Show Notes
UK LOVES A GREY CAR The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the details about the colours we selected in 2025 for new cars that were registered. Once again, claiming the top spot, grey won out. Black was second and blue rounded out the top three. To find out more, click this SMMT article link here. HONDA LIGHT UP THEIR NEW LOGO Honda has revealed their new ‘H’ logo that will adorn their electric and hybrid vehicles from 2027 onwards. This is a flat, stylised letter H that will be illuminated from behind. Click this Motor Trader article link here, to read more. MERCEDES PAUSE THEIR LEVEL 3 DRIVING SYSTEM Mercedes-Benz are to pause the sale of their Level 3 automated driving system, which under certain circumstances allowed the driver to have their hands off the steering wheel and be looking away from the road. They will only be fitting Level 2 driver assistance systems to cars that previously had the L3 option. If you wish to find out more, click this electrive article link here. TESLA FSD TO BE SUBSCRIPTION ONLY Tesla has announced that customers in the US will no longer be able to purchase the Full Self Driving driver assistance system outright, from the middle of February 2026. But, it can still be added to suitable cars for a subscription. To read more, click this electrive link here. UK GOVERNMENT INCREASES FUND FOR EHGV GRANTS The UK Government is adding £18 million to the fund for electric HGV purchase grant. The amount is tiered dependent on the size of the lorry, with up to £120,000 available to help buy HGVs up over 26 tonnes. You can find out further information by clicking this electrive article link here. SOUTH EAST GET EVEN MORE EV CHARGERS Charging company Zest will be installing over 200 charging points in the Lewisham Council controlled area. Good to hear the South East is getting even more chargers - but more seriously, we need more and we need all the country to be well provided for. Click this electrive article link here for more. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST
NEW NEW CAR NEWS - Mercedes-Benz CLA wins European COTY 52 years after the German brand last won a European COTY award, they do so with their latest CLA. Second place, the Skoda Elroq, was 100 points behind. To find out more about the CLA and the European COTY awards, click this Motoring Research article link here. Skoda Peaq Skoda has revealed the name for their new seven seat electric SUV will be Peaq (pronounced “peak”). Very little else is know, although it is based on the 2022 concept the Vision S7. Click this EV Powered article link here to find out more. Geely Galaxy Cruiser Geely are bringing a rival for the Defender and G-Class to the UK. Based on the concept we saw last year at the Singapore Motor Show it will be based on the Lotus Eletre PHEV. Click this Autocar article link here to find out more. LUNCHTIME WATCH: EVO COTY 2025 AWARD EVO has released the film of their Car of the Year award, for 2025. This year they chose the roads in the South of France to spend a week trying to work out which was their favourite car of the year. Oh, the humanity! Click this YouTube link here to watch the video. LIST OF THE WEEK: EARLY 90S SUPERSALOONS TO MAKE YOU SWOON Hagerty brings us a list about early 1990s super saloons in which to get lost reminiscing about. Do you agree with Andrew’s choice? Click this link here to check out the options. AND FINALLY: ANDREW RITTER ARTIST We are recommending an older Classic and Sports Car article about the artist Andrew Ritter and his cartoon style motoring related images. Fabulous work you need to check out, if you haven’t heard of him. Click here to see more.
More from Motoring Podcast - News Show
FOLLOW UP: SMART #2 CORRECTION During the last Special Edition, we got a few details incorrect when discussing the Smart #2. One of our listeners, Tony, kindly pointed this out to us. Thank you, as we try to be correct and if we make a mistake we like to correct it. If you want to listen to the Paris Motor Show episode, click either of these links here. To 👂 via streaming click 👉 https://www.motoringpodcast.com/episodes/2026/10/23/se716 To 👂 via other services click 👉 mpnewsshow.captivate.fm/list VOLVO TO CUT WORKFORCE Volvo will be shedding around 2,500 jobs, mainly in Sweden, following a poor third quarter in 2026. They are aiming at mainly temporary consultants and through “natural attrition”. Håkan Samuelsson, CEO, also has a plan to stop the rot in their sales in China. If you wish to read more, click this Autocar article link here. BOSCH RESTRUCTURING HIGHLIGHTS SUPPLIER’S STRUGGLES Bosch is splitting out several of their divisions into independent entities, wholly owned by themselves, as it seeks to try and be more competitive. The Mobility division has announced 900 jobs to go at their Nuremberg site, which is on top of 22,000 redundancies announced last year. For more on this, click the link here to an electrive article. GOVERNMENT TURNS ATTENTION TO PRIVATE PARKING RULES The UK Government is releasing a new Private Parking Code of Practice, which is aimed at making it fairer to users and feel a little bit less of a rip-off. There will be longer grace to times, ability to appeal, not be so heavily penalised for typing your registration in correctly and more. The RAC had called for even more steps, which have not been included. To find out the full details, click this Motoring Research article link here. HONDA TESTING INDUCTION CHARGING WHILST DRIVING Honda, in collaboration with Taisei and Taisei Rotec, is trialling induction charging but for vehicles on the move. This will mean a power transmitter is embedded into the road with a receiver fitted to the car allowing recharging as the car is driven along. The companies state that real world testing will begin in the spring of 2027. If you want to learn more, click this Top Gear article link here. OCTOPUS REDUCES FLEET EV CHARGING COSTS Octopus is reducing the amount it costs fleets to charge their EVs, if signed up to the Octopus Fleet subscription service. This equates up to 30% off. By managing to do this, the company is hoping to gain business. To read more, click this Autocar article link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST
The Paris Motor Show took place between the 12 and 18 October 2026. Alan and Andrew round up the highlights that caught their eye during the week. For Autocar’s main coverage and report, click this link here. For Average Joes’s coverage, click this link here. For a sweep by Autocar, of the new cars being shown, click this link here. To watch Tim Rodie Drives Stuff tour of the show, click this YouTube link here. For DefinitetlyNotAGuru’s tour, click this YouTube link here. To see what the House of Cars channel found interesting, click this YouTube link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST
FOLLOW UP: MOTOR FINANCE REDRESS HEARING IN 2027 The date for the hearing of the two complaints into the motor finance redress scheme has been confirmed to take place between 16 and 26 February 2027. The scheme will remain in its current semi-suspended status until after the rulings. There is a potential for the ruling to not take place until the summer of 2027 with compensation expected to take place from 2028. For more on this matter, click this article link from The Law Gazette here. CHINA REDUCING TAX REBATE FOR EXPORTED NEVS The Chinese Government has announced that it is reducing the VAT rebate on exporting battery electric and plug in hybrid vehicles. This is associated with the reduction in assistance for ‘future-orientated’ industries. This is bad timing for the car industry of the country as there is a slump in sales, which is adding more pressure on companies. If you wish to read more, click this electrive article link here. AIRPORT DROP OFF PRICES TO BE INVESTIGATED The practice of charging drivers to drop off or collect those using an airport has become a source of income for UK sites. However, the prices have increased at a rate that far outstrips what many feel is fair. Now the UK Government has announced it will look into these fees. Fingers crossed the result is they are banned as this does not happen in Europe. If you wish to read more, click this Motoring Research article link here. POLICE NOW ABLE TO SEIZE YOUR CAR FOLLOWING ACT CHANGE Section 59 of the Police Reform Act was amended to enable police to seize a driver’s vehicle with an incredibly broad set of criteria. Criteria such as careless driving, inconsiderate driving or unauthorised driving off-road. On top of that if the officer believe conduct that causes or is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance. Passengers too can be fined for their involvement. You can find out more by clicking this Carscoops article link here. EURO NCAP SAYS CLIMATE CONTROL CAN STAY ON SCREENS Euro NCAP has clarified what interactions it believes are safety critical and thus require a physical button and which do not. Climate control and media can be left on touchscreens, as they do not see them as “time-critical tasks” as well as the mind boggling statement “it is also not proven that direct physical input is safer”. Tell that to the UK lawmakers and how drivers are banned from interacting with their phones even in a mount for media etc. If you want to read more, click this EV Powered article link here. VOLKSWAGEN BATTERY RECALL VW is preparing itself for a large battery recall in Europe, on top of those already underway in the UK and US. In Europe ID.3, ID.4, ID.7 and ID.Buzz, as well as Cupra Born are the affected models, when they have been built between 2023 and 2025. However, the actual number to be recalled will be lower than currently stated due to it only be a small batch of batter cells that are the issue. In the UK, the ID.3, ID.4, ID.7, ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo, built between 2022 and 2025 are potentially affected. To find out more, click this electrive article link here. If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST
In this week’s show, Alan starts with a follow-up on China agreeing to limit the number of hybrid and PHV cars it imports into the EU, and discusses Porsche's forthcoming halo-vehicle and strategy announcements. Google Maps and Waze are now displaying fuel prices, Freelander is confirmed for the UK - eventually, and TfL makes a bid to regulate “robocabs” in London. In New New Car News, Alan talks about he likelihood of success of the much-discussed Jaguar Type-01, the Nissan Pixo, and the Bentley Torcal. Lunchtime Read covers the history of the Peugeot 309; there are 10 unusual homologation specials for List of the Week. And Finally covers the importance of removing vehicle liveries.
Alan was invited to the launch of the Peugeot e208 GTi, an electric hot hatch, conveniently close to home. What does he think? Is it a worthy successor to the still-lauded 205 GTi, or is it a pretender? We discuss it in depth in this Special Edition. Alan’s also done a walk round on YouTube, so you can enjoy him pointing at things while he talks about them. You can find it here: https://youtu.be/GdVyzyeQhs4 If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST