Audi and BMW have been forced to defend their products after slipping down among the poorest performers in terms of car reliability, according to the latest findings published by consumer magazine Which?.
Fast-fit chain Hi-Q is looking to expand its network of 503 locations following the appointment of Mike Garwood as its new dealer/franchise operations manager.
A dealer from the Isle of Wight has received a two-year suspended prison sentence for defrauding the Inland Revenue.
Audi is pre-empting BMW’s new 3- series by bringing a “massively revised” A4 to market this November as part of a drive objective to get ahead of its rival by 2008.
The head of Audi has reaffirmed its 2004 forecast for flat profits despite rising car sales and revenues.
The new Audi A3, available to order now for its September release will start at £16,010 on-the-road to £24,625.
Phoenix Venture Holdings Limited has appointed Nigel Petrie as a non- executive director. In this new role, Petrie will establish and chair an audit committee and a remuneration committee. He will also serve as a non- executive director on the board of MG Rover Group Limited.
The new Audi A6 saloon, which Audi says is “the most driver-focused version to date”, will be arriving in the UK this month.
The new Audi TT Coupé is offering a Tiptronic automatic option for the first time. The new TT Coupé 178bhp is now available to order priced at £20,725 OTR, or £22,125 OTR in automatic form.
The future, according to most European car manufacturers, is diesel. Audi, BMW, Mercedes and even Jaguar sell growing numbers of increasingly powerful diesel-engine models. However, Porsche will not be joining them
Dealers tempted to sign big contracts to service vehicles operated by major fleets run the risk of upsetting smaller company car operators, says Stewart Whyte, managing director of Fleet Audits
BMW dealers may not be eating their hearts out, but many will be chewing their fingernails. Audi’s all-new, snub-nosed A6 is good – good enough to present a very real choice to buyers who have a 5-series at the top of their shopping list.
Alfa Romeo’s 156 Sportwagon is to get the same facelift as the sedan – and an Audi Allroad-style all-wheel drive crossover version called, somewhat unimaginatively, the Crosswagon.
Parklands Audi came under a bit of pressure recently.
Sytner is believed to be trying to beat off rival groups in a move to acquire Harrogate-based Massingberd Group plc, which has three Volkswagen dealerships and one Audi centre.
Revisions to the Audi retail network have seen around 38 of the 120 outlets change hands over the past 12 months. The process is part of a strategy that will see the company cut the number of partners from 90 in 2000 to 40. At the end of this year it expects to have 50.
Trevor Finn, Pendragon chief executive, is confident manufacturers will refranchise most dealerships acquired in the acquisition of CD Bramall, despite the announcement that Tony Bramall has bought back two Audi sites
Although still the blue chip choice for luxury saloon buyers, the Mercedes-Benz S-class is now the oldest car in the segment. BMW, Audi, Jaguar and even VW have all launched high-tech, high quality rivals within the past three years, and in Britain it faces tough competition from Range Rover
A8 stretches out to tempt luxury market
Audi has launched more EU4 emission compliant A4's to its existing range