The judge presiding over the case brought against DaimlerChrysler by former Chrysler shareholder Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. suspended proceedings yesterday after fresh evidence was discovered by DaimlerChrysler's lawyers. It came from a former Chrysler CFO who had been due to take the witness stand today.
Pathlore Software Corporation and John Matchett Ltd. (JML), Pathlore's European distributor, have announced that DaimlerChrysler UK will use the Ohio firm's learning-management system (LMS) to support the UK retailer network.
Daihatsu has named its 'Dealers of the Year 2003', after 12 months that saw the arrival of five new models and first-half December registrations 100% up on the same period of last year.
Fiat Auto (UK) has just announced prices for its all-new Panda range, which goes on sale in the UK on Saturday 17 January, starting at £6,295 OTR.
PT Cruiser was the model that stirred up interest in the Chrysler brand again.
Residua value penalties imposed by used car trade buyers on independently serviced fleet cars can still be outweighed by the savings from avoiding main dealer costs, says CAP Black Book research
Amicus members at Land Rover's plant in Solihull will start industrial action in a week's time, beginning with a continuous ban on overtime commencing on Monday 22nd December.
The Korea Times has reported that the creditor banks of Ssangyong Motor have selected the Nanxing Group of China, not GM, as the 'priority negotiator' for the sale of the Rexton 4x4 manufacturer.
Smart expects to double UK sales with its forthcoming Forfour supermini. The car goes on sale next September, by which time the company expects to have 76 UK dealers, all of them wholly-owned by DaimlerChrysler UK.
Inchcape plc has announced that trading in a number of its markets has been more favourable than anticipated, while the group's UK operations are trading broadly in line with expectations. Negotiations over Inchcape's claim for about £30m of overpaid VAT are expected to be concluded shortly.
The Amicus union says its members at Land Rover's Solihull plant have voted approximately 60% to 40% in support of strike action over the company's pay offer of 6.5% over two years, and the TGWU and GMB members at Land Rover have also voted in support of strike action.
Following a suspension of car production for three days in November, MG Rover is halting output for a Christmas shutdown three days earlier than planned. Production workers are to be reassigned to stock-taking.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Major leasing firms could drop franchised dealer networks in favour of independent outlets for servicing and repair.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Insight: Digby Jones, CBI director general talks about car manufacturing in Britain
