Valeo Distribution UK has launched an all-new locking petrol cap supplement containing 620 applications and a reminder that any vehicle over three years old risks MoT failure if its fuel filler cap is loose-fitting cap or if the seal has perished.
Siemens VDO Automotive has become the first company in the UK to incorporate the Traffic Message Channel service (TMC) into its aftermarket satellite navigation systems.
Factors demanded it - so Delco Remy developed it: the starter and alternator manufacturer has introduced a new installer training package.
American car parts supplier USAutomotive has been appointed the official distributor for the American Racing range of custom wheels.
Dixon Motors has confirmed that it is in talks with an unnamed company about a possible takeover. The company made the announcement after its shares rose steadily last week.
Leading car manufacturers are planning to buy hundreds of dealership freeholds in a move that will redraw Britain's automotive retail landscape. AM has learned that Volkswagen alone wants to purchase 100 freehold contracts from its dealers - mainly in urban locations. Vauxhall, Honda and Toyota are understood to be among other carmakers on the hunt for freeholds.
Speculation over the future of Kwik-Fit is growing rapidly as Ford prepares to sell off the Europe-wide fast fit chain it bought in 1999 for a reported $1.4bn. The manufacturer has appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs to handle the disposal of the 2400-strong network of garages and mobile units, but the world's second biggest carmaker wants Kwik-Fit sold intact.
Skoda Auto is to build four 'new-look' dealerships this year as part of a sponsored retailer project designed fill a number of long-term open points across the UK. It is also looking to open new-look showrooms at 20 “strategic locations” across the UK over the next couple of years, which will be funded by selected retailers.
Kevin Turnbull has resigned as chairman of Autobytel UK as part of a move by parent company Inchcape plc to reorganise its online car sales subsidiary. He will not be replaced.
Kalamazoo is to withdraw support for one of its four European dealer management systems due to a drain on resources. The Evolution system, used by 18 dealers in mainland Europe and three in the UK, has “contributed to the financial strain” on Kalamazoo, according to chairman Bob Brockman.
CD Bramall is likely to retain the Quicks brand for part of the business after its £40m approved bid is completed next month. The deal will create the UK's third largest dealer group with a turnover around £1.58bn and 130 outlets.
Radical reorganisation facing franchised dealers - including a trend to two-tier networks - will be the focal point of AM's spring conference on June 7. 'Dealers are dead - how to prosper as a 21st century car retailer' will be staged the day after the AM100 dinner. Both events will be at the Belfry Hotel, Wishaw, near Birmingham.
Bodyshop chain Nationwide Accident Repair Services, has written to shareholders urging them to reject the “opportunistic and derisory” offer made by Guinness Peat Group and JO Hambro.
Leading dealer group owners are becoming richer and richer according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Arnold Clark, Jack Tordoff, Sir Peter Vardy, and the McKee brothers - who run the Carcraft car supermarket - have all climbed up the chart of the UK's richest people.
Toyota has unveiled plans to boost its global market share to 15 per cent by 2010. Toyota president Fujio Cho announced the target as part of the company's “2010 Global Vision” strategy paper.
DaimlerChrysler will launch 11 new Chrysler vehicles over the next two years in a bid to return its struggling American operation to profitability.
Lex Autocentres has sacked one of its branch managers after a BBC TV investigation uncovered poor standards at a number of outlets. The BBC1 Rogue Traders programme, which also accused Ford-owned Kwik-Fit of devious practices, tested five Autocentres on the Lex 70-point inspection scheme. It found that each centre failed to detect simple faults.
Repairers are being short-changed by up to £55m a year because the Audatex estimating system does not include a pearlescent paints option, according to the Retail Motor Industry Federation. It says pearlescent paints, which are more expensive than solid colours, are used on 85 per cent of new vehicles and is gathering evidence from repairers to make a retrospective claim for lost profits. Audatex has dismissed the claim as “misleading and unhelpful”.
MG Rover is in talks with the Indian engineering conglomerate Tata to sell the Indica supermini in the UK. The move would plug a gap in MG Rover's model line up, giving it a car positioned below the Rover 25 and dealers a presence in the fast-growing supermini sector.
Partco Autoparts and Serck Intertruck, divisions of the Unipart Group of Companies, have secured a contract to supply automotive and commercial vehicle parts and consumables to Freedom Transport, the national fleet vehicle repair and maintenance company.
Makro, the international cash and carry wholesale chain, sold an undisclosed number of Jaguar X-types at five UK stores during February and March undercutting dealer list prices by £3500.
Dealers using AutoLocate, the internet-based stock inventory management system, will soon be able to update their stock live on the web.
Trade Sales, one of the UK's largest car supermarkets, is looking to move to larger premises and grow it prestige car sales following a dramatic upturn in business driven by internet sales.
MG Rover has secured an exclusive deal to supply Caterham with powertrain products for an “ongoing period” of years
Toyota has launched a new brand in the US aimed at what it calls “the net-generation”. Called Scion, its products will be aimed at buyers who are only just reaching driving age and entering the car market.
DaimlerChrysler has appointed Rolf Eckrodt as president and chief executive of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC), cementing its hold over the Japanese manufacturer. The move comes despite repeated claims by outgoing CEO Takashi Sonobe he would retain operational control.
The RMI is predicting record new car sales this month after registrations rose 18% in February to 93,515 units - the 17th consecutive monthly increase.
Arriva's motor retailing division contributed £9.5m to the group's £110.3m operating profits last year, an increase of 36% on 2000.
Lookers plc has posted an impressive 55% increase in pre-tax profits to £10.1m for 2001 on turnover up 23% to £718m.
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