Motors in Mumbles

The switch to zero-emission motoring has reached a major milestone with the total number of pure electric vehicles on the roads overtaking the number of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models for the first time, according to analysis of official data by the RAC.

September 2021 saw the highest ever sales of electric cars for a single month taking the number of battery-powered cars on British roads to 332,299, compared to 327,183 plug-in hybrids. Although electric cars still only represent 1% of the total number of cars in the UK, the rate of growth in the last few years is unprecedented, says the RAC.

Mercedes is making a big thing of the pure-electric cars it's launched recently, but it has also been quietly plugging away at its plug-in hybrids too. The latest is the GLE.

For the time being, the GLE is the largest plug-in hybrid SUV Mercedes makes and comes in two flavours, the regular SUV and a 'Coupe' version with a lower roofline. It rivals the BMW X5 xDrive 45 and Volvo's XC90 Recharge, but unlike those cars the Merc is a diesel.

Whether petrolheads like it or not, electric cars are the future. But BMW is taking away the fear for drivers who need to be weaned off the petrol pump with the new i4. When the GranCoupé goes on sale in November at prices starting at £51,905, the four-door coupe promises to have more driving pleasure than any other electric car in this class and feels as much like a combustion engined car as it can.

BMW has not developed its own ground-up design for the i4, but has used the basic structure of the best-selling 3 and 4-Series as the basis for this car.

MG has revealed its new, improved version of the ZS EV, which arrives in the brand's dealerships next month. The renewed model has a new look, but the bigger news is significantly longer range from a new 72kWh battery pack.

It will be offered with a choice of two trim levels and two battery variants. The 72 kWh Long Range will offer a range of 273 miles compared with 163 miles for the existing model (based on official WLTP measurements). A 51 kWh battery with a 198-mile range will be offered in the line up next year.

The most popular colour for the last Fiat 500 was red - so you may be wondering why it wasn't a shade offered on the new, all-electric model.

Here is the answer – the company was waiting to reveal a new model, created with the charitable organisation (RED). Rock star Bono, co-founder of (RED), even turned up at the unveiling of the car, spurred on by the promise of more than $4 million from Fiat over the next three years for the charity.

You might have never heard of Rimac. But the company is certainly well-known by other car makers, especially those who want a bit of help engineering electric cars. In just ten years, the Croatian founder Mate Rimac has companies such as VW and Hyundai fighting to sign him up as a development partner.

But for now, Rimac is concentrating on producing his own car. It is seemingly irrelevant and unachievable for anyone who isn't a billionaire – but it is a technology showcase full of innovations which will filter down to the cars we drive in the near future.

A new study has found that owners of electric cars may want to consider heading to Tesco for their weekly shop as nearly half (45%) of its stores have charging point.

However, Sainsbury's loyalists who own an electric car face a lottery when it comes to charging their cars, with fewer than one in 10 (7.2%) of its stores currently providing charge points for customers.

One of the most frequent questions we get from readers is about electric seven seaters. Here is a car which goes one – or even two - better. The Citroën ë-SpaceTourer can seat up to nine people.

There's no escaping how Citroen has managed this feat of packaging: the ë-SpaceTourer is based on a van. In this case that's not necessarily a bad thing, as we've been impressed by the commercial version previously.

The new Kia Sportage, which is due to arrive in the UK later this year, will come as a plug-in hybrid the Korean carmaker has said.

The Sportage has been one of Kia's most important models in the UK in the last decade, and the new fifth-generation model will come with mild hybrid and full hybrid power. And, for the first time in a Sportage, there will be a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version.

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.