I suppose it is quite topical to talk about the obscene money earned by even the most mediocre of premiership footballers as we watch the odious Marlon King deprived of his privileged lifestyle for 18 months (although in reality probably just a long weekend). This outrageous reward is never better illustrated by the money that these players are … [Read more...]
Motor Codes receives government and industry approval
October 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair has received high-profile approval from government and key industry bodies. Trade associations, including the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Scottish Motor Trade Association (SMTA) and the National Tyre Distributors … [Read more...]
Geely bid for Volvo preferred by Ford
October 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Ford has announced that a consortium led by China's Zhejiang Geely is its preferred bidder for its Swedish car subsidiary Volvo. The carmaker said it would enter "detailed and focused" negotiations with Geely, although no final decision about Volvo's future had been taken. Geely announced last month that it was intending to make an offer for … [Read more...]
40 percent more Nissan Micra’s produced thanks to scrappage
October 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Car maker Nissan says the government's scrappage scheme has resulted in a 40% increase in production of Micras at its Sunderland plant. During September the company said 11,000 of the cars rolled off the Wearside production line. Production of the mid-range Qashqai has also increased, with sales rising by up to 15% on the back of the … [Read more...]
Honda’s profits hit by falling sales
October 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Honda's profits for the July to September period more than halved after car sales continued to fall during the global downturn. Net profit came in at 54bn yen ($587m; £359m) for the quarter, down 56% on the 123.3bn yen recorded a year earlier. Japan's second-largest carmaker said the strong yen had contributed to a fall in sales in overseas … [Read more...]
Surging profits for Tata Motors
October 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
India's largest carmaker, Tata Motors, has soundly beaten expectations for its quarterly profit. The company made a net profit of 7.29bn rupees ($156m; £96m) for the three months to September, up from 3.47bn rupees in the same period last year. Analysts had forecast net income of 4.32bn rupees for the quarter. Tata said its market share … [Read more...]
Customer disservice
October 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Who said customer care doesn’t exist anymore? In these recessionist days (is that a word? – no, editor) we constantly bang on about the need to be better than ever and that, in order that we can at the very least keep our jobs and make sure business can keep happening, we have to provide ever greater customer service. Some take heed of that … [Read more...]
GM rethinks sale of opel to Magna
October 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Vauxhall's future has once again been thrown up in the air after it emerged that General Motors is considering scrapping plans to sell its European operation to Magna, the Canadian car parts giant, and Russia's Sberbank. More than 5,500 workers at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and Luton will now have to wait until November 3 before they discover … [Read more...]
UK car production down 16.1 percent but smallest decline for a year
October 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
UK car production fell 16.1 percent year on year in September, the smallest decline for 12 months, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders have revealed. The SMMT said 119,616 cars were made in Britain last month taking the total yearly total to 694,769, a decline of 41.2 percent on the same period a year ago. "The rate of decline ... … [Read more...]
RMI pre-budget submission
October 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
'The Government's decision to extend the scrappage scheme is very welcome news, but the industry faces other challenges, including the looming VAT increase and ongoing issues surrounding Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) refunds, which must be addressed,' said Sue Robinson, Director of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) commenting on the RMI's … [Read more...]
HPI on the great used car stock shortage
October 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Despite depreciation slowing down and values stabilising, the shortage of stock is holding the used car market back from a full recovery, says vehicle information provider HPI. Whilst many the market is showing signs of bouncing back, the need for more stock to support the retail sector is vital to kick-start the industry. "The great stock … [Read more...]
Inchcape upbeat despite ‘challenging’ market
October 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
International automotive group Inchcape, which is one of the UK's largest dealer groups, says that its financial performance for 2009/10 is expected to be significantly ahead of previous expectations leaving the firm 'broadly debt-free' by the year-end. However, the company has warned that it expects conditions to remain challenging in most of … [Read more...]
Spanish Opel workers reach deal
October 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Magna has reached an agreement with unions about planned job cuts at the Opel factory near Zaragoza in Spain, the industry minister has said. Miguel Sebastian said that Magna had agreed to reduce the number of jobs it will cut from 1,350 to 900. Unions had been planning four days of strikes in protest at plans by Magna, which is set to buy … [Read more...]
Hyundai beat forcasts with record profits
October 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Hyundai have beaten forecasts with a record quarterly profit as government incentives fueled strong global sales of its cheap, fuel-efficient models, setting the bar impossibly high for its struggling Japanese rivals. Hyundai's tripling in third quarter net profit comes as the global industry struggles to emerge from an unprecedented downturn that … [Read more...]
GM still confident of Opel-Magna deal
October 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
General Motors is 'reasonably confident' that a deal to sell Opel to Magna International and Sberbank will be signed this week despite a warning by the European Union that the proposed sale might breach state aid rules, Fritz Henderson, GM's chief executive, said in an interview on Monday. 'The German government is in dialogue with the EU, and … [Read more...]
Peugeot-Citroen third quarter sales disappoint
October 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Shares in Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, have fallen 7% after the company reported lower-than-forecast third-quarter sales. Sales fell 7.7% from a year earlier to 11.8bn euros ($17.7bn; £10.8bn). Sales in Europe were boosted by various government-backed scrappage schemes, which helped sales of smaller models in … [Read more...]
We are always looking for experienced writers who can write good original quality posts on motor-trade-insider.com. Please 
The old school car salesman wouldn’t recognise his modern counterpart
In the good old days of selling cars, when you applied for a job the sales manager would probably just ask questions like; 'have you got a large mortgage?' 'Is your wife/girlfriend pregnant?' Or 'do you have a gambling or any other expensive addiction?' If the answer was yes to any or all of these questions you could be fairly sure you got the … [Read more...]