Geely warns of tough outlook August 25, 2010 CHINA’S Geely, whose parent bought Ford’s Volvo unit this month, warned of tougher competition and slower sales after its record first-half earnings beat forecasts yesterday. China overtook the United States last year to become the world’s biggest car market, as Beijing rolled out incentives to boost spending during the global downturn. But that growth is [...]
Feisty, fun, and a little confused August 24, 2010 THE Mazda3 MPS was once the most powerful front-wheel-drive hot hatch you could buy, an accolade that now belongs to Ford’s Focus RS. Even so, it’s quite possible you may not even be aware of its existence because the model before this one was so understated there was literally nothing about the way it looked [...]
New Five boss wanted Airey August 11, 2010 NEW Channel Five owner Richard Desmond was desperate to maintain the services of outgoing chief executive Dawn Airey before her shock resignation yesterday, according to industry sources. Airey has enacted a clause in her contract that guaranteed her a senior role at former Five parent company RTL in the event of the broadcaster being bought. [...]
CAR TALK August 10, 2010 NISSAN’S BRAVE NEW WORLD UK order books for Nissan’s LEAF car open on 1 Sep. The LEAF – which stands for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car – has a top speed of 87mph and a range of 100 miles and should cost £23,990. The price includes VAT at 20 per cent, as well as [...]
Jaguar drives on Tata profit August 10, 2010 INDIA’S Tata Motors swept past forecasts with a fourth straight quarterly profit yesterday, driven by demand for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands. The company’s Jaguar and Land Rover unit, which Tata bought from Ford in 2008, is expected to fuel growth in coming quarters as demand for luxury brands increases, particularly in emerging [...]
Luxury car sales fuel Pendragon rise August 10, 2010 LUXURY cars are leading a recovery in forecourt sales, according to Pendragon, owner of the Jaguar, Maserati and Mercedes-Benz specialist Stratstone chain. Pendragon saw a 48 per cent rise in first-half profit to £15.7m. Stratstone outperformed the market with a 20 per cent rise in new car sales, while total revenues jumped 24.1 per cent [...]
Pendragon profit up 48pc after luxury car sales soar August 10, 2010 CAR dealer Pendragon reported a 48 per cent rise in first-half profit, helped by growing revenues at its premium cars and aftersales businesses, and said it would deliver further growth in the second half. The UK’s largest motor retailer on Tuesday posted a pre-tax profit of £15.7m on sales 15 per cent higher at £1.83bn [...]
Quarterly loss for Chrysler as sales flag August 9, 2010 Chrysler Group posted a quarterly net loss on yesterday, underscoring the pressure on the smallest US automaker from a slack economy and an aging product line-up. The carmaker, which plans an IPO next year, saw US sales growth of 12 per cent in the first half of the year, lagging the industry’s nearly 17 per [...]
GEELY COMPLETES VOLVO PURCHASE August 2, 2010 CHINESE carmaker Geely has completed the purchase of Swedish rival Volvo from Ford for $1.5bn (£944m). The deal, which was agreed in March, ends the US firm’s involvement in overseas car brands. Li Shufu, Geely’s chairman (above), said former Volkswagen America chief executive Stefan Jacoby would take over as chief executive at Volvo on 19 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 1, 2010 Association of British Insurers Alain Dromer will join the ABI’s investment committee as chairman on 15 September. Dromer, who is currently chief executive of Aviva Investors, takes over the position from Keith Skeoch, who has spent three years in office. Dromer has also spent time as head of global investment at HSBC, head of insurance [...]