Motors in Sandbach

While rivals have been scrambling to produce designed-from-the-ground-up electric cars such as the BMW i3 and VW ID.3, Mercedes has taken a more practical approach – just convert existing cars. The first example of this was the EQC, which is an impressive machine but undoubtably has a few compromises as a result of sharing big bits with the petrol and diesel versions.

The company's next all-electric car was this EQA, which uses exactly the same formula. Unlike the posh and pricey EQC though, this is aimed at the more affordable end of the electric car market with prices starting at £44,495.

Police forces in the UK are to try out a Tesla Model 3 to see how it copes with the demands of emergency work.

Various constabularies have used electric cars previously, but these have always been for low speed patrol work rather than quick response duties. The Model 3 Performance will be tried out as a full-blown fast response and traffic patrol car, potentially replacing cars such as BMW's 330d and a Volvo's S60.

Vauxhall is making serious headway in its drive to electrify its range. The battery-powered Corsa-e is one the UK's best-selling and most affordable small electric cars, while the Mokka-e has been designed cater for buyers who need a little more space and demand a lot more style.

Looks are always a question of personal taste of course, but there is no doubt that the new Mokka is now a much more interesting car to look at. If you go for the electric version (Vauxhall offers the Mokka with a traditional petrol or diesel engine as well), you'll get a 50kWh battery and a motor which produces around 134bhp. That's actually more powerful than the petrol or diesel versions and is about the same as you'd expect from something like a 1.6-litre engine in the old model.

A record number of electric cars were sold in Europe in December, with 176,000 registrations during the month. Meanwhile, the sale of diesel cars continued its collapse, dropping to 160,000 for the month.

In the UK the figures were even more pronounced, with diesel sales plummeting from 15,813 in December 2020 to 5,201 in 2021 while battery cars rose from 21,914 to 27,705 over the same period.

The makers of the hybrid London Taxi, LEVC, have released the first details and artist impressions of a campervan conversion, called the e-Camper.

Campervan sales have grown hugely after the pandemic as holidaymakers are forced to stay in the UK rather than travel abroad. This has led to a raft of new conversions, including pure electric-powered camper versions of the Vauxhall Vivaro and Nissan e-NV200.

Mercedes has revealed a show car which is said to be capable of travelling more than 620 miles on a charge, and says it points the way to its next electric models.

The VISION EQXX includes a new, super-efficient electric drivetrain as well as the use of lightweight engineering and sustainable materials. These combined mean it has a claimed consumption of around six miles per kWh of electricity - better than an electric city car today.

Big-value brands are big news. Just as Aldi, Lidl and Primark are thriving, so too is car maker Dacia. It's models cost thousands less than the equivalents from the big-selling brands.

Now its attention has been turned to the electric car market, with the Spring. This isn't a boring hatchback or tiny city car; instead it's a modern looking baby SUV.

Performance car fans know that the Octavia vRS is a car you shouldn't underestimate. For years, it's offered VW Golf GTI performance in a more practical body shape - with a lower price tag. But now the vRS has shifted up a gear with this plug-in hybrid version.

The iV version of the vRS uses a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to a 113bhp electric motor and a 13kWh battery. The power is sent to the front wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and in the Skoda total power is a pretty pokey 242bhp.

Drivers are soon set to be allowed to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road on motorways in the UK, the government has just announced. It's the long awaited first move to autonomous driving that all the major car firms have been working on for years.

The ground-breaking plans will allow hands free driving in cars fitted with lane keeping technology on traffic-filled motorways at speeds up to 37 mph.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally confirmed rumours that the prized Supercharger network will be available for all electric car drivers within a few months.

In a Tweet replying to a customer, he said; "...we're making our Supercharger network open to other EVs later this year."