Showing an increase of 35.04% from a year ago, China's total vehicle output hit 4,005,300 units during the first 11 months of the year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Passenger cars continued to be the biggest growth engine, with output surging by 83.74% year-on-year to 1,801,100 units.
ACEA described November's European market as stablising, with 1,046,147 new registrations representing 1.1% decline, with one fewer selling day than the same month a year ago in several major EU markets.
Honda expects its Civic to be the best-selling British-built compact car this year.
Only three per cent of independent garages have applied to manufacturers to become approved repairers, according to a new survey.
Fintrade Technologies, the alloy wheels specialist, is to stop UK production at its factory in Kent, making 180 workers redundant.
Independent vehicle inspection service, Used Car Checks is offering tailored packages for the motor trade as Used Car Checks Inspected. The firm is estimating it will check between 10,000 and 20,000 cars a year in its first two years, and eventually expects to be inspecting up to 1000 a week.
Bodyshops will now be able to source all their paint from the Morelli Group after the UK's largest independent distributor snapped up rival firm Car Paints Group for an undisclosed sum.
Accident solutions provider the Helphire Group increased turnover by 34 per cent in the third quarter of 2003, compared to the same period last year. Gross profit also increased by 44.6 per cent to £14.2m.
Richard Tomkins has resigned as head of Sun Diagnostics in the UK after more than 20 years in the job. His departure appears to have taken Sun by surprise – no official statement has been issued – although a spokesman confirms that the company has begun the process of recruiting a new director.
Carshock, the car supermarket, plans to quadruple its turnover in the next three years. The £20m-turnover firm, which is based in the north-east, aims to open a site every three months.
Nidd Vale Group, the Yorkshire-based motor retailer, is investing more than £1m in new facilities and drawing up a new internet sales strategy to help grow its business.
Manufacturing in the UK is facing unprecedented pressure and even a new report from the SMMT suggests survival is by no means guaranteed. Mark Catterall looks at the arguments
This is BMW's new E60 5-series estate, caught on a photographic shoot in South Africa. This late pre-production car is being used for brochure and press photography in preparation for the E60 estate's public debut at the Geneva Show next March.
Dealers left reeling from any negative impact of block exemption are being urged to complain to a more robust Office of Fair Trading. From May 1, 2004, the OFT will have greater power and resources to look at the issues arising from changes to the way new cars are sold.
Peugeot is considering staging a special one-marque event for its dealers at next year's Sunday Times Motor Show Live in Birmingham.
Manufacturers are embracing a new training initiative designed to improve sales standards in the dealership and encourage more people into the industry.
Euro NCAP has announced details of a new crash rating designed to measure the protection given to children in passenger cars, but the AA has questioned the relevance of the new ratings to most parents.
Sussex dealer group Caffyns made pre-tax profits of £1.5m for the six months to September, a 12 per cent drop on the same period in 2002.
Sytner BMW in Nottingham has opened a new £10m development that it claims is one of the largest dealerships for BMW in Europe.
Insight: Digby Jones, CBI director general talks about car manufacturing in Britain
Ninety dealers have been recruited by Isuzu importer International Motors (IM Group) as the company strives to grow its network on the back of a new pick-up.
The results of the latest Euro NCAP tests see both the Renault Scenic and Volkswagen Touran achieve five stars for occupant protection. But while occupant safety continues to improve, carmakers continue to achieve low ratings for pedestrian protection.
Data mining techniques that help dealers maximise used car sales are being massively under-exploited. That is the view of management systems provider Pinewood, which provides training courses to help sales people make the most of the data available to them.
Small car dealers and repair operations are set to save thousands of pounds after the Government unveiled new rules for company auditing. Ministers have raised the threshold for companies that need to be audited from £1m turnover to £6.5m a year.
Volvo Car UK has been better informed about life in the showroom since a dealer council took over from its franchised executive committee earlier this year. But the car company's executives will be hearing a lot more from retailers in future, according to the senior members of the network.
Franchised dealers in the UK are set to come under increasing pressure as manufacturers seek to recoup losses on car sales in continental Europe, a leading industry expert is warning.
Asda is joining Sainsburys, Tesco and Argos in offering a motor insurance service which will put car retailers under greater pressure to maintain point-of-sale finance and insurance business.
The Sunday Times Motor Show Live, the new name for the International Motor Show, is optimistic about attracting virtually a full house of carmakers to the Birmingham NEC next May as the organisers strive to rejuvenate the re-scheduled event with a series of live action attractions.
Volvo is recalling 71,000 vehicles worldwide to fix driveability problems caused by petrol leaks into the engine. No fires have resulted and Volvo says the recall, which includes 8000 UK cars, is a precautionary measure.
HM Customs and Excise is set to review the insurance premium tax (IPT) that is applied to guaranteed asset protection (GAP) insurance sold by motor traders.
