Jaguar Land Rover returned a profit of £55m in the last three months of 2009 after a loss of £60m in the previous quarter. The company's owner, India's Tata Motors, said the bounce back was thanks to stronger market conditions and claimed its range of new models had helped its performance. JLR sales jumped 68% from a year earlier to more … [Read more...]
VW report 80 percent drop in profits for 2009
February 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Europe's biggest car maker VW has reported an 80% fall in profits for 2009 partly due to a fall in profit margins. The company made a net profit of 960m euros last year, but said it expected operating profit and sales to recover this year. Sales slipped by 7.6% in 2009, but the company retains its ambition to become the world's biggest car … [Read more...]
Hummer brand to bite the dust
February 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
GM is to wind down its Hummer vehicles operations after the planned takeover by Chinese firm Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines failed to complete. GM did not comment on why the sale had collapsed but said it was "disappointed" the deal could not be completed; however reports have suggested that the Beijing government had refused to … [Read more...]
Every Kia now gets a seven year warranty
February 24, 2010 By 2 Comments
You may have heard that Korean manufacturer Kia is extending its unique seven-year warranty to all the cars in its model line-up. Previously the seven year warranty was only available on Kia’s European-built products such as cee’d and Sportage, but will now apply to every vehicle in the Kia range from the Picanto city car to the top of the … [Read more...]
Recalls really aren’t that exciting
February 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
With the recent problems besieging Toyota and the terrible publicity that surrounds their massive global recall program we thought it might be interesting to take a deeper look into the whole recall issue that affects all manufacturers at some time or another. In car manufacturing recalls come with the territory and millions of vehicles are … [Read more...]
Toyota took “too long” over safety recalls
February 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Toyota has admitted it took "too long" to deal with safety issues which led to the recall of 8.5 million vehicles worldwide. James Lentz, head of Toyota in the US, said that on one issue, "we failed to promptly analyse and respond" to information provided. Mr Lentz will face questions from a US congressional committee later over the recall … [Read more...]
Daimler report 2.6 billion euro loss for 2009
February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Daimler, the luxury German carmaker has reported a net loss of €2.6 billion (£2.26 billion) for 2009 and said that it would skip its year-end dividend for the first time in 14 years. Daimler, which makes Mercedes Benz, sold 1.6 million vehicles in 2009, compared with 2.1 million in 2008 and attributed the loss to a fall in vehicle sales … [Read more...]
UK car production up 64.8% in January
February 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Car production in the rose 64.8% in January compared to the same month last year and is the biggest year-on-year increase in monthly production since May 1976, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Car production soared to 101,190 units in January, up from 85,316 in December. It was the third consecutive month that … [Read more...]
Warranty Direct reveals Jaguar as worst car maker for brake faults
February 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Jaguar has been revealed as the car manufacturer most likely to suffer brake problems, according to automotive warranty specialist, Warranty Direct. The performance of brake systems has been in the spotlight since Toyota announced it is planning to recall several hundred thousand of its popular petrol-electric hybrid, the Prius, with braking … [Read more...]
Toyota now considering Corolla recall
February 17, 2010 By 1 Comment
Toyota is now considering a recall for the Corolla, the world's best-selling car. It has said that so far no decision has been made as it is still looking into complaints about the power-steering on the Corolla. The Corolla has not been sold in the UK since early 2007, when it was superseded by the Auris. The US National Highway Traffic … [Read more...]
Toyota shutdown factories in US as recall hit sales
February 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Toyota in the US is switching from factory overtime to factory shutdowns because of the disruption in retail sales caused by its January safety recall. Mike Goss, a spokesman for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America said the company has now scaled back overtime and is halting production of some models as it tries to realign … [Read more...]
European car sales up 12.9 percent in January
February 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Passenger car sales in the EU member states rose 12.9 percent in January, as the effects of scrapping incentive schemes boosted demand, according to European carmakers' association ACEA. However as the various European scrappage incentives draw to a close many are forecasting a drop of around 10 percent in the European car market for the full … [Read more...]
BMW sales up 16.6 percent in January
February 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The BMW Group has seen a global increase in sales for January of 16.6%. The German carmaker sold 82,120 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce units in January 2010 compared with 70,419 during the same month last year. “Thanks to the large number of new, highly-attractive models, such as the new BMW 5 series and the Mini Countryman, we are aiming for … [Read more...]
Profit the reward for car dealer loyalty
February 13, 2010 By 1 Comment
Car buyers should certainly start expecting some innovative enticements in the coming months and years as more car dealers employ loyalty schemes to encourage customers to keep coming back. We are already starting to see evidence of dealers ramping up their efforts to build long term relationships with their customers and many are set to introduce … [Read more...]
More Toyota recalls
February 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The recall notices continue for Toyota as it announces a recall of 8,000 Tacoma pick-up trucks in the US, over fears about defective front propeller shafts. Toyota said it was voluntarily recalling "a small production run of certain 2010 model-year Tacoma 4WD trucks". "The front shaft in these vehicles may include a component that contains … [Read more...]
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