As Starmer heads to China, Brits rush to buy Chinese EVs January 29, 2026 A couple of years ago, I was invited to the launch of a new Chinese EV brand called Omoda. Myself and a handful of journalists showed up to an inauspicious press event in the basement of a Covent Garden hotel. In the room was parked (I’m still not sure how they got it down there) [...]
Toyota warns of ‘challenging road ahead’ after profit falls £100m December 3, 2025 The UK manufacturing arm of Toyota has warned “the road ahead may be challenging” after its profit slumped by more than £100m during its latest financial year. The division of the Japanese giant said the “uncertainties of the automotive industry and infrastructure to support vehicle type” were the main factors behind its pessimism. However, Toyota [...]
Could this be the clearest sign yet that the rich are leaving Britain? October 30, 2025 It’s hard to know quite how many of the super-rich are leaving London. Some say departure numbers are well into four figures so far this year – others that the estimates are overstated. We can’t get a precise number, but one thing is for sure: it’s happening. The anecdotal evidence of high net worth folk [...]
Jaguar Land Rover production to restart October 7, 2025 Manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover will partially restart as soon as Wednesday, the firm has said, a month and a half after a crippling cyberattack forced the UK’s largest carmaker to halt its production line. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Tata Motors-owned car brand confirmed that a phased restart at two of its [...]
Jaguar Land Rover to restart some production ‘in coming days’ September 29, 2025 Jaguar Land Rover will restart some of its manufacturing operations in the coming days, the carmaker has said, over a month after it was forced to shut down its plant to deal with a brutal cyber attack that has left dozens of its suppliers on the brink of failure. In a statement released on Monday, [...]
Toyota’s UK profit almost wiped out amid ZEV mandate battle September 12, 2025 Toyota’s UK profit has almost been wiped out as the carmaker battled a decline in market share and compliance with the ZEV [Zero Emission Vehicle] mandate. The Surrey-headquartered division has posted a pre-tax profit of £462,000 for the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, down from the £11.5m it achieved in the prior year. New [...]
Aston Martin: Why going private could be the right road for luxury carmaker July 29, 2025 Luxury carmaker Aston Martin could delist from the London Stock Exchange and return to private ownership as a way to boost its balance sheet, according to an analyst. Experts at Third Bridge have said the move could have a number of benefits for the Warwickshire-headquartered brand including “improve agility, attract long-term partners, and reduce the [...]
UK and India sign £6bn trade deal July 24, 2025 Keir Starmer and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi have signed a trade deal worth an estimated £6bn, with the UK Prime Minister hailing the landmark agreement a “historic day” for Britain and India. The trade pact – the result of over three years of negotiations – will see tariffs on the whisky and cars that [...]
Steel industry demands rapid resolution to tariff uncertainty July 1, 2025 Car makers and aerospace manufacturers have welcomed the UK-US trade deal that came into force on Monday, but steelmakers have warned that delays to tariffs on their exports coming down are “paralysing” their industry. The UK is the only country to have secured a trade deal with the US since Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ reciprocal tariffs, [...]
Reynolds refuses to rule out further changes to ZEV mandate June 24, 2025 The business secretary has swerved calls from the automotive industry to rule out further changes to the controversial zero-emissions-vehicle mandate (ZEV mandate), saying he would continue to engage with industry to ensure it did not pose a threat to jobs or the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs). Jonathan Reynolds told the SMMT’s annual conference that [...]