F&I Management & Training

Drivers across Europe have seen a 2.1 per cent increase in new car prices in the past year.
The latest survey by Polk Roadtodata Euro Index, which tracks new car prices in 19 European markets, showed that prices rose steadily between October 2006 and October 2007.

Germany showed the highest increase in prices, with a 4 per cent rise.
The Netherlands and Sweden also recorded price increases equal to or higher than the European average, with 3.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent rises, respectively.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

Skoda has reported record profits up to the end of September in 2007.
The carmaker produced nearly 450,000 cars in the first nine months of 2007, up 9.3 per cent on the same period last year.

The number of vehicles delivered to customers was up as well, with a 13 per cent rise year-on-year. Altogether, 462,400 vehicles were delivered.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

Mahindra & Mahindra is thought to have emerged as one of three bidders that have been shortlisted by Ford for the purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover.
The carmaker has been listed alongside Tata, the Indian conglomerate, and OneEquity, fronted by the former Ford chief executive Jacques Nasser.

Mahindra & Mahindra is a carmaking rival of Tata.
Unions are scheduled to meet the shortlisted bidders later this month.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

Arnold Clark, the largest privately owned dealer group in the UK, is continuing its drive south into England from its heartland north of the border.
Ranked fourth in the Motor Trader Top 200, Arnold Clark has acquired Patterson Motor Group, based in Newcastle, which the Scottish group hopes will add around £250m to its turnover.

Patterson will bring one Seat and three Ford dealerships to Arnold Clark, and no redundancies are planned within the Newcastle company.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

The Gaz Group says it will spend $2bn to renew 90% of its product range as part of a four-year plan. It aims to use a combination of acquisitions, partnerships and strategic alliances to grow to world status. It recently took a stake in the Canadian automotive parts maker, Magna International and has a partnership deal with AVL in Austria to develop a new, medium-sized diesel engine. The group bought the LDV Group in 2006.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: TNB

LDV showed a new 7.5 tonne truck at the recent Rai Show. Called the Maxus MX100, the concept vehicle on show was a chassis-cab with drop-side body. Based on the Russian Valday range, the cab exterior and interior is based on and looks very similar to the Maxus. It is part of the firm's plans to extend its European product range beyond its present 2.8 to 3.9 tonne range.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: TNB

Ford agreed on a four-year labour contract with the United Auto Workers union this weekend.
While details of the tentative agreement were not disclosed pending ratification by union members, it appears to follow the outlines of deals at General Motors and Chrysler.

One difference, however, is that Ford has said the deal includes an independent retiree healthcare trust.
The company can transfer its healthcare liabilities to this trust, an amount estimated at about $23bn (£11bn).

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

Chrysler announced last week its intention of slashing 15 per cent of its workforce in the US, over 10,000 jobs.
The carmaker is also cutting overtime hours and reducing purchased services.


These cuts come after the company’s announcement of 13,000 job losses in February, which formed part of Chrysler’s three-year restructuring programme – about 6,500 of these jobs will have gone by the end of 2007.
The combination of these cuts amounts to about a quarter of Chrysler’s workforce since the start of 2007.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

Motorists are unlikely to alter their driving habits, despite rocketing fuel prices in the UK, according to new research.
The vast majority of motorists polled – 79 per cent – have not changed their attitude to buying petrol even though there has been a threat of prices rising.

Indeed, 55 per cent said they would never part with their cars in favour of public transport, regardless of cost.
The study conducted by esure determined that fuel prices would have to almost double to an £1.83 a litre to stop drivers from filling up and driving on.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

An investigation by Clean Green Cars claims to show that a large number of expensive luxury cars are being registered as private hire vehicles in London to avoid paying the daily congestion charge.

By paying an £82 application fee and £27 per year licence, owners can avoid paying the £8 per day Congestion Charge – which is planned to rise to £25 per day for the highest polluting vehicles in 2008. The investigation found 31 Bentleys,18 BMW X5s, 52 Range Rovers, and eight Rolls- Royce Phantoms, among others, registered as private hire vehicles.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: MT

A new Agency to manage Britain's commitment to biofuels was established today by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly. The Renewable Fuels Agency will be responsible for the day to day running of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, coming into force in April next year. By 2010, the Obligation will mean that 5% of all the fuels sold in the UK should come from biofuels, which could save 2.6m to 3m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. The Chairman of the Agency will be Professor Ed Gallagher, former Chief Executive of the Environment Agency. Joining Professor Gallagher on the Board of the Agency are:
Greg Archer, Director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership,
Paul Jefferiss, Director of Environmental Policy at BP,
Gareth Llewellyn, Director for Safety, Health, Environment and Corporate Responsibility for the National Grid
Brian White, Director of a biofuel trading company, BionerG Ltd.

DATED: 06.11.07

FEED: AW

HR Owen has announced that takeover talks concerning the company have been terminated.
The luxury dealer group said the interested party, believed to be Australian wholesale vehicle company Balverona, no longer had an interest in “making an offer for the company”.

“Whilst this unsolicited approach was an encouraging endorsement of our strategy to focus on our luxury and specialist dealerships, as a board, we are unanimous in our belief that HR Owen continues to have an excellent future,” said Nicholas Lancaster, chief executive.

DATED: 02.11.07

FEED: MT

With the world’s mature automotive markets reaching saturation point manufacturers continue to be the lured by the promise of boosting business in the emerging markets of the east.
General Motors last week unveiled plans to build a research centre for alternative energy vehicles in Shanghai as part of a $250m (£120m) investment.

GM intends to introduce hybrid cars to the Chinese market in 2008.

DATED: 02.11.07

FEED: MT

The GAZ Group has announced it is to embark on a $2bn (£1bn) investment programme to spearhead further growth.
The Russian owners of LDV, which have reported a 30 per cent increase in revenues over the last five years, said the investment would be used to renew its product line-up.

Funds will also be made available to design a new powertrain as well as combining research and development at a unified engineering centre.
Erik Eberhardson, head of the automobile division of Russian Machines, GAZ Group’s parent company, said: “Our investment plans reflect our determination to be one of the global players in the international commercial vehicle market.”
He added that the four-year plan to achieve a global presence would be achieved through acquisitions, partnerships and strategic alliances.


DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: MT

Peugeot has appointed Neil Moscrop as its UK sales director.
Moscrop, who has been with the French brand for almost 30 years, replaces David Brookman who retired yesterday.

Previously Moscrop has held a variety of roles with Peugeot, including national fleet manager and most recently director of parts and servicing.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: MT

Daimler’s de-merger from Chrysler has been finalised today.
Several organisational changes have been introduced following the separation of the two companies, along with a raft of name changes.

The Mercedes-Benz Cars and Commercial Vehicle business will now be known as Mercedes-Benz UK and the company's retail subsidiary will become Mercedes-Benz Retail Group UK.
From April 2008, DaimlerChrysler Financial Services UK will be known as Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: MT

Fiat has appointed a new managing director to oversee the UK market.
Andrew Humberstone takes over from Giulio Salomone who is leaving the UK after two-and-a-half years in charge.

Salomone is returning to Italy where he will take over responsibility for Fiat's worldwide dealer network development, fleet and used car operations.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: MT

Chrysler is set to axe three struggling models, including the PT Cruiser, as new owners Cerberus begin to stamp their authority on the company.
According to the Detroit News, the once-popular PT Cruiser, the Dodge Magnum station wagon and the Chrysler Pacifica all face the chop after suffering from flagging sales.

Despite building more than a million units of the C-sector model, Chrysler has seen sales of the PT Cruiser plummet by 42 per cent in September compared to the same month last year.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: MT

The Advertising Standards Agency has rebuked Citroen for a misleading television advert claiming the C4 was “the lowest in its class" for CO2 emissions.
Citroen based the claim on the results of a refined search of the small family car category for models with automatic gearboxes and diesel engines.

But the ASA considered that viewers would understand the claim referred to a comparison with all cars in the class, in which the Toyota Prius recorded the lowest CO2 emissions of 104 g/km.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: MT

Sales of light commercial vehicles have soared across Europe, according to the latest figures from JATO.
In the period to the end of August volumes rose 6.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

An additional 81,688 vehicles have been sold this year taking the total volume to 1.42 million units.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: MT

It was agreed at an Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting in Germany recently that DaimlerChrysler AG, parent company of the Milton Keynes-based DaimlerChrysler companies in the UK, should be renamed Daimler AG. This reflects the sale of the company's Chrysler Group business interests to Cerberus Capital Management in the US, establishing the new company, Chrysler LLC. There will, as a consequence, be changes to the Group's companies in the UK. With effect from 1 November 2007, the company's Mercedes-Benz Cars (Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, smart, Maybach) and Commercial Vehicle (Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Fuso) business will be operated by a renamed Mercedes-Benz UK Limited. The company's retail subsidiary will become Mercedes-Benz Retail Group UK Limited. A new company, Chrysler UK Limited, will take over head office operations for the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge business in this country.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: AW

Andrew Humberstone has been appointed managing director of Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd and will take up his new role on Thursday 1 November. Forty three-year-old Mr Humberstone brings with him a high level of commercial experience in addition to business development management, gained from across the globe. His knowledge and understanding of drawing up and implementing top-level business strategies puts him in an ideal position to continue the current success story for Fiat in the UK. And he comes to Britain at a particularly exciting moment - just as the company makes final preparations to launch the stunning new Fiat 500 here.

DATED: 01.11.07

FEED: AW