Campaign launched to help keep London ......
01 February 2012
....... and the UK moving during the Olympics
The UK Government, Mayor of London, London 2012 and the UK’s transport networks join forces to launch a major new national campaign to encourage the travelling public to ‘Get Ahead of the Games’ and ensure London and the UK keeps moving during 2012’s busy and exciting summer of sport.
For over a year now, London 2012 and TfL have been working with businesses to ensure they have travel plans in place to keep on running and make the most of all the Games have to offer including an estimated £750m of income from visitors to the capital. With less than six months to go to the London 2012 Games, a new advertising campaign, website and social media channels will now communicate directly with the travelling public. ‘Get Ahead of the Games’ explains how, at certain times and in certain locations – the ‘hotspots’ – London and the UK’s road and rail networks will be much busier than usual.
The campaign will span online, radio, outdoor and national and regional newspapers, urging those in affected areas to plan ahead so they can reduce, reroute, retime or remode their journeys to avoid the hotspots at the busiest times. Split across three phases, London 2012 organisers expect the ‘Get Ahead of the Games’ adverts to be seen over a billion times by the great British public. The first phase will focus on raising awareness of where and how transport will be affected at Games-time. Phase two will demonstrate the alternative options available to avoid congestion, such as working at different times or locations, teleconferencing rather than travelling to meetings, or alternative modes of transport including walking and cycling where practical. The final phase will encourage people to activate these options at Games-time, ensuring they can ‘Get Ahead of the Games’.
The launch of the ‘Get Ahead of the Games’ campaign and wayfinding and signage follows the completion of £6.5bn of transport investment last summer, a year ahead of the Games. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “A tremendous amount of planning has been put into ensuring that when the 2012 Games get underway the capital is able to get on with business, enjoy the festival atmosphere and make the most of this unique occasion. Businesses should be able to capitalise on the thousands of visitors and Londoners should be able to get on with their lives. This campaign is key to the preparation and planning that will help everyone in London to profit from what promises to be a remarkable summer.”
Transport secretary, Justine Greening MP said: “We can look forward to an exciting Olympics and the boost to jobs, business and tourism it brings. Millions of spectators will enjoy the Games and our roads and railways will be busier. That’s why we have already invested £6.5bn on improving transport links. It also makes sense for businesses and commuters to plan ahead so we can have a successful Olympics and reduce the impact on our transport network. The Government will lead the way, with staff working and travelling more flexibly during the Games.”
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Best in class cars revealed by EuroNCAP
01 February 2012
Euro NCAP’s ratings reflect the progress being made by manufacturers, highlighting cars designed to exceed consumer expectations on safety and those that fall short.
Last year, Euro NCAP published the results for 53 new car models available on the European market, among which were the first commercially available electric vehicles. Eleven cars achieved four stars whilst Euro NCAP’s poorest result was achieved by Dacia Duster with three stars. To be selected the safest cars in their categories the following vehicles achieved a five star rating and showed good scores in each of Euro NCAP’s four areas of assessment.
The top achievers per category are:
• Small off-road 4×4 category: Audi Q3
• Supermini category: Chevrolet Aveo
• Small Family category: Ford Focus
• Small MPV category: Mercedes B Class
• Large Family category: Volvo V60
The runners-up in each category are the Chevrolet Malibu, Mercedes M Class, Toyota Yaris, Lexus CT200h, Opel Zafira Tourer, Hyundai ix20, and BMW X1.
Special mention should be made of the Ford Ranger, the only pickup tested by Euro NCAP in 2011. The Ranger is the safest pickup yet tested by the organisation and scored highly in all areas of assessment, most notably in pedestrian protection.
With electric cars hitting Europe's roads this year, the organization released the results of four EVs. Plug-in vehicles are exposed to the same test conditions as their gasoline counterparts, while special attention is paid to battery integrity after a crash. The Nissan Leaf was the first of its kind to achieve Euro NCAP 5 star overall rating, placing itself amongst this year’s best small family cars.
Euro NCAP rewarded several car makers for their advanced safety features not yet included in the rating scheme. The Ford Focus, offered with optional Active City Stop, Driver Alert Forward Alert and Lane Keeping Aid, made headlines as the first high volume car receiving four rewards.
Top achievers Mercedes B Class and Volvo V60 also were rewarded for Collision Prevention Assist and City Safety respectively, both are Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems (AEB).
Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP secretary general said: “With Euro NCAP Advanced, we have already recognized a number of technologies offering safety benefits to consumers. The safety case for AEB systems is very strong and we are therefore strongly encouraging manufacturers to increase the availability of such systems on new cars. We are well underway to add the assessment of these systems to the overall rating and to make these systems a requirement for five stars in the future.”
In 2012, Euro NCAP introduces stricter standards by increasing the minimum score in the pedestrian assessment from 40% to 60%, reflecting the stepwise improvements introduced by automakers of the last years in this field. While a number of carmakers have already demonstrated that cars can be engineered to pass the new limit, the increased demands will challenge others to improve the safety for vulnerable road users.
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Commercial vehicle registrations up 7.5% in Dec
31 January 2012
In December, new commercial vehicle registrations in the EU amounted to 166,739 units, or 7.5% more than in the same month of 2010.
Registrations grew in France (+2.5%), the UK (+13.4%) and Germany (+16.3%), while results were negative in Italy (-0.8%) and Spain (-14.2%). Over the year 2011, a total of 1,935,392 new vehicles were registered. This is 9.9% more than in 2010 but still about one-fifth below pre-crisis levels when annual volumes averaged 2.5 million units. In 2011, France remained the largest market, with 482,823 new vehicles and an expansion of 5.6%. Germany registered 334,822 units, a growth of 18.7%, followed by the UK (+17.6%) with 306,488 new vehicles. The Italian (-3.4) and the Spanish markets (-6.6%) contracted.
In December, registrations of new vans grew by 5.4% in the EU. While growth prevailed in France (+1.6%), the UK (+7.8%) and Germany (+22.6%), Italy (-14.4%) and Spain (-15.7%) faced a double-digit downturn. In total, 136,404 new vans were recorded in the month. From January to December, the EU recorded1,586,255 new vans, or 7.0% more than in 2010. Results were different across markets as France (+2.7%), the UK (+16.7%) and Germany (+18.8%) performed better, while Italy (-6.1%) and Spain (-10.1%) declined.
Heavy trucks recorded the highest increase across segments (+20.8%), with 19,482 new units in the EU*. Spain (-4.1%) was the only major market to shrink. Elsewhere, results were positive, ranging from +0.6% in Germany to +11.0% in France and +39.0% in the UK. Over twelve months, all significant markets experienced growth. Spain saw demand for heavy trucks increase by 20.6%, while growth was 23.3% in Germany, 41.5% in France and 42.5% in the UK. Overall, the EU* recorded 236,512 new heavy trucks in 2011, which is 36.0% more than in the previous year.
December results in the truck segment showed a 20.5% upturn in the EU which recorded 26,846 units. Looking at the most significant markets, Spain (-3.5%) was the only one to contract, while Germany remained stable (+0.9%) and France (+13.2%) and the UK (+46.3%) posted double-digit growths. From January to December, growth prevailed across major markets, leading to an overall 29.0% upturn. Demand for new trucks rose by 19.8% in Germany, 19.9% in Spain, 31.3% in the UK and 37.7% in France. A total amount of 315,447 vehicles was recorded in the EU.
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Toyota withdraws from UK panel van market
26 January 2012
With no Euro 5-compliant diesel available for the Hiace, Toyota has dropped it from the 2012 UK light commercial vehicle line-up, leaving the Japanese manufacturer bereft of a panel van offering. And there are no plans to re-introduce Hiace at a later date.
According to a spokesman, however, Toyota is looking to launch an all-new small panel van range in the UK some time in the future, but don’t hold your breath. There is no indication as to what sort of timespan we’re talking about. Meanwhile, it has also seriously cut back the line-up of chassis cab-based Dyna light truck models available in the UK for 2012. It can be had in medium- or long-wheelbase guise only; the short-wheelbase variant has vanished. Not only that, the sole ready-bodied, off-the-shelf variant is a LWB Dropside.
Not wishing to overstate the case, but is does appear that Toyota GB has pretty much given up on the LCV market in the UK for the short-term, the exception being the Hilux 4x4 pick-up. But even that is under serious threat, despite a recent revision, from the altogether next generation Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok.
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VW up! 5-door
26 January 2012
Volkswagen has unveiled a more practical, five-door version of its up! city car
This is the first official picture of the new five-door VW up! – and the more practical sister car to the three-door city car is set to make its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Volkswagen says that it’s due to hit UK dealers in the second half of this year, so you should see it on sale around September. As Auto Express closed for press, there was little official information about the new car, but it’s expected to cost around £400 more than the three-door, which means prices will start at £8,395. VW claims the new five-door model will account for half of all up! sales, too. It’s expected to sit on exactly the same wheelbase as the three-door, with no major increase in dimensions. Under the bonnet is the same choice of 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engines as the three-door, with 59bhp or 74bhp. There will be a road tax-exempt 99g/km car, too, while VW says it’ll offer the same special editions, including colour-coded black and white launch models.
Five-door versions of the SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo, both up! sister cars, will also go on sale in the second half of the year.
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