Motoring Podcast - News Show

Motoring Podcast
  • 4.9 (10)
  • Automotive
  • Updated Weekly

Motoring enthusiasts Alan and Andrew discuss their takes on the week's motoring news in this 45 to 60 minute audio podcast.

  1. 6d ago

    Aspirational number - 8 September 2026

    FOLLOW UP: VW COST CUTTING MEASURES CONFIRMEDThe board of the Volkswagen Group has agreed to the restructuring plans that will include closing four plants, halving the number of models offered and an additional 50,000 roles to be culled. Additionally the Seat brand is to be retired in 2030. There is also a change in tactic with their Chinese operations, where they plan to build cars and export from the country to other markets. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here. FOLLOW UP: JLR COST CUTTING MEASURES INCLUDE JOBSCatching many by surprise, the cost-cutting measures will include around 4,000 roles going. The company hopes voluntary redundancy will do the trick. They are also leaning heavily on their suppliers to cut costs, but that is difficult for many to do. If you want to read more, click this Autocar article link here. AUGUST 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESThe SMMT has released the August 2026 new car registration figures. Astonishingly, this is the best August on their chart going back to 2010. BEVs increased their market share again, as did HEVs and PHEVs. Surprisingly, there was a jump in private registrations. Once again Mikes Hawes, SMMT’s Chief Executive, reminded the Government of how unsustainable the industry’s efforts to meet the ZEV mandate are. Click this link here, to read more. STELLANTIS EUROPE MANAGEMENT CHANGESStellantis Europe, once again, is shuffling their senior management. This time starting with Olivier François ending his reign as the head of Fiat. He will be replaced by Arnaud Belloni who moves from the head of marketing for Renault. But Belloni will be also head up Abarth ad Lancia, as well as being the Chief Marketing Officer for Europe for Stellantis. Elsewhere, Xavier Chardon will lead DS Automobiles, as well as continue as CEO of Citroën. Xavier Peugeot will take the new role as Head of Jeep in Europe. There are many others too, which you can read all about by clicking this electrive article link here. GEELY SHUTS A VOLVO OFFICEGeely is shutting the satellite Volvo office in Stockholm, with the loss of an unspecified number of the 450 roles under that roof. The site was a key element of Volvo’s moves in software, AI and digital customer experiences. To read more, click this Auto Igloo article link here. HONDA AND NISSAN DO SHAKE HANDSEarlier in the year the news came out that Honda and Nissan were close to signing a partnership or even merger, however that fell apart after Honda’s valuation of their rival was significantly lower than was expected. But, both companies have now agreed to work together to standardise parts and software so they can share the economic benefits. The hope is that this can help them be more competitive with Chinese brands who are marching into their markets and taking an increasing share. Click this electrive article link here, for more. Additionally, Honda is leaning on its suppliers to reduce costs. There are three key areas, electrical parts, parts for software-defined cars as well as pressed and forged parts. The company is aiming for $9.4 billion in savings with 30% coming from the three areas mentioned, which sounds like a lot. Click this yahoo!finance article link here for more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Suzuki e-SkySuzuki are poised to bring their second EV to UK shores, in the kei car form of the e-Sky. This is a small city car, expected to be priced below £20,000 and in Japan it has a max range of 193 miles. The car is due to go on sale in early spring 2027. Click this Autocar article link for more information. Hyundai Ioniq 3Hyundai has opened their order books for the Ioniq 3, a B-segment hatch with a starting price of £22,245 for the 42.2kWh battery pack version, with a maximum expected range around 213 miles. A 61kWh battery pack option is available from £25,745, which is expected to enable a max range of 308 miles. The final specifications and test results are yet to be confirmed. There are further trim levels which you can read about by clicking this electrive article link here. Mercedes GLAThe new GLA has been revealed, in electric guise, by Mercedes-Benz. Bigger than the previous model, it is now squarely aimed at the likes of the Audi Q4 and Volvo EX40. Whilst the electric model will be available from November, the hybrid will only arrive in 2027. There will be a variety of battery, including different chemical compositions, and motor options. This will translate to a variety of maximum ranges, with the longest being 408 miles. Click this Autocar article link here to read more. LUNCHTIME READ: LE ZOB REVOLUTIONAIRE!Driven to Write and Eóin Doyle are the originators of our recommendation for something longer form for your enjoyment. Eóin talks about how the Citroën AX came to be, what it replaced and how revolutionary this was for the company. To read more, click this link here. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE SUPERCARS YOU (PROBABLY) FORGOT EVER EXISTEDAutocar and Richard Dredge provide the slideshow of supercars you might have forgotten ever existed in the first place, if you knew about them at all. Some wonderfully mad options which go some way to explaining why they did not register in the mind more firmly. Click this link to see what your choices are. AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR UK 2026 WINNERDuring the CarFest event, at the end of August, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour UK final was held. Three judges, Dwayne Vance (Hot Wheels designer), Nicola Hume (presenter) and Richard Hammond (classic car restoration company owner) all voted for the winner, a heavily modified 1972 VW Beetle. You have to check out this Motoring Research article link here, to see how epically insane the car is.

  2. Sep 2

    Sounds Like A Weight Loss Drug - 1 September 2026

    Lotus buys LotusLotus Tech has bought Lotus Advanced Technologies to become one singular Lotus once again. It’s all very complex, but thankfully there’s this story from Top Gear for reference. Hyundai and Genesis aim for massive Range ExpansionTha’s range of cars, not range of vehicles. The Korean manufacturing giant is planning 41 new cars in Europe by 2030 according to Autocar. EVs and SUVs May Or May Not Be To Blame For Potholes, Say ExpertsA report for the Institute of Civil Engineers says SUVs and EVs are being unfairly blamed for causing more wear and tear to Britain’s roads. Other experts disagree. This Autocar article looks at arguments from both sides. New Volvos Can Talk To Each OtherA new software update allows Volvo EX60, EX90 and ES90 to share notifications of large animals and pedestrians on the road among themselves, so they can warn drivers before they can see them. Autocar explains the boundaries and how the system works. Continental e-Cycles TyresContinental is developing a tyre that recycles used tyres into a fresh, low rolling resistance tyre. It’s still a concept, and there are hurdles. Electrive explains. NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Vauxhall Corsa GSEVauxhall has launched an electric hot hatch, and despite the electric powertrain the reviews sound like it’s a very traditional fast Vauxhall - Quick point-to-point, but not as refined as its rivals. It costs from £32,995 and you can find all the detail in this Evo article. Geely MonjaroGeely is bringing a new, larger PHEV SUV to the UK. The Monjaro is bigger than the Starray and about the size of a Skoda Kidiaq or Peugeot 5008. It has a predicted “engine off” range of 81 miles and is predicted to cost int he low £40ks. BYD Ti7Prices have been announced for BYD’s Defender and Land Cruiser-alike. It’s an AWD PHEV with a combined range of 441 miles, 74 of which are “engine off”. There are 7 seats, it’s available in some attractive, if expensive, colours, and it will cost from £47,995 when orders open in November for January delivery. LUNCHTIME READ: PetrospectAndreas Petros’ excellent blog is always worth a read, and this week he’s written about the new iteration of The Grand Tour and previous iterations of Top Gear and how the essence of the latter will be very difficult to ever recapture. LIST OF THE WEEK: Classic Cars With Memorable GraphicsIt appeared in my feed just as Friend of The Show Jim Magill sent me a photo of a near-naked Yaris GRMN, so I couldn’t not include this Classic & Sports Car list of 25 classic cars with memorable graphics. There’s no shortage of awesomeness, and yet I think I may have chosen it… AND FINALLY: Fisker Oceans of New YorkThe Fisker Ocean is dead, long live the Fisker Ocean. Listener Damien Scully (who’s behind the excellent Name That Car daily car identification game) sent us this story about the Fisker Ocean taxis in New York. I also mentioned the Ocenas of NYC website and BlueSky account trying to capture a sighting of every one.

  3. Aug 26

    I knew that - 24 August 2026

    FOLLOW UP: CHECK OUT THE AND FINALLYWe have, thanks to listener Farmer Jamie, both Follow Up and the And Finally all wrapped up into one. Wait till the end to find out more….. GEELY LOSES THEIR BOSSLi Shufu, the founder of Geely, has shocked many with his announcement that he is stepping down from his role as chairman of the automotive branch. An Conghui will take over the reigns of the company. Jerry Gan will become the new CEO, as the current, Gui Shengyue, is moving to vice chairman. If you want to read more, click this electrive article link here. GM CAUTIOUS ON UK CADILLAC RELAUNCHA year ago GM announced that they would relaunch the Cadillac brand in the UK. However, they have yet to reveal any details and are “actively reviewing our future Cadillac plans“. To find out more, click this Auotcar article link here. GEELY TO BUILD THEIR CARS IN EUROPEAN VOLVO PLANTSGeely will produce higher-priced cars in Volvo’s European plants. This would include models from the brands Zeekr and Lynk & Co. By being higher priced they can offset some of the disadvantages of building cars in Europe, ie. the costs. The plan is for this to start from 2028. Click this electrive article link here to read more. HORSE BUILDS ENGINE TO RUN ON METHANOLWhilst methanol is not a big fuel for road vehicles in the UK and Europe, it is in China. To tap into this market Horse, the joint-venture between Renault, Geely and Saudi Aramco, has built a 2.0 engine as part of a range extender system which will run on liquid methanol. Currently, methanol is not an e-fuel due to how it is produced but work is underway to try and make it so. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. JAECOO AND OMODA INCREASE WARRANTY COVERAGEFollowing a backlash after Warrantywise CEO Lawrence Wittaker highlighted how the warranty for Jaecoo and Omoda models had the headline of seven years, much was only covered for three, the brands have improved the number of components that will move from a 3 year or 40,000 miles coverage to 7 years and 100,000. To learn what has changed, click this Motoring Research article link here. DEFENDER EV DELAYEDJLR has delayed bringing out an electric version of the Defender, as the redesign of the model has been put back until 2030. Probable reason for this is the need to cut costs following the cyber security breach, tariffs and increased costs across supply chains. Money seems to be prioritised into the ‘baby Defender’ which is still expected on track and to be launched by the end of this year or early next. Click this electrive article link here, to read more. CHINA ISSUES THEIR BIGGEST RECALLChina has issued their biggest ever recall for motor vehicles, covering 4.3 million cars, with hidden door handles. Of that 2.98 million Teslas are required to add warning stickers and amend software to ensure if power is lost to the car, the doors can easily be opened or occupants escape, in the event of an emergency. China has banned them on new cars from 2027. To read more, click this Carscoops article link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Aion UTAion is bringing a supermini to the UK, in the form of the UT. Prices will start at £28,950 and the 60kWh battery will give a maximum range of 268 miles. The car has also, apparently, been engineered for our roads. Click this Motor Trader article link here, for more. Denza Bao 5Denza are brining a chunky looking hybrid SUV to the UK. The idea is to take on the likes of the Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser. Prices are not as affordable as we’ve come to expect from Chinese cars, with a starting price of £69,500 for Elegance trim, but if you plump for Ultimate that will cost from £78,880. There is a maximum electric only range of 62 miles. Click this Motor Trader article link, for more. SSCC SC-01The UK will get the SC-01 from the Small Sports Car Company (SSCC), which is ‘inspired’ by the Lancia Stratos and will be a ‘mid-engined’ EV sports car. Prices are expected to start at around £50,000. The car is already for sale in China. Click this Autocar article link, for more. LUNCHTIME READ: LAMBORGHINI MIURAEVO have an excellent article telling the story of how the Lamborghini Miura came to be and how it set the stage for future supercars. Click this article link here to read all about this fabulous car. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST CARS EVER MADE IN AUSTRIAAl Suttie has compiled this week’s suggested slideshow from Autocar, all about the best cars made in Austria. There will be some surprises in here, for you to find. Do you agree with the choice? Click this link to see what your options are. AND FINALLY: WHERE THE LAMBORGHINI LM002 CAME FROMThank you to listener, Farmer Jamie, who sent us the link to this Classic Driver article explaining about the origin story of the Lamborghini LM002, which began as the Cheetah concept for the US military. Click this link here to read all about this fascinating story and the fate of the company. That time.

  4. Aug 19

    Toujours - 18 August 2026

    FOLLOW UP: TESLA SWEDISH STRIKE ENDSWe first mentioned how Swedish Tesla workers had gone on strike, back on 21 November 2023. The dispute has come to an end after Tesla paid off all the workers who remained on strike, with severance packages. That’s one way to ‘win’. To read more, click this electrive article link here. UK GOVERNMENT BEGINS ZEV MANDATE CONSULTATIONFollowing months of lobbying, the UK Government has finally started to review the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. They have opened a consultation that will close on the 23 October 2026. This is a tricky matter for the Government because whilst the targets are only being hit by huge discounts, other parts of the ecosystem have made plans based on these same targets. If you wish to learn more, click this Motor Trader article link here. PORSCHE LEAVES VW GROUP EU CO2 POOLPorsche has left the Volkswagen Group’s CO2 pool, for the EU, and joined Xpeng’s in order to meet the annual requirements of 92g/km. The VW Group is currently sitting at 8% over the target set for it. Click this Autocar article link here to read more. CHINA’S BATTERY HEALTH RULES COME INTO FORCEIn December 2025 China announced new rules for batteries, specifically the health of them as they age. A key component is the State of Available Energy (SOCE), which is judged against that when new. Part of this is also the minimum requirements of what a battery must be at after set ages, for example after five years there must be at least 82% available energy. To read more, click this electrive article link here. WEVC TO BUILD EVS IN QATARWatt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC), based in Cornwall, has reached an agreement with Qatar based investment company, to build EVs in the Middle East country. The first two models will be a passenger car and a medium sized van. The expectation is for production to begin in early 2028. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here. FRANCE OFFERS FINANCIAL AID FOR USED EVSThe French Government will be introducing a grant for the purchase of used EVs from September 2026. The amount is quite low though, at €337, unless you are a health worker. Critics have complained that the amount is insufficient and needs to be increased. The money is coming from energy and fuel suppliers, thanks to ‘polluter-pays’ rules. Click this electrive article link here, to read more. WORLD RECORD FOR JCBJCB has smashed the world land speed record for a hydrogen powered vehicle as their vehicle, the Hydromax, averaged 406.320mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Andy Green was the driver, making that his third record. To read more, click this Autocar article link here. NATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM IN FIGHT WITH LANDLORDThe National Motor Museum, which is currently housed at Beaulieu, has stated that it is actively looking for a new home as its lease comes to an end. Beaulieu Enterprises Limited, who run the site, issued a statement to state even if the museum does move they will have their own motor museum on site to replace it. According to reports, there is no new lease on offer and the gate receipts for the site only give a small fraction of the entry fee to the museum. If you want to learn more, click this Autocar article link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Leapmotor B03Leapmotor will be bringing the B03 to the UK in 2027. This car is aimed at the likes of the Renault 5 and is expected to cost somewhere in the low £20,000s. When launched the car will have a 53kWh battery which WLTP maximum range is expected to be 242 miles. Click this EV Powered article link, to read more. Denza D9Denza are the latest to bring a luxury MPV to the UK, following the likes of Xpeng and Lexus. Prices start at £75,000 which is nearly £23,000 less than the Lexus LM. Click this Autocar article link here, for more. Audi Q9Audi think the Q9 is now the range topping vehicle they make. It is large, very large at 5.3m long and 2.2m wide. Externally there are more than a few wiffs of the last generation Hyundai Santa Fe but inside they have followed the recent trend of making it look as cheap and tacky as possible. There are screens across the width of the dashboard, there is led lighting everywhere. Prices are yet to be announced but do expect them to be beyond £100,000 just for the ‘entry-level’ version. Click this Autocar article link here, to find out more. LUNCHTIME READs: BERLINGO BERLINGO (I’M IN LOVE)The Berlingo will hit 30 years old in October. Ahead of that Driven to Write has a lovely article which covers some of the history of the car plus bristowfuller’s path to owning one. Click this link here to enjoy this week’s read. LIST OF THE WEEK: THESE ARE THE 50 GREATEST ITALIAN CARS OF ALL TIMEWe bring you a Top Gear list, all about Italian cars which never gets old. Do you agree with the choices made? What would you pick? Click this link here to see what your options are. AND FINALLY: STATIONARY MUSEUM CAR GETS SPEEDING TICKETThe Volo Museum, near Chicago, received a speeding ticket and photographic evidence that the Pontiac Trans Am from the TV show Knight Rider was speeding in New York. Thing is, it hasn’t moved in years and quite how the police managed to track down the museum when they have not registered the car for the road, is another mystery. Click this Yahoo!News article link here to read more.

  5. Aug 12

    Chattering classes - 11 August 2026

    FOLLOW UP: QUESTION FROM LAST LIVESTREAMWith last week’s livestream round up of Recharging Round Britain, we missed one question out. We fix that now. To listen to the audio version of the livestream, click this link here. To watch the livestream, click this YouTube link here. FOLLOW UP: ASTON MARTIN IN FIGHT WITH CREDITORSMore details have come to light with the plans Aston Martin have to restructure their debt. Part of the deal would involve the company selling the non-automotive intellectual rights to Authentic Brands, which is part owned by HPS Investment Partners who are to provide the funding for the car company. Creditors are unhappy at this and have warned of legal action if this goes through. Click this Reuters article link here to read more. JULY 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATION FIGURESJuly 2026 was much better than last year, with 156,571 vehicles registered. BEVs continued to do well, with a monthly market share of 27.5%, yet year to date remains at 25.3%, some way off the 33% the mandate demands - although there are ways around that figure. Mike Hawes, SMMT’s Chief Executive, issues a very strong statement aimed at both the industry and the Government about the mandate levels and how some are choosing to tackle the requirements. You can read that and all the details by clicking this SMMT article link here. RIVIAN Q2 FINANCIAL RESULTSRivian’s financial results from the second quarter of the year show a reduction in the loss made, thanks to VW’s custom. However, it should be noted they are the largest shareholder too and have serious financial issues themselves. The US EV company has upgraded expected deliveries for the year, despite their government’s u-turn on EVs. Click this electrive article link here to read more. JLR ANNOUNCE NEW DISCOVERY BOSSJLR have filled in the missing executive piece to their House of Brands, erm, brands. Adam Constable will head up the Discovery brand, as well as the newly formed Freelander brand that is in partnership with Chery. If you wish to find out more, click this Autocar article link here. BMW IN-CAR AD CREATES HUGE BACKLASHThere has been a huge backlash for BMW after it added an advert for the latest Spiderman movie, when it promised just a few years ago it would never do this due to the car being a “private place”. Anyone could have and should have known this was a really bad idea. To read more on this, click this electrive article link here. CAR PARKING RULE ELICITS BIG REACTIONNorth Berwick is a lovely small town in Scotland that is the battlefield for a war between someone or may be some people and the council who have started new parking restrictions and rules following a consultation where they ignored the majority which was negative to the proposals. Since doing so parking meters have been routinely put out of action by the use of expanding spray foam and superglue. To read more, click this link to a Wall Street Journal article that might or might not work (sorry about that, its the best we could find). If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Renault MeganeRenault are in the process of updating their range with the latest battery and in-car technology they have. The Megane is the latest to be announced. Excepted to have a maximum range up to 310 miles and with the full UK subsidy, cost less than £30,000 it should attract buyers. Click this Autocar article link to read more. BYD Ti7BYD are coming for your large, boxy SUV of choice with the Ti7. Size wise it is larger than the Defender 110 but smaller than the 130. Technical specifications are impressive for the hybrid vehicle. Prices are to start from $47,995. Click this Autocar article link here for more. Donkervort P24 RSDonkervort’s latest sports car, the P24 RS, is coming to the UK and it will be in right-hand drive too. Costing from £302,400 this lightweight car packs a serious punch. Click this Autocar article link to read more. DESIGNERS MOOD BOARD: MATT WEAVER IS THE NEW NISSAN DESIGN CHIEFMatt Weaver, who is responsible for the Juke and Qashqai designs, will be leaving his post in Europe of senior design director, to take up the role of global head of design for the Japanese company. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here. LUNCHTIME READs: vamos a la playa parts 7 & 8We are completionists here, and thus we bring you the final two parts to the Driven to Write series on beach cars. Part 7 is all about Japanese takes on the thorny problem of what’s the best way to get to the beach. Whilst Part 8 covers cars that didn’t make any other lists due to being the only option from countries. Click here for Part 7. For Part 8, click this link here. LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST CARS FROM COMPANIES THAT NO LONGER EXISTAutocar has compiled a long list of the best cars from companies that we don’t have any more. Do you agree with the choices made? What would you pick? Click this link here to see what your options are. AND FINALLY: MOTORING ART - VELASORClassic & Sports Car provide the link this week to Ramón Cubiró and the astonishingly excellent team he has compiled at Velasor who make slot cars based around 1920s racing cars. The attention to detail and quality of the models needs to be seen to be believed. Click this link here to see more, including at the bottom of the article a link to the Velasor website.

  6. Aug 7

    Special Edition - Live Recharging Round Britain Roundup and Q&A 5 August 2026

    We completed the Recharging Round Britain road-trip on the 18 July 2026, after six days trying to, sort of, replicate the EV trip we undertook a decade ago. This is the audio from our livestream where we summarised what we got up to this time. Hear why we did this in the first place, the route, the charging, the car, the calculated costs and how we got on with our I-Spy book! CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK. While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus. GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar. Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel. There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/ VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here. To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

  7. Aug 5

    Lovely powerpoint - 4 August 2026

    FOLLOW UP: VW RESULTS FOR H1 OF 2026 ARE BADThe headline figures for Volkswagen Group’s first half of 2026 financial results make for grim reading. There is a 11.6% drop in profits, despite revenue almost matching 2025. China was a big disappointment, but should not have been a surprise. Company claims cost savings are working already and the plans, which we are yet to know the full details, will accelerate the benefits to the company. Click this Autocar article link here, for more. Part of the plans to reduce costs, that we have heard about, include shedding jobs. Anything between 100,000 and 140,000 has been rumoured, but they are only rumours to date. Additionally, a cull of their car line ups, plus reducing the model variants which will reduce the crossover, between brands, and complexity. Click this Autocar article link, to find out more. However, the job cuts, in particular, are going to be a difficult thing to sell to workers. Already there have been protests at some plants, against any reduction in the workforce. To get an idea of what the management board are up against, click this electrive article link here. To understand how big an issue, just the employee numbers side of things is, click this Carscoops article link here and begin to understand the scale of the problem. PORSCHE APPEAR TO TURN AROUND FINANCIAL RESULTS IN H1Considering where Porsche were last year, their financial results for the first half of 2026 are remarkably good. In explaining the turn around, a lot is made of how they have prioritised less volume but more profit per vehicle. The sales of 911s is held up as a very good thing. CEO Michael Leiters will unveil the full plan in October. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here. BMW SEEKS MORE JOB CUTSBMW are another company that has announced their first half yearly results for 2026. Profits fell by 29.4%, with margins being squeezed down two percentage points to 6.5%. Reports suggest the company is seeking to cut the workforce by around 8,000, hopefully through severance packages. Most of the jobs will go in Germany and be office based roles. If you wish to find out more, click this electrive article link here. STELLANTIS RESULTS IMPROVE BUT NOT IN EUROPEStellantis announced improved financial results, thanks to the US market that enabled a profit of £37.3bn. Europe, results were flat, which was part of the reason this was the only region to post a negative income margin of - 0.6%. For more on this, click this link here to read a Motor Trader article. JLR UK GETS A NEW BOSSJLR has announced that Cian O’Brien will become the managing director of JLR UK, as Patrick McGillycuddy will move to the head of the Defender brand. O’Brien is stepping up from the market and business operations director role he took on towards the beginning of the year. To read more, click this Autocar article link here. MARIA GRAZIA DAVINO JOINS FORD EUROPEMario Grazio Davino, former managing director for BYD Europe, will be joining Ford Europe on 1 October 2026 to become vice president of sales. She will be responsible for all commercial operations, which includes retail, the dealer network and distribution. Click this Motor Trader article link here, for more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Bentley TorcalBentley has revealed some of the details about their first EV SUV, the Torcal, which will be shown off fully at the end of September. One of the issues their engineers have been tackling is how to match the emotion the sound of a V8 gives the driver and passengers, they think they have the solution. To find out more, click this Autocar article link here and find the video, plus more details about the car. Xpeng X9The X9 is a luxury MPV, aimed at moving the wealthy around in supreme comfort. Targeting the likes of the Lexus LM, the X9 undercuts the Japanese offering by twenty odd thousand pounds. To learn more, click this EV Powered article link here. Amble OneFrom the pen of the designer who brought us the Audi R8 and the Apple Watch, Julian Hoenig in collaboration with Michael Tropper, the One is a quadracycle that will have a range of 62 miles and be capable of a top speed of 40 mph. The looks are similar but much improved on the Mini Moke and think of it doing a similar job but with off-road capability too. We like this a lot. Click this Autocar article link here for more. LUNCHTIME READ: HIGH FIDELITYHagerty are the supplier of the recommended read this week, as Brendan McAleer tells us all about the fascinating history of Yamaha. How they came about and then moved from making musical instruments, to motorbikes and things such as the Lexus LFA engine. Click this link here to find out more. LIST OF THE WEEK: 15 QUIRKY JAPANESE CARS OF THE 1990SClassic & Sports Car provide the list we are running through, this week. All about interesting Japanese cars from the 90s. Do you agree with the choices made by Alan and Andrew? Click this link to see what your options are. AND FINALLY: GO BACK TO THE FUTUREWe are pointing you towards a new Auto Diktak video, as this time he has the BMW i8 under the microscope. This podcast is a huge fan of the i8 and this video does not disappoint. Click this link to see the YouTube film and enjoy.

  8. Jul 28

    Goes swimmingly - 27 July 2026

    FOLLOW UP: COURT MAINLY RULES IN FAVOUR OF OEMS IN UK DIESELGATE TRIALA UK judge has found mostly in favour of car manufacturers in the claims against them regarding defeat devices being fitted to cars between 2012 and 2017. The judge’s decision is based on her decision that a defeat device needs to be deliberately installed to create a different driving operation if it senses it is in test conditions, but this has not been proven to be the case. If you wish to learn more, click this article link here, from The Law Society Gazette. UK GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS PAY-PER-MILE FOR EVS AND PHEVSFollowing the public consultation, the Government has announced that it will introduce a pay-per mile scheme, named eVED, for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, from April 2028. As a result of feedback they have tweaked how the proposal will work. Vehicles under three years old will not have to undertake an additional check to the mileage prior to their age requiring an MOT. A picture of the odometer and an estimation of next years mileage will be sent by the driver. Drivers can opt-in to send the Government the vehicle’s mileage data directly via the connected systems on-board, if they wish. This is not mandatory. To learn more, click this electrive article link here. PORSCHE FINDS A NEW PRODUCTION CHIEFPorsche has announced that Christian Friedl will take over as Production Chief, from Albrecht Reimold. Reimold is stepping down at the end of August. If you wish to read more, click this electrive article link here. ASTON MARTIN SHAREHOLDERS FORM CO-OPMore than 50% of the largest shareholders in Aston Martin have formed a cooperative to insure themselves against any new debt deal that would leave them taking disproportionate losses. During this time, the company has restructured its debt financing, with the revolving credit facility and some of the Yew Tree financing being paid off. Financial results are due to be announced on 29 July 2026. For more on this click this link from Zetik, here. To read about the debt restructuring, click this Morning Start link here. FORD AND GEELY SIGN EUROPEAN DEALFord and Geely has agreed to a new joint-venture that will run the Blue Oval’s Valencia facility, eventually producing two Ford SUVs and two Geely SUVs. Ford will bring a European Bronco inspired car and develop another C-Segment SUV with Geely. The Chinese company will be building two electric SUVs in the same facilities. To read more, click this Autocar article link here. CARWOW RUNS AD CAMPAIGN USING ANPR TO TRACK YOUCarwow is using ANPR in a UK-wide advertising campaign, encouraging owners of cars the company is targeting to sell to them through their system. Does that step over the line into tracking far too much? Does it contravene the ICO’s rules on using ANPR? Click this Motor Trade News article link to read about the plan from Carwow. Click this link to the ICO’s own page on fair use of ANPR data and camera systems. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW NEW CAR NEWS -Range Rover GTJLR has revealed a new model line for the Range Rover brand, the GT. The claim is it sits between a grand tourer and an SUV. The images issued appear to show the typical bluff Range Rover range front end, with a coupe style rear. Either this is a brilliant move to capture buyers who’ve lost out due to Porsche leaving or many years too late. The interior is really leaning into ‘minamilist’, with a very thin screen directly on top of the dash in front of the driver and a huge screen slapped in the middle, quite low down. Prices and specifications are yet to be revealed. Click this Autocar article link, for more. Dacia StrikerDacia has revealed their latest model, the Striker. The overall design concept, jacked-up estate, is reminiscent of the Subaru Outback. Prices will start at a smidgen under £25,000, when launched in the UK, but the full price and specifications are yet to be released. Click this Motoring Research article link, for more. VW ID CrossVolkswagen has shown off images of their latest ID model, the Cross. Using the same MEB+ platform as the ID Polo, this will go up against the Ford Puma and Renault 4. There will be a variety of motors and battery packs offered, which will give ranges varying from 196 to 271 miles. Prices are expected to start around £25,000. Click this Autocar article link, for more. LUNCHTIME WATCHES: FOTU 2026Last weekend was the 2026 Festival of the Unexceptional, from Hagerty. A much loved car gathering, where the common cars from yesteryear gather and everyone enjoys their trip down memory lane. For those of us who couldn’t attend, thankfully YouTube has many videos showing off the wonderful event. We have but a tiny fraction of what is out there, do go search for more and spread some love to all those who make content for us to enjoy. To watch I Drive a Classic, click on this link to see what caught Steph’s eye. To watch Furious Driving, click on this link to see what caught his eye. To watch Jon Coupland Cars, click on this link as he watched the cars enter the show. LIST OF THE WEEK: 23 COLOURS WITH GREAT NAMESClassic & Sports Car have a list about some of the best named colours that you could have specified for your car. Do you agree with Andrew’s choice? What would you like to have, adorning your car just so you could tell people the name of it? Click this link to check out your options. AND FINALLY: TECH BROS MAKE A BUS. AGAIN.In an ever increasing number times the tech bros design a transport ‘solution’ it turns out we already have that solution, but perhaps it hasn’t been maximised to exploit the customers enough. This time, Uber have designed ‘the bus’, albeit named the ‘Uber Shuttle’ that runs from Logan Airport, in the US, on a fixed route with dedicated stops. Click this YouTube link to then join in pointing and laughing and the ridiculousness of these companies.

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About

Motoring enthusiasts Alan and Andrew discuss their takes on the week's motoring news in this 45 to 60 minute audio podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    Motoring Podcast
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    305
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Motoring Podcast
  • Show Website
    Motoring Podcast - News Show

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