Vehicle recycler calls for three-yearly Classic MOTs
A nationwide vehicle recycling specialist is calling for a three-yearly MOT for classic vehicles, after receiving over 500 disposal requests for cars registered before 1988, in the past 12 months. The Department of Transport is currently considering changing existing MOT legislation to make any vehicle manufactured before 1988 exempt from MOT testing, instead of existing rules that state vehicles manufactured before 1960 are MOT exempt. However, Remove My Car believes that all vehicles, regardless of age should be made to undergo some sort of inspection and refers to its own statistics to demonstrate that pre-1988 vehicles are being considered dangerous by the British public, and responsibly disposed of.
Continue ReadingToyota chalks up seven million global hybrid sales
The pace of Toyotas worldwide hybrid vehicle sales continues to accelerate with a further million units added in just nine months, taking the cumulative total through the seven-million mark. Toyotas hybrid range continues to grow, with 28 different passenger car models (including the Prius Plug-in hybrid) currently sold in more than 90 countries and regions. The new model strategy for 2014-2015 features 15 new hybrids, including in the UK the new Lexus NX 300h crossover and RC 300h coupe. In the future more new models and markets will be added.
Continue ReadingPirelli representatives attend autoclave incident hearing
Pirelli representatives attended a procedural hearing at Carlisle Crown Court on 6 October in the ongoing case related to death of George Falder. The hearing saw the judge sets the timescales for the next steps of the case.
Continue ReadingPirelli a Top Manufacturer Award finalist
Water awareness at Pirelli’s Carlisle plant has put the company in the running for a prize at The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2014. Pirelli is on the shortlist as a finalist in the Sustainable Manufacturing category joining the likes of Coca Cola Enterprises; Johnstons Sweepers; the Vallant Group; and Encirc & Capporo Industries.
Continue ReadingInaugural CAM UniSerV user group meeting coincides with UK tyre industry gathering
CAM has hosted the inaugural UniSerV User Group (UUG) meeting, chaired by Anne Sherwood, business support manager of Tructyre Fleet Management. The event took place ahead of the NTDA dinner on Wednesday, 8 October 2014 at Manchester’s Hilton Deansgate. The software provider discussed the latest release of the software with some of its leading customers, using the meeting to identify and plan future developments to benefit the commercial tyre sector.
Continue ReadingTyre unit sales stabilised amongst ETRMA members during Q3 2014
Unit sales for tyre makers belonging to the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association were stable in on-road segments during the third quarter of 2014, while the agricultural segment experienced a year-on-year decline. Unit sales of passenger car tyres increased 1.4 per cent to 58,409,000 pieces, a development the ETRMA attributes to a growth in new car registrations. Commercial vehicle tyre unit sales remained relatively flat, declining only 0.23 per cent to 2,552,000 pieces, while two-wheeler tyre sales were up 0.90 per cent to 1,797,000 units. The only area of the market where ETRMA members saw major movement was in the agricultural segment, and this was movement of the unwelcome variety, as unit sales dropped 8.97 per cent to 386,000 pieces.
Continue ReadingGovernment takes stand on illegal foreign vehicles
Foreign-registered vehicles on Britains roads illegally will be seized by police under plans unveiled by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the police are joining forces to identify and take action against foreign motorists who drive in the UK illegally.
Continue ReadingAre you breaking the law over Health & Safety poster?
Large numbers of businesses throughout the UK are breaking the law and risk being fined after new legislation introduced earlier this year now requires all workplaces to display a new and updated Health and Safety Law Poster. However many workplaces are unaware of the changes, which were introduced on 5th April 2014, and are still displaying the old poster which was first introduced and became a legal requirement in all workplaces in 1999.
Continue ReadingEquipment show attracts 400 mechanics
Autoparts Garage Equipment has successfully held its largest ever trade event in the midlands, with more than 400 technicians in attendance. Taking place at GTG Wolverhampton, garage owners, mechanics and apprentices flocked to the event, which featured more than 40 suppliers of tools, garage equipment and diagnostics.
Continue ReadingPuncture Proof Tyres to manufacture products in the UK
Puncture Proof Tyres (PPT) has announced that the company has agreed a new manufacturing deal to have all its tyres made in the UK. No specific details of where and how many tyres have yet been released.
Continue ReadingSMMT welcomes hydrogen infrastructure
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has announced an £11 million investment towards the development of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure in the UK. The investment will see the UK’s hydrogen infrastructure grow to up to 15 refuelling stations nationwide, and is part of government’s drive to make the UK a global leader in ultra-low emission vehicles. Joint-funded by government and industry, the project will allocate funds to: install and run up to seven new customer-facing hydrogen refuelling stations (£7 million); upgrade existing hydrogen refuelling stations (£2 million); and to acquire around 40 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles for the public sector (£2 million). The announcement was made by Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock MP, while visiting Honda, Nissan and Toyota in Japan.
Continue ReadingATS gears up for winter switchover for fleets
ATS Euromaster is once again switching over thousands of its customers’ tyres to winter rubber as fleets begin to prepare for the colder months ahead. The tyre and vehicle servicing expert has placed initial orders for approximately £7 million worth of the specialist tyres, and its network of 345 centres is already seeing customers requesting their summer tyres be removed and winter tyres fitted.
Continue ReadingDon’t pay unnecessary fees, warns DVLA
The DVLA warns that when applying online for a driving licence or to tax a vehicle, motorists should always make sure they use the official Gov.uk site. DVLA has been made aware of several websites offering a check and send service for driving licence or vehicle tax applications. Some sites exaggerate the nature of the services they provide, or deliberately underplay the services that people can get for free or at a lower cost from official sources.
Continue ReadingThink! campaign highlights rural road dangers
Rural roads may look idyllic, but the latest Think! campaign from the Department for Transport says that they are deadlier than they look. Consider; three people die each day on average on rural roads and the number of people killed on country roads is nearly eleven times higher than on motorways. In addition, a quarter of drivers have had a near miss and one driver in twenty has had a collision on a country road.
Continue ReadingMichelin keep J. C. Trans (UK) on the road
Leicester-based haulier J. C. Trans (UK) has recorded an 88 per cent reduction in tyre failures per quarter, after adopting a full Michelin tyre policy for its 15-strong fleet.
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