The Assessor Mag Autumn 2024 Web - Flipbook - Page 10
JOURNAL
VM NEWS
NISSAN CALLS FOR
URGENT ACTION ON
UK ZEV MANDATE; UK
INDUSTRY SET TO MISS
2024 EV SALES TARGETS
DUE TO SLOWDOWN IN
CONSUMER DEMAND
Action is needed to address looming
penalties for industry, potentially
diverting UK investments from new
vehicles and technologies, said
Nissan, calling for urgent action to
avoid carmakers being penalised for
slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales
in the UK resulting from outdated
targets in the UK’s Zero Emissions
Vehicles Mandate.
The Mandate was established to
incentivise manufacturers to move from
petrol and diesel vehicles to EVs, under
the assumption that the sharp rises
in consumer demand for EVs seen in
recent years would continue.
Despite discounting by manufacturers
to drive sales this year, the SMMT
predict that the slowdown in consumer
demand means that EV sales will
only reach 18.5% of the total market,
against the 2024 ZEV Mandate target
for 22%, which will rise to 28% in 2025.
Missing the target will result in
signi昀椀cant 昀椀nes for manufacturers
unless credits are purchased from
EV-only brands – none of which
manufacture in the UK, meaning the
UK automotive industry will effectively
be subsidising EV sectors in other
countries, at the expense of investment
in Britain.
Nissan said it remains committed to a
fully-electric future and with partners
is investing billions in new models and
technologies for its UK operations.
In light of the slowdown in consumer
demand, the UK Government needs
to urgently address the ZEV Mandate
to protect such investments, including
increased 昀氀exibility on borrowing
credits from future years in the
short-term, and a two-year monitoring
period for 2024 and 2025 in place of
potentially devastating 昀椀nes for the
industry. This would allow companies
to plan accordingly and ensure the
UK can deliver on the 80% target by
2030, even amidst existing market
headwinds, said the VM.
EURO NCAP
– “WIDE
DIFFERENCES” IN SAFETY OF
DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS
Earlier this month, US federal
regulators opened yet another
investigation into Tesla’s Level 2 driver
assistance system which is wrongly
marketed as “Full Self-Driving (FSD)”.
The investigation is into a series of
crashes during foggy, dusty or
high-glare conditions. Tesla’s FSD
system, which is not available in
Europe, relies on cameras with no lidar
system (which uses lasers to map the
environment) as a backup.
Euro NCAP has put 昀椀ve new cars with
Level 2 assisted driving features to
the test against its latest protocols
and found wide differences in
manufacturers’ implementation of the
technology. Euro NCAP’s assessment
of Assisted Driving systems, 昀椀rst
introduced in 2020, rests on two pillars:
Assistance Competence, the balance
between the level of assistance offered
by the vehicle and the degree to which
10
the system helps the driver remain
engaged in the driving task and of the
limitations of the system; and Safety
Backup, the measures taken in critical
situations to avoid a collision.
In 2024, Euro NCAP extended its
driver monitoring requirements and
introduced additional measures to
improve speed assistance related to
lane relevance, road features, and
local hazards. Furthermore, Safety
Backup scenarios have been expanded
to include motorcyclist avoidance,
alongside pedestrians and cyclists.
Tested under these conditions, the
Assisted Driving systems of two cars
stood out, with “exceptional” levels
of Assistance Competence and
“excellent” Safety Backup. The BMW
i5 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class
were considered “Very Good”, the
systems of both providing robust
speed and lateral control to take much
of the driving load, while keeping the
driver ‘in the loop’, to take back control
if needed. For Safety Backup, the
Mercedes scored particularly highly,
the car moving to the hard shoulder
and performing a controlled stop if the
driver is unresponsive.
The Volkswagen ID.7 and Volvo EC40
(previously the C40 Recharge) were
given a “Good” grading. Both cars
performed well, although they lacked
some of the more sophisticated
features and robust performance of the
BMW and the Mercedes-Benz.
Bringing up the rear, and “Not
Recommended” by Euro NCAP, is
the BYD ATTO 3 with its Intelligent
Adaptive Cruise Control. The speed
assistance system did not interpret
road signs correctly and scored only
modestly in Assistance Competence.
THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL | AUTUMN 2024 | www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor
