Drivers hours rules depend on the vehicle, the work and the journey. Fleets should set the regime per trip, plan mixed weeks to the assimilated limits and check working time separately from tachograph records.
DRIVE35 now holds £4 billion of automotive capital and R&D grants to 2035. Suppliers should match projects to the right pillar, line up match funding and speak to the APC before competition windows open.
From 18 February 2027, EV batteries placed on the EU market need a digital battery passport reached by QR code. UK suppliers should agree who acts as economic operator and check that their data and battery systems can supply it.
A software defined vehicle runs most functions as updatable software on a few central computers. That changes supplier roles, makes over-the-air updates a regulated activity and keeps the product changing long after sale.
A VDA 6.3 process audit scores each question from 10 to 0 and classifies the result A, B or C, but downgrading rules and star questions can override a good percentage. Suppliers should confirm the edition and prepare element by element.
Seven English cities run charging clean air zones. Fleets should check each zone's class, test vehicles by registration on the GOV.UK checker, pay within six days and treat London ULEZ and Scottish zones as separate checks.
Fleet dashcams record employees and the public, so operators need a DPIA before installation, audio off by default, short purpose-led retention, a subject access process and a plain explanation for drivers.
A PFMEA built on the AIAG and VDA handbook follows seven steps, rates risk with high, medium or low action priority instead of RPN, and only works if its prevention and detection controls are carried into the control plan.
Advisory fuel rates apply only to company cars, are reviewed every quarter and carry no tax charge if not exceeded. Employers should keep journey-level mileage records and apply AMAP separately to employees' own vehicles.
Whether a used vehicle can be sold under the VAT margin scheme depends on how it was bought. Dealers should check purchase invoices, keep preparation costs out of the margin and keep stock book records in the form HMRC specifies.
Just in time supply still suits robust, short lead time parts, but the chip shortage showed the cost of low stock and short commitments. Protect single-source, long lead time parts with defined buffers and keep lean flow elsewhere.
HVO can cut reported Scope 1 emissions, but the biogenic CO2 must still be reported and upstream emissions are similar to diesel. Check engine approvals, feedstock evidence and duty basis before switching.