Sainsbury’s launches EV loyalty scheme | Updated DLR trains delayed | US interest rates
Sainsbury’s has become the first retailer in the UK to offer an electric vehicle charging loyalty scheme.
Customers using the Smart Charge service will be able to collect Nectar points for doing so.
Rolling out today, the system allows customers to gain one Nectar point for every £1 spent on charging their car.
Smart Charge is an ultra-rapid EV charging network with more than 400 charging bays.
“With bays in more locations than ever before, and Sainsbury’s stores conveniently placed far and wide, it has never been easier for EV drivers across the UK to access ultra-rapid facilities, and now they can reap the benefit of Nectar points too,” said Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury’s director of property, procurement & EV ventures.
London’s new DLR trains have been delayed due to “challenges” discovered at the testing stage.
This could mean the reduced service in place could continue for longer than expected.
In total, 30 new trains have been built and are in various stages of testing, according to the Transport for London’s Commissioner’s June report.
It says work is continuing to prepare the first train, which is now expected to be operational in late 2024 – it was originally due to launch in March.
Issues were noticed in the “integrated testing and operational proving phase”, the reports says.
“While we have experienced some challenges with this phase, we continue to work collaboratively with our suppliers and operator to mitigate this.”
By 2026, the DLR is still on track to have 54 new trains, which will be feature USB ports, air cooling tech and real time operational information.
Arran Rusling, TfL’s head of programme for DLR rolling stock replacement, said: “Our programme of rigorous testing continues of the new DLR fleet to ensure the trains can enter service safely and reliably.
“As part of this, we encountered some complex challenges, which means we will now start to introduce the new trains into passenger service later this year.”
US interest rates are to be cut just once this year, according to updated forecasts from its central bank.
The cost of US borrowing was kept at a more than 20-year high despite news yesterday that inflation, the rate of price rises, fell to the lowest level in more than three years at 3.4%.
The Federal Reserve published new guidance from its interest rate-setting committee, which expects just one rate cut this year. Just three months ago, three cuts were anticipated.
While the UK’s interest rate-setters at the Bank of England don’t give rate forecasts like the US, market expectations are for three rate cuts this year, according to Refinitiv market data.
The first of those cuts is expected to be in September. It was previously hoped the first cut in more than four years would happen in May – but interest rates were held at 5.25%.
