Motors in Thurrock

Ferrari has electrified one of its most successful sports racing cars ever – the 250 Testa Rosa.

Limited to just 299 units, the special recreation has been sanctioned by the Italian marque. The only problem is it's limited to 37mph and primarily designed for teenagers.

Volkswagen is investing massively in electric. It believes that it can produce the next 'people's car' in the same way that it did with the original Beetle and then the Golf. The ID.3 is the car that it thinks will spearhead that revolution and is the first in a long series of interesting models it has planned, ranging from a beach buggy to a reborn version of its classic camper van.

It has dabbled before in electric cars, with battery-powered versions of the Golf and Up! city car, but the ID.3 is the first VW to be designed from the ground-up as an electric vehicle. All of its future EVs will use this structure and layout, so it has gone all-out to make sure it is impressive.

There is a theory that the old Land Rover Defender is one of the 'greenest' cars in the world, as owners can fix them rather than just throwing them away after 15 years. But there is little that is green coming out of the exhaust pipe of these ancient survivors.

This new Defender PHEV is designed to drastically reduce the sooty fumes part of Defender ownership, although you'll have to ask your children to check back in 30 years to see if its subsequent owners have made do and mended.

Hyundai's premium brand Genesis might only have been in the UK for a matter of months, but it's now revealed its first bespoke all-electric car.

Called the GV60, it uses the same major components as the Hyundai IONIQ5 and Kia EV6, but it's aiming for posher end of the electric SUV market.

Kia has finally killed off the 'First Edition' of the Soul EV which has been on sale since the car's launch and replaced it with a new 'Maxx' model. The Maxx has been cunningly priced at £34,945 on-the-road, making it eligible for the UK Government's £2,500 Plug-in Car Grant for electric cars costing less than £35,000. This reduces the price that customers pay to £32,445.

The equipment list still includes black leather upholstery, heated front seats and steering wheel. The 'Maxx' also receives two new metallic paint colour options including Snow White Pearl as standard. Fork out extra cash and you can opt for two tone colours.

BMW has set a record by revealing a new version of a car it hasn't actually launched yet. The iX3 has been given a 'facelift' to bring it into line with the newer version of the petrol-powered X3, with a new look at the front and rear.

Deliveries of this new car will begin in December, while the first UK versions of the 'old' car will be delivered in September – meaning it will be on sale for just three months.

THE government grant for electric cars and vans has been slashed by £1,000 and less vehicles are now eligible.

Financial assistance drops by £1,000 to £1,500 for electric cars and the list price limit for eligibility drops by £3,000 to £32,000.

Britain's electric car infrastructure is failing to grow at the same rate as sales of new EVs, according to new analysis by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The trade organisation has revealed that the ratio of vehicle chargepoints to plug-in cars deteriorated by -31% during 2020.

The research shows that at the end of 2019, 11 plug-in vehicles potentially shared a standard public chargepoint capable of charging both battery electric (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). In contrast, at the end of 2020, the ratio had fallen to one charger for every 16 plug-ins.

A British firm led by a former a Ferrari and McLaren F1 engineer has developed a new electric off-roader designed for use in the world's most challenging environments.

The Fering Pioneer is the brainchild of Ben Scott-Geddes, who has repurposed supercar and racing technology to provide environmental responsibility and unrivalled off-grid capabilities for extreme adventures.

Mercedes has flirted with electric cars before, but its efforts have always been limited to putting a battery and motor in a body which was designed for a petrol or diesel. That's not good enough for the flagship of the range though. Buyers spending six figures don't expect compromises.

So for the first time Mercedes is using a platform specially developed to be pure electric.