Change Makers Podcast: why fleets should go electric (ep.15)

We’re joined by VEV’s Mike Nakrani to discuss the benefits of electrification for commercial fleet managersWelcome to episode 15 of the Autocar Business Change Makers Podcast, produced in partnership with car subscription software platform Tomorrow’s Journey. 
Listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Podcasts.
Hosted by Chris Kirby, CEO of Tomorrow’s Journey, and Felix Page, news editor at Autocar, the Autocar Business Change Makers Podcast explores how the UK&rs

Depending on where you live, finding an EV fast charger could be like finding a needle in a haystack, and when you do, charging at anywhere near the advertised speeds is hit or miss. Finding a charger that can take advantage of Lucid’s new Gravity SUV might be impossible, however, as the upcoming EV promises 400 kW fast charging, which surpasses the speediest public chargers we have now. While some EVs offer an 800-volt electrical architecture, most have a 400-volt system. Lucid gave the

New Grande Panda undercuts its Citroën ë-C3 sibling to become one of the UK's cheapest EVsThe new Fiat Grande Panda EV will cost just £20,975 when it arrives in spring - making it one of the UK's cheapest full-sized electric cars.
Undercutting the closely related Citroën ë-C3 by £1000, the new electric Panda – outpriced only by the Leapmotor T03 and Dacia Spring – comes as standard with a 44kWh battery for 199 miles of range, a 0-62mph time of 11.

The championship's inaugural event in 1973 was far from auspicious, with most crews ending up disqualifiedOne of the few January norms that isn’t utterly miserable is the Monte Carlo Rally. First held way back in 1911, it has served as an exciting, snowy-mountainside opener to almost every year since for rallyists.
Today, it’s a standard World Rally Championship round, but historically it was an absolute epic, with crews departing from various locations all over Europe to meet i

GV80 is available from stock only – while supplies last
Brand goes EV-only in the UK as it ends sales of pure-ICE cars, but hybrids are due in the coming yearsGenesis will become an electric-only brand in the UK for the foreseeable future after its last combustion models are pulled from the market.
The petrol and diesel variants of the G70 Shooting Brake and GV70 SUV have joined the G70 saloon and GV80 SUV in being pulled from the Korean brand's UK line-up. 
All four ca

Range-topping Rafale is destined to remain Renault's only plug-in hybrid
CEO says flagship Rafale makes sense as a plug-in hybrid, but smaller cars will either be full hybrid or electricRenault is betting big on full-hybrid powertrains as a means of transitioning its cars and customers to pure-electric power, and has no plans to expand its PHEV offering beyond the flagship Rafale. 
Company CEO Fabrice Cambolive told Autocar that the decision to focus on full-hybrids – a move that cont

Rakish version of the C4 hatchback hasn't done very well in Western Europe. Can a makeover do the trick?After launching the third-generation C4 in 2021, Citroën brought the Citroën C4 X to market as a raked, fastback version of its family hatchback.While the pair are identical at the front, the C4 X gets a different profile from the C-pillar backwards. This extra 140mm of rear end compared with the C4 increases boot space from 380 to 510 litres.Despite this extra p

You may have forgotten about Mitsubishi, but the company is still out there selling cars.Not only that, but it has plans for new models. Can the brand's new plans help keep it around, at least in the North American market?There are plans for a new EV and a gussied-up/refreshed Outlander.The brand is seeking to increase volume and also boost dealer profitably. There are also plans to launch either a new or redesigned car every model-year from 2026 to 2030.My question to you is -- is that enough?

Another Euro wagon with three pedals! Today it's a 2004 Volvo V70R. This one is for sale from the original owner and it does have a couple of minor mechanical concerns, including leaking power-steering fluid.Apparently it runs well, generally, though.The all-season tires do have a lot of miles on them.One note -- a sale may be pending. But hey, the point of this feature is to show off the cars, not sell them. Still, if you want this thing you can click here and see more -- maybe the sale will fa

General Motors’ small-block V8s have long been famous for boasting solid reliability at competitive prices. But the 6.2-liter L87 motor (found in late-model Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Sierra 1500, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade) is presently under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for defects. The issue has created a parts bottleneck and is reportedly creating serious problems for customers in need of repairs.

Last week didn’t just bring snow to New Orleans, it also brought a raft of Stellantis dealers to town for a key meeting – and most of them left feeling revved up about the year ahead.
In contrast to most reports coming out of events like this, and the generally horrible no good very bad year just experienced by some many Stellantis stores, it seems those holding corner offices at dealer level are buoyed by what they heard from company execs at a weekend meeting in New Orlea

Like its parent company, Nissan, Infiniti hasn’t had the best time over the last few years. Sales tumbled in 2024, leading the automaker to eye aggressive measures to right the ship. Part of that plan includes discontinuing one of its best-selling models, as the popular QX50 and QX55 will soon be no more. Infiniti told dealers that production of the two vehicles would end in December, but it noted that it would build enough inventory to supply retailers into the summer of 2026. Nissan want

Like its parent company, Nissan, Infiniti hasn’t had the best time over the last few years. Sales tumbled in 2024, leading the automaker to eye aggressive measures to right the ship. Part of that plan includes discontinuing one of its best-selling models, as the popular QX50 and QX55 will soon be no more. Infiniti told dealers that production of the two vehicles would end in December, but it noted that it would build enough inventory to supply retailers into the summer of 2026. Nissan want

Yet another automaker has announced plans to back off full electrification goals in favor of a mixed approach. Alfa Romeo said it would not continue with its goal to become fully electric by 2027, saying it will now pursue a “multi-energy” roadmap. Automotive News reported on the announcement, which came at this year’s NADA show in New Orleans. Alfa chief Chris Feuell told the publication that, “The biggest thing in our product and technology road map is transitioning fro

The new exterior of the1967 Cadillac Eldorado was simultaneously striking, edgy, modern, and a welcome change from the ho-hum upmarket DeVille the model had become over the years. With a burgeoning market segment to chase - the personal luxury coupe - the front-drive Eldorado made an instant splash when it arrived. Its exterior looks set high expectations for a new and exciting interior as well. But did Cadillac’s designers deliver?
The considerable changes to the Eldorado’s interior

Mitsubishi might not end up joining the Honda-Nissan merger, but it’s not giving up on life just yet. The automaker recently announced its first mass-market electric vehicle* for the U.S. market, which is due in 2026.The new EV will be built in Japan and will debut at the same time as a new, beefier Outlander model. We don’t have details on the EV, but Automotive News reported that the vehicle will be a small coupe-shaped crossover close in size to the Nissan Leaf, which will see a r

I've been writing for TTAC since " I Bought My First Tow Truck at the Age of Five" hit screens in 2010, and in all the time since I never once wrote about a junkyard W124 Mercedes-Benz here (though I did write about a successful W124 race car in 2011). We'll fix that today, with this painfully clean W124 wagon found in a boneyard just south of Denver.
In recent days I've been trying to help my mother-in-law sell her obsessively maintained 2004 Accord, which still looks and drives like a new car.

Luxury saloon was first launched here in 1990, but homologation and legislation issues have led to its withdrawalThe Lexus LS, the first car launched by the Japanese brand here 35 years ago, has been dropped from the UK line-up.
The decision follows a sustained period of poor sales of the hybrid V6-powered saloon, with 39 sold since the turn of the decade – including just three last year. This means the ES is the only Lexus saloon still offered in the UK as new.
Homologation and legis

Electric supermini is in line for important battery and tech upgrades in coming years but don't expect a 'facelift'Renault will preserve the new 5 supermini’s retro design for as long as possible but keep the car competitive throughout its life cycle with upgrades to its drivetrain and technology. 
Company CEO Fabrice Cambolive outlined his plans for the Renault 5 on the sidelines of the 2025 What Car? Awards, where the supermini was named Car of the Year - just days after also b

With cargo space, versatility and plenty of luxury features, today's pick-up trucks have become great, alternatives to cars
Dependable, robust and versatile, the pick-up truck has grown into a far more desirable offering in recent years, to a point where regular folk are selecting a double-cab workhorse over an SUV.
Before the boom in popularity, pick-ups were purely utilitarian vehicles, but they have become increasingly more upmarket, with SUV-level comfort, refinement and technology to attrac

Insiders have told Autocar an X-shaped lighting graphic is planned
EV will tap into new-era tech and starts the final push to electrify every SUVThe BMW iX5 will arrive in 2026 as the first of six new launches in three years that will fully electrify the German firm’s SUV line-up.
This engineering programme is being described as one of the most comprehensive ever undertaken by BMW and its M performance car division.
Notably, a hydrogen-powered iX5 will join the line-up in 2028, using a pow

Insiders have told Autocar an X-shaped lighting graphic is planned
EV taps into new-era tech and starts the fi nal push to electrify every SUVThe BMW iX5 will arrive in 2026 as the first of six new launches in three years that will fully electrify the German firm’s SUV line-up.
This engineering programme is being described as one of the most comprehensive ever undertaken by BMW and its M performance car division.
Notably, a hydrogen-powered iX5 will join the line-up in 2028, using a powert

Michael Lohscheller was previously the finance chief and CEO of Opel-Vauxhall
Revised sales tactics, new product line-up and launches in new markets are intended to put ailing firm back on trackPolestar suffered badly financially in 2024, but the brand is starting the year under a new CEO with a plan that involves, among other changes, acknowledging that even EV start-ups need to embrace some of the more time-proven ways of operating.
“A lot of things need to change,” Michael Lohsche

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S is a bit of a head-scratcher.It's got the Wagoneer name but it's not as big and it's on a different platform and it's a battery-electric. It's a big though not too big five-seat large SUV from the brand that already offers the Grand Cherokee. And so on. The Wagoneer S is the first battery-electric Jeep for American consumption, and it uses a 400-volt, 100.5-kWh battery pack that feeds juice to front- and rear-electric motors that are 250 kW/400V each. This gets you to a

The 2024 Jeep Wagoneer S is a bit of a head-scratcher.It's got the Wagoneer name but it's not as big and it's on a different platform and it's a battery-electric. It's a big though not too big five-seat large SUV from the brand that already offers the Grand Cherokee. And so on. The Wagoneer S is the first battery-electric Jeep for American consumption, and it uses a 400-volt, 100.5-kWh battery pack that feeds juice to front- and rear-electric motors that are 250 kW/400V each. This gets you to a

Hyundai has taken to TV advertising to explain how people should say its nameIt took two British advertising students writing directly to then Nike CEO Philip Knight to draw confirmation of how to pronounce the sports equipment brand’s name properly.
In 2014, 50 years after Knight and Bill Bowerman had founded Blue Ribbon Sports, which would in 1971 be renamed Nike (after the Greek god of victory), the students sent Knight a letter, along with a stamped and addressed return envelope.
It co

If you're in the market for a super-saloon, should you be going Italian?You jammy sod. Those three words flashed up on my phone from a friend barely five minutes after I posted an image to Instagram. Out of context, this would perhaps seem weird. But the picture in question was of this sumptuous Etna Red Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio.
My friend is a big Alfa Romeo fan – and he says it how it is. And I guess that some of you may have thoughts similar to my friend's. And you’re right