Daily Motor News – Tuesday 16 September 2025 

From payment flexibility to risk signal: the strategic role of premium finance 

Owning a car means buying motor insurance, but how you pay for it is changing the risk landscape. Today, millions of UK drivers choose premium finance (PF) to spread the cost of cover. For customers, it offers flexibility and affordability. For insurers and MGAs, however, it introduces a new layer of complexity because premium finance is not just a payment method; it is a risk signal that can influence customer behaviour, claims patterns, and portfolio performance. Read more

NVCRP: What is a Chop Shop? 

A chop shop is an illegal operation where stolen vehicles are dismantled and sold for parts. Instead of reselling a whole stolen car, which is easier for police to trace, criminals “chop” the vehicle into components such as engines, transmissions, airbags, wheels, and electronics. These parts are then sold on the black market, exported or funnelled into legitimate looking vehicle repair businesses. Read more

Government says average car insurance premiums are now beginning to fall, but drivers still seek answers on soaring costs since 2021 

Motorists continue to face sharp rises in car insurance despite government claims that average premiums are starting to fall. The issue was raised in Parliament this week by Derby South MP Baggy Shanker, who urged ministers to explain what progress is being made to tackle the cost pressures affecting drivers across the country. Read more

Acorn Group launches new brand to plug delivery driver insurance gap 

Acorn Group has launched Street Cover, a new insurance brand aimed at the UK’s growing number of delivery drivers, many of whom risk being underinsured while working for food, parcel and courier platforms.  Read more

AA launches UK EV readiness index to support drivers through the electric transition 

The conditions that would enable most drivers to switch to an EV today have not yet been met, according to The AA’s first quarterly UK EV Readiness Index. The index assesses the factors influencing drivers’ readiness to switch to EVs. Read more

Europe rebuffs automakers’ pleas to let them lose the EV race to China 

European automakers asked the EU Commission to review and potentially modify the bloc’s 2035 all-EV target at an auto summit on Friday, but the commission is reportedly standing firm despite the industry’s big push this week for more leniency. Read more

Musk buys $1bn worth of Tesla shares 

Billionaire Elon Musk has scooped up roughly $1bn (£735m) worth of Tesla shares, in what is being seen as a vote of confidence in the electric car maker. Shares in Tesla, which have struggled to advance this year, jumped more than 6% in early trading on Monday on the news. Read more

How JLR’s Hack Reshaped Thinking on Supply Chain Resilience 

Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) cyberattack has sent shockwaves across the entire supply chain – and industries beyond. As a British automotive brand, JLR faces not only factory shutdowns in the UK, but also in China, Slovakia and India as well as cascading delays that stretch far beyond its assembly lines. Read more

Enhanced verification of safety and security for advanced driver assistance systems 

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) play a pivotal role in advancing vehicle automation and enhancing road safety. By assisting or overriding driver actions, ADAS applications such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), and lane keeping assist (LKA) help mitigate human error and reduce the likelihood of collisions. Read more

New EV battery tech could power 500-mile road trips on a 12-minute charge 

Scientists have used a neat chemistry trick to tackle a major challenge facing future batteries. Their breakthrough paves the way for next-generation electric vehicle (EV) batteries capable of powering 500-mile (800 kilometres) journeys on a single, 12-minute charge. Read more