Bad luck intercepts promising Miami weekend

Industry News

Images are for editorial use only. The Miami E-Prix ended in disappointment for Maserati MSG Racing after holding much promise. NUMBERS Stoffel VandoorneFree Practice One // P15Free Practice Two // P10Qualifying // P6 [1:23.566, Quarter Final Duels]Race // P14Positions Gained // -8Fastest Lap // 1:28.183Championship Position // P14 [16 points] Jake HughesFree Practice One // P14Free Practice Two // P14Qualifying // P21 [1:25.359, P11 Group A]Race // DNFPositions Gained // 0Fastest Lap // 1:30.367Championship Position // P6 [27 points] Maserati MSG RacingChampionship Position // P6 [43 points] Maserati MSG Racing were looking to continue their momentum from Jeddah as Formula E returned to racing in Miami. The weekend held much promise, showcased with Stoffel Vandoorne’s strong qualifying performance. Unfortunately, bad luck got in the way of a good result and the team took no points away from the weekend. Stoffel was looking to extract maximum out of the car along with Jake Hughes who, although struggling a little in comparison to Stoffel around the Homestead-Miami International Speedway, was still feeling good ahead of qualifying. Margins were incredible tight in Group A, where both Stoffel and Jake were qualifying. Being off the pace by just over four tenths of a second sadly saw Jake out of the group stages, which was tough for the Brit to take having been so fractionally off the leading lap time. Stoffel’s Group A time put him 0.040s behind Porsche’s Antonio Felix Da Costa who topped the group, earning him second in the group stage and a ticket into the Quarter Final Duels. He was up against Andretti’s Jake Dennis and gave the flying lap everything he had. It wasn’t quite enough to beat Dennis, but the 1:23.566 was the second fastest of all drivers relegated from the Quarter Finals, placing him sixth on the grid. As usual, the race became all about strategy, with both Stoffel and Jake running different races to extract the most out of their starting positions. Stoffel’s Attack Mode usage saw him climb up to third, looking set to bring Maserati MSG Racing another podium. He got stuck in the wrong racing pack, which dampened his chances for a podium, but Stoffel was still in a good place to bring home a decent haul of points. Jake focused on energy saving in the start, biding his time to pull a big energy advantage on his competitors. This put him in a great position at the end of the race, looking like he was going to convert his backrow start into a top four finish. But the team’s luck ran out when Jake became tangled in an incident with DS PENSKE’s Max Guenther and Jaguar’s Mitch Evans. Looking to pass Jake, everything bottle necked at the Attack Mode Turn 4 chicane and Guenther went straight into the back of the Maserati Tipo Folgore. Evans joined the incident with nowhere to go, causing the sole red flag of the race with Jake the only retiree of the collision. It was a quick clean up, leaving four racing laps to go, but Stoffel’s earlier brilliant Attack Mode strategy came back to haunt him. Now being in a pack of cars, most of which still had an Attack Mode to use, he was a sitting duck as his second Attack Mode had majority been lost to the red flag. Maserati MSG Racing will regroup and get ready to go again as Formula E heads to Europe, not only for the first European race of the season but for the team’s home race in Monaco. For the first time a double header, Maserati MSG Racing will be looking to put out the best performance, extract the maximum from the cars and bring home a decent haul of points in front of a home crowd and team partners. QUOTES Jake Hughes, Driver, Maserati MSG Racing: “It’s a real shame to end the weekend with a DNF because I really think we were on for a good result. One lap pace wasn’t our strength this weekend – we’ll look over exactly what happened for me in qualifying because starting at the back in a Formula E race is never ideal. But in the race, to see that we have the pace and strategy to climb the grid, be in a position for a top five finish or possibly more, that’s really positive. The team did a great job of executing the energy saving strategy and I was in a really good position in the closing stages and I really think a lot of points were on offer. That’s why it’s so frustrating, or more frustrating, when you’re taken out by another driver. Sure, that’s motorsport and sometimes things don’t go your way, but it’s gutting to leave so many points that I really thought were ours on the table. There are still a lot of positives to take away from this weekend, and that makes me really excited for the next round in Monaco.” Stoffel Vandoorne, Driver, Maserati MSG Racing: “From FP one our focus was on finding the perfect setup around this new circuit. It was a positive surprise to have such a strong result in qualifying, giving me some confidence going into the race. We were in a good position at the start, and knew points could be on the cards if we played the strategy right. From lights out the race was tricky, as Formula E races tend to be. So many cars together at the start, it can get chaotic and it’s important to keep your nose clean through the first few laps. We managed to get up into the top three, starting to use our Attack Mode strategy to good effect, but we got slightly too focused on the wrong competitors. It saw us stuck in the wrong pack, fighting with the wrong people, which put us on the back foot. I was still confident we could end the race with decent points, but I got unlucky with the safety car…

Historic parade of 70 Alpine cars kick-starts 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting

Industry News

Images are for editorial use only. 40,000 motor sport fans look on as the 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting starts in style with a special parade of 70 Alpine cars driven by owners from across the world Historic parade included iconic racing models from the 1960s through to the latest electric A290 hot hatch Founded in 1955 with a racing and rallying DNA born out of agility and lightness, Alpine is celebrating its 70th anniversary with a range of special events throughout 2025 Alpine returned as lead automotive partner of the Goodwood Members’ Meeting for the second successive year An estimated 40,000 motor sport fans enjoyed a thrilling start to the exclusive 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting, with a unique parade featuring a historic collection of 70 Alpine sports cars driven around the iconic racing circuit by owners from across the world. The unique moving display celebrated Alpine’s 70th anniversary by showcasing the past, present and future of its racing and rallying DNA. Cars from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including A110, A310, GTA and A610 models, provided a moving illustration of the brand’s history, highlighting founder Jean Rédélé’s focus on agility and lightness in every model he launched. The legendary classics were joined by Alpine’s latest model, the all-electric A290 hot hatch, the 2025 Car of the Year winner making its UK début in right-hand drive form, plus a sensational range of models from today’s high-performance A110 range. Nicola Burnside, MD of Alpine Cars UK, said: “The Alpine parade was the perfect way to kick-start the Goodwood Members’ Meeting weekend and our 70th anniversary celebrations in the UK, linking our past to our present and underlining our race and rally DNA as we head into an electric era. It was an incredible sight to see so many historic Alpine racing cars and an unforgettable experience for the owners driving them.” On static display and attracting just as much attention from Goodwood Members was the UK debut of the limited edition, 345bhp A110 R Ultime ultra sports car, the sportiest and most exclusive Alpine road car ever, with just 110 examples to be produced and capable of 0 to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds. Other static displays for sports car enthusiasts to savour at Goodwood this weekend include the A110 R, A110 GT, A110 S plus the new, electric Alpine A290. ENDS About Alpine:Founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé, the brand has set itself apart with its French-style sports cars. In 2018, the brand presents the new A110, a sports car faithful to Alpine’s timeless principles of compactness, lightness, agility and driving pleasure. In 2021, Alpine Cars, Renault Sport Cars and Renault Sport Racing join forces under the Alpine flagship. It thus becomes the brand dedicated to innovative, authentic, exclusive sportscars of Groupe Renault, benefiting from the heritage and craftmanship of its historic plant in Dieppe, as well as the engineering mastery from the Formula One and Renault Sport teams. For further information please visit press.alpinesportscars.co.uk, www.alpinecars.com or @RenaultUKPR or contact: Jim HolderDirector of Communicationsjim.holder@renault.co.uk – 07779 227930 Archie FinniePress Officerarchie.finnie@renault.co.uk – 07887 468977

More than a million EVs on UK roads as vehicle ownership reaches new high

Industry News

Images are for editorial use only. SMMT MOTORPARC 2024 12 April 2025 (data for 2024)Hi-res charts available via Dropbox here Record 42 million vehicles on UK roads in 2024, as volumes rise 1.4%, with cars up 1.3% to 36,165,401 units. Number of electric cars in use hits monumental milestone, passing the one million mark with more than 1.3 million now on the road, up 38.9% year on year. Average car fleet CO2 emissions down -1.6% as an ever-expanding EV model choice plus lower-emission hybrids and conventionally fuelled vehicles replace older units. Fleet renewal slows as Brits hold on to their cars for longer, with 43.4% of the parc over 10 years old and average age of car in use rising to new high of 9.5 years. Saturday 12 April, 2025 The number of vehicles on British roads reached its highest ever level in 2024, rising by 1.4% to 41,964,268, according to new Motorparc data published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The number of cars in use also reached new highs, growing by 1.3% or 470,556 units to 36,165,401, marking the third consecutive year of growth and the second-biggest volume gain since 2016.1 The increase reflects growth in the new car market, which in 2024 saw 1.953 million new cars registered, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) making up 19.6% of the market. Van use also grew to record levels, up 1.8% to 5,102,180 units, with more than one million of these workhorses added to roads since 2015.2 Heavy goods vehicle volumes remained almost unchanged, down just -0.1% or 364 units, at 625,509 units. Bus and coach volumes fell by just -0.1% to 71,718 units, although this means that the UK public transport fleet is now the smallest since records began. Britain’s vehicle parc continues to decarbonise, with a 34.6% increase in plug-in vehicles (BEV and plug-in hybrid) – now accounting for one in 20 (5.1%), or 2,157,360, vehicles in use. Manufacturer discounting has driven up demand for battery electric cars which saw them remain the fastest growing sector of the parc, breaking the million motor milestone as volumes soared by 38.9% to 1,334,246 units. As a result, BEVs comprise 3.7% of cars in use, up a full percentage point on 2023. Conventionally fuelled cars remained the most dominant powertrains, with petrol-powered motors rising by 1.0% to 21.0 million, and an almost unchanged market share of 58.2%, while diesel volumes fell -4.4% to 11.6 million – making up 32.1% of cars in use – and marking the fuel type’s fifth straight year of decline. The proliferation of newer lower and zero emission technologies across the parc led to a reduction in average car CO2, which dropped by -1.6%. This was fuelled by a significant fall in company car emissions, down -5.6% thanks to fiscal fleet incentives and manufacturer investment into an ever-expanding range of electrified model choices to appeal to every motorist. Private car CO2 also dipped, falling marginally by -1.0%, demonstrating a need for consumer fiscal incentives to deliver rapid decarbonisation. Lower uptake in the new car market means motorists are holding onto their cars for longer, with the average age of a car on the road now 9.5 years old, up from 9.3 years in 2023 and much older than the eight year-old average of 2019. More than two-fifths (43.4%) of the total parc has now been in use for more than a decade, predating the introduction of lower-emission Euro 6 technology which has done much to improve air quality. The commercial vehicle parc is also decarbonising, with buses leading the way with an 81.8% increase in zero emission units on last year to 3,494 – accounting for almost one in 20 (4.9%) buses in use. Vans, which support businesses across the country, are also increasingly going zero-emission, with battery electric van volumes increasing by 31.6% to 80,476 units – or 1.6% of the parc. Electric truck use also rose, but overall they account for fewer than 0.1% of the fleet. Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “Britain’s vehicle parc is growing, providing essential mobility for the nation while reducing its environmental impact. However, there is scope to push environmental improvements much faster as motorists are holding onto their cars for longer, some one and half years longer on average, than only five years ago. Drivers need more incentives and greater confidence in infrastructure investment if we are to replace the high volumes of older high-emission cars with zero-emission alternatives. Success will keep the country on the move while driving up economic growth from every business dependent on road transport.” Did you know? Superminis remain the most popular car type in use, closely followed by lower medium models. These segments account for almost three out of five cars (59.2%) on the road, making up 11,893,199 and 9,524,299 units respectively. Germany was the largest source of cars on UK roads, accounting for 29.5%, with the UK (14.1%) the second and Spain (10.3%) the third. China is now the 12th largest source of cars. Black remains the most popular car colour of choice, accounting for more than one in five vehicles in use today (20.2%). Automatic transmissions continue to rise as more electric vehicles reach the road, up 9.5%, while manual transmissions have fallen -2.6%. For Wicked musical fans, 660,245 green and 24,863 pink cars were in use on UK roads last year. While red might seem the archetypal colour for buses, white coloured buses are actually the most popular – with 19,797 in use, equal to 27.8% of the fleet. London and the South East are home to the most cars (8,993,282), followed by the North West (4,007,590) and the South West (3,609,861). London and the South East is the region with the most registered EVs in use (456,289). Of all cars in use, 35.1% are registered to women and 51.1% to men,with a 4.0% increase in women owners over the last five years.3 Almost six in 10 EVs are registered to companies, compared with companies accounting for just 10.0% of the overall…