Amplifier For A 2005 Mercedes Benz S500; 220 870 18 89 on 2040-parts.com

China to boost electric cars with 30% Government EV fleet

The BYD E6 EV (pictured) will benefit from China’s push on EVs The UK government has just announced its commitment to use electric cars for its own vehicles in an effort to boost the take-up of EVs, but China is going even further. China has ordered government officials to start buying electric cars (that means BEVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars) in a big way, with instructions that 30 per cent of government cars must fall in to the ‘New Energy’ category by 2017, and an even higher percentage going forward. The aim is to cut pollution, and China expects to have 5 million New Energy cars on the road by 2020 and it is urging it government agencies and some city governments to start buying New Energy vehicles from Chinese makers like BYD and SDAIC, but also instructing them to build more charging stations and supporting infrastructure.

Jaguar Land Rover in talks to buy Aston Martin

Talks have taken place between Tata – owners of Jaguar Land Rover – and the Kuwait Investment Dar – owners of Aston Martin. We reported a year ago that Aston Martin needed a big car maker behind it to have any chance of survival, and just last week the world caught up with that story as it was revealed the Kuwait Investment Dar – majority shareholder in Aston Martin – was seeking a buyer for Aston Martin. We said a year ago that Jaguar Land Rover was the best fit as a buyer for Aston Martin, but we doubted JLR would want to go back to being the poor relation to AML – as it was in the days of Ford’ ownership of the brands – where a Jag was a poor man’s Aston.

Hands-free car phones 'should be banned'

THE USE hands-free mobile phones while driving should be banned. This is the view of road safety charity Brake that says four in ten drivers (38%) admit to using hands-free phones in the car despite research that shows talking on a hands-free system is just as dangerous as using a hand-held mobile phone. Drivers who use a mobile phone while driving are four times more likely to be involved in a collision that causes serious or fatal injuries.