Nick Lancaster, chief executive of HR Owen, has dismissed industry speculation that he plans to pull out of motor retailing to concentrate on property dealing
Vehicle manufacturers are calling for urgent talks with the Royal Bank of Scotland following its decision to replace the entire management team at Dixon Motors, including father and son Paul and Simon
Toyota GB has signed its 10th retailer to be funded under a programme that backs entrepreneurs with an eight-year loan, and plans a total of 15 within two years
Volvo has outlined plans for new-look showrooms before all of its UK dealerships have completed the upgrades to a corporate style introduced in 1997
Trevor Finn, Pendragon chief executive, is confident manufacturers will refranchise most dealerships acquired in the acquisition of CD Bramall, despite the announcement that Tony Bramall has bought back two Audi sites
The BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings today performed the official grand opening ceremony of their joint venture plant BMW Brilliance Automotive in Shenyang, the capital of the Liaoning Province in the north-east of the People's Republic of China
Jardine Motors Group has acquired Milcars Holdings' London BMW and Mini business. The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, came to light while AM was compiling its annual listing of the top 100 automotive retail groups
Can Mazda make it three in a row? The original Mazda MX-5, launched in 1988, single handedly revived the small, affordable sports car segment that British brands like MG and Triumph made their own in the 1960s
Fiat Auto has held a series of aftersales business forums in the UK, as it looks to improve standards following a poor showing in the JD Power survey
Alfa Romeo and Fiat are considering introducing dedicated areas in the aftersales departments of single-site showrooms to represent each brand
Click on the links below to view pages from the May 2004 issue of Autortrade.
The Financial Services Authority today fined Universal Salvage PLC £90,000 for breaching financial listing rules
An industry row has broken out over whether the residual values of diesel cars will slump in the future as a result of their soaring popularity among company car drivers
Andrew Lester has been appointed country manager of Alfa Romeo in the UK. He replaces Glyn Owen, who is leaving the company
Two pairs of tickets to the British Grand Prix on July 11 2004 at Silverstone are being auctioned online by fleet software specialist cfc solutions – with the proceeds going to motor industry charity BEN
The new Toyota Corolla Verso has achieved five stars for passenger crash protection in Euro NCAP testing
Franchise dealers need to acquire new skills to take advantage of rapid growth in Motability new car sales, according to Network Automotive Management
AA Business Services has been selected to provide breakdown assistance to Smart cars in the UK. All Smart cars up to two years old now come with two years AA breakdown cover under the new 'Smartmove assistance'
Showroom staff can now have their mental abilities assessed by a new psychometric test offered online
With a fourth record year for new car sales in succession likely, franchise dealers are being warned not to neglect their prospecting skills
Click on the links below to view pages from the April 2004 issue of Autortrade.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) has announced its new president. Colin Parlett, chief executive of independent repairer, CB Motors, succeeds Fred Maguire, chairman of Lookers, who stands down after two years in the post
The new BMW 1 Series will go on sale in September priced from £15,690 to £20,800
Growth in the number of vendors investing in vehicle valeting before putting them under the hammer has seen Manheim Auctions appoint PJM Valeting as its primary valeting supplier at 12 of its 18 sites
Broadspeed.com, a new and used car website, announced today it will not re-enter the imported new car market
The Blue Bell Mini dealership in Winslow has set up a website dedicated to sourcing, appraising and valuing used Minis
A new exterior and interior style for the latest MG ZR and Rover 25 has been announced today after the Rover enters its centenary year and MG starts its 80th year of production
Motaquip's 2004 filters catalogue will have more than 130 additions across its air, cabin, fuel and oil product groups
Parts supplier FAI has issued all official Goodyear fitting centres with stickers to be fitted under the engine bonnet to indicate the last time a cambelt was changed
Few global launches are scheduled for this year's version of the British international motor show, but Rolls-Royce, Suzuki, Fiat and Volkswagen – among others – will be rolling out a selection of crowd-pleasers
