Poole Audi is to plough its profits into moving its bodyshop to a standalone 1.5-acre site. The retailer, which posted turnover up from £14.4m to £20.1m in 2003, says it recorded a “substantial” profits increase.
Ford will offer car owners free take-back on unwanted vehicles when the end of life vehicles directive comes into force in a move that could prompt other vehicle manufacturers to follow suit.
Fiat will roll out a new IT system across its franchised dealer network next month which it believes will help them to boost sales and customer loyalty.
Lexus is readying its dealer network for a major new product offensive that includes the launch of diesel and hybrid powered vehicles.
Seat is planning to create a training programme to support its dealer network. Coupled with showroom upgrades and the introduction of new products, the Spanish carmaker hopes its learning academy will help dealers reach sales targets.
In the closely fought compact executive market, one model stands out from the rest: the BMW 3-series.
Twelve months ago the market was driven by dealers actively pursuing whatever retailable stock they could find. Supply was so short that even less than clean cars were snapped up and many values were on the rise.
Repairers will be able to slash time and costs spent buying in replacement parts by taking advantage of a new online ordering service. Glass's Information Services and SEL-Imperial are launching an automated system aimed at streamlining the ordering process.
Audatex UK believes AudaEnterprise, its latest insurance claims, estimating and body repair electronic link, sets a new standard in the way it enables several people within a company to view and share the data. Insurance companies and repairers will be able to cut maintenance and storage costs, because the data will be held by Audatex at twin high-security sites in Hounslow, west London, and Switzerland, and accessed via a permanent live link.
Longer service intervals – two year/20,000 miles (petrol) or two year/30,000 miles (diesel) – on GM's fifth generation Astra will be determined by a warning system that takes individual styles of driving into account when indicating when maintenance is due.
Two UK dealer master technicians have won the BMW international service technician competition. Nearly 6,300 technicians from the German carmaker's dealerships from 33 countries competed to gain a place in the finals in Munich.
Twenty repairers have quit the RMI's specialist bodyshop advisory group, sparking fears of a rift between the industry body and the accident repair sector – and potentially providing rival trade associations with a major boost.
Franchised dealers are losing vital servicing work in the new car sector because of manufacturers' extended warranties, according to new research. But garages have seen service retention increase.
Land Rover has a problem. Reaction to the radical, rakish Range Stormer concept car, unveiled at the Detroit Show in January as a 'teaser' for the forthcoming Range Rover Sport, has been so strong, some Solihull insiders are worried the production version, due later this year, may not be sporty enough.
A west London dealer has brought the latest generation Renault Twingo city car to the capital for the first time. Renault London West is importing left-hand drive versions of the Twingo from Germany. But Renault UK says it has no plans to officially sell the cars through its franchised network.
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Ford has taken out a licence to build Toyota's transaxle system into its petrol-electric hybrid vehicle plans, adding to Toyota hybrid drive licensees Nissan/Renault.
The cost-cutting plans announced by VW boss Bernd Pischetsrieder this week will seek to chop $2bn of costs by the end of next year, but without major structural changes.
Vauxhall is launching a new 1.9 CDTi ECOTEC diesel engine in two power outputs – 120 and 150 hp for the Vectra and Signum models, and later this year, the new Astra. The new engines will be mated to a new six-speed gearbox, and bring Vauxhall's fleet-targeted diesel drivetrains up to speed with the improved units on offer from rivals.
