7:18 am, May 18, 2020
- Here’s your motoring, business and news round-up for Monday, May 18
Train services ramp up
Britain’s train companies are ramping up services today as coronavirus travel restrictions are eased.
Services will be increased from around 50 per cent of the standard timetable to 70 per cent – but still as little as 10 per cent of passengers can be carried.
British Transport Police will have more officers at London stations in a bid to control crowds while Will Rogers, of East Midlands Railway, warned the new timetable ‘will only allow a small rise in the number of passengers we can accommodate’. Most people are expected to continue to work from home.
Dyson electric car pictures revealed for the first time
James Dyson blew £500m on his canned electric car project – as pictures of the axed car are revealed for the first time.
In an article to celebrate his ascension to the top of the Sunday Times Rich List – a place secured with a fortune of £16.2bn – he explains how the 600-mile electric car had to be canned.
The paper reports that the seven-seat electric SUV – code named N526 – would have had to cost £150,000 to turn a profit, a figure Dyson thought was too dear. Read the full Car Dealer story here.
More than one in three rethink travel
More than a third of people say they could rethink the way they travel after the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey suggests.
The poll, commissioned by charity Cycling UK, indicated that 36 per cent of people may change their travel habits, such as using cars and other motor vehicles less.
Some nine per cent of the 2,131 UK adults surveyed said they have been cycling more during the crisis. If that trend was replicated across the UK, it could mean nearly six million people are getting out on their bikes more, according to the charity.
Global dividends could fall by more than a third
Global dividends from investments around the world could drop by more than a third as coronavirus wrecks parts of the global economy.
Experts have reported that investors must expect a sharp fall in the dividends they are paid by the companies they own shares in.
In a worst-case scenario, more than £767bn could be wiped off global dividends, a 35 per cent drop. But even the best-case scenario foresees a brutal wipeout with dividends dropping £175bn, or 15 per cent.
Post-coronavirus austerity ‘not a done deal’
A financial crisis-style extended period of austerity after the coronavirus emergency ‘is not a done deal’, a top economist has said.
Office for Budget Responsibility chairman Robert Chote said reported government debt of more than £300bn did not necessarily have to mean years of slashing public expenditure.
He also told the BBC the UK economy should be over ‘the worst of it’ in terms of the economic hit from the lockdown, and is now entering a recovery phase as the public health restrictions are gradually relaxed.
Thousands of small firms flock to eBay
Tens of thousands of small firms have flocked to eBay to sell their products, after stores were shuttered in the face of the pandemic.
The UK arm of the online marketplace business said it has seen a surge in customers and sellers over the past two months, as a vast proportion of retail has had to shift online.
Rob Hattrell, eBay’s UK, said he expects customer demand to remain high, even as the current lockdown restrictions unwind, adding: ‘Customers have had to move online to buy the products they need.’
One dead after Canadian jet crashes into home
At least one person has died after an aerobatic Canadian air force jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood, reports the BBC.
Another crew member was injured when the plane hit a house in the city of Kamloops, British Columbia. One pilot was able to eject before the crash on Sunday.
The Snowbirds jet had been on a tour ‘to salute Canadians doing their part to fight the spread of Covid-19’. The Snowbirds perform aerobatic stunts for the public, similar to Red Arrows.
Japan’s economy falls into recession
Japan – the world’s third biggest economy – has fallen into recession as it shrank 3.4 per cent in the first three months of 2020.
The slump is the biggest since 2015 as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the global economy with an estimated cost of up to £7.1tn.
Japan’s news follows Germany, which slipped into recession last week as major economies face the impact of sustained lockdowns.
Investigation: What will happen to new car sales in 2020 and beyond?
Car Dealer Magazine has investigated what could happen to new car sales figures for the remainder of 2020 and beyond.
Speaking to dealers, manufacturers and experts including Daksh Gupta, Robert Forrester and the bosses of Jaguar Land Rover, PSA and Ford, we report on their thoughts for the troubled market. To read the full investigation click here.
This week on Car Dealer Live…
We have a packed week of interviews with dealers and industry experts including our first chat with Pendragon CEO Bill Berman. If you missed any of the shows last week, you can catch up here.
Today Cazana CEO Tom Wood and director of insights Rupert Pontin
Tuesday Hendy’s Paul Hendy
Wednesday Tom Hartley
Thursday SsangYong’s Nick Laird and Jim Tyrell
Friday Pendragon CEO Bill Berman
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