Koenigsegg inks Saab deal with BAIC September 9, 2009 LUXURY sportscar maker Koenigsegg yesterday said that China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) would take a stake in the group to help finance its purchase of Saab Automobile from General Motors. Koenigsegg said in a statement that the memorandum of understanding signed with BAIC would see the Chinese firm take a minority stake in Koenigssegg [...]
Emerging car markets near in size to US September 8, 2009 PASSENGER car sales in China during August rose 90 per cent year-on-year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said yesterday, as the emerging market comes ever-closer to topping the US as the world’s biggest car market. Car sales, including sport-utility and multi-purpose vehicles, hit 858,300, compared with 451,300 units sold a year earlier and [...]
Ford to make more cars in US August 13, 2009 Carmaker Ford said yesterday it planned to build more of its popular Focus and Escape vehicles this quarter, in order to meet increasing demand from the US government’s “cash for clunkers” programme. The company now expects to produce 495,000 vehicles in the third quarter, up two per cent from its prior forecast of 485,000. The [...]
Land Rover wins debt lifeline August 9, 2009 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has secured a £75m finance lifeline by mortgaging its stock of Land Rover parts.Burdale Financial, Bank of Ireland’s finance division, has granted a three-year debt facility of up to £75m to the carmaker, which is owned by Tata Motors, of India.The loan is secured on the inventory of Land Rover’s parts [...]
Razorfish bought by Publicis for $530m August 9, 2009 FRENCH advertising group Publicis yesterday agreed to buy Razorfish advertising agency from technology giant Microsoft for $530m (£317m) in cash and stock. Publicis beat off around eight interested companies for Microsoft’s unit, including the UK’s WPP plc and Japanese firm Dentsu. The Paris-based group’s chief executive Maurice Levy said the price paid was the result [...]
THE TIPSTER RESULTS AND BUYOUTS TO FUEL MARKET August 9, 2009 Interim results are still dominating the headlines and the markets at the moment so spread betters should be well aware of which companies are reporting and what the market is expecting from them. Insurance company Friends Provident reports interims on Tuesday and investors will be hoping for an update on the Resolution situation. For investors [...]
Car sales rise on scrappage August 6, 2009 NEW car sales went up for the first time in 15 months in July, as business secretary Lord Mandelson’s “cash for bangers” scheme trickled down to dealers, helping drive up sales by 2.4 per cent year-on-year. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 157,149 new cars were registered in the UK last month, [...]
Ex-Ford boss named as the new chairman of BHP Billiton August 4, 2009 BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner, yesterday said that ex-Ford chief executive Jac Nasser would be its new chairman. Nasser, who has been a non-executive director at BHP since 2006, will step into incumbent Don Argus’ shoes when he steps down next year after a decade at the helm. He beat off competition from John [...]
US car sales jump in July August 3, 2009 US CAR sales jumped to their highest level of the year in July as Americans took advantage of the government’s cash for clunkers scrappage scheme, according to industry figures released yesterday. Ford, led by chief executive Alan Mulally, posted a two per cent increase in sales, its first rise in nearly two years, while other [...]
Ford in July sales uptick August 2, 2009 BELEAGUERED US carmaker Ford said last night it sold more cars in July than the same month last year, its first year-on-year sales rise since November 2007. The group will today become the first major US automaker to report a sales rise since the financial crisis kicked off, thanks to a surge of orders under [...]