And What Watt - 17 August 2021

FOLLOW UP: WHAT MAKES A SALE A SALE

With thanks to the SMMT we can now confirm that a “sale” is when there is a change in owner, so if a person or company continue their lease beyond the original time frame, that will not be added to the figures reported. Which makes the reported numbers even more impressive than the chaps originally thought.

CORNWALL SPARKS COMMERICAL EV DRIVE

Watt Electric Vehicle Company has announced that it plans to build up to 5000 electric commercial vehicles a year, from 2023. They will be utilising a ‘skateboard’ platform to aid modularity and allow different sized vehicles to be built. The first prototype will be revealed in 2022. These will be built at a new facility in the Midlands. To find out more, click here for the Autocar article.

TESLA AUTOPILOT INVESTIGATED IN US

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has launched an investigation into 11 traffic incidents that involved stationary emergency service vehicles, whilst the driver of Tesla vehicles were utilising the Autopilot feature. This is a very tight remit of investigation, however, the findings could effect the entire industry. To read more, click here for the Autocar article. For some context and background to this, click here for the Ed Niedermeyer Twitter thread.

NAT WEST TO INSTALL 600 CHARGERS

Nat West Bank wants to install 600 charging points across it’s branch network by 2023. Added to that they intend to change 300 of their fleet to EVs. This plan is aimed at helping the company and staff decarbonise their transport, but will also be available for customers. To find out more, click the ZapMap article here.

AUDI IMPROVES EV CHARGE CARD SERVICE

Audi has announced that for UK drivers, their one-card EV charging service will now cover 17500 charging points, which is almost 75% of the public chargers available. Their service has two tiers, with city and transit tariffs. Those who mainly do urban miles are only charged £4.91 per month plus a charging fee and transit is charged out at £16.81 per month plus charging fees because they need access to faster charging points. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

HYDROGEN STRATEGY ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNMENT

The Government is investing £240 million to help “kick start” the hydrogen “revolution” in transport and heavy industry, as part of their switch to a net-zero carbon future. A consultation has also been launched into how to fund the switch from fossil fuels to hydrogen. To read more, click here for the Autocar article.
Autocar, also has an opinion piece from Jesse Crosse, which looks at the announcement with a slightly raised eyebrow. To read this, click the link here. For even further reading, click here for Jan Rosenow’s Twitter thread about the information.

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WRC: YPRES RALLY

Hyundai finished one-two, with Neuville and Breen coming home is first and second respectively, giving the Belgium a home-soil win. Kalle Rovanperä came in third, for Toyota, with Evans and Ogier finishing fourth and fifth. To find out more, click this link here for the DirtFish report.

For the DirtFish What We Learned article, click here.

For Colin Clark’s Driver Ratings, click here.

NEW NEW CAR NEWS

Mazda2

Mazda are updating the 2 for 2022. There will be a raft of engine improvements as well as the deployment of mild-hybrid technology. To find out more, click the Mazda press release here.

Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4

Car Silly Season continues, this time with a very limited run on the reimagining of the Countach. 112 vehicles will be built, costing from €2 million. Whilst the chaps got excited about the Huracan STO, this strangely leaves them cold. To find out more, click the Autocar link here.

Mini Strip

Mini, in partnership with Paul Smith, has stripped back the materials and build of a Mini Cooper to see if they could create a sustainable car. To read more, click here for the Jalopnik story.

LUNCHTIME READ: MY DAD BORROWED A BOND CAR

Richard Hill is the chief aerodynamicist for Lotus, who has worked on a diverse range of projects such as the Evija to Chris Boardman’s Olympic winning bicycle. Click here for the Motoring Research article, to find out about his career and some of the projects that stick out a bit more than others.

LIST OF THE WEEK: RE-OPEN SPECIAL - GREAT CAR MUSEUMS TO VISIT

Another week another Autocar list, this time, suggesting a number of excellent car museums to go visit as the country opens up again. To run through the options, click the article link here.

AND FINALLY: SRI LANKAN TEENAGER BUILDS SOLAR POWERED TUK TUK

Want to feel like you wasted your lockdowns? Well, how about the 15 year old, from Sri Lanka, who used scrap metal and spare parts to build a solar powered Tuk Tuk? This is an amazing and brilliant feat, really wonderful to see. To find out more, click the BBC News article and video here.