Ding dong! Here comes the electric car

Electric cars should be fitted with a bell to warn pedestrians they are approaching.

The call by Tory peer Lord McColl follows fears that the cars’ engines, which are almost silent at low speeds, pose a safety risk.

The peer raised the issue in the House of Lords, but Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said he did not believe the suggestion would work. (Daily Telegraph: November 21).

Dutch car company relocates to Britain

Car manufacturing in Britain is to welcome a new entrant after Dutch premium car maker Spyker said it was moving production to the UK.

Spyker, which has been loss-making since it was established as a company in 2000, will base production in Coventry at one of its suppliers, CPP Manufacturing.

The Zeewolde, Netherlands-based company is one of the most exclusive car brands in the world. It produces models by hand and has made just 300 cars since 2000.

Roughly 45 out of 135 jobs are to be lost in the Netherlands following Spyker’s decision, but these could become new jobs in the UK.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders called Spyker’s decision to relocate vehicle assembly ‘good news’ for the UK.

“The UK has more specialist sports car manufacturers than any other European country and the skills and expertise to support further development,” said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt.

Victor Muller, the chief executive of Spyker Cars, said the company wanted to be nearer key suppliers and that the move would ‘secure the future of our business’ in ‘challenging times’. The weakness of the pound against the euro is believed to have made shifting production to the UK even more attractive.

CPP, which stands for Coventry Prototype Panels, employs around 100 people and also works with the likes of Aston Martin and Bentley. Brendan O’Toole, managing director, said CPP was one of the ‘leading low-volume manufacturers in the industry’. (Daily Telegraph: November 21).

Tories plan to turn traffic lights off at night

Thousands of traffic lights could be switched off at night under radical plans being drawn up by the Conservative Party.

Other sets of lights could be removed in an attempt to cut delays and reduce carbon emissions by improving traffic flow.

There are an estimated 140,000 sets of traffic lights and pedestrian signals in Britain, and the number has grown rapidly in recent years.

Conservative transport spokesman Teresa Villiers said urgent action was needed to tackle the ‘epidemic of traffic lights’.

She added: “There is a very real suspicion that thousands of traffic lights are creating rather than cutting congestion. It is a time for radical change in the country’s approach to traffic lights.

“I am certain that there are many sets of signals that could be removed or turned off at night without jeopardising pedestrian safety.”

Several options are being considered, including switching some lights to flashing amber at night, which would mean that motorists should proceed with caution. The Tories are also backing plans to allow cyclists to turn left at red lights. (Daily Telegraph: November 23).

Disgraced Mr Rover chiefs bank an extra £11m

The five disgraced former directors of failed carmaker MG Rover are to receive an £11 million-plus payout.

Their windfall will bring to £42m the amount of money they have extracted from the collapsed company in one of Britain’s biggest business scandals.

The five – John Towers, Nick Stephenson, John Edwards, Peter Beale and Kevin Howe – will share the payout from the winding up of MGR Capital, a car finance operation that was kept separate from the rest of the group.

Mr Towers, Mr Stephenson, Mr Edwards and Mr Beale are expected to collect about £2.5m each from their latest pay day. Mr Howe, who was chief executive, is expected to collect about £1.4m.

The sums are said to have provoked fury in Birmingham, where MG Rover was based until it collapsed in 2005.

Lloyds Banking Group, in which the government holds a 43% stake, owns half of MGR Capital and is also in line for an £11m-plus windfall. (Sunday Times: November 22).

Volkswagen to increase production as it bids to become global leader

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest car company, has announced plans to invest €26 billion over the next three years to boost production.

It will also invest €4.4bn in China through joint ventures. The firm has said it plans to overtake Toyota as the world’s biggest carmaker by 2018.

Volkswagen executives have also approved the purchase of the bankrupt carmaker Karmann. It will begin vehicle production at Karmann’s plant in Osnabrueck, in north-west Germany, in 2011.

“The Volkswagen Group is vigorously driving forward its long term growth strategy by investing in environmentally friendly models, innovative technologies and new plants,” said chief executive, Martin Winterkorn. “We are continuing to make focused investments in our future.” (BBC.co.uk/Autowired: November 23).

‘Talking’ Mini set for launch

A ‘talking’ version of the Mini is due to hits showrooms in January. Costing £21,030, the 50th anniversary model will have a unique voice system to greet drivers when the engine is started and say goodbye when it is turned off.

Dubbed mission control by BMW’s development engineers, the system can deliver 1,500 different spoken messages.

Should it be driven with an unsecured door, it can say “Attention, a door is open – is someone trying to escape?” and if driven too fast from start, it will plead “Ease up on the gas a bit, I’m not warmed up yet”.

Continued high speed driving will prompt the message: “Take it easy please and we’ll save fuel at the same time” and driving with the sunroof open and air-con operating will bring the comment “This is no good – one of them has to go to make any environmental sense at all and that’s that”. (AM-Online: November 23).

Scrappage car numbers have been ‘exaggerated’

Officials at Lord Mandelson’s business department are cleaning the scrappage database to weed out double entries and produce a lower, more accurate figure by the end of the month.

Double counting arose as some motorists who placed orders subsequently withdrew them but were not removed from the database

Some motorists who placed order subsequently found their car was not eligible for the scrappage scheme but they were not deleted from the list.

A government spokeswoman said the scheme was now past the halfway mark of total orders possible and it was the right time to undertake a clean-up of the data to remove errors.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has downplayed the impact of the clean-up and the efforts being made by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to clean out the thousands of double counted scrappage vehicles.

This is similar to exercises undertaken by most other countries with scrappage schemes in order to give a more accurate picture of how much funding remains in the scheme, said the SMMT.

The SMMT also said its figures were unaffected by the double counting as it only reported deliveries not orders. (Autoindustry.co.uk: November 23).

Firms unaware of new eyesight laws

Three-quarters (78%) of UK firms are unaware of the impending 2011 legislation that would change the legal requirement of eye tests for drivers.

That’s the finding of Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, which has released new comprehensive driving-related research into eyecare policies across UK companies.

New legislation, passed in the European Parliament, is set to be introduced to member states in 2011. The current proposal is that holders of commercial licences will have to have their eyes tested every five years, and holders of private licences will be tested every 10 to 15 years. Each member state has until 2013 to translate the directive into national law.

Laura Butler, corporate account manager for Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, said: “It is astounding that more than three quarters of companies have not even heard of this new legislation. We hope to work with fleet managers to ensure that basic eye tests are implemented for everyone who drives in the course of their work. For everyone’s safety, this should be a priority now, regardless of the date when the actual legislation will come into force.”

Specsavers’ research, conducted among 187 companies, and representing up to 448,000 employees, shows that companies are generally keen to offer an effective eyecare policy, vital for employees who drive in the course of their work.

The majority of respondents (73%) state the deciding factor in offering eyecare to their employees is to be a responsible employer, and not just to comply with regulations. Furthermore, 42 % believe their employees view eyecare as equally important as other benefits.

But a worrying 13% do not, however, have an eyecare policy at all. This could have serious implications under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, says Specsavers as 15% of respondents were not even aware of its existence nor its repercussions for employers. (Fleetworld.co.uk: November 23).

EU leaders call for GM to present ‘viable’ restructuring plan

European Union leaders have stressed the urgency of General Motors presenting a viable transparent restructuring plan to ensure the long-term viability of the motor manufacturer.

Simultaneously, the European Union has reiterated that any financial support from EU member states for GM should be based strictly on objective and economic criteria, and not include non-commercial conditions concerning the location of investments and/or the geographic distribution of restructuring measures.

This, it said in a statement, was essential to avoid subsidy races between member states and the fragmentation of the Single Market.

Informal meetings were held today (Monday, November 23) between EU Vice-President Günter Verheugen, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes and the Commissioner in charge of Employment, Vladimir Špidla and ministers in charge of the automotive industry and with Nick Reilly, who is heading GM Europe on an interim basis.

EU leaders said they stressed the European dimension of the problem and the common interest to ensure long-term viability for the European subsidiaries of GM and sustainable jobs for the employees.

And they reminded member states that no national measures should be taken without prior information and coordination with other involved countries and the Commission.

An EU statement said: “This restructuring in the automotive industry must take place in rigorous compliance with the European and national rules in force regarding information and consultation of workers in the case of any restructuring operation in the EU.” (European Union: November 23).