A leading finance house is warning dealers against offering long-term finance.
Volkswagen retailers are offering a zero per cent interest rate to Passat customers who put down a 30 per cent deposit. The package is available to all customers who buy a Passat saloon or estate before the end of the year.
Peugeot has become the latest car manufacturer to fall victim to the BBC's Watchdog consumer affairs programme.
More than 8.5 million PSA Peugeot Citroen cars will have HDi turbodiesel engines under their bonnets by the end of 2006.
The Government must push for a common method of measuring customer satisfaction in the motor industry, says a leading carmaker.
Bob Dover, the chairman and chief executive of Jaguar and Land Rover has quit, 12 months after taking the job. Dover's departure comes only a month after Ford of Europe product guru, Martin Leech left the carmaker after huge financial losses.
A newly formed retail group is set to join the exclusive AM100 club next year as it strives for a £100m-plus turnover. Crewe-based Swansway Garages Group has five sites representing Audi, Seat and Volkswagen with a projected turnover of £76m.
Sales of Vauxhall's bi-fuel cars and vans are set to increase by 65 per cent this year. The rise is mainly in the public sector, which accounts for 50 per cent of all Dualfuel model sales, while the retail market has remained relatively quiet.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation has announced plans to merge the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association into its bodyshop division following months of talks. Due diligence is currently taking place – both boards have already agreed the move – and the merger will be formalised by the end of the year.
Ford is to slash prices for replacement parts in a bid to reduce repair costs and reduce the number of vehicles written off by insurers. Repairers can get up to 31 per cent off collision parts for Escort, Fiesta, Ka, Mondeo and Transit registered between 1989 and 2000.
The UK's used car sector is in danger as US-style cut-price finance deals start to creep into the market. Full-blown zero per cent deals, so popular in the US, are arriving in the UK with Volkswagen offering deals on new Passats.
The Financial Services Authority has planted a legislative timebomb under the UK's franchised dealer sector, the chairman of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders warranty committee is warning.
Chrysler dealers are to get new- look showrooms and signage as the manufacturer aims to build up its brand reputation in the UK. The new corporate identity sees the traditional blue and white signage replaced by a metallic silver fascia.
A Scotland-based online tyre fitter has struck a deal with a major garage chain that gives it more bricks and mortar centres than Kwik-Fit.
Retailers have bucked the trend of falling profits over the last 12 months by recording growth for the year to March 2003, new research by Experian reveals.
Independent collision repair chain Just Car Clinics has announced profits of £210,000 and a turnover of £11.2 million for the nine months up to June 30, 2003.
Lookers has become the latest dealer group to boost confidence in the motor retail sector by announcing record results for the six months to the end of June.
Renault and Nissan have become the first carmakers to offer their UK dealership networks a total waste management programme.
Rising insurance premiums are forcing businesses to operate without Employer Liability Insurance and risk prosecution, says the Retail Motor Industry Federation.
Reg Vardy is moving its Nottingham Vauxhall dealership.
Van makers and dealers could be hit by new taxation laws expected to be introduced next year.
Daewoo retailers have a tough year ahead as the Korean carmaker struggles to rebuild distribution channels in the UK.
Fifty-two retailers have been appointed to the new Tata network under the partnership agreement struck earlier this year by Phoenix Venture Holdings, parent of MG Rover, and Tata Motors.
Guildford-based BMW retailer, Vines, is investing £15 million in a major revamp of its showrooms, along with the relocation of its Redhill and Crawley sites.
Diamond Land Rover – based in Welwyn Garden City – has been taken over by the Pilling Motor Group.
A new website offering retailers the facility to buy and sell cars online has gone live.
After repeated delays and technical setbacks, computerisation of the MoT system looks to be finally going ahead in early 2004, almost two years later than originally planned.
The head of Mitsubishi Motors North American operations has resigned after a loan scheme stalled the carmaker's recovery.
Responding to the news that RMI and VBRA are to join together in what seems to be best describes as a 'strategic alliance.' MVRA Managing Director Mike Monaghan said he was unsurprised at this development.
New aftersales contracts receive mixed verdicts from dealers in different German networks in magazine poll.
