News - Page 1560

BMW GB dealers are gearing up for growth as the carmaker prepares to build on record sales this year by setting ambitious sales targets for 2003 - buoyed by the current strong demand for BMW product in the UK marketplace.

Lookers chairman Fred Maguire, who will attend this month's AM automotive forum 'Putting profit before turnover', wants other senior motor retail executives to open their minds to fresh ideas. The forum is at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwickshire, on Thursday, November 28.

A leading automotive industry analyst is urging caution over 'rip-off' claims that car manufacturers are making up for price cut shortfalls by charging over the odds for optional equipment.

Lucas brand owner TRW Automotive is a step closer to regaining independent status with a buyout bid of $4.73bn (£2.99bn) tabled by New York equity company Blackstone Group

Howard Basford, the accident repair group, made a loss of almost £2m last year. The firm, which last month purchased the 80 per cent stake held by Ford, reported pre-tax losses of £1,928,954 on a turnover of £16,625,857 for the year ending December 31, 2001.

The UK bodyshop industry is being crippled by parts delays costing tens of thousands of pounds, a shock new report reveals. Results of the MVRA's annual Parts Delay Survey show that 85 per cent of accident repair centres are forced to put up with one or two hold-ups a month.

A bid to end the drought of qualified technicians - the industry currently has a shortfall of more than 15,000 apprentices - is being launched by the Institute of the Motor Industry.

Caterham is to drive forward growth by selling cars through MG Rover and specialist sportscar dealerships. So far, the carmaker is in talks with five dealers, which AM understands includes three European sites and two UK retailers.

Polar Group is expected to be confirmed as the buyer of Ford solus dealer group Quartic at the end of next week, following stock taking this weekend.

Dealer group Inchcape has increased revenue by more than £1m a month by exploiting new e-commerce avenues.The success comes from its In-drive website – using a program developed by IT analyst Spyder Automotive – which offers an alternative to company car schemes.

Two of the country's leading bodyshops have joined together in a bid to shake up the accident repair industry. The strategic alliance between D&G Accident Repair Centre and Ashford Coachworks is aimed at cutting costs through sharing back office systems and raising business standards by sharing best practice and training.

Vauxhall, the UK's second largest carmaker, is launching a new vehicle repair insurance scheme in a bid to keep customers for longer and boost revenues from new car sales.

Renault's new family hatchback Megane has this week been named European car of the year 2003 by a panel of 58 journalists, narrowly beating the Mazda 6 into second place. Citroen's C3 was third, with the Honda Jazz fourth.

Ford Motor Company reached agreement with unions in London last night over a two-year pay deal for its hourly-paid workforce.

Development costs of the new 9-3 are being blamed for Saab's current £84m half-year losses as speculation grows that the troubled Swedish GM subsidiary is set to announce big job cuts.

The organisers of the Auto1/InterTyre aftermarket exhibition have postponed next year's show due to insufficient space bookings.Gavin Masterston, chairman of the organising committee links the poor space bookings to the current low profitability in the aftermarket sector.

Toyota plans to sell around 27,000 of the new model Avensis in the UK next year – out of a European sales target of 130,000 units. The new model is set to hit showrooms in March 2003 in saloon, hatchback and estate forms. Launch derivatives will be the 1.8-litre VVT-i and 2.0-litre direct injection petrol engines. The 2.0-litre D-4D common rail diesel will be available from May 2003.

The MG Rover Group took the "Outstanding Achievement" prize at this year's Autocar Awards. And the designer of the head-turning MG XPower supercar, Peter Stevens, took the Designer of the Year prize. His other design achievements include the Le Mans MGs and imposing a corporate design imprint on MG's saloon cars.

A quarter of all drivers could be driving unsafely due to poor eyesight, according to the results of a new survey conducted by the RAC Foundation. And the foundation is so worried at the findings that it has written to the Department for Transport urging it to initiate a publicity campaign highlighting the dangers.

Chairman-designate at the RAC, Alan Bowkett, has resigned - just three months after taking on the role. Current chairman, Sir Trevor Chinn, has cited "differences in management style" for the departure. Sir Trevor was due to retire from RAC at the end of the year to make way for Bowkett.

UK car production rose by 2.5 per cent to 149,654 units in October, according to figures released this week by the Office for National Statistics.

Strong demand for the new Mercedes-Benz E-class and SLK models has pushed back waiting lists to an April delivery date, according to Glass's Information Services.

Generous finance packages for new cars are hitting demand for nearly-new cars, says Glass's Information Services. And trade buyers are switching their attention to older cars in order to support a profit margin when they sell.

The VBRA is calling on repairers to start putting the cost of formerly-free services

Clarion Events has scrapped its plans to revive the London Motor Show.

According to Brilliance China News, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings has confirmed that the Liaoning provincial government is in talks to buy control of the van maker.

DaimlerChrysler UK is to build a Heritage and Technology Centre for Mercedes-Benz as part of a rejuventation of the famous Brookland site at Weybridge in Surrey.

Ford in North and South America has recalled 572,795 Focus cars due to concerns over a faulty battery cable. The carmaker says the fault could be linked to engine fires.

A new £1.5m training centre for motor mechanics is set to open in Croydon next year. The centre, being opened by ReMIT, the training arm of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), will serve light vehicle mechanics and electricians.

The forthcoming Colt small car should represent up to a third of all Mitsubishi's European sales volumes as the carmaker returns to profit in 2003, says a bullish Mitsubishi Motors CEO Rolf Eckrodt.