Pretty please with sugar on top - 23 January 2024

FOLLOW UP: VW AND GERMAN GOV LOSE ENGINE FIX FIGHTA German environmental group has won its court case against the Volkswagen Group and the German Government for allowing the use of thermal windows in engine emissions, for the last eight years. Whilst the regulator allowed it the court ruled they should not have. You can learn more by clicking this electrive article link here. FOLLOW UP: CMA WINS APPEAL AGAINST BMW AND VWThe Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has won its appeal relating to forcing BMW and the Volkswagen Group hand over information to enable their investigation into possible anti-competative practices for recycling vehicles. The argument from BMW and VW is that they are based outside of the UK therefore the CMA has no authority. The Court of Appeal ruled they do. For more on this story, click this Reuters article link here. FOLLOW UP: FEEDBACK ON THE CHAT GPT EXPLAINERThank you to everyone who got in touch, following the release of last week’s show and the separate video which explained Chat GPT, AI and why it is a bad idea in cars. We are glad it has helped so many of you. If you haven’t seen it yet, click this link to our YouTube video here. BRITAIN STICKS TO MONOCHROME NEW CARS IN 2023Topping the chart, once again, we find that grey is the most popular colour for new car registrations. The top three are rounded out with black and white - yawn. Do click this link to SMMT’s article on this, as there is one chart that lists the Top 10 colours and how many have been registered in that colour, it is eye opening. EU INVESTIGATORS TO VISIT CHINESE CAR COMPANIESAs part of the EU’s investigation into whether China unfairly helps their own manufacturing base, with electric vehicles, they will be visiting several firms at locations in the country to check if information supplied matches. They will not be checking on European set ups. Click this link, from electrive, to read more on this development. EVS IN THE EU WILL NEED A BATTERY PASSPORT FROM 2027A system has been developed that aims to track everything about a vehicle battery, from minerals in the ground to what was last done to it in the car. This comes into force in February 2027. Depending on which group is looking to access the data, different levels of information will be available. You can learn more by clicking this Autocar link here. SUBARU UK GETS A NEW MDCongratulations to Lorraine Bishton on her appointment as the new managing director at Subaru UK. She has previously worked at Ford, JLR and lately at McLaren Special Operations. If you wish to learn more, click this AMOnline link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that