Major leasing firms could drop franchised dealer networks in favour of independent outlets for servicing and repair.
Dealers risk jail if they continue to sell or advise on insurance-based products after January 2005 – unless they become accredited by the Financial Services Authority.
Phoenix Car Company, one of Scotland's largest car retailers, is planning an aggressive expansion strategy that will see it nearly double turnover to £100m.
The Government's failure to agree a workable solution to the issue of producer responsibility on the disposal of scrap tyres could have major repercussions in 2006, when the landfill ban comes fully into force and 100 per cent of scrap tyres will have to be recycled.
ReMIT, the RMI's technician training arm, has welcomed the Chancellor's pre-Budget announcement of the extension of skills training allowances for high skills training (allowances were previously only available for low skills training).
The Chancellor's pre-Budget statement confirmed that the Treasury has decided that the environmental benefits of LPG did not warrant the current level of fuel duty incentive. Duty on LPG will gradually rise during the next three years to a level “more consistent with its perceived benefits”.
On company car tax, the Government's pre-Budget statement on 10 December said that it will analyse the impact of recent changes to company car taxation before making decisions about further changes.
The Internet presence of U.S. franchised new car and truck dealers has reached an all-time high this year, according to new survey research from the National Automobile Dealers Association's (NADA) Industry Analysis Division.
Reg Vardy, one of the UK's biggest dealer group's, saw takings rocket on the back of record new car sales for the six months to October. Pre-tax profits were up 35.2 per cent to £24.6m on a turnover of £794.6m – up 18 per cent from £668.7 in 2002.
Vauxhall has launched a 'Complete Motoring Plan', a fixed cost servicing, repair and maintenance scheme costing from £15 per month. Vehicles up to five years old and 60,000 miles are eligible. A servicing-only plan is also on offer.
Nissan workers in the company's purchasing department have voted by 75% for strike action for the first time in the Sunderland plant's history.
Perodua UK, the subsidiary of dealer group European Motor Holdings, has signed a five-year extension to its current exclusive distributor agreement with Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd.
MMA Insurance plc (MMA), the intermediary-only insurer, has become the first insurer to recommend the ClaimWatch® system to its repairer network. The decision follows a six-month trial period when several MMA Approved Repairers used the system.
According to a file deposited in a US District Court by Ford Motor Co. yesterday, former Ford of Europe president Martin Leach, who has sued the company over a non-compete arrangement that cost him a job heading Fiat Auto, was secretly negotiating for a job at Fiat two months before he left Ford.
Korean 4x4 manufacturer Ssangyong, whose Korean creditors are awaiting bids for a controlling 55.4% stake tomorrow, has a further year to sort out its debts.
A Washington, DC consumer group Public Citizen has won extensive media coverage for its claim that millions of consumers are subjected to a wide range of unnecessary fees and charges when buying a new car or truck.
The revised Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Code of Practice on Equal Pay came into force on 1 December 2003. It clarifies what employers have to do to comply with equal pay law, and as a result can be used as evidence in sex discrimination and equal pay cases.
Vauxhall's Zafira has topped the latest Warranty Direct Reliability Index for used seven-seater MPVs.
Four months after the death of its founder Hugo Erb, the Swiss Ford and GM importer of the same name has ceased trading. Hugo Erb was also the official importer of Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Suzuki to Switzerland.
Renault CEO and ACEA president Louis Schweitzer has cast doubt on the industry's ability to meet tougher EU CO2 targets.
ALD Automotive, the Société Générale vehicle leasing subsidiary whose British operations are based in Bristol, has acquired the Hungarian and Polish lessors EcoFleet and MultifFleet. The acquisitions add to ALD's purchase of Hertz Lease from Ford Motor Co. in March of this year, and mark the firm's expansion into Central European markets.
Lexus has set itself a target of achieving 60,000 European sales by the end of the decade – an ambitious target compared to current targeted sales of 20,000, half of which are accounted for by the UK market.
The Automotive Distribution Federation welcomed a new president, Russell Curtis, at its AGM on Friday 4 December, while the factors' organisation also announced a series of 2003 awards to members at its annual dinner the night before.
Founded in 1997 by Mike and Alison Porritt, theNewcastle-based four-outlet discount car supermarket Carshock has since grown sales by over 97% per annum to reach turnover of £6.4 million in 2002.
November car sales in Western Europe were down by 2.3% at 1.05 million units, according to J.D. Power-LMC.
Land Rover will complete the roll out of its Global Technical Reference (GTR) website, www.landrovertechinfo.com, this month, designed to provide users with 24-hour access to detailed vehicle maintenance information.
The PSA Peugeot Citroen-owned all-makes parts supplier has launched 'Motomail', an e-mail system that allows factors to place orders direct from their computer systems.
Mike J. Jackson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AutoNation, Inc. has been named the Automotive Hall of Fame's Industry Leader of the Year for 2003.
The European Court of First Instance says "TDI" designates one of the characteristics of the cars and repair services and therefore cannot be registered as a Community trade mark.
GM has indicated its interest in bidding for control of Ssangong, the Korean SUV manufacturer, over 55% of the equity having been put up for sale by its Korean creditors.
