Latest News

Here you will find the latest news from in and around the Parts Alliance. Be sure to check back here regularly to keep up-to-date with stories from Parts Alliance and the automotive aftermarket industry.

MOT slot fee to be increased by 3p

19 January 2022

DVSA says it will “consider” calls from testing stations to raise maximum fee they can charge for an MOT The MOT slot fee is to be increased from £2.05 to £2.08 later this year, the DVSA has confirmed. It follows a consultation on proposals to increase most DVSA statutory fees by 1.5 per cent. It received 2,573 […]

How Schaeffler’s making workshop life easier

19 January 2022

REPXPERT to play an increasingly important role in providing specialist tools and repair support Cars are continuing to evolve, becoming more powerful, more environmentally friendly, more comfortable, and safer. At the same time, they are becoming more complex, and with each new innovation, independent workshops have to familiarise themselves with yet more technology. That is […]

Volvo is first to launch direct integration with Google Assistant-enabled devices

12 January 2022

Owners can directly talk to Google in their car and remotely control a variety of vehicle systems Volvo Cars will be the first car maker to directly integrate its cars with Google Assistant-enabled devices, a step in the continued partnership between Volvo Cars and Google. The planned direct integration allows for the most seamless connection […]

Firefighters tackle blaze at Birmingham garage

12 January 2022

Six fire engines, a brigade response vehicle and a hydraulic aerial platform were sent to the scene Thirty-five firefighters have been tackling a large blaze at a Birmingham garage this week. Fire crews were called to the blaze at Auto Cars Ltd at 12.49am on Wednesday, January 5. Neil Spencer, West Midlands Fire spokesman, said: […]

Petrol retailers refusing to pass on wholesale price savings, RAC reports

12 January 2022

Drivers are being overcharged by £5M a day for petrol, RAC data suggests Despite wholesale prices meriting big cuts at the pumps the average price of petrol in the UK fell by just 2p a litre in December meaning drivers paid £156m more than they should have, data from RAC Fuel Watch shows. Unleaded dropped […]

UK motorists predicted to buy over 330,000 new electric vehicles in 2022

12 January 2022

Half of new registrations will EVs by 2025, experts say At least 330,000 new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will be registered in the UK in 2022, according to figures from DriveElectric, one of the UK’s leading electric vehicle leasing companies. The figure is based on DriveElectric’s own forecasts, and it represents a significant increase from […]

Record EV sales in 2021 show future direction

12 January 2022

Plug-in vehicles account for more than one in six registrations while battery electric cars alone rise to one-in-nine 2021 new car registrations grew by a marginal one per cent on a pandemic-ravaged 2020, as 1.65 million new cars entered the UK market, according to new figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders […]

Honda glitch resets clocks to 2002

12 January 2022

Fix for UK owners yet to be confirmed but US cars will automatically fix in August 2022 Honda owners are experiencing a bizarre problem with their dashboard clocks, after they were reset to January 1, 2002 on New Years Day. The car maker doesn’t yet know what caused the problem with is affecting UK and […]

IGA donates £20,000 to Ben

21 December 2021

Donation is a thank you from IGA members, chief executives says The Independent Garage Association (IGA) has made a donation of £20,000 to automotive charity Ben on behalf of its members, to help the charity provide vital support to people in the automotive sector. Stuart James, IGA chief executive comments: “It has been another very difficult year […]

UK needs to move away from private vehicle ownership, DfT says

21 December 2021

Shared mobility must become “the norm” say ministers as they outlined support for a system “fit for the future” Shared mobility must become “the norm” and favoured over private vehicle ownership, transport minister Trudy Harrison has said. Speaking at the Collaborative Mobility UK transport conference, the minister said the country needs to move away from “20th […]

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