The all-new Rolls-Royce Phantom was unveiled today at the company's new manufacturing plant and head office at Goodwood in West Sussex. The entirely-new Phantom features a lightweight aluminium space frame body and a new V12 engine.
The controversy over the safety, or otherwise, of SUVs has heightened in the United States with the publication of a new book. Keith Bradsher's “<i>SUVs: The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got that Way</i>”,has already provoked a furious response from carmakers.
The Government is so keen for motorists to start using the national network of LPG fuel filling facilities it has been fostering, that it went public this week about the £30m sweetener for motorists. Energy Minister Brian Wilson said motorists should use 2003 to “turn over a green leaf” and make the switch.
Honda's Chinese joint venture, Guangzhou Honda Automotive Company, plans to increase sales volumes by 90 per cent in 2003, according to Chinese newspaper reports. The company says it hopes to sell 110,000 cars and minivans this year.
Tighter dealer margins and lower manufacturer bonuses mean that there are few New Year car bargains on the UK market, according to a new survey by CarPriceCheck. The canny buyer should look to import or purchase via the Internet, the company suggests.
Kia says the major selling point of its new Rio will be a “Focus size car at a Fiesta three-door price.” Priced from £5995 to £8995, the new model features a higher quality interior and bolder exterior styling.
Substantial across-the-board price reductions of up to £1160 on VW new cars take effect today. And the company says that this time it will not be compensating recent vehicle purchasers.
The Marshall Motor Group has obtained the Volvo franchise in the Cambridge and Huntingdon area – formerly held by the Lancaster Group.
Results of a new survey of 100 global automotive executives has shown a slump in business confidence – with the majority suggesting they only expected the sector to move into profitability by 2005 at the earliest.
New police powers to confiscate the vehicles of 'nuisance drivers' came into effect yesterday. The new measure, under the Police Reform Act 2002, also allows the police to levy a fine of up to £357 for vehicle retrieval.
The EU's competition authorities are to take a closer look at a proposed joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and Deutsche Telekom to operate a toll collecting system for heavy lorries on German motorways.
The New York Equity house Blackstone Group has been given the go-ahead from the US anti-trust authorities to acquire TRW Inc's automotive parts unit TRW Automotive – the Lucas brand owner.
A new restructuring plan for Fiat Auto championed by one of Italy's leading entrepreneurs could get GM off the hook and satisfy Italian Government demands for the debt-laden carmaker to remain in Italian hands.
PSA Peugeot Citroen's joint venture with China's Dongfeng Motor Corporation is set to triple production to 250,000 vehicles by 2006, according to the venture's general manager Liu Weidong.
The 2003 Laguna range boasts a new 2-litre engine and a new model, the Dynamique Techno. The extension to the offering is part of Renault's sales push for their D-Sector champion which enjoyed a 40 per cent lift in sales to November 2002 - to 232,075 units.
Howard Basford has sold two of their sites at Warwick and Bromsgrove to Impact Repair Centres Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The sites were too small to synergise with the crash repairer, which was the subject of a management buyout in October last year.
<b>By Julian Rance<br> Director, Paragon Car Finance</b> <hR> It should be of immense concern to everybody within the automotive retailing sector that the new Block Exemption system is in desperate danger of having exactly the opposite effect from that which the legislators intended. The consumer will see <b>less</b> competition in car retailing, <b>less</b> competition in car servicing and the aftermarket, and even <b>less</b> competition in automotive finance.<p>
There was a further lull in consumer demand for point of sale motor finance, according to the latest figures from the Finance and Leasing Association. Car finance sales were down 14 per cent in November compared to year-earlier figures.
One of Germany's car industry chiefs has pointed to the country's high taxation policies as the key cause of a forecast substantial downturn in domestic car sales in 2003.
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has signalled that his Government may eventually have to help Fiat – but says any package must not contravene EU's state aid rules.
Japanese carmakers have achieved record penetration in western Europe – and are set to use the success as a springboard for building sales in the emerging eastern European markets. The development of diesel engines and styling improvements are key to that success, says a report in today's <I>Japan Times</I>.
Ford Motor Co. is seeking a replacement for its chief financial officer Allan Gilmour seven months after he came out of retirement to take the job, according to a Financial Times online news story today.
Prince Charles' appeal for Government departments to “Buy British” for their catering contracts in order to help hard-pressed British farmers has raised claims of hypocrisy in the tabloid press. The Sunday Mirror has pointed out that the prince had just signed a £99k deal with Audi.
Fiat's restructuring pains were made more acute with the recent downgrade of its debt rating to junk bond status by Moody's Investors Service. And the move may herald further stock market falls.
Toyota is developing a “pre-emptive” protection system for vehicles. The technology predicts a forthcoming crash and launches safety systems before impact.
The 1.6-litre Mini Cooper is to be sold in China. The model, which was unveiled on December 27 in Beijing, will cost the equivalent of a little under £30k.
Audi has introduced a new manufacturing process at its Neckarsulm plant which allows customers to make last minute spec changes to their A8. Changes are accepted up to two days before completion.
Vauxhall has signed its largest-ever car daily rental deal to supply rental giant ANC Rental Corporation, the operator of the National, Alamo and Guy Salmon brands in the UK.
The impact of carmakers' moves to cut product lifecycles was starkly revealed during 2002. For no used car segment was immune from the downward slide in residuals.
Just 550,000 vehicles from the estimated 5 million relevant fleet and motor trade vehicles have been loaded onto the new Motor Insurance Database – and the new legislation comes into effect on January 20.
