Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

You and Yours

Magazines & Reviews

Factual: Consumer

BBC Radio 4 FM

You and Yours: Electric Cars, Supermarket coffee, AirBNB, Spas, Tesco 4G

you-yours_bmwi3_060214_e_gt.jpg

06/02/2014

Electric Cars, Supermarket coffee, AirBNB, Spas, Tesco 4G

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, Electric Cars, Supermarket coffee, AirBNB, Spas, Tesco 4G

Demand for mass-produced electric cars rises. Consumer news with Winifred Robinson.

AirBNB is an economic success; Demand for mass-produced electric cars rises; Tesco mobile offers 4G; Row over free coffee at Waitrose; BT minimum cost on their credit card.

Demand for the first mass produced electric car has vastly outstripped supply. The BMW I3 went on sale in Europe in November 2013 and has already received over 11,000 orders. It is soon to go on sale in North America, China and Japan with many of the top motor magazines saying it could be the first electric car to make a real impact on the market.

Tesco Mobile is now offering 4G for free to new and existing customers. Previously the provider charged an extra £2.50 for users to try out the superfast service via a 4G bolt-on. Now the network is lifting the £2.50 surcharge and offering 4G at no extra cost on all its pay monthly and SIM-only contracts.

Six million visits a year are made to spas in the UK with the business estimated to be worth almost two billion pounds. The Sanctuary in Convent Garden is one of the most famous. It's been running since 1977 but will close in May of this year. So how has an industry so closely associated with luxury and indulgence faired during a period of austerity?

AirBNB, the service that lets anyone rent out their home for short-term lets, says it brings the UK economy more than half a billion pounds each year and provides thousands of jobs. But there's concerns that AirBnB's members don't have to meet the same safety standards as their rivals who run hotels and hostels. So if you do stay or rent out a home with AirBNB - who covers you when something goes wrong?

Supermarkets like to make their customers feel loved, which is why Waitrose is one of several which hand you a free coffee if you have a membership card. What impact does it have on the local artisan coffee shop when a big local supermarket starts giving away your main product for free?

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

You and Yours

Electric Cars, Supermarket coffee, AirBNB, Spas, Tesco 4G

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4