Vauxhall has launched a 'Complete Motoring Plan', a fixed cost servicing, repair and maintenance scheme costing from £15 per month. Vehicles up to five years old and 60,000 miles are eligible. A servicing-only plan is also on offer.
Nissan workers in the company's purchasing department have voted by 75% for strike action for the first time in the Sunderland plant's history.
Perodua UK, the subsidiary of dealer group European Motor Holdings, has signed a five-year extension to its current exclusive distributor agreement with Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd.
MMA Insurance plc (MMA), the intermediary-only insurer, has become the first insurer to recommend the ClaimWatch® system to its repairer network. The decision follows a six-month trial period when several MMA Approved Repairers used the system.
According to a file deposited in a US District Court by Ford Motor Co. yesterday, former Ford of Europe president Martin Leach, who has sued the company over a non-compete arrangement that cost him a job heading Fiat Auto, was secretly negotiating for a job at Fiat two months before he left Ford.
Korean 4x4 manufacturer Ssangyong, whose Korean creditors are awaiting bids for a controlling 55.4% stake tomorrow, has a further year to sort out its debts.
A Washington, DC consumer group Public Citizen has won extensive media coverage for its claim that millions of consumers are subjected to a wide range of unnecessary fees and charges when buying a new car or truck.
The revised Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Code of Practice on Equal Pay came into force on 1 December 2003. It clarifies what employers have to do to comply with equal pay law, and as a result can be used as evidence in sex discrimination and equal pay cases.
Vauxhall's Zafira has topped the latest Warranty Direct Reliability Index for used seven-seater MPVs.
Four months after the death of its founder Hugo Erb, the Swiss Ford and GM importer of the same name has ceased trading. Hugo Erb was also the official importer of Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Suzuki to Switzerland.
Renault CEO and ACEA president Louis Schweitzer has cast doubt on the industry's ability to meet tougher EU CO2 targets.
ALD Automotive, the Société Générale vehicle leasing subsidiary whose British operations are based in Bristol, has acquired the Hungarian and Polish lessors EcoFleet and MultifFleet. The acquisitions add to ALD's purchase of Hertz Lease from Ford Motor Co. in March of this year, and mark the firm's expansion into Central European markets.
Lexus has set itself a target of achieving 60,000 European sales by the end of the decade – an ambitious target compared to current targeted sales of 20,000, half of which are accounted for by the UK market.
The Automotive Distribution Federation welcomed a new president, Russell Curtis, at its AGM on Friday 4 December, while the factors' organisation also announced a series of 2003 awards to members at its annual dinner the night before.
Founded in 1997 by Mike and Alison Porritt, theNewcastle-based four-outlet discount car supermarket Carshock has since grown sales by over 97% per annum to reach turnover of £6.4 million in 2002.
November car sales in Western Europe were down by 2.3% at 1.05 million units, according to J.D. Power-LMC.
Land Rover will complete the roll out of its Global Technical Reference (GTR) website, www.landrovertechinfo.com, this month, designed to provide users with 24-hour access to detailed vehicle maintenance information.
The PSA Peugeot Citroen-owned all-makes parts supplier has launched 'Motomail', an e-mail system that allows factors to place orders direct from their computer systems.
Mike J. Jackson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AutoNation, Inc. has been named the Automotive Hall of Fame's Industry Leader of the Year for 2003.
The European Court of First Instance says "TDI" designates one of the characteristics of the cars and repair services and therefore cannot be registered as a Community trade mark.
GM has indicated its interest in bidding for control of Ssangong, the Korean SUV manufacturer, over 55% of the equity having been put up for sale by its Korean creditors.
Peugeot is hoping to build 300,000 units a year of its forthcoming Peugeot 407 due in the Uk in late spring of next year. The primarily fleet contender will be available initially as a saloon and later in SW form reminiscent of the shape of Vauxhall's Signum.
November new car registrations were 1.5% down but private buyers were undeterred by last month's interest rate rise and bought 2.1% more cars than a year ago.
At the invitation of Phoenix Venture Holdings, unions TGWU and Amicus have jointly apponted Peter Regnier, a former finance director of Rover Group in the pre-BMW 1980s, to inspect Phoenix Venture Holdings and MG Rover accounts on their behalf.
The European Court of First Instance has annulled a €30.96 million EC fine on VW for requiring its German dealers to adhere to recommended sale prices on the Passat in 1996 and '97.
Industry Minister Jacqui Smith has announced £3.26 million in grant aid for production of the new Micra coupe-cabriolet at Nissan's Sunderland plant.
Dana Corporation's Board of Directors have announced that Dana intends to divest the company's Automotive Aftermarket Group, which includes several major UK aftermarket brands and claims to be the biggest business in the field.
ATC announced that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to sell its UK Engine business for $32 million in cash.
Lex Vehicle Leasing recently delivered its 100,000th vehicle, and gave every employee a customised bottle of champagne with a personal message from MD Jon Walden to remind them that growth had been purely organic without a single acquisition.
Silver's position as the dominant metallic shade of choice looks set to continue, with 285 different varieties available in today's new car market, reports CAP New Vehicle Data. The proportion of silver cars built around Europe has reached around 40%.
