Celebrating New Voices Shaping the Future of the Automotive Industry
New awards will celebrate rising automotive talent from under-represented backgrounds
It's time to submit your nominations for the Autocar Drivers of Change: New Talent awards - ahead of entries closing on 10 September.
Held in association with the SMMT, the second running of the Drivers of Change awards will celebrate individuals who are either apprentices or in the first two years of their career, and the company that's doing the most to support them.
The goal of Drivers of Change is to celebrate the automotive industry as a place where you can have a thriving career irrespective of your background and to promote the industry as a great place to work for those from all different backgrounds.
For the New Talent edition, that can be as simple as having started and made an impact in a first role in the industry. We will name the stand-out stars, and the company that is doing the most to support new talent, in a ceremony at Stellantis's UK headquarters in Coventry on 13 November.
We encourage you to spread the word and consider nominating anyone from your wider organisation – no matter which sector of the automotive industry – who meets these broad criteria and has a compelling story to tell.
Entries are now open - submit your nomination here.
There will be no specific categories in which to enter and anyone named on our list can call themselves an Autocar Driver of Change. Earlier this year, 40 individuals were named in the inaugural Autocar Drivers of Change for their work mainly in DEI initiatives, in a ceremony at the SMMT headquarters in February.
This forms part of a refreshed calendar of events at Autocar. Each spring we will continue to host Autocar Great Women, which every other year will celebrate Rising Stars. Drivers of Change will follow a similar cadence in this new autumn slot, where it will remain in future years.
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Land Rover Hit by IT Glitch Halting New Car Registrations on Key UK Plate...
No new Land Rover models registered in UK today as firm races to solve system fault
JLR is grappling with a global IT issue which has left it unable to register new cars.
Autocar was first made aware of a 'cyber incident' at the firm earlier today, understood to be related to the system it uses to register new cars, but the precise impact has yet to be confirmed.
Autocar spoke to a JLR dealer who confirmed the issue and said the branch had registered no new cars today - 1 September being 'new plate' day in the UK when the new '75' number plates are offered, and traditionally one of the year's busiest for new car registrations.
The dealer was unable to give any more details on the nature of the fault, and said there had been no word on when to expect a fix. The branch remained open.
In a statement sent to Autocar, a JLR spokesperson said: "We are working at pace to resolve global IT issues impacting our business. We will provide an update as appropriate in due course."
The company's public-facing website appears to be fully operational, including the configurator.
Further updates to follow.
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Audi Unveils Bold TT-Inspired Sports Car Concept Heralding a Striking New Design Era
First look at Audi's retro new design manifesto, set for public debut at Munich motor show
Audi will reveal a radical new sports car concept inspired by the TT tomorrow - but a leaked image has given an early look at what to expect.
Posted to Audi's Canadian social media feeds and quickly taken down, the image shows a side profile of a sleek, low-slung sports coupé that is unmistakably influenced by the seminal TT.
It's unclear what type of powertrain it uses, but the concept has obvious mid-engined-style proportions and a two-seat cabin.
An official disclaimer says the car shown is a concept vehicle that is "not available as a production vehicle", but the design looks far more production ready than some recent outlandish concepts - so there is potential for a production version.
Indeed, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner has previously said the company would not "show studies anymore", suggesting it plans to launch a production version of every show car it unveils from now on.
More details will be given tomorrow evening, when Audi officially unwraps the new concept - as confirmed on social media by its designer Massimo Frascella, under the tagline 'strive for clarity' - which hints that the concept will set the tone for a new minimalist design language that could be rolled out across Audi's line-up under Frascella's stewardship.
As previously reported by Autocar, the concept will preview an all-new look for the brand, and will make its public debut at next week's Munich motor show.
Döllner previously said that the design would be “a bold step for the brand” and that it would “would look to the future and the strengths of Audi design, for clarity and to bring that to the future, not copying the past”.
This is a sentiment that has been echoed in a new video posted to Audi’s social media channels.
The clip states “the legends of yesterday are the blueprint for tomorrow” with the strapline “strive for clarity” while showing images of the TT, the Avus concept and several Auto Union grand prix cars from the 1930s.
“The absolutely fantastic aspect is that it seems that he [Frascella] somehow had Audi in his mind for his whole career," said Döllner. "Now is the time to let Audi out of the mind of Massimo Frascella."
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