News - Page 1238

Lookers former chairman Fred Maguire, when once asked which of his franchises was the best profit performer, had no hesitation. It wasn’t his Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover or Lexus operations.

Fewer traffic jams, more public transport and new roads in heavily congested areas could be achieved if the Government adopts 'pay as you drive'.

The Brundle family, linked with motor retailing in Norfolk for the past 40 years, has sold its Volkswagen dealership and bodyshop in King’s Lynn and left the industry.

The number of motor traders declaring themselves bankrupt in Q3 has fallen, according to the latest statistics from Experian.

Jackson’s of Basingstoke has gone into administration after struggling to overcome financial difficulties triggered by relocation, establishing a new franchise and an unsustainable pension scheme.

Citroën UK has appointed customer value management company Ion Group to establish a Citroën Business Centre.

The AA has declined to comment on mounting speculation it will sell or float the breakdown business on the London Stock Market.

Automotive data provider CAP has launched CAP Validate, a free of charge value-added service to customers who already take CAP product in ASCII or full SQL database format.

Subaru is offering potential customers a B9 Tribeca for a week-long test drive in order to establish the new model in the UK.

Chevrolet will reveal its first ever diesel for the UK at the Bologna Motor Show next week.

Nissan has ended production of its Almera at its Sunderland plant.

Seat has extended its summer finance offers to the end of the year.

The UK produced 116,159 cars in October, a 7% decrease over the same period last year.

AutoQuake has expanded its operations with the opening of a new drop-off location in Leeds.

Caffyns has updated its IT and communications infrastructure across all 29 dealerships.

Two former employees of Coredale have joined forces to open the Cromer Car Centre at Cromer in Norfolk.

Park’s of Hamilton has revamped its corporate identity, changing from a blue and yellow colour-scheme to a more toned down black, gold and silver.

With a score of 44%, Honda has achieved the highest level of dealer retention for aftersales in the UK car service and repair market.

The accident repair sector has seen further consolidation this month, as major groups capitalize on small repairers leaving the industry.

Seat is now offering a DSG (direct shift hearbox) on petrol FR versions of the Leon and Altea to mark the success of winning the British Touring Car Championship this year.

Lipscomb Cars, the Volvo group and new name for Lotus and Fiat in Kent, has taken ownership of its new site in Maidstone.

The Mini franchise might be offered to non-BMW retailers when the contracts are up in 2008.

Barretts of Canterbury has disposed of a loss-making Citroën dealership to Kent rival Wilmoths in an arrangement conducted via the manufacturer.

Dealers have been promised a bright future by Group Lotus’s new chief executive, Mike Kimberley.

Lookers has become the latest major AM100 dealer group to sign a franchise partnership with Korean value brand Kia.

Entrepreneur John Batchelor claims to have a team of experts and investors ready to build a portfolio of automotive businesses.

Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) has appointed DWS to provide dedicated motor repair services to its clients in the London area.

CAP is phasing out the provision of its data products on CD, following the success of its web download data provision, started four years ago.

A worrying 40% of aftermarket brake discs contain serious defects according to Italian brake manufacturer, Brembo.

Manheim’s vehicle remarketing business, VRS, has recruited Lewis Arthur as managing director.