My apprenticeship gave me some of the best days of my life & equipped me with the skills needed to lead businesses at the forefront of the auto industry. For employers & employees alike, apprenticeships add huge value. Find out more in this film with @TheTimes & @BizSupportGovUK.

38k feet, 520mph, -50C and overlooking Novosibirsk looking at Gods own sunset.

This hurts to write (let’s call it tough love), but I believe that in full transparency, in advocating for EVs one must also acknowledge the downsides. My company leases a BYD Sealion (and other EV’s on the fleet) - on paper, it’s great value for money. A Chinese car @BYDCompany leased via @santanderuk But then we had an issue with a door harness - took the car to Hartwell Bracknell; they can’t fix the car - it’s been off the road 71 days chasing faults around the car. Santander don’t want to answer the phone (2.5hrs on hold today) and BYD are unhelpful with a car that has a seemly a catastrophic fault. The cars a lemon (and frankly so are the leasing company and the dealer), the question really is, are all their cars lemons or is this a one-off? Clearly BYD aren’t ready for scale in U.K. and don’t have the dealer back up you’d expect of a mass brand - so as much as I advocate for low cost EVs, my advice at least in the short term, is steer clear of the BYD! The same might be said of Santander leases and Hartwell dealers! I will of course update you on any progress!

Il y a 10 ans, on nous disait qu’il était impossible de produire des batteries électriques en Europe et que l’automobile française ne ferait pas le poids face à la concurrence mondiale. Impossible n’est pas Français ! Aujourd’hui nous avons 4 gigafactories en France, nous produisons des centaines de milliers de véhicules électriques et nos R4 et R5 sortent de nos usines avec des batteries fabriquées chez nous. C’est très concret, c’est bon pour nos emplois, notre économie, et cohérent avec nos objectifs climatiques. Au Mondial de l’Auto ce matin, j’ai réaffirmé une ambition claire : notre industrie automobile française et européenne innove, accélère et se réindustrialise. Nous devons continuer et aller plus loin. Trois priorités : 1. Protéger notre industrie. L’accord engagé entre l’Union européenne et la Chine marque une étape pour lutter contre la concurrence déloyale, notamment sur les véhicules hybrides. Nous voulons une concurrence juste, qui protège nos entreprises et nos emplois. 2. Accélérer l’électrification et la réindustrialisation. Plus de 40 % des véhicules vendus en septembre étaient électriques. Avec France 2030, nous avons investi dans l’innovation, relancé des filières industrielles et démontré qu’on pouvait créer des emplois tout en décarbonant notre économie. Nous continuerons, notamment avec le véhicule autonome. 3. Renforcer notre souveraineté européenne. Avec nos partenaires allemands, nous avançons vers un accord pour concilier décarbonation, compétitivité et protection de notre industrie. Avec une priorité : produire en Europe nos véhicules et leurs composants. Nous avons montré que nous pouvions y arriver. Soyons fiers de nos industries et de nos savoir-faire. Continuons à décarboner sans désindustrialiser, innover sans dépendre et défendre notre capacité à produire en Europe. Croyons en nous, en notre industrie et en notre avenir !

As an auto-industry veteran and “Car Guy”, I’m inevitably drawn to those generation cars that changed the industry; cars which bravely challenged convention and people who took a risk. Cars like Ford Model T (1908, democratising car ownership); Austin Seven (1922, influencing BMW and Datsun); BMC Mini (1959, transverse engine); Lambo Miura (1966, mid-engined supercar); VW Golf Mk1 (1974 defining hatchback); Toyota Prius (1997, scaling electrified powertrains); Nissan Qashqai (2007, crossover); Nissan LEAF (2010, pioneering the modern BEV). There are perhaps other like the Toyota Corolla, the Mercedes S-Class and the RangeRover among others that one could name. There are plenty of attempts that tried and (arguably) failed. The Tucker 48 (1948); Chrysler Turbine (1963); Aston Martin Lagonda (1976); DeLorean DMC-12 (1981); GM EV1 (1996); Renault Avantime (2001); VW Phaeton (2002); BMW I£ (2013); Toyota Mirai (2014); Jaguar I-Pace (2018). While they might not have changed the industry, they added to its learning and its history. So what? Well I’ve had the honour to be at the centre of some of those generational cars and also cars that have failed to hit the intended target. It takes bravery and vision to cause a change. I remember one industry colleague telling me I’d have been better off throwing the $4B LEAF development budget into the Pacific! And so I turn to the conversation; polarised love and hate; around the Jaguar 01. One has to take a personal view on style - I’ve seen the car in the flesh and its imposing; one might question the price positioning; the interior practicality; or its commercial prospects. The decision to stop production of Jaguar for two years and prepare for this launch wouldn’t have been my approach, but that doesn’t make it wrong. What the Jaguar 01 is, is brave. That is to be commended and I salute my @JLR_News industry colleagues for it. Whether it becomes a generational car or not, only time will tell; but what is sure, is that has added to the automobile history books in trying to find a new answer to a segment by leveraging an EV architecture. For the sake of this storied brand, I hope it succeeds.

From @thetimes today. Industry lobby will inevitably win concessions on the timing of the ZEV mandate; however, in compromising on the speed to transition to BEV there is room to clarify the content of the gap between 2030-2035. It should ban new “self charging” hybrids, which are nothing more than an ICE with a battery. The technology for PHEV and REEV is sufficiently advanced to mandate that every car should have a plug and be capable of at least 60 miles of autonomous EV range. Now is the moment to close the loophole in return for slowing the transition to full BEV (but speeding the transition to lower Co2 and clean air) @jreynoldsMP

I spoke with @LBC earlier today on whether the U.K. should increase tariffs on Chinese cars.

This is of course all true as you’d expect from the exemplary authority on car sales. But I would add that there is an R2 0.85 correlation to EV consideration when oil is between $90-100/ barrel. The argument for EV becomes economically compelling and you see this in September sales. Expect the diesel market to disappear and good luck trying to sell a 2nd hand one in part-ex for an EV!

⚡️Top 10 EV Models - September ‘26⚡️ The U.K.’s best selling EVs are 👇

Preliminary @SMMT data for U.K. car sales in September Record electric car market powers bumper September The New car market grows 12.1% – the 10th consecutive month of growth and strongest September since 2017. A record 99,199 battery electric cars join the road – almost 5 every minute – as buyers respond to the oil crisis and more models to chose from Year-to-date BEV share reaches 26.2%, showing strong progress and almost certainly ahead of the ZEV mandate after adjusting for flexibilities enabled by the mandate. @jreynoldsMP

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Truly a living legend- Roger Taylor

Knebworth was the last time I saw Roger Taylor live; and he still has it all - and of course, is still in love with his car!

A beautiful evening in Cardiff!

European BEV sales in Europe hit 30.5% marketshare . France reached a 38.3% BEV market share in August, with 36,159 fully electric vehicles registered, while Germany's share rose to 32.5% ⁠after 68,980 BEVs were registered during the month. Several smaller markets remained among Europe's most electrified. Norway led with a 98.7% BEV share, followed by Denmark ⁠at 85.9%, Finland at 52.3%, the Netherlands at 48.9%, Belgium at 46.2% and Portugal at 36.1%.

Significant news today for PALMER Energy Technology and Inobat as we collaborate in BESS and advance the use of British developed Brill Power active BMS, EMS and Analytics. lnkd.in/p/eK59K7cC

Today I was honoured and proud to be the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the THE MIRANDA BRAWN DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION @MBDiversityLead @brawnm The Foundation has been doing great work over the past 11 years; this years years winners presented by Miranda.

I spoke to BBC Breakfast this morning about JLR’s job cuts. The UK is crying out for a consistent automotive policy - not one where the goalposts change so often. China made it a national objective to become a leader in EVs in 1992. Britain meanwhile is flip-flopping and it’s hurting our industry.

What a great @F1 race in Monza. First Italian home win since Ludovico Scarfiotti won the 1966 Italian Grand Prix, driving a Ferrari 312, on 4 September 1966. Congratulations to Kimi Antonelli starting 19 to win. This season really is the best racing in many seasons!

'Structurally, the market's changed.' Jaguar Land Rover are planning thousands of job cuts, and @AndyatAuto explains why 'it's not looking good' for the company right now.

I spoke to @LBC this afternoon about the potential for job losses at JLR. The truth is that for too long, Britain has lacked consistency from successive governments for our car industry to thrive. The countries that are succeeding now are doing so because of a consistent policy platform prioritising the transition to EVs. You can listen to my interview below👇