The rules governing the sales of electric vehicles in the UK are to be relaxed following an intense lobbying campaign by the UK's car makers.
Britain's Business and Trade minister Jonathan Reynolds was due to announce extensive consultation and possible tweaks to the system on Tuesday.
As it stands, the current mandate means at least 22 per cent of new cars sold by every manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero-emission vehicles. For every extra petrol vehicle produced car makers face a £15,000 ($18,800) penalty. The threshold rises annually until no new petrol or diesel vehicles go on sale in the UK.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said the industry “will likely miss” this year's targets, predicting EVs will constitute about 18 per cent of total sales.
Last week, car makers spoke of the “negative effect” of the ZEV mandate when they met with Mr Reynolds and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh. Car makers want to delay cuts to petrol and diesel sales ahead of 2030, shifting the electric sales burden to later on.
Meanwhile, European car maker Stellantis said on Tuesday it will shut its van-making factory in Luton, north of London, as it moves to focus production elsewhere in the UK.
The company plans to strengthen its EV production hub in Ellesmere Port, in the north-west of England, as part of its efforts to meet the ZEV mandate. More than 1,100 full-time employees currently work at the Luton site and could be transferred to the Ellesmere Port factory, “where hundreds of permanent jobs will be created”, said the company, which owns the Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat brands.
'Irreversible' electrification
Those gathered at the London EV Show said any small changes to the ZEV mandate would not make a big difference to the relentless march towards electric vehicles. It was important for the government to keep 2030 as the year when the sale of new petrol vehicles will be banned, they added.
Giles Shrimpton, the country director for the UK for Last Mile Solutions, a software company involved in charging infrastructure, told The National that “people are moving to EVs and the future is electric”.
“Clearly from a charging industry perspective we fully support the 2030 ZEV mandate,” he said. “The charging industry is investing ahead of the curve. To continue investment the charging industry needs the ZEV mandate not to be watered down in any way.”
Peter Chen, vice general manger at MDS, which makes portable chargers, told The National that the trend towards electrification was “irreversible” and “the reason the car makers in Europe are complaining shows just how competitive the market is, especially with the Chinese makers”.
Hiten Patel at Ezoo, a company that helps companies offer their employees EVs through salary sacrifice schemes, said the car makers still have to “pump out” electric cars.
“I don't think it's going to have a huge impact,” he said. “We've been in a space where ICE (internal combustion engine) cars have been at the forefront of everything. EVs are still a new industry.
“Twenty two per cent means they still have 78 per cent leeway to sell their ICE vehicles. Even if it's watered down, or they lower that target, there's still going to be an impetus on those companies to try and produce as many electric cars as possible. No one wants a fine, no matter how small that fine.”
Policies such as the ZEV mandate were among the leading talking points at the London EV Show on Tuesday, along with sales of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure concerns and the drive towards net zero. More than 3,500 companies were at the ExCeL arena in the east of the UK capital to view some of the latest EV models, next-generation electrification technology, innovative products and solutions, all on display for the next few days.
“There's going to be a lot of focus around adoption of EVs and the willingness of customers to experience and drive an EV and include it in their purchase selection lists,” Cian O'Brien, managing director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK, told The National.
“Also, there will be a lot of talk around the development of the electrification and decarbonisation of transport and how OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and other manufacturers are presenting those products going forward.”
Last week, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association showed while total vehicle sales were broadly flat in October, sales of fully electric cars rose for the second consecutive month, up 6.9 per cent, while those of hybrid cars rose by 15.8 per cent.
But there were significant differences between countries. In the UK, new EV registrations jumped 24 per cent last month, as manufacturers offered significant discounts, while in Germany EV sales fell 4.9 per cent after the government's scrapping of subsidies late last year.
It also comes at a time when carmakers are really trying to pivot towards EV production. Along with a plan to only make EVs from 2026, Jaguar unveiled a new image, which is radically different to the 89-year old company's traditional British heritage brand.
'Decarbonising personal transport'
In the US it has emerged the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a group representing major car makers including General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen, urged president-elect Donald Trump to retain key tax credits for EV purchases. Shortly after Mr Trump won the election, it was reported his transition team has plans to cancel the $7,500 measure.
“We're at this point in electrification where you've got an increase in the capability of EVs, mainly around the range, which impacts their usability,” Mr O'Brien told The National. “You also have increasing investment in charging infrastructure and there are products in development that will come into play next year that will make it more likely that the growth of EVs will supported effectively.
“But the challenge point is providing really detailed information for customers to make an informed choice and then looking at the balance of incentivisation for those customers to make a decision on decarbonising personal transport.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
'Midnights'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Taylor%20Swift%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Republic%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Shipsy%3Cbr%3EYear%20of%20inception%3A%202015%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Soham%20Chokshi%2C%20Dhruv%20Agrawal%2C%20Harsh%20Kumar%20and%20Himanshu%20Gupta%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20India%2C%20UAE%20and%20Indonesia%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20logistics%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%20more%20than%20350%20employees%3Cbr%3EFunding%20received%20so%20far%3A%20%2431%20million%20in%20series%20A%20and%20B%20rounds%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Info%20Edge%2C%20Sequoia%20Capital%E2%80%99s%20Surge%2C%20A91%20Partners%20and%20Z3%20Partners%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EElggo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20August%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Luma%20Makari%20and%20Mirna%20Mneimneh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Education%20technology%20%2F%20health%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Four%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V6%20and%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20power%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20700hp%20at%207%2C500rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20torque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20720Nm%20at%202%2C250rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eight-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.0sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E330kph%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh1.14%20million%20(%24311%2C000)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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