Like The Big Boys - 6 September 2022

FOLLOW UP: RIVIAN NOT INTERESTED IN UKAccording to filings in August, Rivian made it clear that it would not consider the UK as the base for a factory due to the data laws, existing and proposed changes. On the surface, it would appear that Rivian wants to do what it likes with owner’s data and also it naively insists on housing all data in the US, which is not how countries are approaching data creating in their boarders. For more, click this Twitter thread from Vincent Manancourt. NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURES AUGUST 2022An increase of 1.2% on last year’s figures is a welcome sight, but it must also be remembered that 2021 was the worst August since 2013. EVs continued to increase their market share, even with constrained supply chains. SMMT has, though, warned of the energy price increases adding to the struggles for the industry. To read more, click the SMMT article here. BMW BEGINS HYDROGEN FUEL CELL VEHICLE PRODUCTIONBMW are building a small fleet of iX5 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for testing and denonstration, at their Munich plant. BMW has been working with Toyota over this technology. BMW seem to think it has a place for personal mobility, whilst many believe it is best suited to commercial vehicles. To read more, click the AMOnline article link here. RENAULT HARVESTS USED PARTS FROM OLDER LORRIESRenault is disassembling old lorries to collect the parts that are still usable. This is all part of the ‘Renaulution’ plan to bring recycling in-house and reduce costs on parts and materials. You can find out more, by clicking this link for the Jalopnik article. FIRST BUS ORDERS 193 EV BUSESFirst Bus has placed a large EV order with Wrightbus, to be fulfilled within the next two years. York, Portsmouth, Leicester, Leeds and Norwich will all be getting these buses. Just under half the money is coming from from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area grant. More can be learned by clicking this Move Electric link here. POLESTAR AND CITROËN SETTLE LOGO DISPUTEIn France, Citroën objected to Polestar selling as they claimed the Swedish company’s logo was too similar to the famous double chevrons and would confuse buyers. Following a lengthy legal battle the two companies settled out of court, with the exact agreement still not known. All very silly. Only the lawyers won, as is usually the case. To read about this, click the CarScoops article link here. POLICE GAME WAZE TO CONTROL TRAFFICPolice in Surrey have admitted that they ‘game’ Waze, pretending there are more of them around that is the reality to get people to slow down. Whilst on patrol they...