Merry Christmas to you all, we hope you had a lovely break away from all the chaos of normal life and spent some well-deserved time with the family! As usual, we start with our fun fact of the day. Did you know, the likelihood of dying in a car accident is around 1 in 5,000! Although, compared to flying’s 1 in 11,000,000, driving seems like a daredevil’s sport!
HGV Issues at Dover
Good news from down south yesterday, as the HGV crisis draws to a close. Over 6,000 lorries spent Christmas stuck at Manston Airport in Kent, unable to cross the Channel into France due to severe Covid-19 outbreaks in southern England.
Thankfully, the hard work of the men and women down there have worked through the festivities to get the lorries moving and out of the UK. From the 25th, mass testing took place to start clearing out the HGVs. French roads would have been bombarded with trucks on Boxing Day!
UK-EU Trade Deal
Now, you may think this is not automotive news, but this does massively affect the industry as you can imagine, as the vast majority of registered vehicles in the UK are European brands. Thankfully, over the festive period, the long debacle about a trade deal has finally been resolved and the industry can move forward into 2021 with more certainty.
The Chairman of the BVRLA said:
“This Brexit trade deal comes as a big relief and will provide a welcome boost for the UK automotive sector, which can now plan for 2021 and beyond with more confidence and certainty. Avoiding tariffs on vehicles and parts is essential, but with the end of the transition period only days away, there is a lot to be done to prepare for January and beyond as details around the new trading terms become clear.”
A World of E-Power
As we look across the EU and even the world, electric power is on the rise in place of fossil fuels. In the UK we see it even more prominently, as we are now less than a decade away from all sales of new petrol and diesel cars being banned. Of course, this is not new news, but our ninjas have been thinking long and hard about how this massive change could affect the UK.
Many mainstream European manufacturers have invested heavily in upgrading their fleets and factories to more renewable energy sources. The VW Group have invested a whopping £30Billion in their EV development, claiming that 1/5th of all sales will be fully electric in 2025! This includes the other brands they own (Audi, Skoda, Porsche, Seat, Bentley etc.).
Volvo go a step further claiming that there will be a fully electric version of all their models, and that half of all sales will be electric by 2025. It seems like a lot of change and it may scare a few of you, but you are not alone. The UK has taken huge steps in recent years towards a net zero emissions county by 2050.
If you want to read all about how the UK will manage this transition, or how you can prepare for these changes, why not give the full article a read? Its jammed full of really useful information and tips on how to stay ahead of the change: A World of Electric Power - A Decade Away
CarMoney Christmas Gift
We have a little gift for all of our customers this Christmas time, as we are giving a FREE 6 night stay at a choice of 100 fab hotels around the UK! All you have to do to be eligible is, well, take out a finance deal with us! Yes, every single person who takes out finance with CarMoney will get a voucher for up to 6 nights whenever and where ever (in the UK) you like! We will be giving them away until they run out, so make sure and ask the ninja dealing with your application about it!
Posted 28/12/2020 Back to Blog
