SMMT: New car sales just had the best January in 11 years February 4, 2016 A whopping 169,678 new cars were sold in the UK in January, according to new data – meaning new car sales had their best January in 11 years. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed registrations increased 2.9 per cent in January. Most of the growth was driven (see what we [...]
Six Nations 2016: Uncapped trio Jack Clifford, Ollie Devoto and Paul Hill set for debuts as Eddie Jones retains 25-man squad for Calcutta Cup February 2, 2016 Uncapped trio Jack Clifford, Ollie Devoto and Paul Hill are set to make their international debuts in England’s Six Nations opener against Scotland on Saturday after being retained in head coach Eddie Jones’s 25-man squad last night. Jones last night released eight players and retained a squad of 25 for the Calcutta Cup. The same [...]
Ford Motor shares drop three per cent despite record profits in 2015 January 28, 2016 Shares in car manufacturer Ford dropped by more than three per cent today, as the company's record profit of $10.8bn (£7.5bn) failed to assuage investor fears over the state of the motor market. The firm increased profit by $3.5bn last year, and doubled quarterly profit to $2.6bn from $1.3bn in the final quarter of 2014. [...]
Virtual reality: The next frontier. Visualise’s Henry Stuart on motion sickness and the Swayze Effect January 25, 2016 This is the year, so we are told, that virtual reality (VR) takes off. Hotly anticipated headsets from Oculus and Playstation are due for release later in 2016 and will finally bring VR into people’s homes. “We’re hugely excited,” says Henry Stuart, co-founder and chief executive of VR production company Visualise, which has produced around 60 [...]
Lack of finance keeps smaller housebuilders trailing behind their bigger rivals January 18, 2016 Profits at the top UK housebuilders may have hit a pre-crisis high but their smaller rivals are still struggling to recover as funding for larger projects remains scarce, new research suggests. A construction boom has helped profit margins at larger housebuilders reach an average of 11.7 per cent for 2015 compared to their 2007 peak of 11.2 [...]
Volkswagen emissions scandal: Has it put car makers on the road to becoming the new banks? January 15, 2016 Not long ago, it seemed impossible to think that the reputational turbulence experienced by the banks of late could be matched by any other sector. However, Volkswagen’s recent mea culpa is just one of the latest in a series of blows for the automotive industry and, for many, a potential tipping point in terms of [...]
EU referendum: Alan Johnson says Brexit will cost UK car manufacturers £1.2bn a year despite Toyota commitment to keep building cars in Britain if UK leaves EU January 14, 2016 British car manufacturers could be hit with tariffs worth £1.2bn a year if the UK leaves the EU, a leading Labour MP has warned, just days after Toyota said it would keep making cars in Britain even if voters back Brexit. Alan Johnson, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle and chair [...]
Full England squad: Eddie Jones’ 33-man squad for the Six Nations features returns for Chris Ashton and Marlon Yarde but no Danny Cipriani January 13, 2016 Eddie Jones has called up seven uncapped players into his first squad as England head coach, including 21-year-old Saracens lock Maro Itoje and Wasps' 23-year-old centre Elliot Daly. High profile players including Danny Cipriani, Ben Morgan, Brad Barritt and Tom Youngs have been left out of the Six Nations squad, while there are returns for [...]
Football could finally introduce live video replays to help referees as soon as 2018 January 8, 2016 Football's lawmakers are set to give their backing to the introduction of live video replays to help referees make more accurate decisions during games. The International Football Association Board (Ifab) is expected to signal the green light for trials of video replays to be introduced when it meets in Cardiff early next March. Refereeing teams [...]
2015 was a record year for new car registrations – but VW has lost January 7, 2016 Everyone's a petrolhead now. The year 2015 was a record year for new car registrations, new figures have shown, with 2.63m new vehicles registered during the year – up 6.3 per cent from last year. That was boosted by December – the biggest on record – during which 180,077 new cars were registered, up 8.4 per [...]