motoring
BusinessPA Media: MotoringMore fuel price rises mean a tank is now almost £5 more than in late 2020
Fourth month of price rises sees the cost of motoring continue to soar.
LifestylePA Media: MotoringFirst Drive: Audi’s e-tron GT arrives as the firm’s EV range-topper
The e-tron GT sets the pace as Audi’s most powerful EV, but what else does it have to offer? Jack Evans finds out.
BusinessThe IndependentVolvo announces move to electric-only vehicles by 2030 and retail operations will be entirely online
‘I’m totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with the petrol engine’, Volvo Cars chief executive Hakan Samuelsson tells The Independent
BusinessPA Media: MotoringEstates are declining in popularity but SUVs pose efficiency challenge, says Volvo boss
Though SUVs are popular at the moment, they do pose a distinct challenge in terms of efficiency.
BusinessThe ConversationWomen in boardrooms: there's been a jump forward, but the job is only half done
Female representation on FTSE 100 boards has risen from 12% to over 33% in a decade.
BusinessPA Media: MotoringVolvo’s C40 Recharge extends firm’s electric ambitions
Swedish carmaker has already made a firm commitment to an electric future.
BusinessPA Media: UK NewsWhat electrification pledges have car manufacturers made?
Car makers are making the switch from petrol and diesel to electric power.
LifestyleThe TelegraphElectric family cars test: Volkswagen ID.3 vs Citroen e-C4
There’s a world of choice in the £35,000 electric family car class these days. From the Nissan Leaf to the Kia e-Niro, via the Peugeot e-2008 and BMW i3, choice is no longer the issue. Now, there are two more big players in the shape of the Citroen e-C4 and Volkswagen ID.3 – both of which made it to the final seven of this year’s Car of the Year award. These two take a very different approach to the electric car conundrum. The Citroen is offered with one battery – a 50kWh affair that delivers a 217-mile official range. Citroen wants the electric C4 to feel as unintimidating and ‘normal’ to drive as possible – it even looks just the same as the petrol and diesel C4 models. Volkswagen, meanwhile, has gone all out with a ground up rethink for its new electric family car. The rear-wheel drive ID.3 is offered with one of three batteries and has an aura of novelty to it, from the slippery-looking body shape to a fancy interior light strip that indicates when there’s a turn coming up on the nav route. Wolfsburg’s marketing wizards have even re-jigged the idea of trims, so you choose whichever of seven pre-configured ‘levels’ of ID.3 – battery size and equipment all being defined by these model lines, with the 260-mile range, mid-size 58kWh battery tested here the big-selling mid-range option. Essential differences aside, if you want a practical, electric five-door family car, the Citroen e-C4 and VW ID.3 will be high on your shortlist. So, what’s best: bold and futuristic, or reassuringly normal? On test: Citroen e-C4 Shine Plus - £32,545* Comfy ride and tidy drive. It looks quite peculiar, isn’t quite as roomy as the VW, and visibility is poor, but it is comparably good value. Volkswagen ID.3 Family Pro Performance £34,650* Faster and more precise to drive, and roomier in the back than the Citroen, if not the more premium-feeling experience you might expect. *Including the £3,000 Government plug-in car grant (PiCG) Looks and appeal Citroen e-C4 – 3 out of 5 Volkswagen ID.3 – 4 out of 5 Styling is always subjective, but deciding which of these two is the better looking or more desirable is like being forced to pick the best dessert on a starter menu. Ultimately, though, the cleaner lines of the VW ID.3 look more appealing to these eyes.
BusinessSky NewsVolvo joins race to go all-electric by 2030 and will shift all sales online
Volvo has outlined a roadmap to an all-electric future for its cars by 2030, with all sales to follow Tesla's lead and become online-only. The UK has set a deadline of 2030 for a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel models as part of its commitment to tackle climate change. Volvo projected that 50% of its global sales would be fully-electric by 2025 and the other half hybrid models.
BusinessReutersExclusive: India woos Tesla with offer of cheaper production costs than China
India is ready to offer incentives to ensure Tesla Inc's cost of production would be less than in China if the carmaker commits to making its electric vehicles in the south Asian country, transport minister Nitin Gadkari told Reuters. Gadkari's pitch comes weeks after billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla registered a company in India in a step towards entering the country, possibly as soon as mid-2021.
NewsPA Media: MotoringPublic invited to consult on changes to the Highway Code
Highways England wants drivers’ input on proposals to make journeys better.
HealthThe ConversationLifting lockdown: how much should we listen to the views of business?
One year on from when lockdowns began in the west, specialists reflect on how these two fields have responded to the crisis.
BusinessPA Media: UK NewsKey questions answered on electric cars
Sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the UK from 2030.
TechnologyPA Media: MotoringHyundai unveils new Bayon
Crossover SUV has been designed specifically for European buyers.
BusinessPA Media: MotoringVauxhall is now offering 14 day return guarantee for any car bought online
British firm is pushing its online store with new return offer and special deals.
LifestylePA Media: MotoringUK Drive: The updated Renault Megane is a stylish family hatchback
Renault’s reworked its family-sized Megane, but does it provide competition against newer rivals? Ted Welford finds out.
BusinessPA Media: UK NewsVolvo to go electric only by 2030 and shift all sales online
The UK is planning to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
BusinessPA Media: MotoringPlans for electrification: Who is doing what and when?
Most car manufacturers have plans in place to introduce battery-powered or hybrid cars, but when will they be appearing?
BusinessPA Media: MotoringPorsche Cayenne tops list of most expensive cars to repair
Luxury SUV is packed with high-tech features and expensive components.
BusinessPA Media: MotoringVolvo to go fully electric by 2030
Swedish car maker already has a line-up of vehicles populated by hybrids and electric powertrains.
NewsPA Media: MotoringGovernment urged to reconsider whether to impose limits on new drivers
Eighty-eight drivers aged 17-24 died on Britain’s roads in 2019, with a further 1,234 seriously injured.
BusinessReutersBetting on death of petrol cars, Volvo to go all electric by 2030
Volvo's entire car lineup will be fully electric by 2030, the Chinese-owned company said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of automakers planning to phase out fossil-fuel engines by the end of this decade. "I am totally convinced there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine," Volvo Chief Executive Håkan Samuelsson told reporters when asked about future demand for electric vehicles. "We are convinced that an electric car is more attractive for customers."
TechnologyPA Media: MotoringNissan’s new powertrain has the thermal efficiency of an F1 engine
The firm says it has built an engine with 50 per cent thermal efficiency – matching Mercedes’ F1 car.
BusinessThe TelegraphToyota Yaris is 2021 Car of the Year
Toyota’s Yaris has won the 2021 Car of the Year (Coty) award. It’s the second Coty win for Toyota’s French-built small hatchback (the first generation won in 2000) and this fourth-generation Yaris comes in eco-friendly hybrid form and fire-breathing rally-bred version, the GR. In a highly disrupted year and with no absolutely outstanding model in the seven-strong shortlist, the voting swung around between the Yaris, which scored 266 points, the battery-powered Fiat 500 (240 points) and the Cupra Formentor, a new sporting SUV brand owned by the Volkswagen Group, which scored 239 points. Volkswagen’s ID.3, its first purpose-built production battery-electric hatchback, did not fare as well as predicted and came in fourth position with 224 points, the Skoda Octavia (also a VW Group marque) scored 199, with the Land Rover Defender coming sixth with 164 points and the Citroën C4 in seventh with 143 points. Why did the Yaris win? With three pure battery contenders (VW, Fiat and the Citroën C4 which comes as a battery as well as petrol and diesel forms) and several cars available as plug-in hybrids, the self-charging hybrid Yaris represents a practical and efficient solution to reducing emissions without the fiddliness of plugging in.
BusinessPA Media: MotoringIoniq 5 reveal gives Hyundai its biggest new car launch ever
The South Korean firm received almost a quarter of a million expressions of interest.