Major dealer groups are preparing to reposition themselves as 'superfactors', wholesaling all-makes replacement parts to the aftermarket.
Mark Quinn last week stepped down as Kia Cars UK managing director after Korean parent Kia Motors Corporation took control of the sales, marketing and distribution operation from MCL Group.
Johnsons Cars, the premium franchise dealer group, is set to launch a new contract hire company - Jcar - as it targets the corporate market.
New cars are becoming more reliable but the number of recalls is increasing, latest research shows.
AA Business Services is investing more than £7.5m in a national mobile tyre-fitting network. The first 50 vans will hit UK roads on September 1, with the fleet increasing to 150 vehicles early next year.
Car retailer Reg Vardy has launched one of the biggest parts supply operations in Britain with the opening of a 22,000 sq ft centre near Durham.
Dealer giant Lookers has completed its takeover of the Birmingham market area for Vauxhall with the purchase of Elt Brothers, a privately owned retaler in Yardley, south of the city centre.
Pendragon, the UK's largest car dealer group.and No 1 in the AM 100 listing for the fourth year in succession, has sold freehold property in Tower Hamlets, East London, for £8.2m.
Consumers will be faced with higher servicing and repair bills once the revised block exemption regulations take effect, despite claims by the Consumers' Association that prices are set to fall.
Well documented fears of skills shortages in the industry have prompted Forte Lubricants to sponsor basic training in the use of diagnostic equipment for independent vehicle technicians.
Robert Bosch is on target to open a new £125m automotive development and engineering centre near Heilbronn, Germany, next summer.
Former Lucas Service managing director Brian Waters is warning of trouble ahead in the aftermarket after more than two years of industry turmoil and company closures.
The Institute of the Motor Industry has called for automotive servicing and repair technicians to be licensed, rather than the garage.
A Californian company is looking for a UK aftermarket distributor for a new device claimed to offer dramatic reductions in vehicle emissions and improved fuel economy.
Less than three months after its launch, Platinum Batteries is close to signing up its 100th official UK dealer.
Dealer group Glenvarigill has been sold to a management buy-out led by managing director Tim Bartlett and finance director Gavin Manson for an undisclosed sum. The purchase from liqueur firm Drambuie had been expected to be completed by May, but was delayed while funding was finalised.
Fiat Auto chief executive Giancarlo Boschetti has ousted UK managing director Jim Blades, replacing him with his own man Massimo Toso, as he looks to revive flagging sales performance.
Manufacturers must look to control the number of new cars going into the market to ignite interest in used vehicles, according to a leading motor industry expert.
Auto-Online, the high-profile internet-based b2b used car remarketing service, has been saved from administrative receivership by founders Douglas and Karen Rotberg.
Mercedes-Benz USA and its dealers in the New York area are being investigated for alleged price-fixing, according to DaimlerChrysler. The allegations cover 27 Mercedes dealerships in metropolitan New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Seat is urging its dealers to expand capacity, either by investing in larger premises or by taking on more staff and operating shift patterns as it bids to increase UK sales.
British sports car manufacturer AC is back in business after being bought by a Malta-based consortium with backing from Volkswagen Financial Services Australia.
July registrations were on track for a new record as AM went to press, up 14.5 per cent and totalling 147,231 units with six sales days left, compared with 128,601 over the same monthly period in 2001. The result is in contrast to June, when sales stalled by 3.7 per cent year-on-year, ending 20 months of growth.
Ryland Group this week formally rejected Guinness Peat's £35.6m indicative offer as an “opportunistic bid” that “significantly undervalues” the company and its prospects.
AM's autumn conference 'The future is here: how tomorrow's cars will reinvent automotive retailing' - will be staged at the British International Motor Show on Thursday, October 24.
Guessing which component would fail next used to be part of the Alfa Romeo owning experience. Now it's a matter of anticipating which bits of Alfa's parent company will drop off. Because, while Fiat Auto appears to be coming apart at the seams, the Alfa brand has at last got the build quality its heritage deserves.
Little-known investment specialist CVC Capital Partners is set to become one of the biggest players in the British aftermarket with the acquisition of Halfords, and the expected cut-price purchase of Kwik-Fit from Ford.
Alan Bowkett will be appointed Lex Service chairman when Sir Trevor Chinn retires at the end of the year. Bowkett joins the board as deputy chairman next month.
