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Empty shelves that usually stock bottled water at Sainsbury’s supermarket, Greenwich Peninsular, on September 19, 2021 in London, England.
Chris J Ratcliffe | Getty Images

The U.K. has emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic to find itself faced with an onslaught of new economic crises that have left the country in “a precarious position,” experts have warned.

A perfect storm of labor shortages, skyrocketing natural gas prices and global supply chain constraints have put the country in prime position for a difficult winter. Rising demand as economies reopen has created similar problems all over the world, but economists argue that Brexit has exacerbated these issues for Britain.

Labor shortages

A lack of workers is affecting a slew of industries across the country.

Britain has an estimated shortage of 100,000 truck drivers, which haulage organizations have largely attributed to a post-Brexit exodus of EU nationals. The lack of truck drivers has disrupted deliveries, leading to empty store shelves, backlogs at ports and dry gas stations, which sparked a panic buying frenzy in September that lasted weeks.

Other sectors have also warned of deepening labor shortages that are expected to damage the availability and price of goods in the runup to Christmas.

Britain’s National Pig Association has warned that up to 120,000 pigs face being culled within weeks because of a lack of butchers and abattoir workers.

In a statement on Friday, the vice president of the U.K.’s National Union of Farmers said labor shortages across the food supply chain remained acute, while the CEO of the U.K. Warehousing Association said in September that industries including warehousing, engineering and transport were all experiencing severe worker shortages.

At the end of September, the Confederation of British Industry — which represents 190,000 businesses — said its latest data showed 70% of companies were planning pay rises in a bid to tackle labor shortages.

The U.K. government has issued thousands of temporary visas for truck drivers, butchers and agricultural workers, but some critics have argued that this is insufficient to lure foreign workers.

Risk to future growth

Riccardo Crescenzi, a professor of economic geography at the London School of Economics, expressed some skepticism about the solutions being offered by the government.

“Offering three-month [visas] might not work while the rest of the EU is booming because of the injection of resources allowed for its recovery plan,” he told CNBC in a phone call. “And there is not really an unemployment problem in the U.K., so I struggle to see where drivers would come from in the domestic economy.”

Crescenzi said it was hard to know if the issues were temporary. “Some of these shortages could become structural, and this is a problem that can seriously constrain future growth.”

Sam Roscoe, senior associate professor in operations and supply chain management at the University of Sussex, warned that shortages would persist in the U.K. unless there were fundamental changes to the country’s immigration system.

“Brexit was sold as a vote on immigration independence, the U.K. labor market and making sure that everybody in the U.K. had jobs to go to, but the issue is we have 5% unemployment,” he said via telephone. “We’ve lost access to 27 member countries and the labor pool that was once available there, especially in terms of so-called low-skilled labor. I think that definitely puts us in a precarious position.”

Roscoe said it would take years to get enough Brits trained and licensed to drive heavy goods vehicles. “In the meantime, the reality is we’re going to have labor shortages unless the visa rules change.”

Spending power threatened

In a note on Thursday, Credit Suisse economists warned that U.K. consumers “face headwinds in the next few months,” including elevated inflation, supply shortages and the tightening of monetary policy.

“We think real disposable incomes for the U.K. consumer can fall by about 1.5% in 2022, the biggest fall since 2011,” the note’s authors predicted.

Helen Dickinson, head of the British Retail Consortium, told ITV News Thursday that three in five CEOs said they would have to raise prices by the end of the year due to supply chain problems. Some 10% said they had already done so.

Charalambos Pissouros, head of research at JFD Group, said he believed panic buying and supply shortages in the U.K. might also impact spending power by damaging sterling’s value.

“I see the risk surrounding the future of the British pound as tilted to the downside,” he told CNBC. “How severe any further tumble may be depends on how long the situation stays unresolved. Quick responses like the involvement of the British military could restore economic performance sooner than thought and halt sterling’s fall, and this could also allow the Bank of England to proceed freely with its tightening plans.”

Government response to crises ‘alarming’

It comes as Britain also faces an energy crisis. Several U.K. energy suppliers have collapsed since September as wholesale gas prices climbed to record highs. While the problem has affected markets worldwide, the U.K. is particularly vulnerable because of its reliance on gas; more than 22 million households are connected to the British gas grid.

Meanwhile in Europe — which is also battling rising prices — the European Commission on Wednesday published a “toolbox” that member states could use “to address the immediate impact of current [gas] price increases, and further strengthen resilience against future shocks.”

Crescenzi told CNBC that the EU can count on the strength of its single market, “which means global shocks like the gas price crisis can be dealt with more effectively with significantly more room for manoeuvre.”

“Following Brexit, the U.K. could still coordinate its response to the crisis with its most important trade and investment partner to ensure the best possible protection for its firms and citizens,” he added. “However, measures put out by the U.K. government remain unclear, let alone a strategy to coordinate with external partners. This is alarming.”

EU-U.K. relations have been under strain in recent weeks amid disputes over the Northern Ireland protocol, a special trade deal introduced to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Officials have publicly argued on Twitter over the proposals — dubbed the “biggest source of mistrust” between both sides by U.K. Brexit Minister David Frost — and met to discuss proposed changes in Brussels on Friday.

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EV with fake engine noises recalled for not having the correct fake engine noises

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4 hours ago

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July 1, 2025

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EV with fake engine noises recalled for not having the correct fake engine noises

Dodge Charger Daytona Recalled for Missing Pedestrian Warning Sound

The Dodge Charger Daytona EV made headlines when it rolled out fake engine noises as a way to make the EV appeal to muscle car drivers. As it turns out, they weren’t the right sort of fake engine noises – and now Stellantis has to recall 8,000 of them for a fix.

According to the ChryCo fans at Mopar Insider, Stellantis is recalling ~8,390 examples of its 2024 to 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona EVs because of an exterior amplifier that may be missing critical enabling the amp to emit exterior sounds – including the Federally mandated pedestrian warning sounds designed to keep pedestrians safe.

What’s more, the recall’s “suspect period” reportedly begins on 30APR2024, when the first 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona was produced, and ends 18MAR2025 … when the last Charger EV was produced.

RECALL CHRONOLOGY

  • On April 17, 2025, the FCA US LLC (“FCA US”) Technical Safety and Regulatory Compliance (“TSRC”) organization opened an investigation into certain 2024–2025 model year Dodge Charger vehicles that may not emit exterior sound.
  • From April 17, 2025, through May 13, 2025, FCA US TSRC met with FCA US Engineering and the supplier to understand all potential failure modes associated with the issue. They also reviewed warranty data, field records, and customer assistance records to determine field occurrences.
  • On May 14, 2025, the FCA US TSRC organization determined that a vehicle build issue existed on certain vehicles related to a lack of EV exterior sound, potentially resulting in noncompliance with FMVSS No. 141.

MOPAR INSIDER

Without the software patch, the vehicles don’t comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) No. 141, “Minimum Sound Requirements for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.” The rule requires noisemakers for EVs and hybrids when operating under 19 mph, the safest speeds for pedestrians.

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Basically, if you have a Dodge Charger EV, expect to get a recall notice.

It just keeps getting funnier

My take on the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, via ChatGPT.

If you’re not familiar with the Charger Daytona EV’s “Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust,” it’s a system that employs a combination of digital sound synthesis and a physical tuning chamber (translation: a speaker) to produce a 126 decibel sound that approximately imitates a Hellcat Hemi V8 ICE. That’s loud enough to cause most people physical pain, according to Yale University – putting it somewhere between a loud rock concert and a passenger jet at takeoff.

While you could argue that such noises are part and parcel with powerful combustion, they’re completely irrelevant to an EV, and speak to a particular sort of infantile delusion of masculinity that I, frankly, have never been able to wrap my head around. Something akin to the, “Hey, look at me! I’m a big tough guy!” attention-whoring of a suburban Harley rider in a “Sons of Anarchy” novelty cut, without even enough courage to ride a motorcycle, you know?

You know – and I bet you can help me dial in the the comparison to perfection (and help me explain why the car just isn’t selling) in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

SOURCE: Mopar Insiders; featured image by Stellantis.

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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Kia’s electric van spotted with an open bed and it actually looks like a real truck

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7 hours ago

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June 30, 2025

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Kia's electric van spotted with an open bed and it actually looks like a real truck

Kia-PV5-electric-truck

Is it an electric van or a truck? The Kia PV5 might be in a class of its own. Kia’s electric van was recently spotted charging in public with an open bed, and it looks like a real truck.

Kia’s electric van morphs into a truck with an open bed

The PV5 is the first of a series of electric vans as part of Kia’s new Platform Beyond Vehicle business (PBV). Kia claims the PBVs are more than vans, they are “total mobility solutions,” equipped with Hyundai’s advanced software.

Based on the flexible new EV platform, E-GMP.S, Kia has several new variants in the pipeline, including camper vans, refrigerated trucks, luxury “Prime” models for passenger use, and an open bed model.

Kia launched the PV5 Passenger and Cargo in the UK earlier this year for business and personal use. We knew more were coming, but now we are getting a look at a new variant in public.

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Although we got a brief glimpse of it earlier this month driving by in Korea, Kia’s electric van was spotted charging in public with an open bed.

Kia PV5 electric van open bed variant (Source: HealerTV)

The folks at HealerTV found the PV5 variant with an open bed parked in Korea, offering us a good look from all angles.

From the front, it resembles the Passenger and Cargo variants, featuring slim vertical LED headlights. However, from the side, it’s an entirely different vehicle. The truck sits low to the ground, similar to the one captured driving earlier this month.

Kia-electric-van-open-bed
Kia PV5 open bed teaser (Source: Kia)

When you look at it from the back, you can’t even tell it’s the PV5. It looks like any other cargo truck with an open bed.

The PV5 open bed measures 5,000 mm in length, 1,900 mm in width, and 2,000 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,000 mm. Although Kia has yet to say how big the bed will be, the reporter mentions it doesn’t look that deep, but it’s wide enough to carry a good load.

Kia-PV5-open-bed
Kia PV5 Cargo electric van (Source: Kia)

The open bed will be one of several PV5 variants that Kia plans to launch in Europe and Korea later this year, alongside the Passenger, Cargo, and Chassis Cab configurations.

In Europe, the PV5 Passenger is available with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, providing WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant is rated with a WLTP range of 181 miles or 247 miles.

Kia-PV5-open-bed-pickup
Kia PBV models (Source: Kia)

Kia will reveal battery specs closer to launch for the open bed variant, but claims it “has the longest driving range among compact commercial EVs in its class.”

In 2027, Kia will launch the larger PV7, followed by an even bigger PV9 in 2029. There’s also a smaller PV1 in the works, which is expected to arrive sometime next year or in 2027.

What do you think of Kia’s electric van? Will it be a game changer? With plenty of variants on the way, it has a good chance. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: HealerTV

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Solar and wind industry faces up to $7 billion tax hike under Trump’s big bill, trade group says

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9 hours ago

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June 30, 2025

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Solar and wind industry faces up to billion tax hike under Trump's big bill, trade group says

Witthaya Prasongsin | Moment | Getty Images

Senate Republicans are threatening to hike taxes on clean energy projects and abruptly phase out credits that have supported the industry’s expansion in the latest version of President Donald Trump‘s big spending bill.

The measures, if enacted, would jeopardize hundreds of thousands of construction jobs, hurt the electric grid, and potentially raise electricity prices for consumers, trade groups warn.

The Senate GOP released a draft of the massive domestic spending bill over the weekend that imposes a new tax on renewable energy projects if they source components from foreign entities of concern, which basically means China. The bill also phases out the two most important tax credits for wind and solar power projects that enter service after 2027.

Republicans are racing to pass Trump’s domestic spending legislation by a self-imposed Friday deadline. The Senate is voting Monday on amendments to the latest version of the bill.

The tax on wind and solar projects surprised the renewable energy industry and feels punitive, said John Hensley, senior vice president for market analysis at the American Clean Power Association. It would increase the industry’s burden by an estimated $4 billion to $7 billion, he said.

“At the end of the day, it’s a new tax in a package that is designed to reduce the tax burden of companies across the American economy,” Hensley said. The tax hits any wind and solar project that enters service after 2027 and exceeds certain thresholds for how many components are sourced from China.

This combined with the abrupt elimination of the investment tax credit and electricity production tax credit after 2027 threatens to eliminate 300 gigawatts of wind and solar projects over the next 10 years, which is equivalent to about $450 billion worth of infrastructure investment, Hensley said.

“It is going to take a huge chunk of the development pipeline and either eliminate it completely or certainly push it down the road,” Hensley said. This will increase electricity prices for consumers and potentially strain the electric grid, he said.

The construction industry has warned that nearly 2 million jobs in the building trades are at risk if the energy tax credits are terminated and other measures in budget bill are implemented. Those credits have supported a boom in clean power installations and clean technology manufacturing.

“If enacted, this stands to be the biggest job-killing bill in the history of this country,” said Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions, in a statement. “Simply put, it is the equivalent of terminating more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects.”

The Senate legislation is moving toward a “worst case outcome for solar and wind,” Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco told clients in a Sunday note.

Shares of NextEra Energy, the largest renewable developer in the U.S., fell 2%. Solar stocks Array Technologies fell 8%, Enphase lost nearly 2% and Nextracker tumbled 5%.

Trump’s former advisor Elon Musk slammed the Senate legislation over the weekend.

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” The Tesla CEO posted on X. “Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”

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