Germany's premium carmakers Audi, BMW and Daimler have forecast improved sales next year. Rupert Stadler, chief executive at Audi, said: "With the help of our new A1 model, we will be able to increase our sales by at least 10,000 cars in 2010." … [Read more...]
Audi top but Japan dominates car popularity survey
September 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
JAPANESE-BUILT cars have taken five of the top ten places in a survey of Britain's most popular models but, quelle surprise, the poll of 77,000 motorists by Which? Car made dismal reading for French manufacturers as six of the ten least popular models were French made. … [Read more...]
Recession equals a 30 percent reduction in traffic congestion
September 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
A new report, by the AA and travel data firm Trafficmaster, shows there has been a reduction in traffic congestion of almost a third, which is the first fall in congestion on UK motorways and trunk roads for 20 years. It says the dramatic drop has been caused by rising unemployment and more people working from home. But congestion on Fridays … [Read more...]
Vauxhall job security “not certain”
September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The fate of 5,500 Vauxhall workers and thousands of other people employed by companies that supply parts to the vehicle manufacturer are by no means certain, according to Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of trade union Unite. He was speaking at a 'Saving Vauxhall jobs, defending the UK car industry' fringe meeting at this year's TUC … [Read more...]
European governments urged to continue their scrappage schemes
September 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Many major economies, including the UK and Germany, introduced "cash for clunkers" programmes, which helped to boost new car sales. There are concerns that sales will now fall sharply without incentives as the schemes come to an end. Ford and Toyota are among those calling for governments to extend their scrappage schemes. More than 8bn … [Read more...]
Car makers may be going green but British motorists lag behind
September 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Car makers are being forced to make significant cuts in their vehicles' CO2 emissions, but some countries appear reluctant to buy the greenest models - British motorists languish at sixteenth place in a league table of who buys the most polluting models in Europe, according to a study carried out on behalf of the Environmental Transport Association … [Read more...]
Woman drivers want safer cars
September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Women drivers in the UK place safety as their number one priority when buying a car, but are 30 per cent less likely to know about certain safety features than men, according to research by the eSafetyAware! campaign for the AA. Generally two out of three UK car buyers who place a high priority on safety when choosing a vehicle have little or no … [Read more...]
NFDA disappointed with Mandelson scrappage rejection
September 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment
'We are bitterly disappointed at Lord Mandelson's recent comments where he rejected the possibility of continuing the vehicle scrappage scheme without even the courtesy of a meeting with the industry to discuss the issue,' says Paul Williams, Chairman of the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), the trade body for new car dealers. … [Read more...]
10,500 jobs could go at GM Europe
September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna may cut as many as 10,500 jobs at Opel and Vauxhall in Europe. The cuts could take more than a year to implement, said Magna's co-chief executive Siegfried Wolf in Frankfurt. He added that about 4,000 of the total number of job losses would be made in Germany, where Opel has four plants. … [Read more...]
GM Europe takeover must not favour German workers
September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment
European regulators must ensure the takeover of General Motors European operations by Canadian firm, Magna does not favour workers in German plants, UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said. Germany has offered Magna loans, but Lord Mandelson told the BBC there must be no link between aid and saved jobs. Separately, Belgium wants the EU to … [Read more...]
Decline in dealer finance eases up in July
September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment
With volumes still lower than last year it would appear that the scrappage scheme is having little impact on dealer finance sales, although the decline has been arrested somewhat in July, according to the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA). … [Read more...]
VW invest further in China
September 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Volkswagen is increasing its presence in China after agreeing a 4bn euros ($5.84bn; £3.5bn) investment. The funds will be to develop new products and expand production by an extra 100,000 units in China. Some 1.3bn euros of the investment will be used to raise output capacity in both Nanjing and Chengdu by 50,000 units to 350,000 each over … [Read more...]
Belgium wants EU to investigate Germany’s role in Opel sale
September 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Belgium wants the European Union to investigate Germany's role in the sale of General Motor's European units. GM decided to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Germany's preferred bidder, Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna. Magna has said that it will keep all four German plants open, but it has suggested it could wind down production at a plant in … [Read more...]
UK Government “satisfied” with GM Magna deal
September 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The sale of General Motors' European operations to car parts giant Magna, backed by the Russian Sberbank, has left the Vauxhall workforce concerned that the Ellesmere Port and Luton plants will close. But last night Lord Mandelson said the company was committed to Vauxhall's future. … [Read more...]
Magna gets GM Europe
September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment
General Motors (GM) has announced that it has chosen the Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna to buy Opel and its sister company Vauxhall with German Chancellor Angela Merkel sayingshe was "very pleased" about it. … [Read more...]
The fate of GM Europe is at hand
September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment
General Motors (GM) is due to make an announcement in Berlin later about what it wants to do with its European brands, Opel and Vauxhall. There have been rival bids for the units from Belgian investment group RHJ and Canadian car parts maker Magna. But sources close to the negotiations say "the noise within the system" is that GM will reject … [Read more...]
China’s Geely Automotive wants to buy Volvo
September 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
China's Geely Automotive said on Wednesday its parent wants to bid for Ford owned Volvo thus becoming the latest Chinese automaker to chase a foreign brand in a global industry overhaul. The move could boost the profile of Geely, a small, independent carmaker and, more importantly, give it access to technology it needs to upgrade its cars, … [Read more...]
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