27 June 2025
A new industrial strategy for the UK, analysis of the Dacia Bigster, and major safety recalls. Autovista24 editor Tom Geggus highlights the latest industry news in The Automotive Update podcast.
What does the future hold for the UK’s car market? How does the Dacia Bigster stack up against its rivals? What has caused a major automotive recall in France?
This week’s Automotive Update answers these questions, discusses their implications, and looks at the industry reaction.
Subscribe to the Autovista24 podcast and listen to previous episodes on Spotify, Apple and Amazon Music.
Major UK industrial strategy
The SMMT International Automotive Summit returned to London, with the UK government’s new industrial strategy at the forefront of discussions.
Launched days before the conference, the plan aims to return the UK to the top 15 global automotive manufacturing locations. It recognises how the sector can deliver £50 billion (€58.6 billion) to the country’s economy.
‘We have fought for an industrial strategy for some time, and this rightly recognises the automotive industry. It lists it as an advanced manufacturing sector, and a growth sector,’ commented SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
While there was praise for the strategy, there was also some scepticism, especially around the subject of electricity costs. The plan aims to lower these to benefit manufacturers. However, there were concerns that the financial strain will remain with a number of small and medium-size businesses.
There was also discussion around trade. This followed an agreement between the UK and the US, which resulted in lower tariff rates of 10%. There was also recognition that trading with China provides the country with future opportunities. This could include carmakers localising their manufacturing efforts, as more brands continue to enter the market.
Analysing the Dacia Bigster
The new Dacia Bigster is the subject of the most recent Autovista24 Launch Report. Autovista Group experts provided a detailed analysis of the model’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SUV was benchmarked against its key rivals in Austria, France and Italy,
The Bigster’s strengths include a great design and comfortable driving experience. It also features plenty of physical buttons to control certain vehicle systems, something that is increasingly lacking in modern cars.
However, the Dacia does lack some premium features compared to its rivals. The interior quality is also impacted by the cheaper plastics and materials used.
When it comes to forecast residual values (RVs), the Dacia Bigster performs very well. Being a more affordable model, it performs best in RV terms after 36 months and 60,000km.
Major recall in France
France has issued a major recall, affecting 2.5 million cars from different brands, with concerns over the airbags.
The issue surrounds faulty components made by the now-defunct airbag supplier, Takata. These units can explode upon impact, creating debris with potentially fatal consequences.
The country’s transport ministry has issued a ‘do not drive’ order across all brands using the airbags. This covers models across Corsica and France’s overseas territories, as well as on pre-2011 cars on the mainland.
Furthermore, hotter climates make the unit more unstable. Of the 18 deaths attributed to the airbags in France, 16 have been in overseas territories the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, in the US, Volvo is recalling 14,014 electric vehicles due to a software issue with the brakes, according to electrive. Affected models may not be able to brake under specific driving conditions, especially when using regenerative braking.
