Autoesque

Following a particularly poor March, UK new car registrations for the first quarter of 2022 totalled 417,560 units. That was down by 7,965 versus 2021’s equivalent figure of 425,525.

This year’s World Car Awards include a World Electric Vehicle of the Year category for the first time. However, it seems to be somewhat redundant, because all of the top three finalists for the main World Car of the Year prize happen to feature pure-electric powertrains too.

This year’s European Car of the Year result was close, with the top three contenders separated by only 18 points.

104,932 new cars were registered in Ireland during 2021. Although that figure represented a healthy rise of 18.8% compared to 2020’s total of 88,325, it was still short of the 117,109 deliveries achieved in pre-pandemic 2019.

2021’s new car registration statistics were markedly different from those of previous years, thanks to supply issues, the ongoing pandemic and changing buying habits.

Astro Grey metallic paintwork, LED daytime running lights, front fog lights, 15” alloy wheels and privacy glass help the new Picanto Shadow to stand out.

Five trim grades and nine different powertrains mean customers will be faced with an almost bewildering choice when buying the all-new 2022 Kia Sportage.

Electric vehicles dominate the 2022 European Car of the Year finalist list. In fact, six of the seven nominees – which were chosen by a jury vote – feature battery-electric powertrains.

An ultra-slim front grille, a large lower air intake and a contrasting finish for the wide rear pillars help to give the 2023 Kia Niro a distinctive look.

Kia seems to have ticked several ‘on trend’ boxes with the Concept EV9: it’s an SUV with angular styling and a battery-electric powertrain.

Toyota is still the world’s most valuable automotive brand, according to the latest Best Global Brands study by Interbrand.

Supply issues caused by the ongoing semiconductor shortage were largely responsible for dismal third-quarter new car registrations in the UK. In fact, 2021’s September performance – just 215,312 units – was the worst since the two-plate-change system was introduced in 1999.

For this year’s Boardmasters surfing and music festival, Kia has built a one-off car designed for life on the coast. The pure-electric Soul EV Boardmasters Edition is actually a modified pre-production homologation vehicle that would otherwise have been scrapped.

909,973 new cars were registered in the UK during the first half of 2021. Although that total was 39.2% higher than 2020’s corresponding figure, the industry is now experiencing supply problems caused by a global shortage of semiconductors.

Against a background of difficult trading conditions, there has been a big change at the top of the UK’s new car registrations league table.

As well as being the first model to be built on the Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the 2022 Kia EV6 introduces the brand’s new ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy.

A new Kia Light Tactical Vehicle (KLTV) has been unveiled at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX), which is currently taking place in the UAE. Two versions of this military concept are on display there.

By the end of the first quarter, it was already evident that new car demand and supply were both going to be severely affected by the pandemic. Indeed, figures just published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show a UK registrations total of only 1,631,064 units for the entire year, the worst annual performance since 1992.

Launching a Black Edition is boringly unoriginal, but that’s exactly what too many manufacturers do when they need to sell some more cars. How hard would trying a different tactic be?

Rather optimistically, the latest Best Global Brands report by Interbrand is subtitled ‘A New Decade of Possibility’. On the face of it, such hopefulness might be understandable, given that the total value of the world’s top 100 brands rose by 9 percent year-on-year. However, in these extremely unsettled times, the combined result masks some dramatic ups and downs.