F&I Management & Training

The volumes of dealer part-exchanges is 'fairly static', but with some seasonal pressure on values in the second quarter of 2007, according to Manheim's latest market analysis. This reflects the general market activity which sees the total number of used car transactions in the UK during the first six months of 2007 almost identical to last year at 3.89million. With the new car market in the same period up by 2.4% against 2006, Manheim believes that used car activity will continue to be a principal focus for the remainder of 2007, increasingly driving dealer's profits.

DATED: 31.08.07

FEED: AW

Core operations in the UK halved pre-tax losses at Jaguar last year to £258m from £535m in 2005, reflecting slightly improved conditions at the struggling luxury carmaker that its parent Ford Motor hopes to sell. However, even accounting for a nearly £100m profit at Land Rover - Ford's other UK premium car brand that is up for sale - the two businesses lost £159m before tax last year, down from a £425m pre-tax loss in 2005. Ford cautioned that the financial statements covered the UK only and did not reflect 'the entirety of the Jaguar and Land Rover business'.

DATED: 31.08.07

FEED: AW

More people in the UK could use car finance deals to buy a new motor this year, research suggests.The AA has found that the demand for new registration cars increased by 22% in the last year - indicating that increasing interest rates had little effect on consumers.Despite rising fuel prices and new road user charges, 33% of those questioned revealed that they plan to buy a new car in the coming 12 months.In particular, people over 55 are driving the market for new cars - with 52% planning on maybe using car finance to buy a new motor in the next year. This compares to just 20% of those aged between 25 and 35.

DATED: 31.08.07

FEED: AW

Car dealers could be putting customers' safety at risk by giving them poor quality advice, reveals which.co.uk.Undercover researchers posing as potential customers asked dealers three safety questions* and found that just one in four answered all of them satisfactorily.Dealers gave inconsistent advice when asked about carrying a six-month-old baby on the front-passenger seat. Fitting a rearward-facing child seat in front of an active airbag could result in injury or death.

DATED: 31.08.07

FEED: AW

Ford Motor Company said it expects the sale of its two European marques Jaguar and Land Rover, in which India's Tata Motors has expressed interest, to be through either by this year-end or early next year. 'We expect the process to end at the end of this year or the beginning of next year,' an official of Ford's Premier Automotive Group said, but wished not to be identified. The official also declined to comment on the specifics of the 'process'.

DATED: 31.08.07

FEED: AW

The Liberal Democrats want to see the end of petrol-powered cars by 2040 as part of radical proposals to tackle climate change.Their environment spokesman Chris Huhne, said that under his party's proposals, cars would be powered by hydrogen fuel cells, improved batteries or as-yet undeveloped technology. Huhne said there had been 'far more dramatic changes' in Britain's economic history. He said such a change compared with the shift from the steam engine to the internal combustion engine or from the gas light to the electric light at the start of the 20th century. If the EU worked together through the internal market, the plans could become reality, he said.

DATED: 31.08.07

FEED: AW

Nanjing Automobile Group said it has set the price range for its MG 7 cars, which are built using technologies it bought from the UK's defunct MG Rover, at 171,600-302,800 yuan or £11,309 - £19,956. Nanjing Auto will officially launch the MG 7 series next month, the company said in a statement, selling the car across its 50-strong Chinese dealer network. Nanjing Auto started production of the MG in March, with annual capacity projected at 200,000 vehicles and 250,000 engines. Its rival Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp unveiled last October its 'Roewe 750', a vehicle based on the Rover 75 model saloon, with prices set between 231,800-276,800 yuan (£15,281 - £18,246). The new cars launched by the two companies directly compete with each other due to similar content and origin.

DATED: 29.08.07

FEED: AW

Isuzu and Toyota have agreed to collaborate on the development, production and supply of small diesel engines, following their signature of an memorandum of understanding in November. The engine the two companies will jointly develop is a 1.6-litre engine with an aluminum cylinder block for use in Toyota vehicles sold in European markets. Production is scheduled to begin around 2012. The two companies 'intend to hold continuing talks over the creation of a comprehensive cooperative framework that will contribute to their mutual competitiveness and development over the long term'.

DATED: 29.08.07

FEED: AW

Jaguar commissions EurotaxGlass's to provide data and consultancy to support long-term residual value management EurotaxGlass's, publisher of Glass's Guide to Used Car Values, is forecasting best-in-class residual values for the new Jaguar XF saloon car, which will reach its first UK customers in March 2008. The diesel-powered Jaguar XF 2.7S Luxury automatic, expected to be the most popular model in the XF range, is predicted to retain 50 per cent of its original list price (£33,900 on-the-road) after three years and 36,000 miles, compared to 48 per cent for the BMW 525d SE automatic, and 46 per cent for the Mercedes-Benz E280 CDI Avantgarde automatic.

DATED: 29.08.07

FEED: AW

Ford CEO Alan Mulally has said the company does not need a global luxury brand, but will instead focus on streamlining its core Blue Oval brand with fewer vehicle platforms and more parts sharing worldwide. Ford will reduce its number of vehicle platforms by 40% over the next five years, with 70% of all models to be built off 10 platforms. Ford will also cut the number of six-cylinder engined models it produces from eight to two over the same period, and the number of seat frames from 28 to two. Mulally also confirmed that Ford is moving forward with its planned sale of Jaguar and Land Rover and is still considering a sale of Volvo Cars, but ruled out any possibility of selling its controlling stake in Mazda Motor Corp.

DATED: 29.08.07

FEED: AW