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Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
New cheapest electric car in Britain
The £14,995 Dacia Spring is no longer Britain's cheapest electric car... for the time being, anyway. It has lost its crown to a Chinese newcomer, which today announced it is slashing its model prices in response to the Government's new Electric Car Grant. Leapmotor - which recently agreed a deal with Stellantis to stock its Chinese-made EVs in the European giant's network of UK showrooms - has knocked £1,500 off the price of its T03 city car. which has a range of 165 miles on a full charge. This has slashed the price to £14,495 - undercutting Dacia's bargain battery model by £500 - to make it the most affordable new EV sold in Britain. Leapmotor's only other model sold in the UK, the C10 family SUV, is also being discounted by £3,750 with immediate effect. The size of these two price cuts matches the minimum and maximum discount being offered through Labour's new Electric Car Grant announced on Monday. However, while Leapmotor claims the 'Leap-Grant' is being offered to customers now to avoid delays waiting for the Government scheme's arrival, reports suggest it and other Chinese brands are unlikely to qualify for the taxpayer-funded subsidies at all. The Electric Car Grant (ECG) - announced by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander this week - is the Government's new big hope to reignite demand for EVs, as it continues to steer towards outlawing sales of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030. However, it won't be available with immediate effect. This is because manufacturers need to apply to be eligible for the scheme, which could take weeks, experts have hinted . Leapmotor UK says this is why it is, 'taking a proactive leap forward to help electric car buyers save up to £3,750 immediately, by launching its own self-funded EV grant, effective from today'. It adds: 'This initiative makes Leapmotor the first car manufacturer in the UK to offer such a grant since the Government announced its own EV grant scheme, which won't kick in for consumers until next month.' For the Government scheme, only cars up to £37,000 qualify, which rules out premium models, including every Tesla on sale. No Audi, BMW or Mercedes EV will be eligible either. This might sound like good news for Leapmotor and its budget-friendly model offering, but reports have suggested it - and other Asian brands - will fail to meet a secondary stipulation put in place by government to qualify for the ECG. In order to be eligible, manufacturers must meet specific sustainability criteria, based on the Science-Based Target (SBT). This is an industry-wide green standard providing scores for companies reflective of the carbon impact of manufacturing products - in this instance, electric cars and their batteries. Only the greenest companies will receive the full £3,750 grant subsidy, while those considered to only meet a lower band will be issued £1,500 discounts, the DfT has confirmed. However, vehicles that don't meet a minimum threshold - which is yet to be divulged - will not receive a grant at all. Reports have suggested that Chinese EV makers could fall foul of the emissions-based rules. As could other Asian manufacturers, including those from Korea and Japan, according to Autocar . Speaking on the BBC's Today programme on Wednesday (16 July), Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said she did not expect any cars that are produced in China to be eligible. 'The grant is restricted to those manufacturers that reach minimum environmental standards,' she said. 'And, frankly, if you generate a lot of the electricity that powers your factory through coal power stations, then you are not going to be able to access this grant.' According to The Telegraph , the Chinese embassy has hit hack and the scheme's stringent requirements. It has called on the UK to follow World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and create a 'non-discriminatory environment for investment'. WTO rules stipulate that members must not give favourable treatment to one country over another when it comes to trading goods and services. An embassy spokesperson added: 'The Chinese side is closely following the situation and will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.' China's - and the world's - biggest EV maker, BYD, has informed the DfT of its intention to apply for eligibility for the Electric Car Grant and said it looks forward to being 'part of it'. Leapmotor says, like consumers, it is 'still waiting to learn which vehicles will qualify, how much financial support will be available, and when the grants will take effect'. Its terms and conditions say discounts are subject to orders placed between 18 July and 30 September 2025 from authorised Leapmotor retailers. However, if it fails to qualify for the Government grant on sustainability grounds, it might be forced to extend the deals. That said, Dacia's Spring - which costs from £14,995 and has been Britain's cheapest EV for the last 12 months - is also produced in China. In fact, it's manufactured in Covid-originating Wuhan by Dongfeng Renault - a joint venture between Dacia's parent company Renault Group and Dongfeng Motor Group. Whether it will qualify for the Government's £1,500 to £3,750 grants is yet to be seen. For the next two months at least, the T03 is being knocked down from £15,995 to just £14,995 with a £1,500 discount applied. Those using Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) finance can pick one up before the end of September for £169 per month and £169 deposit on 0 per cent APR for four years. The bigger C10 SUV is slashed by £3,750 to £32,750 or on a 0 per cent four-year PCP contract for £319 per month and £319 deposit. 'Our mission is to help make the leap to electric cars easy for UK drivers,' said Damien Dally, managing director at Leapmotor UK. 'We've decided to act now because we want to give customers clarity, confidence, and immediate savings – and make the switch to electric a simple choice.' Both cars come with a four-year warranty, while their batteries are covered by a separate eight-year guarantee. Chinese rival Great Wall Motor (GWM) has also since launched its own £3,750 'Green Grant' for the Ora 03. 'The initiative follows the recent announcement that the UK Government's electric vehicle grant includes will focus on a specific set of vehicles, leaving many customers confused and waiting to see if models like Ora 03 will qualify,' the company said. It means the entry-level Ora 03 PURE now starts from £21,245.
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
Shares of Brazil's Fleury jump on reports of talks with Rede D'Or
SAO PAULO, July 21 (Reuters) - Shares of Brazilian medical diagnostics company Fleury ( opens new tab jumped on Monday after reports of a potential acquisition by hospital chain Rede D'Or ( opens new tab, which analysts said could generate synergies. Fleury's shares rose more than 15% in trading in Sao Paulo, making it the biggest gainer on benchmark stock index Bovespa (.BVSP), opens new tab, which was up 0.6%. Rede D'Or, meanwhile, gained 1.2%. Multiple local media outlets said on Sunday that Rede D'Or was in talks with Fleury on a deal that could combine Brazil's largest integrated healthcare network with a leading medical lab chain. Brazil Journal reported, citing sources, that Rede D'Or was working on an offer that could include both a cash payment and share swap. Fleury counts lender Bradesco ( opens new tab as one of its main shareholders. Rede D'Or said on Monday it continuously evaluates opportunities to expand, including potential acquisitions or business combinations, but that no decision or proposal had been made for a potential deal with Fleury. In a separate statement, Fleury said it regularly analyzes market conditions but also noted that no decision had been reached on a potential transaction with Rede D'Or. Goldman Sachs analysts said Fleury could benefit under Rede D'Or's management from better procurement terms, especially on materials, in which there would be some overlap, and a leaner general and administrative structure. Fleury has a market capitalization of 6.91 billion reais ($1.24 billion), while Rede D'Or's market cap stands at 75.29 billion reais, according to LSEG data. Rede D'Or in 2022 acquired insurer SulAmerica in a deal worth 13 billion reais, part of a trend for consolidation in Brazil's healthcare sector that saw the hospital chain as one of the most active companies in recent years. Analysts at Santander said a deal between Fleury and Rede D'Or would make sense from a strategic point of view. "Main synergies could be related to higher scale, and therefore more bargaining power to buy materials at Fleury and G&A savings," they said. ($1 = 5.5704 reais)
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Brazil economists trim 2026 inflation forecast in boost for central bank
SAO PAULO, July 21 (Reuters) - Private economists polled weekly by Brazil's central bank trimmed their 2026 inflation outlook for the first time in over two months, according to a survey released on Monday, in a welcome development for the central bank. Consumer prices in 2026 are now expected to rise 4.45%, down from 4.50% the previous week, a projection that had remained unchanged for nine straight weeks. The central bank targets inflation at 3% with a tolerance range of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. Central bank officials have expressed concern that long-term inflation expectations may be becoming unanchored, despite the country's main interest rate standing at a restrictive 15%. Economists' forecasts for inflation held steady at 4% for 2027 and dipped slightly to 3.80% from 3.81% for 2028, the survey showed. Inflation projections for this year have been on a steady decline, supported by a stronger exchange rate. They continued that trend this week, easing to 5.10% from 5.17% previously. Central bank chief Gabriel Galipolo said in a letter earlier this month that inflation is expected to return to within the tolerance band by the end of the first quarter of 2026. Estimates for Brazil's benchmark interest rate remained unchanged from the previous week, at 15% for 2025 and 12.5% for 2026. The following is a set of projections from the survey:
