RAY MASSEY: New Peugeot E-3008 boasts a range of up to 435 miles

Major motor firms have committed to joining the electric revolution. They have little choice, as ever-tightening Government emissions targets mean stringent financial penalties if they fail to comply ahead of the UK’s 2035 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles.

However, as recent EV sales figures have shown, it’s not enough just to make more electric cars. While many excellent battery-powered options are hitting the market, customers must also want to buy them.

Sluggish demand in the UK and Europe shows that not enough currently do — or can afford to — particularly private buyers who do not receive the generous tax incentives offered to company car users.

Established manufacturers are also having to fight the wave of cheaper Chinese brands hitting UK shores.

This week, Peugeot’s global CEO, Coventry-born Linda Jackson, announced plans to help make the switch to electric more comfortable for reluctant customers. The three biggest impediments to making the switch are range, charging facilities and — perhaps most critically — cost, the company claims.

‘Total peace of mind’: The new E-3008 model boasts a range of up to 435 miles

So, for its new E-3008 model — on sale from £45,795 for the Allure or £49,595 for the GT, with a range of up to 435 miles — Ms Jackson has announced a deal called Peugeot Allure Care, which aims to give EV buyers ‘total peace of mind’.

It offers comprehensive warranty cover for the electric motor, charging system, powertrain and electrical and mechanical components for up to eight years or 100,000 miles.

Peugeot also offers a ‘switch grant’ across its entire pure electric range, providing customers with 0 per cent APR over four years and no minimum deposit — as well as a discount of up to £4,000.

Ms Jackson said the deal will give drivers ‘the confidence and reassurance to switch’, and added it is ‘up to manufacturers’ to make cars ‘as affordable and acceptable as possible’.

An all-electric Peugeot E-408 crossover and E-5008 will also arrive this year.

However, to qualify for the new eight-year Peugeot Allure Care warranty, owners must ensure regular servicing within the ‘Peugeot-approved’ network and in line with terms and conditions. That keeps cover activated for 2 years or 16,000 miles after each scheduled maintenance is carried out.

Peugeot Allure Care will give drivers ‘the confidence and reassurance to switch’

To qualify for the new eight-year Peugeot Allure Care warranty, owners must ensure regular servicing within the ‘Peugeot-approved’ network

The French car firm’s current standard warranty is three years and up to 60,000 miles on passenger vehicles, rising to up to 100,000 miles for commercial vehicles.

Although currently applying only to this one car, the Peugeot Allure Care scheme is likely to be expanded to other new models if it proves successful.

Experts predict a price cutting war by some manufacturers desperate to shift EV stock. But slashing prices alone, as loss-leaders, would only reduce the re-sale value of new cars to their buyers, so it had to be handled sensitively, she said.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has called on the government to halve to 10 per cent the VAT paid on new electric cars to boost flagging sales to private buyers.

New generation Peugeot models will be offered voice-controlled ChatGPT artificial intelligence, including quizzes.

With a lion as its symbol and badge, Peugeot also announced a partnership with UK charity Born Free – co founded by Will Travers and his parents Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers who starred in the film of the same name – to protect lions and other wildlife species.

Recycling and re-using batteries is also central to the firm’s EV strategy, it said.

Drivers want universal parking payment app

The vast majority of drivers want a single ‘one-stop shop’ universal payment app that can be used anywhere in the UK — with all parking providers.

More than 80 per cent of motorists who use parking apps want a simple system, research by cashless parking firm RingGo reveals. Some 69 per cent of drivers say they get frustrated trying to download parking apps.

‘One stop shop’: More than 80 per cent of motorists who use parking apps want a simple system

Frankly, I’d prefer it if the Government mandated all parking firms and councils by law to have a cash and credit card payment option. 

Too many town halls are ripping out those that still remain, to the irritation of motorists. 

The average driver already wastes 38 hours a year because of traffic jams and roadworks, according to research by comparison website GoCompare. 

Across the nation’s 34 million drivers that amounts to almost 1.3 billion hours.

New Mini Aceman’s psychedelic vibe 

Just leave the wrapping on,’ is my reaction to the new Mini Aceman compact SUV.

It is pictured here in light disguise during final hot weather and sandy desert testing, before being fully unveiled in a few months’ time. It will go on sale later this year.

That funky 1960s-style psychedelic vibe looks great.

Under wraps: The funky 1960s-style psychedelic vibe looks great

With four doors, a large tailgate and room for five inside, the Aceman sits between the Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman as the third stand-alone model in Mini’s new all-electric family.

It will be offered only with an all-electric powertrain and 54.2 kWh battery.

With four doors, a large tailgate and room for five inside, the Aceman sits between the Mini Cooper and Mini Countryman

Earlier pre-production tests took place in the sub-zero Arctic Circle.

The new Aceman will be built initially in China, under a joint venture with Chinese carmaker Great Wall.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk