It’s almost that time of year again isn’t it, and I am not talking about Slade records in every store, office parties on every corner, and not forgetting the overly large chap with the bushy white beard. Oh no, it’s far more important than that (for us motor dealers anyway.) The dreaded end of year accounting is almost upon us, did we make a … [Read more...]
GM Europe chief gives Vauxhall job safeguard
December 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The 5,000 UK workers at Vauxhall have been given some pre-Christmas cheer after GM’s European chief Nick Reilly said there will be no new job cuts at the motor manufacturer's two plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton. "There will be no forced redundancies at Ellesmere Port and at Luton it is similar," said Mr Reilly, who previously headed … [Read more...]
UK government may abolish tax on company electric cars
December 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The UK government is considering abolishing the tax on company-owned electric cars in a bid to stimulate the market for greener vehicles. It is believed that Chancellor Alistair Darling may announce the measures in his pre-budget report on Wednesday 9th December as the Labour government is keen to enhance its environmental credentials ahead of … [Read more...]
45,000 new Astra’s already ordered in Europe
December 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The new sixth-generation Vauxhall/Opel Astra five-door hatchback hit dealer showrooms in Europe on Saturday, with 45,000 units having already been ordered by customers since September, the company said. The Astra is GM Europe’s most important model and success is critical for the long-term future of the brand. The fifth-generation of the … [Read more...]
New record for Chinese car sales
December 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Car sales and production in China both exceeded 12 million units between January and November, The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has said. Sales and output are expected to reach over 13 million units for the full year and this will be the first time that China has ever produced more than 10 million cars in one year. Only the US and … [Read more...]
November 2009 new car sales figures
December 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The official figures are in for november 2009 and are they're up 57.6% on a very weak November 2008 with 168,942 units being registered. Obviously the scrappage scheme is still having a massive impact, but with the figures broadly in line with November 2007 can the industry sustain itself when the scheme draws to a close? · New car … [Read more...]
Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi in partnership talks
December 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Peugeot Citroen has announced it is in talks with Mitsubishi Motors about a "strategic partnership". The two car makers already work together in Russia, on developing 4wd’s and electric cars. A Mitsubishi spokesman said: "It's true that we are discussing various possibilities, and a capital tie-up is among them." Mitsubishi shares … [Read more...]
BMW see sales growth in November
December 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment
BMW Chief Exec Norbert Reithofer has revealed that the company posted a sales rise in November, as previously anticipated, and confirmed that full-year sales are expected to come in between 10% and 15% lower than in 2008. "The sales rise in November was in the high single-digit percentage range," Reithofer told reporters during a press briefing … [Read more...]
Now Opel’s CFO quits
December 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Opel's finance chief Marco Molinari has quit the carmaker to pursue other interests. Opel said a successor to Molinari, 45, will be “announced in due course.” The announcement of Molinari's resignation comes a day after Fritz Henderson, CEO of General Motors Co., Opel's parent, unexpectedly resigned after GM's board decided the U.S. … [Read more...]
German post-scrappage sales remain bouyant
December 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
New car registrations in Germany grew by around 20 percent year-on-year in November according to a source at the VDIK foreign carmakers' association. This is despite the German government’s scrappage incentive running out of funds back in September. Growth in the January-to-November period was also up, around 25 percent, the source said. … [Read more...]
GM chief executive resigns
December 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Fritz Henderson is stepping down as chief executive at US car giant General Motors, the company has announced and GM's chairman of the board, Ed Whitacre Jr, will serve as an interim replacement. The news came minutes after the end of a GM board meeting to discuss the fate of its Swedish car brand Saab. GM said that due to the emergence of … [Read more...]
Saab – Sweden rules out state rescue
December 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Sweden's prime minister has ruled out a government bail-out for Saab Automobile and warned that European leaders must not stand in the way of efforts to tackle over capacity in the car industry. Fredrik Reinfeldt said his government would offer credit guarantees if Saab's parent company General Motors could find a buyer but, he said the … [Read more...]
VW Polo wins “car of the year”
December 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Volkswagen's new Polo narrowly beat the Toyota iQ to win the 2010 European Car of the Year award for the first time in 18 years when the third generation Golf beat the Opel Astra and Citroen ZX. The Polo scored 347 points against 337 for the iQ city car. The new Opel Astra was No. 3 with 221 points followed by the Skoda Yeti (158 points); the … [Read more...]
Vauxhall Astra is the UK’s favourite used car
November 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Vauxhall Astra is the UK's favourite used car according to Motorpoint. The perennially-popular small family car, which arrived on our roads in 1980 with the current version (the mark 5) being the clear winner in terms of used car sales between July and September 2009 at the car supermarket giant, which sells 44,000 new and used vehicles a … [Read more...]
Sales rise for Jaguar Land Rover
November 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Jaguar Land Rover had seen its sales rise 23% in the second quarter after its new models were well-received. Owner Tata Motors said new products such as the upgraded Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery 4 had had successful launches. Although Jaguar Land Rover made a net loss of £60m in the July-September quarter, it was much less than … [Read more...]
Some motorists are deferring routine car maintenance
November 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Consumers are responding to rises in motoring costs and challenging economic conditions by deferring routine vehicle repair, servicing and maintenance jobs, according to a survey carried out this month on www.glass.co.uk - the Glass's Guide used car valuation website. Findings from the survey revealed that almost half (46 per cent) have deferred … [Read more...]
JLR help TATA swing back to profit
November 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
India's leading vehicle company, Tata Motors, reported Friday it had swung to a consolidated quarterly net profit, helped by a better performance by its premium car marques Jaguar and Land Rover. Tata Motors' net profit, including British motoring icons Jaguar and Land Rover, totalled 217.8 million rupees (4.65 million dollars) for the quarter … [Read more...]
Mercedes and Renault in collaboration deal
November 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Mercedes-Benz and Renault are to co-operate on a new modular small car platform and two separate engine ranges that will form the basis of a new range of Smart models and a new line of Renault city cars. The platform is a rear-engined, rear-drive chassis already under development by Mercedes. It will be used in the next Fortwo, due in 2013, and … [Read more...]
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