Tag: rules

China’s BYD blames Brexit as it rules out UK for first electric car plant in Europe | Automotive industry

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The world’s largest seller of electric and hybrid cars will not consider building its first European car factory in the UK because of the impact of Brexit.

China’s BYD, which has been backed by the US investment billionaire Warren Buffett since 2008, intends to take on household names such as Tesla and become one of the three most popular electric vehicle brands in Europe by the end of the decade.

China’s top-selling electric car maker, which is targeting sales of about 800,000 cars annually in Europe by 2030, has shortlisted locations in Germany, France, Spain, Poland and Hungary.

“As an investor we want a country to be stable,” said Michael Shu, BYD’s European president, speaking to the Financial Times. “To open a factory is a decision for decades. Without Brexit, maybe. But after Brexit, we don’t understand what happened.”

BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, said the UK had not even made a top 10 list of possible locations to build its first European car plant. The company already makes buses in Europe.

“The UK doesn’t have a very good solution,” said Shu. “Even on the long list we didn’t have the UK.”

The Hong Kong-listed BYD, which has its headquarters in Shenzen and began developing batteries in 1995, intends to become a global powerhouse in the electric vehicle market.

It is not the first manufacturer to have cited issues relating to Brexit in deciding not to expand business opportunities in the UK.

Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said in 2019 that the decision to leave the EU made it too risky to build a gigafactory in the UK. The company built its first European plant in Germany, where it also created a research and development base.

Other car manufacturers are also being forced to assess their business requirements amid tough global economic conditions. Ford announced 4,000 job cuts in Europe including 1,300 in the UK in February.

Ford has said it would invest $50bn (£41bn) in electric car production by 2026, but it must also decide what to do with operations built around the internal combustion engine before bans on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. Jaguar has pledged to go all-electric by 2025 and BMW said last month that half its European sales will be electric by 2030.

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BYD is one of a handful of Chinese companies – such as Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto – targeting the European electric car market.

It has launched three models in Europe, in markets including Norway and Germany, and the all-electric Atto3 sports utility

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FTC rejects requests from NADA, other folks for a lot more time to remark on car or truck seller rules

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Editor’s take note: An before variation of this tale improperly described the federal agency trying to get an extension on new regulations masking promotion and F&I functions at vehicle sellers. It is the U.S. Smaller Small business Administration Business office of Advocacy, not the Little Enterprise Administration.

The Federal Trade Fee on Tuesday refused to increase the community remark period of time on proposed auto supplier laws in spite of requests from the National Automobile Sellers Association and other trade groups for additional time.

The 60-day comment window on the probable new procedures for dealership promoting and finance-and-insurance policies workplaces will conclude Sept. 12 as prepared, the FTC said. FTC Secretary April Tabor observed the community currently experienced an further 20 times to remark between the time the company declared ideas for the new principles June 23 and their formal publication in the Federal Sign-up on July 13.

The FTC had received about 2,400 responses as of Tuesday.

“This period of time affords the general public a meaningful opportunity to give the Fee with comments concerning its rulemaking proposal,” Tabor wrote in an undated letter asserting the selection. “On thing to consider of these details and the requests, the Commission declines to increase the interval for public comment.”

The FTC voted unanimously from an extension. The 5- vote provided Commissioner Christine Wilson, who experienced cast the lone vote against proposing the restrictions in the first spot.

“The FTC’s refusal to grant a schedule extension of a general public remark period of time, notably for a proposed rule of these types of sweeping magnitude that concerned no sophisticated recognize, even further displays an pointless and misguided hurry to judgment in this make a difference,” NADA CEO Mike Stanton explained in a statement Tuesday. “This proposed rule would induce excellent damage to individuals by considerably extending transaction moments, making the customer working experience much additional elaborate and inefficient, and raising prices, and NADA yet again urges the FTC to go again to the drawing board before forcing a sequence of unstudied and untested mandates missing proof that will have such considerable unfavorable impacts on buyers.”

NADA was joined by the American Intercontinental Automobile Sellers Association, National Association of Minority Car Dealers and National Impartial Car Sellers Association in requesting extensions.

NADA regulatory affairs Senior Vice President Paul Metrey had in a July 18 letter cited the industry’s deficiency of advance observe or time to put together for the rule in calling for a minimum amount 120-day extension. He also observed that NADA experienced sought comments from the general public on 49 questions and requested info on the rules’ costs, rewards and economic impression.

“Any attempt to present the Fee with significant info, details, and point of view on these substantial inquiries will have to have noticeably more time than the 60-day remark interval,” Metrey wrote.

Other gamers in the F&I market also had sought extensions, which include the American Financial Providers Association, Services Deal Business Council, Assured Asset Security

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Nine big changes to driving laws, road rules and car tech coming in 2022

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Drivers can expect to see some big changes on the road this year. 

A raft of new laws, vehicle technology and driving rules are due to be introduced in 2022 – and many of them are influential developments that will impact every person who regularly gets behind the wheel.

From changes to the Highway Code to councils taking powers to issue fines across England and Wales for minor traffic offences like stopping in a box junction, these are the nine major updates motorists are likely to face in the next 12 months…

Rules that have allowed drivers to avoid prosecution for using their phones behind the wheel are being tightened up in 2022 

1. You can’t touch your phone behind the wheel

Introduced: ‘Early’ 2022 

Lawmakers are planning to close a loophole that has allowed drivers to evade prosecution when caught using their mobile devices behind the wheel.

Currently, motorists can only be penalised for using a handheld phone for ‘interactive communication’ while driving, meaning anyone using their device to record video, take selfies, snap pictures and scroll through downloaded music are able to avoid fines and points.

However, ministers will from early in 2022 introduce new rules that makes using a phone or any handheld device behind the wheel illegal in almost all circumstances – and mean culprits receive a fine of £200 and six points on their licence.

The stringent rules will also apply when stopped at a red light or stuck in traffic.

The only significant exception is that drivers will still be able to use their phone as a sat-nav as long as it is secured in a holder, and hands-free calls. Mobile payments at drive-through restaurants or on toll roads will also be allowed. 

This graphic shows how the Highway Code will change early in the year in relation to drivers and cyclists

This graphic shows how the Highway Code will change early in the year in relation to drivers and cyclists

These are the Government's 'key design principles' for its new plans for cycling, with the intention that it 'is or will become mass transit and must be treated as such'

These are the Government’s ‘key design principles’ for its new plans for cycling, with the intention that it ‘is or will become mass transit and must be treated as such’

2. Cyclists and pedestrians to have priority over drivers at junctions

Introduced: 29 January (subject to parliamentary approval)

A scheduled update to the Highway Code from January will see the launch of an official ‘hierarchy of road users’ system that is designed to protect the most vulnerable people, including pedestrians and cyclists.

The new hierarchy will mean road users who can do the greatest harm will have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger they may pose to others. 

It will have the biggest impact at junctions, with drivers having to ensure they do not cross the path of cyclists or horse riders. And it also gives pedestrians priority when they are waiting to cross at a crossing or junction rather than only when they are already crossing. 

What the new ‘hierarchy of road users’ will be

1. Pedestrians

2. Cyclists

3. Horse riders

4. Motorcyclists

5. Cars/taxis

6. Vans/minibuses

7. Large passenger vehicles/heavy goods vehicles

 

This places more, but not complete,

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