Carmaking in the UK is on course for a record year, with 1.7m vehicles set to roll out of the factory doors by the end of 2004. Full-year forecasts from the Office for National Statistics have been revised upwards after car production increased 7.4% last month to 163,123 – the highest March total since 2000
Retail giant Reg Vardy is to open a high-tech training academy at its Sunderland headquarters to address the skills shortages that is crippling the motor industry. The AM100-listed dealer group plans to create a world-class centre of learning offering a wide range of opportunities to its 5,400 employees
New UK laws could see British bosses charged with corporate manslaughter if cars bought by employees using a cash allowance are unfit for business use, warn employment law experts
Ford has reshuffled its senior management team and moved two key British executives following years of political infighting
Renault UK says most of the 49 additional satellite points will be servicing outlets. “We have identified some of the areas, and they will all come from territories where we have shortfalls in service coverage or capacity in the network,” says a spokeswoman
Although still the blue chip choice for luxury saloon buyers, the Mercedes-Benz S-class is now the oldest car in the segment. BMW, Audi, Jaguar and even VW have all launched high-tech, high quality rivals within the past three years, and in Britain it faces tough competition from Range Rover
'These days, we get as many phone calls about bodyshops as service and parts put together'
It's the cat that's got the cream
With the first quarter of 2004 over, it's a good time to review some features of the used market.
Outback looks to consolidate brand position
Just Car Clinics, the collision repair chain that has lost hundreds of thousands of pounds since being bought by BikeNet in January last year, is about to launch a major legal offensive against former owner Dixon Motors
Used car dealers are benefiting from a dramatic fall in the number of people taking company cars as drivers opt out of traditional schemes and head for the showroom
Technician licensing could become a reality later this year, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry
Toyota has become the first Japanese company to turn in net profits of more than one trillion yen
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) chief executive Christopher Macgowan (pictured right) is to be the next president of BEN, the motor and allied trades benevolent fund. The news follows the departure of Vincent Oddie of Castrol UK Ltd who has had to stand down following his promotion to a new role in the United States
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is confident of a fourth consecutive record year for the new car market, despite a 3.8% dip in new car registrations in Apri
Visitors to The Sunday Times Motor Show Live at the NEC in Birmingham this year, will have their first chance to see two new Seat models. Taking centre stage will be the new Altea (pictured right), Seat's Multi Sports Vehicle (MSV), and the Seat Ibiza Cupra
Audi has launched more EU4 emission compliant A4's to its existing range
ADF chief executive, Brain Spratt, has been installed as vice-president of the Institue of Association Management (IAM)
Following a global reorganisation of its business groups structure, Mahle Group has appointed Claus Hoppen as general manager of its worldwide aftermarket activities.
European Motor Holdings, recently tipped by the City as a possible acquisition target for Inchcape, is set to embark on its own acquisition spree after notching up record profits
MG Rover expects to supply the West Bromwich Building Society with “hundreds” of cars under a new exclusive supply deal
Sytner Group has become the fifth Mercedes-Benz retailer to add ChryslerJeep to its existing franchise territory, although Chrysler insists this is not part of a retail strategy to combine market areas
Renault UK dealers are opposing the manufacturer's suggestion that they should assist companies opening independent service points in their territories
Kia is encouraging its retail network to undergo a makeover with the launch of the Volume Dealer Support Programme. The scheme will financially support dealers who wish to upgrade their showroom or build new facilities by raising the margins available on new car sales
Motor retailing entrepreneur Tony Bramall, who sold his group to Pendragon for £230m in February, has paid around £4m to buy back standalone Audi sites at Lincoln and Grimsby
Strong sales of new and nearly new vehicles are continuing to reduce the values of older cars, according to Glass's Information Services.
Bentley Birmingham has opened its newly refurbished dealership in Willenhall
The new Saab Euro4 common rail TiD diesel engine in the 9-3 Sport Saloon will be showcased at this year's Sunday Times Motor Show, set to 'boost' the mid-size premium diesel sector when its launched later this year
