Daily Motor News – Tuesday 26 May 2026 

One year ago, forecasts for battery electric vehicle (BEV) production in China was expected around 9.5 million BEV vehicles in 2032. Current projections now exceed 10.9 million. This means expectations for Chinese production have risen, with an upward revision of more than 1 million vehicles in 2032 alone and nearly 7 million vehicles cumulatively over 2026 – 2032. Read more

Passengers one step closer to booking taxi and bus-style self-driving vehicles 

Passengers could book taxi and bus-style self-driving vehicles later this year, as applications open for operators to run cars across Great Britain. The pilot scheme will enable firms – including British self-driving technology company Wayve – to bring cutting-edge technology to British roads, creating thousands of jobs and unlocking billions for the economy by 2035. Read more

AI in insurance: promise, pressure and the problem of trust 

Artificial intelligence is already helping insurers cut costs, improve underwriting and boost growth. But as adoption accelerates, concerns remain around accuracy, transparency and whether the technology can ever be fully trusted. Read more

‘Pothole wrote off my car but council won’t pay’ 

A woman whose car was written off after it hit a pothole has been told she will not receive compensation. Sarah O’Connor, 35, was driving home to Hornsea, East Yorkshire, in January when she hit the pothole in Catwick. It burst a tyre, broke the exhaust and caused damage totalling about £4,500. Read more

QuestGates provides data for world-leading study into UK cars stolen for export – where do they end up? 

QuestGates, the UK’s largest owner-managed loss adjusting and claims solutions group, has contributed to an international report on the criminal supply chains for vehicles stolen in the UK and EU. Read more

Auto liability: shifting dynamics are redefining risk 

US: Liability risk is being shaped less by claim frequency and more by claim severity. Across the industry, a relatively small number of high-impact claims are driving a disproportionate share of total loss, signalling a fundamental shift in how auto liability programs must be managed. Read more

Europe’s EV transition at risk as China outspends EU suppliers by 57% 

Europe’s ambition to lead the global electric vehicle (EV) transition is facing a structural investment drought. New data reveals that between 2021 and 2026, investment by EU automotive suppliers remained entirely stagnant. In stark contrast, Chinese investment in the sector surged by 57%, creating an asymmetrical global playing field that threatens Europe’s industrial backbone. Read more

Stellantis and Qualcomm expand partnership to adopt Snapdragon Digital Chassis  

Stellantis and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc have announced an expansion of their multi-year technology collaboration to power next-generation Stellantis vehicles with Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Digital Chassis system-on-chips (SoCs). Read more

Brand new electric cars cheaper than petrol for third month running as discounting drives EV affordability 

Brand new electric vehicles (EVs) are undercutting petrol cars on upfront costs for the third consecutive month, according to the latest data from Autotrader, the UK’s largest automotive marketplace. Read more

April 2026 new car pre-registration figures 

SMMT released figures for April pre-registrations in the UK new car market. The data shows the number of cars disposed of by vehicle manufacturers in April 2026 that were defined as pre-registrations. Read more

Ferrari unveils first fully electric car 

Luxury sports car maker Ferrari has unveiled its first fully electric car – the $640,000 (£474,320) Luce. The new model departs from the look of typical Ferraris as the Italian brand’s first ever five-seater, created in collaboration with the LoveFrom agency founded by former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive. Read more

Van downtime costing fleets more than £1,000 a day 

UK businesses lose more than £1,170 for every day a van is off the road, according to new Mercedes-Benz Vans research. Read more

WTW & Anthropic: Beyond insurance AI hype. A Talking Tech special 

In this episode, Charlie Samolczyk, Global Technology Sales Leader, is joined by guest speaker André Balleyguier, Applied AI Leader at Anthropic, and WTW’s Pardeep Bassi, Global Proposition Leader for Data Science, to discuss how AI is transforming the insurance industry. Read more

Warning lights flash as aluminium reels from Gulf shock 

The Iran war is shaping up to be one of the biggest supply shocks in the history of the aluminium market. Read more

The UK’s leading independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has welcomed the appointment of Mark Armitage as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Read more

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has unveiled a brand-new fleet of 32 e-bikes, as part of a £59,200 investment to put more officers back in the heart of local communities. Read more

The BVRLA has urged Government to apply the same logic behind this week’s fuel duty freeze by dropping its plans to introduce a pay-per-mile charge on electric vehicles from 2028. Read more

James Castella‑Bullen from Plymouth has become the RAC’s 300th mobile servicing and repair technician. Read more

Jo Fenwick has started a new role with the Institute of Motor Industry (IMI) as Head of External Quality Assessment. 

Grant Thornton is pleased to announce its successful re‑appointment to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) panels of Skilled Persons, following the regulators’ highly competitive 2025/26 retendering process. Read more