Team-BHP - Interesting International Websites and Links On Automobiles!

The French auto industry enjoys a "Corona prop-up" from the French government to boost it's sales. As a result, car sales have increased by 1.2 % during June 2020 on a YoY basis, as compared to June 2019. That's remarkable as no auto manufacturer today dares to show it's advantage in sales on a YoY basis vis-a-vis 2019 figures, when conditions were much different. The French carmaker's trade association CCFA though said that when adjusted for the number of working days during the month, sales were flat.The lockdown period March 17th to May 11th, 2020 showed sales plummeting by 72 % in March, 89% in April and 50% in May.

Booster plans by the French government to the industry included bonuses for consumers who buy new or near-new used cars, plus increased subsidies for hybrid and electric vehicles. Entry level cars were the biggest gainers and so also were electric and hybrid vehicles.

The full newsreport here:-

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...-pain/76743606

The Spanish Government's Initiative to Boost the Auto Industry in View of the Coronavirus Slowdown

The new subsidy scheme is so well-thought out and takes care of several factors. The Spanish government is offering subsidies ranging from 400 to 4000 Euros to new car buyers who trade in their old car that is 10 years or more old and registered with valid papers in the new car buyer's name. It is a 3.75 billion Euro plan revealed by the Spanish government. The beauty of the subsidy scheme is that the quantum of subsidy also depends upon the emission levels of the new car being purchased by the buyer. The manufacturer and dealer are also offering matching subsidies.

Hence zero emission electric cars come with a 4000 Euro (the maximum) subsidy from the government, alongwith a 1000 Euro subsidy from the manufacturer. Higher emission cars with a "C" certificate get a 400 Euro subsidy, while hybrid cars with an "ECO" certificate get a 600 Euro subsidy. The car needs to be priced at 35,000 Euros or lower to qualify for the scheme. But for zero emission cars and those specially equipped cars for differently abled people, the price tag limit is 45,000 Euros. A further subsidy of 500 Euros is offered if the scrapped car is over 20 years old, if the purchaser has a household income of less than €1,500 or is registered with reduced mobility. The dealerships are also required to offer matching subsidies as per the new policy.

The DGT certification uncoded:-

Quote:

The DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico - General Direction of Traffic) introduced environmental labelling for cars in 2016 which classified vehicles depending on their environmental impact.
This was designed to make it easier for authorities to restrict the worst polluting traffic during environmental alerts.
Depending on its pollution level, a vehicle can be labeled, from more to less environmentally friendly, as 0, Eco, C, B. Those cars not eligible for a sticker are classified as A.
The subsidies only apply to those cars that qualify for a label 0, Eco, or C.

The complete news report :-

https://www.thelocal.es/20200618/wha...bsidies-scheme

Thanks for sharing. It will be interesting to see how effective it is. Here is the big problem with these subsidies: They tend to go to people who would have bought a new car anyway.

Spain average car age is 13 years. Just to simplify. There are those that drive a 13 year old or even older car, because they simply can not afford to buy a new one.

There are those that have a 13 year old car or younger, typically as a second car. These folks are likely to upgrade and our buy a new car in the not so distant future.

So those that need to drive old bangers because they can’t afford a new car are not going to be helped by this scheme

Those that have a not to old car, are most likely the ones that can afford a new one anyway and will suck up the subsidies. With the subsidies the Spanish government is trying to promote emission friendly cars. That is likely to help those who can afford it anyway to look a little closer at what type they are buying.

From some of the details in the program

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A further subsidy of 500 is offered if the scrapped car is over 20 years old, if the purchaser has a household income of less than €1,500 or is registered with reduced mobility.

If you have a household income of less than €1,500 there is no way you can afford a new car, no matter how cheap or with what subsidy. It aint going to happen. At best you get rid of your 20+ old car and buy a cheap 15+ old car back. So some progress on the emission front.

The essence of the matter; buying new cars, in many western countries is available to a relative small group of people. Those with good disposable income. The rest is likely to go for a decent second hand car.

I am sure the government will publish the “success story”. But it is always going to be quite arbitrary as you can’t tell what would have happened without the subsidies. But you can compare trends. Only if you see a real trend break in numbers bought and by different people with different incomes than before, could you consider this a success.

Jeroen

Proposal to limit speeds on German Autobahns:

Some views from powerful sections in the society in Germany are coming forth to propose speed limits on Autobahns. The arguments in favour say that accidents and green house gas emissions can be drastically reduced by curbing speed limits. The Green Party is on the forefront saying that if they come to power with the CDU next year after the General Elections, they will advocate speed limits as the first new law of the new government on the famously "free for speed" Autobahns. Green Party leader Robert Habeck pledged recently. “Germans don’t have a right to race.” The Liberals countered by saying that the Green Party is a party that bans things.

The German environmental office has calculated that a speed limit of 130 km/h would reduce the country’s C02 emissions by 2.2 million tonnes a year. An even more radical limit of 100 km/h would lead to 6.2 tonnes less C02 being released. Germany releases 805 million tonnes of CO2 a year and the saving of 2.2 million tonnes is too meagre, opponents say. Another think tank has estimated the need to replace around a million petrol engines with electric ones to achieve the same results as the 130 km/h speed limit.

Quote:

The German Automobile Club (ADAC) says that countries like France and the USA that have speed limits have similar levels of fatalities on their highways to Germany.

The car club also points out data which indicates that someone is just as likely to die in a crash on a stretch of the Autobahn that already has a speed limit on it as one without.

The ADAC do not take a stance on the debate as their membership is split 50/50 on the topic. But they claim that the autobahns are Germany’s safest streets by quite some distance. There are 1.7 deaths for every billion kilometres driven on the autobahn compared to 6.3 deaths for every billion kilometres on country roads.

If this is really about making streets safer, ask opponents, shouldn't we be focusing on improving safety on small roads?

The full newsitem:-

https://www.thelocal.de/20200720/aut...s-or-overhyped

Blockade by protestors at the US- Mexico border hits trade and has affected Ford Motors:-

Quote:

Ford's Mexico unit said on Wednesday that a railway blockade in the Mexican border state of Sonora is affecting operations at its Hermosillo plant in the same state, as well as hitting imports and exports to and from the United States.

Over the past couple of days, members of the local the Yaqui indigenous community who are demonstrating for better land rights, have blocked railways used to move auto parts, as well as grains and steel, from Sonora to the United States.

"The recent blockade of the rail network in the municipality of Guaymas, Sonora, has affected operations at our Hermosillo plant," Ford said in an emailed statement.

The link for the full newsitem:-

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...tions/77118284

Another news worth sharing is that Mitsubishi may shut it's plant at Gifu in Central Japan. After the Carlos Ghosn mystery arrest and escape in 2018- 2019, Mitsubishi Motors gets another shocker in 2020. This facility is known as their Pajero Manufacturing Co Ltd at Gifu, which they are considering shutting down within three year's time. The Mitsubishi Delica D5 mini van and the Outlander are manufactured here. The manufacturing of these are to be shifted to other plant/s. Corona virus and the slackening demand are cited as reasons. To add salt to their compounded injuries, Carlos Ghosh has remarked that the results of Renault- Nissan are pathetic:uncontrol.

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...hetic/77057848

Mitsubishi is owned by the same group.

The link to this newsitem:-

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...japan/77118315

Hyundai is recalling 600,000 of it's specific car models to fix a brake fluid leak and tells the owners that the cars should be parked outside as engine fires could break out. The automakers said in a release by U.S. safety regulators that brake fluid can leak inside a hydraulic control unit for the anti-lock brakes, possibly causing an electrical short circuit that can lead to fires.This includes 203,000 Hyundai Santa Fe SUVs from 2013 to 2015. Also included are over 440,000 Kia Optima midsize sedans from 2013 to 2015 and Kia Sorento SUVs from 2014 and 2015. The recalls are the latest in a series of engine fire problems that have plagued the two automakers and have touched off investigations by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Hyundai documents said the company received its first complaint about an engine fire in a 2014 Santa Fe in April of 2018, and it started an investigation. Kia began investigating after getting a complaint of a melted control unit in a 2015 Sorento last February. Hyundai said earlier that if the anti-lock brake warning light comes on, owners should not drive their vehicles and should contact a dealer. If there's a warning light, owners also should disconnect the 12-volt battery by removing the positive cable. This is another worry for the owner who will have to be always vigilant about the warning light after five to seven years of using the car. Engine failure and fire problems with Hyundais and Kias have affected more than 6 million vehicles since 2015, according to NHTSA documents.

Now that's ridiculous ! A car has been in use since 2013-2015 (five to seven years now) and after five to seven years you say that it be parked outside the home for the potential fear of an engine fire. If these have survived for five to seven years with no incidents, now investigations by the NHTSA after the Santa Fe, April 2018 fire incident reveals that engine fires could break out. So far so good. Some that have been burnt could be history now. But for the others that are still safe, Hyundai deprives those of their comfort zones and makes those cars homeless.:eek:

The link:-

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...tside/77942335

UK driving licence holders located in countries under the European Union are now post- Brexit, required to get a licence in the respective EU country, where they happen to be located. Different EU countries require different laws to be complied with. Some require the individual to take a driving test again before issue of a fresh licence, while others mandate that the old UK driving licence could be exchanged for a new one, but within a deadline. Such Britons number not some thousands, but 1.2 million.

Austria requires no driving test to exchange the licence before 01.07.2021 (a six month breather wef 01.01.2021) but applicants thereafter need to undergo a test. Cyprus has similarly given time until 07.01.2021. But a common woe is for licence holders from four locations within the UK. The common advisory for quite a few EU countries says " If you hold a licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need to take a test.” France gives time till 31.12.2021 for exchange of an UK licence with a French one. Sweden appears to be quite liberal and says it will be possible for Brits to swap their licence for a Swedish one for free from July 1st. This means they won’t have to take the Swedish driving test as non-EU/EEA licence holders normally have to after a year of living in Sweden, and will in turn avoid the 4,000 kronor cost (approximately $477) for the compulsory elements of the test. Switzerland is not a member of the EU and hence status quo prevails here, as Brits have a period of one year like before since moving into this country to take a Swiss driving licence.

The pre-condition in many countries is that the licence holder should have been living in the EU country before 01.01.2021.

Quote:

Brexit has thrown up numerous bureaucratic hurdles for the 1.2 million Britons living throughout the EU, from residency to healthcare, but one of the main hangovers left after Britain’s divorce from the EU is around the issue of driving licences.

The UK government has been warning its citizens in the EU that they cannot renew their licence in the UK and should “consider exchanging your UK driving licence for an EU licence as soon as possible.”

While that sounds fairly straight forward, the problem is that the rules are different in each country and the reality has meant exchanges are not possible, at least not yet.

Driving licences were not covered in the Withdrawal Agreement that guaranteed citizens’ rights, so the result is a mash-mash of different rules and exchange deadlines in each EU country.

Here’s a run through of the differences in each country with information taken from the UK government’s website as well as more detailed input from our journalists throughout The Local’s nine European countries.

More details here:-

https://www.thelocal.de/20210428/how...around-europe/

Six new 2022 Toyota Land Cruisers were damaged when a car carrier carrying these 'elephants in metal' overturned in Salalah, Oman

The link:-

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/07/03/...ort-destoryed/

Quote:

The Toyota Land Cruiser is known for its legendary indestructibility, and we're all eager to find out how the recently launched, all-new 300-series fares against its ancestors. However, it turns out that they are not invincible, especially when a transporter carrying a fleet of them crashes en route to a dealership

The accident took place in Salalah, Oman, and involved six new 2022 Land Cruisers. According to MSDAR News' Twitter post, the car carrier they were riding on overturned. Photos of the mangled vehicles circulating on social media show that it was no minor incident. Many of the new SUVs have caved-in roofs and sheet metal that's absolutely shredded. A couple of them look like they were flung from the trailer. Fortunately, the same Twitter account reports that there were no casualties.

Ten Most Dangerous Vehicles in America

The ten cars rated as the worst for safety in the US market have been listed by the law firm M/s The Carlson Law Firm, based on their accident casualty records as in June 2020. It lists them as "Ten Most Dangerous Vehicles in America".

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The latest numbers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) indicate that the overall death rate is approximately 65 deaths per million registered vehicles on its highest rate of driver deaths list. Whether purchasing a vehicle for yourself or a new driver, knowing the most dangerous vehicles on America’s roadways is important to making a sound decision.

List tailender is the Ford Mustang GT (2015-18) at #10 with 81 deaths per million registrations, 23 deaths per million single-vehicle crashes; 12 death per million single-vehicle rollover, 58 deaths per million multi-vehicle crashes.

Next at #9 is Kia Rio (2015-18), that trails the Nissan Versa (2015-19) at #8. The #7 on this list is the Kia Forte (2015-18) and at #6 is the Hyundai Elantra (2011-16).

Coming to the Top Five most dangerous vehicles, at #5 its the Fiat 500 (2012-19), which trails the #4 Nissan Versa Note (2016-19). At #3 is the Chevrolet Sonic (2012-19), with 98 deaths per million registrations, 34 deaths per million in single-vehicle crashes; 10 deaths per million single-vehicle rollover,
64 per million in multiple-vehicle accidents.

#2 on this list is the Hyundai Accent (2012-19) with
116 deaths per million registrations, 28 deaths per million in single-vehicle crashes; 9 deaths per million single-vehicle rollover, 85 per million in multiple-vehicle accidents. The website describes this vehicle’s side crash rating as acceptable. But passengers may experience injuries to their torso and legs. In a crash test, the dummy received very little crash support from the airbag. Further, the dummy’s head (dashed the ?) the front panel because of poor positioning from the seatbelt.

And #1 on the Carlson list, the most unsafe car is hold your breath, the Ford Fiesta (2014-19). It says about this car's hatch and sedan variants:-

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Used car shoppers be warned: avoid the Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta skyrockets to the top of our list from number six last year. Available as both a sedan and hatchback, the 2014-2019 Fiesta has a serious weakness in front overlap crash tests. In fact, the IIHS reported that measurements from the dummy indicate that injury to the head and left lower leg would be possible in a severe crash. The IIHS rated the Fiesta “marginal” in safety.

The statistics for the Ford Fiesta say 141 deaths per million registrations, 46 deaths per million in single-vehicle crashes; 13 deaths per million single-vehicle rollover, 98 per million in multiple-vehicle accidents.

The complete report with details about flaws in the other cars as well:-

https://www.carlsonattorneys.com/new...erous-vehicles

These statistics are genuine and must have been vetted by agencies like IIHS and others, based on factual data, findings and inferences. Else if flawed, the car makers would immediately have sued this law firm for damages.

Tesla hits a milestone as quarterly profit surpasses $1 billion for first time

Tesla has reported a record profit of $ 1.1 billion for the second quarter of 2021. The quarterly profit has surpassed $ 1 billion mark for the first time in its history. The revenue was $ 11.96 billion and it sold 201,250 cars during this period. Tesla had sold half a million cars in 2020. The demand is buoyant for its electric car portfolio and the deliveries may exceed the projections for a 50 % growth.

Quote:

The results mark the eighth straight quarter of profit for the 18-year-old company, which now employs about 80,000 people. The company earned $1.1 billion in the April-through-June period, the first time its quarterly profit has surpassed $1 billion. Second-quarter revenue grew to $11.96 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $11.36 billion.

Although Tesla is still by far the world’s largest automaker by market value, its shares have declined 6.8% this year even as the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has reached new highs. More-established peers, such as General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., have rallied as they have aggressively pushed into the nascent electric-vehicle market.

The competition is heating up against a backdrop of supply-chain challenges from a global semiconductor shortage and higher commodity prices. Investors also have mulled over Tesla’s challenges in China and the profusion of U.S. regulatory investigations into crashes that have raised safety concerns.

Despite those woes, the EV market leader delivered more than half a million cars in 2020 and reported deliveries of 201,250 cars worldwide in the second quarter.

Shares of Tesla rose as much as 3.2% to $678.40 in after-hours trading. They gained 2.2% to $657.62 at the market’s close in New York.

The full report here:-

https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...ofit-forecasts