Volvo has named its price for the new C40 Recharge – the brand’s first purely electric model and the first to be sold solely over the web, which is available now from £57,400.
The brand scored a smash hit with its XC40 small SUV – and now the firm is hoping to score additional sales with the second of its new generation of 40-series models, which will rival everything from the Audi Q4 e-tron to the Tesla model 3.

New Volvo XC40 P8 Recharge 2020 review

The C40 Recharge is a clear relative of the popular XC40, the pure-electric version of which became Volvo’s first EV offering at the end of last year. The C40’s front-end styling is very similar to the SUV’s, but its roofline tapers more sharply towards the rear, giving it the overall stance of an elevated hatchback – a crossover – instead of a 4×4. despite this, its floor height and seating position will be raised like in the XC40; the company says it will “provide customers with the high seating position that most Volvo drivers prefer”.
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The biggest difference in design comes at the C40’s tail, which has a new horizontal light treatment and a small roof spoiler.
The C40 shares the XC40’s CMA platform and some of its key dimensions – notably the wheelbase, which is identical. Indeed, Volvo quotes the same rear legroom figures for both cars, although the C40’s more aggressive roofline cuts around 6cm off the amount of headroom on offer to rear passengers. The crossover’s boot capacity of 413 litres is the same as the SUV’s, however – and it also offers the same ‘frunk’ area under the bonnet; the additional 31 litres of capacity an optimal place to store the charging cables.

lots of of the new housing estates and offices being built in London will be subject to a vehicle parking ban on private cars, under new plans announced by the Mayor of London 
As part of the London Plan, Mayor Sadiq Khan is aiming to create car-free vehicle parking zones in new housing and office developments to cut down on air pollution. Under the draft plans, which will be subjected to a public consultation, housing developments in parts of London that are well-connected by indicates of public carry will not supply vehicle parking for cars, other than for disabled people. 
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The same will apply for office developments in central and inner London. Under the Mayor’s plans the developments “will no longer supply any commuter or visitor parking, other than for disabled people and for vital delivery and servicing purposes.” 
Any vehicle parking facilities that will be supplied need to be able to support electric automobiles by indicates of charging stations, while taxi ranks need to be capable of EV charging in the future, too. 
The Mayor’s office said: “In general, vehicle parking standards will be substantially tightened, with less provision in lots of areas, particularly in the most easily accessible parts of central and inner London and town centres.” 
Sadiq Khan is intending to see a rise in the number of cyclists on the capital’s streets and the draft plan is expected to announce a target of ensuring 70 per cent of people will live within 400 metres of a segregated cycle route by 2041. 
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Khan said: “To safe the future health and prosperity of our city, we need to be bolder in encouraging people to minimize their reliance on cars. It’s vital for taking care of congestion as London’s population grows, and important for minimizing our toxic air pollution emissions.
What do you think of the Mayor’s ambitions to create car-free vehicle parking zones in London? tell us in the comments below…

models from across the Fiat van range can now be had in the top-of-the-range Sportivo trim. Upgraded styling and new engines make this trim unique and Fiat has already unveiled it on the Fiat Fiorino and the Fiat Ducato at the 2014 commercial vehicle Show.
The Sportivo trim costs £700 more than the Tecnico specification and creates a sporty look by adding alloy wheels, exclusive Sportivo side-stripes and painted bumpers. kit taken from the Tecnico trim is also fitted, including air con, front fog lights and parking sensors.
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Models available in this trim level range include the Fiat Fiorino Sportivo 1.3 95 MultiJet II, the Fiat Doblo Cargo Sportivo 1.6 105 MultiJet, the Fiat Scudo Sportivo 2.0 130 MultiJet and the Fiat Ducato Sportivo 2.3 150 MultiJet II.
Sebastiano Fedrigo, FIAT professional UK’s director, said: “We are delighted to welcome not only the new Sportivo models onto the FIAT professional stand at the commercial vehicle show in Birmingham, but also the vehicles of some of our most valued customers.
“Our growing success in meeting the demands and expectations of these high-profile companies highlights the increasing competitiveness of our commercial vehicle line-up. and with more new products, derivatives and technologies in the pipeline, we hope to see FIAT Professional’s success continue into 2014 and beyond!”

only a few weeks after Chevrolet pulled the wraps of its new Corvette ZR1, the American producer has revealed a soft-top version of its flagship sports vehicle at the LA motor Show.
It’s the very first soft-top Corvette to bear the ZR1 badge because the seventies as well as is priced from $123,995 (£92,400) in the US; that’s a $4,000(£3,000) premium over the coupe. before tax.
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Chevrolet hasn’t had to make any type of structural modifications to the aluminium body to fit the folding roof, which is digitally managed as well as it can be operated at speeds of as much as 30mph. only 27kg has been added to the weight of the Convertible, which comes down to the folding mechanism.
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Under the skin it utilizes the exact same 6.2-litre supercharged V8 creating 744bhp as well as 969Nm of torque. It’s paired with Chevrolet’s new eight-speed semi-automatic gearbox, as well as capable of 0-60mph in less than three seconds. flat out Chevrolet states the ZR1 convertible can hit 212mph.
Chevrolet likewise provides clients the choice of a ZTK performance Package, which brings an adjustable rear wing front splitter, carbon fibre end caps, sticky Michelin Pilot sport cup 2 tyres as well as adaptive dampers. With the aero tweaks top speed does experience however Chevrolet still declares it can surpass 200mph.
Which would you have: the hard-top or the convertible Corvette ZR1? let us understand in the comments!

Volvo has revealed a major electrification push as well as product offensive that will see the Swedish carmaker transform its entire variety into hybrid as well as completely electric vehicles over the coming years.
The firm’s electric transformation will truly begin two years from now – Volvo states that every cars and truck it introduces from 2019 onwards will have an electric motor, beginning the push to phase out cars and trucks powered solely by interior combustion engines. It’ll location electrification at the front as well as centre of whatever Volvo makes.
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• finest electric cars and trucks on sale 2017
Håkan Samuelsson, president as well as chief executive of Volvo cars and trucks said: “People progressively demand electrified cars, as well as we want to respond to our customers’ present as well as future needs. You can now pick as well as select whichever electrified Volvo you wish.” 
Fully electric, plug-in hybrid as well as moderate hybrid cars and trucks of all shapes as well as sizes will go on sale, as well as the firm targets to offer a overall of 1 million electrified vehicles by 2025.
Volvo’s upcoming, broad hybrid portfolio will see every cars and truck in the variety offered with 48-volt electrified design as well as a option of moderate or plug-in hybrid assistance mated to both petrol as well as diesel powertrains.
The firm likewise means to release five all-electric cars and trucks between 2019 as well as 2021. three of these cars and trucks will wear Volvo badges, while the other two will autumn under the Polestar badge. As exposed by auto reveal last month, Volvo plans to spin its performance arm off as a separate, high-performance electrified cars and truck company.
Back at the Shanghai motor show in April, Volvo exposed that the very first of those five all-electric cars and trucks would be developed in China – house of the firm’s parent business Geely – for around the world export.
When the cars and truck shows up in 2019, the firm’s Compact Modular design (CMA) will underpin it. The platform will be showed Volvo’s upcoming fleet of little cars, including the new XC40 SUV, the S40 saloon as well as the V40 hatchback. As such, we expect something similar in proportion as well as cost to the Tesla design 3.
Larger EVs utilizing the larger Scalable product design – currently employed on the XC90 as well as XC60 SUVs – will comply with up. 

What do you make of Volvo’s strong electrification strategy? let us understand in the comments!

Last time I checked, MPs were preparing to blow “at least £12billion” refurbishing their already lavish London workplace, the houses of Parliament. They also said yes to burning about £100billion on HS2, which many of them will use, all-expenses-paid, when travelling from home to London and back. Those same MPs and others will set the licence fee we pay, the main funding for the state broadcaster, whose microphones and studios are conveniently exploited by politicians peddling their policies, propaganda and idle promises. 
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That’s billions of our pounds chucked around, just on a building refurb, a new railway, and funding the BBC. but might some, or most, of this public money be more wisely and productively invested in the BCC – the British car company – which I’m proposing, and the UK government could part-fund?

Honda confirms sale of Swindon factory

Why? To create vast numbers of proper, permanent and worthwhile jobs where folk earn decent salaries and, in turn, pay taxes. The UK has lately been losing too many of its once-busy car factories. big players such as MG Rover (RIP), Ford and Peugeot stopped making cars here a decade or three ago. Tragically, Honda will exit this summer when it closes its Swindon production line. And, after being bought/caught by a far Eastern firm this month, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the tiny but still tasty minnow Caterham could build its cars overseas.

Import tariffs could add 10 per cent to the cost of German cars purchased in Britain if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal, a Berlin-based trade body has warned.
If no deal is struck, German cars sold in the UK would be subject to 10 per cent responsibility under world trade Organisation rules. Steffen Behm from the association of German Chambers of commerce and industry said ought to such a scenario arise, either the German exporter or the British importer would pay the levy, but cautioned that “in numerous cases the importer would pay the customs duty”.
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Germany exported 950,000 cars – worth €20.8billion – to the UK last year, so Brits could pay an extra €2.08billion yearly on top of current prices if no deal goes ahead.
And it’s not just German trade bodies cautioning of potential price rises, either. The society of motor producers and Traders (SMMT) has previously cautioned of £2.7billion being added to the cost of imported cars with prices rising by around £1,500 per vehicle, ought to a favourable deal not be struck.
It’s predicted potential new tariffs could push up the price consumers pay for new cars imported to the UK from the continent if brands and retail networks are unable to absorb the additional costs

Jaguar has added a new model to the F-Type line up, the R-Dynamic Black, which is on sale in the UK now in both Coupe and Convertible form. 
The new trim features a black exterior styling pack and 20-inch split five-spoke wheels in gloss black that aren’t available on other F-Types. The R-Dynamic Black comes in three paint colours: Santorini Black, Eiger Grey or Firenze Red.

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The cabin is upholstered in Windsor leather with monogram contrast stitching available in Ebony or Light Oyster colours, while flame Red stitching is also on offer. It also features 12-way electrically adjustable sports seats with heating and ventilation as standard, while the aluminum gear shift paddles get a satin finish. 
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The R-Dynamic Black is available with two engines, starting with Jag’s 296bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit, badged P300. This is priced from £64,495, while the 0-62mph sprint takes 5.4 seconds. top speed stands at 155mph. 
Jaguar also uses the F-Type R-Dynamic Black with its 5.0-litre supercharged V8, badged P450. This unit develops 444bhp and is available with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive; both powertrains are capable of 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 177mph. 
The four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive versions of the P450 F-Type R-Dynamic Black are also fitted with adaptive dampers and Jaguar’s Configurable Dynamics system, effortlessly altering the suspension’s damping characteristics, the steering weight, the throttle action and the gearbox settings according to the drive mode selected. 
What are the best performance cars on sale? Click here for our top 10…

Oxford-based electric car conversion specialist Electrogenic has revealed another electrified classic in the form of this: a battery powered version of the Citroen DS. 
Based on a 1971 example of the famous Bertoni created Citroen saloon, the company has created what it claims to be the world’s first professionally converted DS running on electric power only.

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The car’s original 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine has been replaced by a 120bhp electric motor developing 235kW torque. like other classics converted by the company, it still sends its power to the wheels (the front wheels in the case of the DS) through the car’s original manual gearbox. 
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A battery 48.5kWh in capacity has been packaged in, which the brand says uses a real-world range of around 140 miles on a single charge. The company says the car is also available with an optional range-extender battery supplying up to 200 miles, but has not revealed the capacity of this battery. standard charging tech is rated at 29kW, which can recharge the 48.5kWh standard battery in around two hours.
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The car retains the hydro-pneumatic suspension of the original, though with some modern tweaks to make the system a lot more compatible with the electric drivetrain. As such, the mechanical pump for controlling the suspension’s hydraulic system has been replaced with a modern electric one, to minimize noise. 
“As with all first-time conversions, the DS presented us with special challenges. In this case adapting the hydro-pneumatic suspension to run without the combustion engine. The old pump was so noisy that it detracted from the silent drive of the car, but our new electric pump fixed the issue completely,” describes Ian Newstead, Electrogenic director and co-founder. 
The design of the DS is mainly unchanged. opening the bonnet now reveals the securely packaged battery and motor system, while outside the exhaust system is now absent, and a new ‘DS EV electronique’ badge has been added. 
This first example of an Electrogenic DS has been converted to customer specification, so there is no set price for the conversion. The brand has produced bespoke conversions for a trio of British sports cars: the triumph Stag, Morgan 4/4 and the Jaguar E-Type. 

What do you think of Electrogenic’s Citroen DS conversion? let us know in the comments section…