Small mercies

et regarding rules which comes into effect in January and oblige manufacturers to ensure that at least 22 per cent of new sales in Britain are emissions­free models, increasing annually to reach 80 per cent by 2030.

Manufacturers will be fined £15,000 (€17,431) for every polluting car they sell over the limit, unless they can buy extra allowances from other companies.

“If major car companies employing thousands of people are saying that there’s a problem, then it’s her job to look at ways of easing that problem,” a Badenoch spokesperson told Politico magazine.

The UK ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is due in 2030 despite widespread concerns that Britain does not have sufficient infrastructure and capacity for the growth of electric vehicles.

THE UK’s national debt reached 101 per cent of its gross domestic product in the last quarter of 2022, compared with 84.4 per cent in 2020’s pre ­ pandemic first quarter. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revealed that Britain’s £2.5 trillion (€2.9 trillion) debt improved in the first quarter of 2023, falling to 100.5 per cent of GDP.

On track

SPAIN’S passenger rail service Renfe will pay rolling stock manufacturer Talgo €181 million to maintain its fleet of high­speed AVE trains until 2027, an extension of their existing contract. Talgo obtained a net profit of €7 million during this year’s first half, a 31.7 per cent increase on the same period in 2022, thanks to increased industrial activity.