Consultant Hat On - 9 June 2020

NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS MAY 2020

As expected, the number of new car registrations, in the UK for May 2020 was very low. However, surprisingly, is the amount that actually was registered. Click through here for the SMMT article detailing more.

JLR’S CASTLE BROMWICH SITE REMAINS CLOSED

Jaguar Land rover’s Castle Bromwich production facility will remain closed until 10 August, when a phased program of production will begin. This will allow the company time to install the equipment needed for the new production line that the yet to be revealed electric XJ will be built on. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

UK MOTOR INDUSTRY JOB LOSSES

Aston Martin, Bentley and Lookers have all announced planned job cuts. Aston Martin’s will be of little surprise as new management teams always make grand gestures when starting out. Bentley’s plans were due to come in March, as part of their Beyond 100 project. Lookers’ announcement is a reflection of both the current situation and their ongoing financial issues that remain both complicated and murky. To read more about Aston Martin, click the Autocar article here. For more information about Bentley, click the Autocar article here. To read about Lookers’ job losses, click The Guardian article here. To find out more about the financial issues Lookers’ has, click The Guardian article here.

7-MONTH PHOTO DRIVING LICENSE EXTENSION GRANTED

The DVLA has announced that it is automatically extending photo driving licenses that have expired, between 1 February and 31 August 2020, for seven months. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.

VW BRAND GETS NEW CEO

Ralf Brandstätter has been internally appointed as the new CEO of the Volkswagen Brand, taking over from Herbert Diess who remains as VW Group CEO. There were many rumours flying around earlier this week, with regards to the potential changes. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

CUTTING POLICE FUNDING AFFECTS ABILITY TO POLICE

A study, carried out for the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, has concluded that cutting funding to the police has a negative and direct effect on incident and collision numbers. This is particularly pertinent as all public purses will be squeezed in the coming years, with any government having to tread carefully with where it chooses to spend money. To read the Autocar article, click the link here. To read the full report, click the link here.

HONDA’S GLOBAL PRODUCTION HIT BY CYBER...

NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS MAY 2020

As expected, the number of new car registrations, in the UK for May 2020 was very low. However, surprisingly, is the amount that actually was registered. Click through here for the SMMT article detailing more.

JLR’S CASTLE BROMWICH SITE REMAINS CLOSED

Jaguar Land rover’s Castle Bromwich production facility will remain closed until 10 August, when a phased program of production will begin. This will allow the company time to install the equipment needed for the new production line that the yet to be revealed electric XJ will be built on. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

UK MOTOR INDUSTRY JOB LOSSES

Aston Martin, Bentley and Lookers have all announced planned job cuts. Aston Martin’s will be of little surprise as new management teams always make grand gestures when starting out. Bentley’s plans were due to come in March, as part of their Beyond 100 project. Lookers’ announcement is a reflection of both the current situation and their ongoing financial issues that remain both complicated and murky. To read more about Aston Martin, click the Autocar article here. For more information about Bentley, click the Autocar article here. To read about Lookers’ job losses, click The Guardian article here. To find out more about the financial issues Lookers’ has, click The Guardian article here.

7-MONTH PHOTO DRIVING LICENSE EXTENSION GRANTED

The DVLA has announced that it is automatically extending photo driving licenses that have expired, between 1 February and 31 August 2020, for seven months. To read more, click the Motoring Research article here.

VW BRAND GETS NEW CEO

Ralf Brandstätter has been internally appointed as the new CEO of the Volkswagen Brand, taking over from Herbert Diess who remains as VW Group CEO. There were many rumours flying around earlier this week, with regards to the potential changes. To read more, click the Autocar article here.

CUTTING POLICE FUNDING AFFECTS ABILITY TO POLICE

A study, carried out for the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, has concluded that cutting funding to the police has a negative and direct effect on incident and collision numbers. This is particularly pertinent as all public purses will be squeezed in the coming years, with any government having to tread carefully with where it chooses to spend money. To read the Autocar article, click the link here. To read the full report, click the link here.

HONDA’S GLOBAL PRODUCTION HIT BY CYBER ATTACK

Plants across the globe, run by Honda, have been hit by a cyber attack. Details are sketchy at the moment, but it is known that production has been affected. To read more, click the BBC News article here.

LONDON CONCOURS PERMITTED

An announcement has been made that the London Concours has been granted permission to run 19-20 August. This will probably be the first major UK automotive event since the lockdown was initiated. To read more, click their tweet here.

We are pausing our Patreon for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing crisis, however, if you are still able to help someone, we recommend supporting Mission Motorsport’s COVID-19 Response Fund. To find out more click this link here.

FORMULA E: WHERLEIN JOINS PORSCHE

Pascal Wehrlein has left Mahindra with immediate effect, choosing not to activate his third-year option, so that he can join the Porsche team. Neel Jani, the driver who he will replace, is expected to complete his contract with Porsche. To read more, click The Race article here.

WRC: EVENT CANCELLATIONS ANNOUNCED

Finland, New Zealand and Great Britain events have all been cancelled this year, due to the effects of the Covid-19 crisis. A combination of logistics and safety for those watching and taking part means it is impossible to hold them. To read more, click the DirtFish article here and also click the Goodwood Road&Racing article here.

REVS RESTORED EVENT RETURNING THIS WEEKEND

The virtual car event, run by Adam Gompertz, will return this weekend (13-14 June 2020), with another array of fabulous people. To find out more, click the Facebook link here.

LUNCHTIME READ: AIRLOCK

Spacesuit Media, the motorsport media collective, has released a fabulous digital magazine with an array of fabulous and thought-provoking articles and imagery. To find out more, click the link here.

LIST OF THE WEEK: NINE CAR MUSEUMS TO VISIT FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR SOFA

Top Gear has created a list of museums that you can virtually visit, to help you get the motoring fix you may need. They have selected a particularly wonderful mix, which you can look at by clicking the link here.

AND FINALLY: RX-7 SAVED FROM FLOOD BY STRANGER

Austin Owens came across the sight of a Mazda RX-7 in danger from floodwater, via social media. He decided that he could and would help. Both he and a friend organised supplies and helped to raise up the car so that it could be raised up out of the potentially ruinous water. What a guy. To read more, click the Jalopnik article here.

THE ZOOM ZOOMERS

Alan takes part in a gathering of folks from the motoring world, on a Monday night, run by Damien Cross. If you would like to see last Monday’s meet up please click the YouTube link here.