that hydrogen could have a role to play.

Ministers confirmed in November 2020, that new petrol and diesel cars and vans would not be allowed to be sold in the UK from 2030.

New hybrid cars and vans that could drive a “significant distance” with no carbon coming out of the tailpipe, however, would be allowed to remain on sale until 2035.

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicle (OZEV) has previously explained that only plug-in and full hybrids will still be considered for sale from 2030 until 2035.

Full hybrids include the likes of the Toyota Prius and the Kia Niro, while mild hybrids, which are rapidly becoming the norm on most engines, are offered by Ford, with MHEV engines on the Fiesta, Puma and Focus.

In its response to the internal combsution engine (ICE) ban consultation, the Government says that it wants to increase the pace of transition to zero-emission driving.

“In doing so we recognise the importance of deploying a range of cleaner vehicle technologies from today up until the phase out dates,” it said.

“In particular, full hybrids and plug-in hybrids have a key role to play, both in reducing emissions and as a stepping-stone technology to help consumers and businesses adapt to zero emission driving.

“We are not banning the use of petrol and diesel cars and vans. These decisions only apply to new cars and vans. They do not apply to existing petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans which can continue to be driven and sold in the second-hand market.”

The Government says it recognises that a new target will be “challenging for different sectors of society and the economy”.

“Issues around affordability, range anxiety and infrastructure must be addressed to foster the willingness of drivers to transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs),” it added.

“Government takes a technology neutral approach on how this transition will be achieved. While it is true that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) dominate the current ZEV market, we recognise the potential of hydrogen as another solution for zero emission transport, particularly for heavier road vehicles.”

POSSIBLE DEROGATIONS

The Department for Transport (DfT) says that it will consider a “very limited range of derogations” to the phase out dates for specialist vehicles, including military service and emergency vehicles. A consultation on these derogations will be launched in due course.

It will also publish a delivery plan this year setting out major milestones towards the phase out dates and committed spending and regulatory measures. Progress against the plan will be monitored and reported publicly on an annual basis.

Furthermore, it will conduct a review of progress towards the phase out dates by 2025.

“Moving millions of vehicles to zero emissions is an enormous challenge,” said transport secretary Grant Shapps. “Government has already committed £1.5 billion to boost the early market, but now we are going further.

“We are backing our new phase out dates with over £2.8bn of investment to drive up the number of zero emission vehicles, accelerate the roll out of our world-class chargepoint infrastructure network, and to secure investment in gigafactories and other strategic technologies to develop the UK’s electric vehicle supply chain.”

In a Fleet News survey, conducted after the ICE ban was announced late last year, almost two-thirds of fleets said that implementing a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 was too soon.

The Government had previously said it would end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Law firm Hagen Berman UK says it has filed proceedings against Daimler AG, Mercedes Benz Cars UK and Mercedes Benz Financial Services UK, in a bid to secure compensation payouts for drivers affected by emissions “cheating”.

The firm alleges that Mercedes programmed some of its diesel models produced between 2008 and 2018 to reduce the vehicles’ illegally high levels of nitrogen oxide when the vehicles were being tested for emissions.

In August last year, the German car maker agreed to pay a £560m settlement to owners in the USA after it was accused of cheating emissions tests.

Mercedes-Benz said cars sold in the US used different emissions control systems to those in Europe, however, and believes the claims brought forward by UK law firms are “without merit”.

Some 33,000 people in England and Wales have registered interest to have Hagens Berman represent them in the group litigation. The law firm says claimants can now formally opt in to join the case. Other interested parties are also still eligible to join.

“British consumers have a similar right to compensation for unlawful, deceptive and defective emissions-cheating implemented by Mercedes,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “Following the $700 million US settlement against Mercedes, we spent the past year laying the foundation for equally successful litigation in the UK. We are now poised to hold Mercedes and other defendants to account.”

A number of car makers are being targeting by law firms for emissions cheating. Most recently, Harcus Parker announced it was investing all car makers that sold diesel models between 2009 and 2018. So far, no claims have been successful.

A 2016 investigation by the Vehicle Certification Agency, on behalf of the Department for Transport, found that only Volkswagen Group vehicles featured defeat devices designed specifically to beat official testing.

However, the tests provided further evidence that NOx emissions from diesel vehicles were higher in real-world conditions and on the test track than in laboratory conditions.

The investigation concluded that the EU regulations provided uncertainty about how emissions control systems may be reduced or deactivated in certain conditions and did not detail how the exceptions to the ban on defeat devices should apply, whether or how manufacturers should apply these exemptions, or how a type approval authority should evaluate the validity of their use. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Highways England has launched a new campaign advising drivers to “go left” if they break down on the motorway.

The multi-million pound exercise is aimed at improving safety on smart motorways following a review by the Transport Secretary last year.

It is being supported by partners across the recovery industry and independent road safety campaigner Meera Naran.

Set to the tune of the Pet Shop Boys’ hit version of the ‘Go West’ song, the advert delivers a clear, single-minded message – go left.

Highways England Acting Chief Executive, Nick Harris, said: “No one plans to break down on a motorway, but if the unexpected happens then I want all motorists to know what to do so that they can keep themselves and others safe.

“Everyone wants a safe journey and raising awareness is a vital part of helping to make sure that happens.

“This new campaign and its ‘Go left’ message is designed to deliver crucial information in an accessible way and to help make motorways safer for the people who use them.”

The campaign is part of an 18-point action plan set out in the Evidence Stocktake published by the Department for Transport in March last year.

The Transport Secretary called on Highways England to deliver the campaign to improve safety and public confidence on smart motorways. However, the Transport Committee has launched a seprate inquiry into the benefits and safety of Smart Motorways in response to numerous calls for them to be scrapped.

Campaigners against Smart Motorways have labelled them as ‘death traps’. One coroner concluded that smart motorways ‘present an ongoing risk of future deaths’ while another has referred Highways England to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider if corporate manslaughter charges are appropriate following the 2018 death of a grandmother on the M1 in South Yorkshire.

Meera Naran is campaigning for Safer Drivers on Safer Roads following the death of her eight-year-old son Dev on the M6. She said: “Having successfully campaigned for the implementation of the 18-point safety plan – this education campaign is an integral step in the right direction to support motorists.”

In 2019 there were almost 230,000 reported breakdowns across the Highways England network including around 207,500 on motorways. In the 12 months from June 2019, around 40,000 breakdowns were recorded as being due to tyre issues while more than 6,000 incidents were a result of vehicles running out of fuel.

AA president, Edmund King OBE, added: “As motorway design has changed since many of us passed our test, it is vital to inform drivers what they should do in rare but worse-case scenarios.

“This welcome new campaign reminds drivers to ‘go left’ should their vehicles develop faults and if possible, get off the motorway. However, if they can’t, then they should head for the next emergency zone.

“Some breakdowns can be avoided completely, so drivers should take five minutes before setting off to ensure their tyres are inflated correctly, that they have enough fuel or electric charge and that engine fluids are topped up.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Mitsubishi will sell new cars until the autumn, at which point it will transition to an aftersales only business, the company has confirmed.

It means new examples of models such as the Outlander plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and L200 pick-up will cease to be available by the end of the year.

The Japanese manufacturer unexpectedly announced it was pulling out of both the UK and European markets, last year.

At the time of the announcement a Mitsubishi spokesman told Fleet News: “Stock-wise we have access to a minimum of around 15,000 new vehicles across the entire range presently, with the option to order more L200 and Mirage stock further down the line, so we have no concerns in terms of vehicle supply for the foreseeable future.”

While some new vehicles will be procured by Mitsubishi from Alliance partner Renault, the company has confirmed that they will not be offered for sale in the UK and will not be produced in right-hand drive.

FLEET GUARANTEE

Both the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and L200 have proved popular with fleets, with the Environment Agency and Highways England just two of those impacted by the carmaker’s decision to wind up its UK and European operations.

The Environment Agency has been replacing its fleet of diesel vehicles with Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs and has ordered 96 to date.

Dale Eynon, director of Defra Group Fleet Services, explained that the Outlander PHEV (commercial variant), in particular, has been a “vital part of our programme to reduce emissions, while maintaining full operational capability and being cost-effective”.

The manufacturer says has been contacting its fleet clients personally to offer them assurances.

“All our clients will be taken care of for as long as they are running our vehicles, that is a guarantee,” said the Mitsubishi spokesman.

Highways England has numerous Mitsubishi vehicles on its fleet, including a fleet of Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs as asset delivery inspector vehicles. All have been bought outright.

Highways England said it was in talks with Mitsubishi about the vehicles on its fleet to “maintain business as usual. This includes the SMR for our fleet”.

SALES FIGURES

UK registrations from 2020, show Mitsubishi had sold 9,076 new vehicles, compared with 16,199 during the previous year.

The 43% decline in new registrations is more than the industry average, which dropped by 29% during the year.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which has proved popular with company car drivers thanks to low benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax, was updated with new trim levels and a new infotainment system, last year. Prices started at £35,455 (on-the-road) for the revised plug-in hybrid SUV.

However, Government cuts to the plug-in car grant announced two years ago, meant the Outlander PHEV was no longer eligible.

The plug-in grant was cut by £1,000 and no longer applied to hybrid cars with a range of less than 70 zero-emission miles. The Government said the reduction in funding – from £4,500 to £3,500 – for the cleanest cars, and withdrawing the grant completely for the likes of the Outlander, was a sign of its success.

Its BIK tax savings credentials have maintained its traction in the market, however, with the Outlander outselling every other plug-in hybrid SUV on the market in 2020, with 3,336 Outlander PHEVs registered from January to December.

It means around a third of all new vehicles sold by the manufacturer last year was an Outlander PHEV and more than 53,000 examples have now been registered in the UK.

£1.3 BILLION LOSS

That sales success, however, comes after Mitsubishi reported a £1.3 billion loss in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in its decision to focus on faster growing, more profitable markets, with the aim of cutting costs by 20% over the next three years.

“The company is effectively pulling out of Europe to focus on the likes of south Asian markets,” said David Bailey, professor of business economics at the Birmingham Business School and senior fellow at UK in a Changing Europe.

Along with exiting UK and European markets, Mitsubishi will aim to improve its bottom line by cutting R&D spend, undertaking ‘salary reviews’ and shutting one of its plants in Japan by next year.

Its European manufacturing operations at the Nedcar plant in the Netherlands were sold in 2012, with cars, instead, imported to Europe.

Planned new models the EU and UK will miss out include a new Outlander SUV and a new Battery Electric SUV (2021), a plug-in hybrid Outlander and L200 Pick up (2022), and the Xpander MPV and Pajero Sport SUV (2023).

Bailey added: “From a consumer point of view, the pull-out is a great shame as the firm has pioneered plug-in hybrid technology in the UK and Europe.”

Bailey believes that the technology will probably find its way into new Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance models from Renault and Nissan.

“While the Alliance plan had anticipated a refocusing by Mitsubishi on south-east Asia, I’m still surprised that Mitsubishi is effectively leaving the UK/EU market completely,” he said.

“I had anticipated Mitsubishi models being assembled off the same platforms as Renault and Nissan models, and produced, for example, at Sunderland, so as to maximise the alliance’s market share in the region.”

However, Bailey doesn’t rule out the brand being resurrected in the UK market in this way at some point.

IMPACT ON RVs

Pricing experts at Cap HPI have played down the potential of Mitsubishi’s decision to exit the UK having a negative impact on residual values (RVs).

Andrew Mee, head of forecast UK at Cap HPI, told Fleet News: “It’s important to remember that Mitsubishi is an established brand with some popular models, notably Outlander and L200, and we expect these to continue to be attractive as used cars.

“While some funder and lender nervousness can be expected around residual values, there have been precedents of brands exiting the UK without values suffering, and these include MG Rover, Saab, Daewoo and Chevrolet.

“In all cases, values subsequently moved in line with market and sector trends and were not adversely affected by the brand’s withdrawal.”

Mee argues that the expected availability of spare parts and the knowledge and experience of service engineers should help used sales and values.

Furthermore, he says it’s even possible that, as there will be a finite number of Mitsubishi cars registered in the UK, as volumes on the road decrease over time, then interest from loyal customers could have a “positive impact on used values”. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

More than 304,000 pensioners (over 65s) currently have penalty points on their driving licence, which is almost 25 times the number of young teenage drivers.

The findings come from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the DVLA by IAM RoadSmart.

It was also revealed that the oldest person driving with points on their licence was 102, while there are more than 3,000 people over the age of 90 currently driving with penalty points.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of Policy & Research, said: “The findings from our Freedom of Information request are surprising. Speeding and other motoring misdemeanours are often associated with younger drivers but the findings clearly show there is a large number of older drivers also flouting the rules.

“Regardless of age, the message we need to get through is that road safety is paramount and we urge drivers of all ages to stick to the speed limits and ensure their vehicles are in a roadworthy condition.

Overall, there are more drivers in their 30s with penalty points than any other age range (575,029), closely followed by those in their 40s (572,238) and then by those in their 50s (568,511). The highest single age with the greatest number of people with points was 49 (63,248).

Additional findings from the FOI discovered that there is up to 8,800 people still driving with more than 12 points – the amount at which you are disqualified – while the highest number of penalty points currently held by one individual is 68.

Greig added: “We also urge government to urgently revisit the issue of drivers with more than 12 points who still have not had their licences revoked. IAM RoadSmart has been raising this issue for almost a decade now and the problem still persists.

It’s not by chance that certain drivers amass 12 or more points and they need to be removed from the public roads. By letting them keep their licence it undermines the simple “four strikes and you’re out” message and this urgently needs to be addressed.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Batteries capable of fully charging in five minutes have been produced in a factory for the first time, marking a significant step towards electric cars becoming as fast to charge as filling up petrol or diesel vehicles.

Electric vehicles are a vital part of action to tackle the climate crisis but running out of charge during a journey is a worry for drivers. The new lithium-ion batteries were developed by the Israeli company StoreDot and manufactured by Eve Energy in China on standard production lines.

StoreDot has already demonstrated its “extreme fast-charging” battery in phones, drones and scooters and the 1,000 batteries it has now produced are to showcase its technology to carmakers and other companies. Daimler, BP, Samsung and TDK have all invested in StoreDot, which has raised $130m to date and was named a Bloomberg New Energy Finance Pioneer in 2020.

The batteries can be fully charged in five minutes but this would require much higher-powered chargers than used today. Using available charging infrastructure, StoreDot is aiming to deliver 100 miles of charge to a car battery in five minutes in 2025.

“The number one barrier to the adoption of electric vehicles is no longer cost, it is range anxiety,” said Doron Myersdorf, CEO of StoreDot. “You’re either afraid that you’re going to get stuck on the highway or you’re going to need to sit in a charging station for two hours.

But if the experience of the driver is exactly like fuelling [a petrol car], this whole anxiety goes away.”

“A five-minute charging lithium-ion battery was considered to be impossible,” he said. “But we are not releasing a lab prototype, we are releasing engineering samples from a mass production line. This demonstrates it is feasible and it’s commercially ready.”

Existing Li-ion batteries use graphite as one electrode, into which the lithium ions are pushed to store charge. But when these are rapidly charged, the ions get congested and can turn into metal and short circuit the battery.

The StoreDot battery replaces graphite with semiconductor nanoparticles into which ions can pass more quickly and easily. These nanoparticles are currently based on germanium, which is water soluble and easier to handle in manufacturing.

But StoreDot’s plan is to use silicon, which is much cheaper, and it expects these prototypes later this year. Myersdorf said the cost would be the same as existing Li-ion batteries.

“The bottleneck to extra-fast charging is no longer the battery,” he said. Now the charging stations and grids that supply them need to be upgraded, he said, which is why they are working with BP. “BP has 18,200 forecourts and they understand that, 10 years from now, all these stations will be obsolete, if they don’t repurpose them for charging – batteries are the new oil.”

Dozens of companies around the world are developing fast-charging batteries, with Tesla, Enevate and Sila Nanotechnologies all working on silicon electrodes. Others are looking at different compounds, such as Echion which uses niobium oxide microparticles.

Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted on Monday: “Battery cell production is the fundamental rate-limiter slowing down a sustainable energy future. Very important problem.”

“I think such fast-charging batteries will be available to the mass market in three years,” said Prof Chao-Yang Wang, at the Battery and Energy Storage Technology Center at Pennsylvania State University in the US. “They will not be more expensive; in fact, they allow automakers to downsize the onboard battery while still eliminating range anxiety, thereby dramatically cutting down the vehicle battery cost.”

Research by Wang’s group is being developed by the company EC Power, which he founded. It carefully increases the temperature of the battery to 60C, which enables the lithium ions to move faster, but avoids the damage to the battery usually caused by heat. He said this allowed a full charge in 10 minutes.

Wang said new research published in Nature Energy on Monday showed this battery could be both affordable and eliminate range anxiety. “Finally we are achieving parity with gasoline vehicles in both cost and convenience.

We have the technology for $25,000 electric cars that race like luxury sport cars, have 10-minute rechargeability and are safer than any currently on the market.”

Wang noted that fast charging must also be repeatable at least 500 times without degrading the battery to give it a reasonable life and that the EC power battery can do so 2,500 times.

Myersdorf said the StoreDot battery could be recharged 1,000 cycles while retaining 80% of original capacity.

Anna Tomaszewska, at Imperial College London, UK, who reviewed the fast-charging batteries in 2019, was more cautious about the speed of their rollout. “I think technologies [like StoreDot’s] could start entering the market in the next five years or so.

However, since they will be more difficult and expensive to manufacture, we’re likely to initially only see them in niche markets that are highly performance-driven and not as price-sensitive as electric vehicles,” she said.  By Graham Hill thanks to The Guardian

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