Car production slump continues despite signs of improvement August 27, 2020 The slump in UK car manufacturing continued in July, with just 85,000 vehicles rolling off production lines last month, over 20 per cent lower than a year ago. However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the figure showed a “marked improvement” on previous months as factories continued to reopen after lockdown. With [...]
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos to build new 4×4 in France August 26, 2020 UK car manufacturing suffered another blow today after it emerged that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos had made an official offer to buy a factory in France to build its new 4×4. The billionaire was understood to have been in talks with the Welsh government to build a new factory in Bridgend for the car, a [...]
European electric vehicle sales surpass China for first time since 2015 August 26, 2020 Sales of European passenger electric vehicles in the first half of 2020 exceeded those in China for the first time in five years. According to a report from Bloomberg, around 380,000 electric vehicles were sold over the 16 main European markets in the first six months of the year. Meanwhile, in China, which is widely [...]
Lookers warns of first-half loss and expands accounting probe August 20, 2020 Under-fire car dealership Lookers said today it has widened the scope of its audit into a £19m black hole in its 2019 financial results as it warned it will fall to a loss in the first half of 2020. Today Lookers’ board and auditor Deloitte expanded their investigations on the back of Grant Thornton’s probe [...]
Chinese car sales surge for fourth consecutive month in July August 11, 2020 Sales of Chinese cars jumped 16 per cent year on year last month in the fourth consecutive month of gains as the world’s biggest auto market kicks back into gear after the coronavirus shutdown. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales rose to 2.11m units in July. However, for the [...]
SMMT: New UK car sales rise 11 per cent post-lockdown August 5, 2020 New UK car sales rose for the first time this year in July as dealerships enjoyed their first full month of trading since reopening after lockdown. According to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), registrations rose 11.3 per cent last month as pent-up demand and special offers tempted consumers to [...]
Honda and BMW see profits slump in second quarter as lockdown hit sales August 5, 2020 Car giants Honda and BMW saw their profits hammered in the last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic hammered car sales amid widespread lockdowns. Japan’s Honda fell to an 113.7bn yen (£820m) loss in the last quarter, as sales of its vehicles plunged 40 per cent around the world. As a result of the dire quarterly [...]
Renault plunges to record €7bn loss as pandemic shrinks sales July 30, 2020 French car giant Renault fell to a record loss of €7.4bn (£6.8bn) in the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic decimated the global automotive industry. The firm said that most of the loss came through its creaking alliance with Japanese automaker Nissan, which filed a €4.8bn loss. Speaking to investors today, new chief [...]
Carmakers shed 11,000 jobs as production set for worst year since 1957 July 30, 2020 More than 11,000 people in the automotive industry have lost their job in the last six months due to coronavirus, as the sector heads for its worst year of car production since 1957. According to new figures from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), just 880,000 cars are expected to be [...]
Daimler sets sights on profit after sales slump due to coronavirus July 23, 2020 German car giant Daimler said it expected profit to rebound in the second half of the year even as it reported a 34 per cent fall in vehicle sales due to coronavirus. In total, the Mercedes-Benz owner said vehicle sales in the second quarter totalled 541,800, down from 821,700 in the same period last year. [...]