Daily Motor News-Friday 25 October

Major new crackdown on insurance fraud   

Insurance companies have united to step up efforts to crack down on fraudsters seeking to manipulate the UK insurance market with bogus claims and duping innocent people into buying fake insurance policies.   

The new voluntary charter is designed to identify loopholes in the insurance market, enhance collaboration and criminal justice outcomes, better understand the scale of the problem and improve victim support. Full story

Welsh Government hails road safety improvement, pointing to timing of 20mph limit introduction 

The Welsh Government has released latest police recorded road collision statistics from April to June this year show that both collisions (24%) and casualties (24%) on 20mph and 30mph roads (combined) have fallen by almost a quarter compared to the same period of 2023 – the lowest recorded outside of the pandemic. Full story

Vulnerability is not a buzzword 

FCA Director of Competition Graeme Reynolds has warned businesses to embrace Consumer Duty and ensure they are delivering good outcomes to vulnerable customers. Speaking at the PIFMA’s Wealth Vulnerability event, he said the first step was identifying vulnerable customers and then understanding their individual needs. Full story

IAM RoadSmart urges the Chancellor to take radical steps to save lives on the roads  

The UK’s leading road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, is calling on the Chancellor to take steps to both saves lives and reduce the impact of road traffic collisions in her Autumn Budget. By incentivising the take-up of additional road safety courses through the tax system, it will also help save motorists money as the UK emerges from a cost-of-living crisis. Full story

PCC launches plan for safer roads 

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, has published a plan to reduce deaths on the roads in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes. The Road Safety Strategy seeks to strengthen the collaboration between the various agencies responsible for the road network across the Thames Valley with the aim of creating safer roads for all. Full story

What urban mobility will look like in 2035 

Disruptions from new technologies and regulations in mobility are not only transforming the way we travel but are challenging executives to find new revenue streams and operating models. This report forecasts activity across 14 sectors and five regions to 2035. Full story

Howden is new name for Watkin Davies, marking next chapter  

Howden is the new name for Watkin Davies Insurance Consultants, as the insurance brokerage officially reveals its new brand. The rebrand marks the next chapter for Watkin Davies, now Howden, after becoming a part of the Howden Group three years ago. Full story

New report urges action to ensure disabled people benefit from automated transport 

As the UK moves closer to a future where self-driving vehicles are part of everyday life, a unique report from the Transport Research Foundation (the parent company to TRL Ltd) and the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC) has raised concerns that disabled people could be left behind unless accessibility is prioritised from the outset. Full story

Automotive still Britain’s number one exporter of goods despite year of renewal 

UK car production output declined by -20.6% in September, according to the latest figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) as 70,039 units rolled off production lines. Some 21,309 electrified models¹ were made in September, representing 30.4% of all cars produced despite an overall volume decline of -37.0% against the same month last year. Full story

Volvo relying on ‘relentless’ data and engineering to make cars safe 

Volvo’s vehicle safety comes not just from materials like fabric, metal and plastic, but from millions of lines of code, dozens of different sensors and more than one type of artificial intelligence. All that is housed in the Volvo Cars Superset technology stack, which was first featured on the Volvo EX90 electric SUV and will work on it will benefit the upcoming EX60 and the rest of the electric lineup. Full story

Stellantis and Factorial take next step to accelerate the future of EVs 

Stellantis and Factorial unveiled the next chapter in their partnership to accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation electric vehicles (EVs) powered by Factorial’s solid-state battery technology. This initiative builds upon the £58m investment Stellantis made in Factorial in 2021. Full story

‘A glimpse into the future of the car’ 

Snapdragon Summit 2024 shifted gears on Tuesday and moved from the mobile world to the automotive one in a big way. Nakul Duggal, group general manager of automotive, industrial and cloud for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., unveiled two new platforms in Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Snapdragon Ride Elite. Full story

Tesla adds close to $150bn in market value on best day in over a decade 

Tesla shares closed up nearly 22% on Thursday – their biggest single-day gain in over a decade – as Elon Musk’s bold forecast of surging sales reassured investors he was still looking to grow its core business of selling electric cars. Full story

Enterprise: Length of rental continues decline in Q3 but challenges remain 

Enterprise Mobility reports that the overall collision-related length of rental in the US dropped to 16.3 days during Q3, a decline of 1.2 days compared to Q3 2023. Full story

NHTSA announces model Year 2025 vehicles for 5-star safety  

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced its list of model year 2025 vehicles selected for testing as part of the agency’s 5-Star Safety Ratings under its New Car Assessment Program. The 37 listed vehicles, combined with previously tested models with no significant changes in the new model year, will represent safety ratings for approximately 87% of the new vehicle fleet. Full story

Out with the old (Automatic Emergency Braking), in with the new 

AAA’s latest research found that new (2024) model vehicles with automatic emergency braking (AEB) avoided 100% of forward collisions when tested at speeds up to 35 mph, in comparison to old (2017 – 2018) model vehicles, which only avoided collisions 51% of the time. Full story