The Department for Transport is funding a £1.9m research project to test car speed control technology employing GPS and ISA (intelligent speed adaptation) technology.
Mitsubishi has announced plans to quadruple the number of dealerships in China in the next four years – to around 300 sites.
GM Daewoo is to provide free aftersales services - even for cars whose warranty period have ended – as part of a “Charm Service' programme.
Wall Street press rumours suggest the Carlyle Group is close to signing a deal to acquire Fiat's aerospace unit FiatAvio – an important non-core asset sale in Fiat's restructuring plan.
Results of new research in the United States suggest a child in a booster seat has less than half the risk of injury of a child wearing only an adult seat belt.
Ford's parts distribution centre at Daventry, Northants, achieved a record 'first-time order fill' rate of 96.1 per cent in 2002, an increase of 2.5 per cent on the previous year.
A British company backed by USA chemicals corporation NCH has announced ambitious plans to grow its share of the trade-only engine treatments market - a sector dominated in Britain by Forte Lubricants.
Chester-based CES (UK) has won the coveted Automotive Distribution Federation trophy to become the Distributor of Excellence for 2002/3.
A venture to supply courtesy cars to independent repairers has been launched by vehicle finance operation Circle Leasing.
Bridgestone has announced a revolutionary new tyre production system that automates the entire sequence of processes in tyre manufacturing - including inspection.
Shell has launched a major training programme to help franchised dealers boost aftersales business - in particular the potential of £84m worth of annual oil top-up sales.
Starter and alternator manufacturer Delco Remy has announced its intention to double sales this year following a three-fold increase in business in 2002.
The UK performance tuning specialist which helped put Subaru on the world rally map has turned its attention to the US aftermarket.
Drip feeding the long overdue computerisation programme into the UK's 19,000 vehicle test stations (VTSs) could create a two-tier MoT system producing different results for different prices, a test equipment supplier is warning.
Automotive retailers will have extensive deals to offer on new cars as the bid to kick-start New Year sales begins in earnest this week.
Strong signals of crisis in the US car market are being sent by the three key players. Chrysler is flagging up an operating loss of 1bn euros this quarter, GM has warned of poor results, and Ford's US sales in May were down more than 5 per cent.
Car dealers left with unmarketable vehicles following the collapse of Tata's former import company are being urged to contact the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI)'s legal department.
Mazda is to recall 174,000 vehicles worldwide following the discovery of a defective fog lamp that could potentially cause a car's bumper to catch fire. The lamp was wired incorrectly.
Results of a new survey by turnaround specialists AlixPartners have pointed to a meltdown of tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers to the motor industry.
The European Commission has given the thumbs-up to 29m euros (£21.4m) Austrian Government state aid to BMW's engine plant in Steyr. The funds represent regional, training, environmental and R&D aid.
The Office of Fair Trading has refused an application for credit licences from two Lancashire dealers.
A strike has crippled VW's Zwikau plant in former East Germany. The 11,400 workers are fighting for an hours cut to bring them in line with their counterparts in West German plants.
GM's dealer finance arm GMAC is increasing its stake in its Indian joint venture GMAC TCFC from 51 per cent to 74.9 per cent.
DaimlerChrysler UK President Joe Eberhardt is US-bound – taking up a senior executive role with the Chrysler Group in a senior management reshuffle within the conglomerate.
PSA Peugeot Citroen has denied it is to sell its 72 per cent stake in car-parts manufacturer Faurecia – rumours which had bumped up the latter's share price.
Mercedes-Benz comes top of the latest AutoMarxX image survey conducted by Europe's biggest automobile association, the ADAC of Germany. <p>
The Indian car market leader Maruti Udyog has posted a 46 per cent growth in sales in May at 39,178 units – mainly a result of buoyant sales of the entry-level M-800 model.
VW chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder says the group will produce lower profits this year because of weak demand in Europe and the appreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar.
Kwik-Fit Holdings is to close more than half of its 256 Tyre Plus operations and merge the remainder into its Kwik-Fit GB business.
In spite of the buoyant UK car market, tight new car margins lead to disappointing 2003 results for the William Jacks group. Profit before tax was £825,000 (2002=£5m, including £4.2m exceptional income from sale of the group's Mercedes Benz territories).
