Motoring Podcast - News Show

MAY 2026 NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS
May’s registrations were the highest, for the month, since 2019. BEVs also were up, as is to be expected, with a monthly market share of 27.3%. The UK Government released the seventh Carbon Budget with an expectation that zero emission vans and cars will be 95% of all new registrations by 2030 - which bears no reflection with reality. For more, click this link to the SMMT article, here.
FORD OUTLINE EUROPEAN PLAN
Ford Europe has revealed their plan to turn around their fortunes, with five new models in the next four years thanks to collaborations with Renault and Geely. The Bronco name will be used to create a global sub brand for the company, with one SUV being inspired by the US based version. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.
MUNRO LOOKS TO EXPAND PRODUCTION
Munro’s new CEO, Avinash Rugoobur, and CFO, Tim Holbrow, has announced very ambitious targets for the company. Rugoobur previously worked as head of strategy at Cruise and also for Arrival, where Holbrow also worked. The plan is for a new manufacturing facility in the UK enabling them to up the production numbers, whilst providing vehicles their commercial customers specifically need and want. If you want to find out more, click this Autocar article link here.
WESTFIELD SPORTSCARS COMPANY BOUGHT
Westfield entered liquidation back in April, but has now been bought by a Driving-Fun.com, who is a European trackday company and owner of Circuit Meppen, in Germany. A new production facility will be built at Meppen, with plans for a series of new models, for both the road and track. Click this EVO article link here, for more.
CHERY TO BUILD CARS AT NISSan’S SUNDERLAND PLANT
Nissan and Chery have agreed a deal that will mean the Chinese company is building their vehicles at Sunderland from 2027. This is a non-binding agreement but few other details have been revealed. To read more, click this Autocar article link here.
SAIC TO BUILD MGS IN SPAIN
SAIC has decided that their European production facility will be in built in Spain. Costing around €200 million the factory will have a capacity of up to 120,000 vehicles. For more information on this story, click this MotorTrader 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 -
Audi Nuvolari
Audi has revealed the Nuvolari, their fastest ever production car, with a design language that we first saw on the Concept C. This is the Germany company’s version of the Lamborghini Temerario. Powered by a hybrid V8, producing 987bhp, getting from 0-62mph in 2.6 seconds and up to 124mph in 6.8 seconds, finally topping out at 217mph. Click this Autocar article link here, for much more.
Bentley Flying Spur
Bentley has face lifted the Flying Spur. For the first time since 1962 their four door saloon comes with only single main lights either side of the grille and not twin. Production starts in September this year. Click this Top Gear article link to read more.
Fiat Grizzly
Fiat has shown off the design of the Grizzly, which tops out the Panda range, using the same platform as the Citroën C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera. There are two body styles, a boxy SUV and a coupe-style SUV. The idea is to expand the Fiat brand into segments it has not had any vehicles in recently. Click this Autocar article link here, for more.
LUNCHTIME READ: VAMOS A LA PLAYA - PARTS ONE AND TWO
Driven to Write provides our recommendations for more long form pieces, this week. Bruno V dives into the history of the beach car and the various fabulous options and versions from a variety of manufacturers.
To read Part One, click this link here.
Click here to read Part Two.
LIST OF THE WEEK: THE BEST EVER SHOOTING BRAKES
Autocar provide the slideshow we are pointing you towards, this week, all about shooting brakes (and some estates). Lots of very good choices for you to check out, which you can do by clicking this link here.
AND FINALLY: HOT WHEELS LEGENDS TOUR RETURNS FOR 2026
The Hot Wheels Legends Tour returns for 2026 and entries are now open. The UK part of the World Tour will be at CarFest, held at Silverstone on 29 August 2026. Entries must be in by 3 July 2026. Click this Motoring Research article link to see all about it and what’s happened in past tours.

We held our second Live Question and Answer session on YouTube, where you the listener supplied the topics you wanted to hear us discuss. We enjoyed it so much and so it seems did you that we wanted to do it again. Do remember, this is the audio of that conversation, as a result the audio has not been edited for content in order for our real reactions to be heard.

We hope you enjoy it and do let us know your feedback, what can we do to improve it, do you want this to be a regular thing, all respectful comments will be considered.
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

OXFORD STILL WON’T GO ELECTRIC FOR MINI
BMW is still reluctant to actually convert the Oxford Mini plant to enable their electric cars to be built. Thanks to Brexit, from the 1 January 2027, the UK is expected to be hit by the EU’s Rules of Origin after being delayed for three years. Additionally, production costs are increasing at the UK facility. For more on this, click here to read an electrive article.
ASTON MARTIN GET A NEW CCO
Andrea Baldi is the new Chief Commercial Officer of Aston Martin Lagonda Limited. He was previously working for Lamborghini. To read more, click this Motor Trader article link here.
MILEAGE ALLOWANCE INCREASED
If you use your car for work and claim on the mileage driven, then there is some good news as the Government has increased the amount for the first 10,000 miles to 55p. This is backdated to the start of April 2026 too. You can read more by clicking this Money Saving Expert article link here.
TOYOTA SLOW DOWN ELECTRIC ONLY DEVELOPMENT
Toyota are pausing the development of their electric saloon, based on the concept LF-ZC, which was revealed at the end of 2023. The vehicle was to herald the introduction of many new technologies to the production of their cars, such as gigacasting, solid-state batteries and production lines where the vehicles moved themselves. For more on this item, click this link to an electrive article.
MERCEDES COULD BE BANNED FROM US SALES
A proposed US bill, the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026, if brought into law could ban Mercedes-Benz from building and selling their cars in the US due to the largest shareholder being Chinese and are a foreign adversary Government in the US’s eyes. If you wish to find out more, click this link from The Autopian here.
GRIDSERVE NOW SERVE MOTO LYMM
Gridserve have announced that they have opened an ‘Electric Super Hub’ at the M6 services at Motor Lymm. There are 24 ultra-rapid charging bays, with a potential for 400kW charging. To read more, click this electrive article link here.
UK CLASSIC BMW OWNERS REJOICE
BMW is trialling its Classic Partner Program, in the UK, at four dealerships. This gives manufacturer-approved support for classic BMWs that includes sales, servicing and body repairs. There is no news on if this will be expanded in the future. For more on this, click this link here to a Classic & Sports Car article.

On Thursday 4 June at 20:00 BST, we will be going live with a Q&A on our YouTube channel. We need your help though, send us your automotive and motoring related question you would like to hear us answer. To send one in use our Contact Page, linked to here, and put “Q&A” in the Subject Line so it does not get lost in all the spam, or any other way you can send a question to us.

NEW NEW CAR NEWS -
Lotus Emira
Lotus has announced that they will be ditching the EV Emira and replacing the powertrain of the combustion engine versions with a V6 hybrid from Horse Powertrain. This will give 536bhp and 516lb ft of torque, more details will be released at a later date. Click this EVO article link here to read more.
Genesis GV60 Magma
Genesis has revealed more information about the GV60 Magma version, that goes on sale next month. Prices start at £75,915 and that gets you an electric SUV with 641bhp, 583lb ft of torque, resulting in a 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 164mph from a car with a range up to 311 miles. Click this EV Powered article link to read more.
Ferrari F355 restomod
Some don’t like the looks, some don’t see the point of this as the F355 isn’t that old, yet some think both. This will not be cheap as you need to find a F355 before paying roughly £600,000 depending on your exact taste. Click this Hagerty link here for more.
LUNCHTIME READ: THE GENIUS OF BRUNO SACCO
People look at Mercedes-Benz cars from a certain period of time with great fondness, thanks to how well Sacco designed. His philisophy was that Mercedes’s should look good even when they’re old. Click this link from Hagerty, to read more.
LIST OF THE WEEK: 120 YEARS OF LANCIA
Classic & Sports Car provide the slideshow for you to check out and run through. Do you agree with either of the chaps? Click this link here, then go through the options to see what you would pick.
AND FINALLY: HAS HOT WHEELS GOT LEGO LICKED
Thanks to an expired patent other companies are trying to get a slice of the ‘click bricks together', market. The Mattel Brick Shop currently has seven models available to build at home. Click this Design News article link here.

FOLLOW UP: MOTABILITY PAUSES BLACK BOX USE
Motability has announced that it will be pausing the ‘Drive Smart’ scheme that included fitting a black box to cars owned by those under the age of 30 leasing a car from them. Unfortunately they are not cancelling it but will amend it and try again. This discriminates against disabled drivers rather than helping them be more independent and live as active a life as possible. Click this article link here, from Disability News Service, for more.
FOLLOW UP: THE TREASURY REJECTED MINISTERIAL CALL TO DROP PUBLIC CHARGING VAT RATE
The Treasury Department stood firm in the face of calls, by ministers, to drop the VAT rate for public EV chargers to 5%. HMRC is appealing the tax tribunal that agreed it should be cut due to their own criterial making it clear it should not be charged at 20%. To read more, click this article link from Europe Says.
GOVERNMENT EXTENDS FUEL DUTY CUT
Last week the Government announced that it will be extending the fuel duty cut to the end of the year, thanks to the idiocy in the Middle East. Whilst this sounds like it should help people, there are lots of evidence that shows those who need such help the most are disproportionately affected in times like these meaning they stop driving. For personal car usage this helps only the wealthy, however in the wider transportation ecosystem this will help to keep some costs down and not add to the impact the crisis is already having. For more on the news item, click this article link from Transport News.
STELLANTIS AND DONGFENG SIGN EUROPEAN DEAL
Stellantis and Dongfeng have signed another deal, this time for the Chinese firm to build their cars in European factories with spare capacity. You can read more, by clicking this Autocar article link here.
There is also a link to a Top Gear article here, that goes into detail about if Stellantis’s new plan is in fact new, that we think you might find interesting.
HAS KIA AND NISSAN FIXED THEIR VULNERABILITIES IN 2 YEARS
Two years ago, security researcher Neiko Rivera, found some shocking API vulnerabilities in Kia and Nissan apps that allows easy access to vehicles he did not own. He has now followed that up, to see if improvements have been made, some have but mostly not and there’s new ones that are easily exploited and should wake the industry up (especially if combined with last week’s story about the MyAudi app). Click this YouTube link to his talk explaining what he has done and found.

On Thursday 4 June at 20:00 BST, we will be going live with a Q&A on our YouTube channel. We need your help though, send us your automotive and motoring related question you would like to hear us answer. To send one in use our Contact Page, linked to here, and put “Q&A” in the Subject Line so it does not get lost in all the spam, or any other way you can send a question to us.

NEW NEW CAR NEWS -
Ferrari Luce
The internet erupted this week following Ferrari revealing their first EV, the Luce. Designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson, the finished product has caused quite the stir. The chaps discuss this and wonder what about it makes it a Ferrari. Click this EVO article link to read more.
Mercedes-AMG GT
Last week Mercedes-AMG revealed their electric four door car, which also garnered a lot of attention, most of it negative. There is some impressive sounding tech dotted around the car, but that does require one to want to see beyond the looks, which is a big ask. Click this Autocar article link here, to read more.
Skoda Epiq
Now for something more reflective of what people want at a price that can be afforded, the Skoda Epiq. From £24,090, this is the smallest electric SUV the brand offers. Expect typically VW Group interior with Skoda touches and decent exterior looks. Click this Motoring Research article link to read more.
LUNCHTIME READ: IN DEFENCE OF LIGHTNESS
Friend of the show, Nir Kahn, has written an interesting piece on predominately defence vehicles but the trap many fall into with fixating on one aspect and ignoring others meaning opportunities go begging to make a better product. To read more, click this LinkedIn article link here.
LIST OF THE WEEK: 21 CHARMING ROVER SALOONS
This week Andrew takes a major psychological step forward and agrees to have a list that covers Rover. He has refrained for all this time because the worst car he has ever owned was a Rover and it has left deep, deep scars. Check out the Classic & Sports Car article link and see which you would have.
AND FINALLY: ARTIST JAMES STEVENS
James takes classic and iconic moments in motorsport and others, but removes the background giving that moment even more pop and power. Check out this Classic & Sports Car article link to see more, including a link to his website. Wonderful work.

FOLLOW UP: CUSTOMERS ARE NOT GETTING MG3 SEAT FIX
EuroNCAP has called on customers with MG3s to get the free fix to their seats, following the failure under testing in September 2025. A front crash test exposed the issue with one side of the driver’s seat moving forward 111.5mm, mid impact. MG has an approved solution. For more on this story, click this Carscoops article link here.
JLR FINANCIAL RESULTS
JLR posted a loss of £244 million, for the last financial year. The company was impacted by the cyber attack, tariffs, a dwindling Chinese market for Western cars and the transition of Jaguar. The company has also stated that it will be seeking to cut around £1.7 million in costs over the next two years. You can read more by clicking this Autocar article link here.
JAGUAR NAME THEIR FIRST NEW CAR OF REBRAND
Jaguar has named the electric GT due to be launched this year, the Type 01. Apparently, this ties into their heritage, for example the D-Type and E-Type. If you wish to read more, including the incredibly incisive comment from Hyfrith, click this Autocar article link here.
ASTON MARTIN SOUGHT MORE NEW FINANCING
Aston Martin had to seek more emergency funding, just two weeks ago, as it received £50 million from the consortium led by Lawrence Stroll. This is the eighth time they have had to do so, since the company launched it’s IPO in 2018. Click this Carscoops article link here for more.
STELLANTIS AND DONGFENG SIGN CHINA DEAL
Stellantis has signed a deal with Dongfeng to build two new Peugeot and two new Jeep vehicles in China, for the local market as well as export. This is the first step on the company’s new strategy of building partnerships in markets to help expand globally. For more on this, click the Autocar article link here.
XPENG IN TALKS WITH VW OVER BUYING EUROPEAN FACTORY
Xpeng is the latest Chinese brand to seek to buy a European factory from a local market manufacturer, this time via Volkswagen. The two companies already work with each other, as VW is using Xpeng’s software-defined platform for their Chinese market vehicles. To read more about this story, click this EV Powered article link here.
RULES BENT FOR SOME EV VANS
The Government has changed rules for EV vans plated to 4.25 tonnes, which aligns the requirements for running them to those of a 3.5 tonne vehicle. This removes the need for a yearly MOT, the use of tachographs by drivers and more. You can find out more, by clicking this Professional Van article link here.
AUDI USE UNIQUE IDENTIFIER FOR APP THAT ALL CAN SEE
The myAudi app and service has been found to be using the VIN of cars as the unique identifier for authorisation purposes. This means anyone who can read the VIN, which is displayed for all to see, can gain access to that vehicle via the app and mobile service. There are more issues as well, but CARIAD has addressed some of them. However, they have not acknowledged the work of the researcher or paid them a bounty which is unacceptable behaviour from a company like the Volkswagen Group. You can read more, by clicking Andrea Pierini’s blog post on what he found 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 -
Volkswagen ID Polo GTI
VW has revealed the ID Polo GTI, including specifications. Recognisable as a Polo this will come with 52kWh battery, giving 223bhp via a single motor, meaning a 0-62mph time of 6.8 seconds and topping out at 109mph. The price is expected to start around £33,500. Click this Autocar article to read more.
Volkswagen ID Buzz
VW are updating the ID Buzz in line with the rest of their range in terms of the interior, infotainment and the return of physical buttons. Additionally, one pedal driving is now possible. The battery and drivetrain specifications remain the same. Click this EV Powered article link here to read more.
Renault 4 Plein Sud and JP4x4 concept
You get an extra bonus this week as there were two announcements from Renault, for their 4. One you will be able to buy, whilst the other is a cool concept. Apologies for Andrew murdering the pronunciation of Plein Sud, but ignoring that it is essentially a full length canvas sunroof harking back to the time when manufacturers made such things. Looks great and will add some fun to the ownership. Click this Motoring Research article link here for more.
The JP4x4 concept is a sort of beach buggy pick-up mashup. Looks fun and cool and it is great to see a brand experimenting like this, especially considering the market conditions at this time. Click this Motoring Research article link for more.
LUNCHTIME READ: RENAISSANCE MAN
For a change our recommendation to you is not an adventure or something whimsical but an interview with the new European head of design for Stellantis, Gilles Vidal. He talks at about the challenges that Stellantis have and how he hopes to help shape their future. We have, particularly in the last few weeks, discussed the company and how it can drag itself out of the mire it is in, therefore we thought it would be interesting for you to read what one of the most important people they have think they can. Click this Autocar article link here for more.
LIST OF THE WEEK: 25 CARS THAT ARE 60 IN 2026
Once again we bring you a slideshow that might cause you to refuse to believe in the passage of time, as Classic & Sports Car has 25 cars that hit 60 years old this year. Click the link here to see what your options are.
AND FINALLY: CRAZY NEW YORK FIREFIGHTER RACING
In New York there is a competition for firefighters that includes a sort of drag racing car and tasks by the firefighters clinging onto the side and back of these crazy looking vehicles. It has to be seen to be believed. Click this link here from The Autopian for more.