Ford in drive for vehicle recall October 14, 2009 Ford has widened the US car industry’s -biggest-ever recall by 4.5m vehicles due to a faulty cruise-control switch linked to hundreds of fires. So far 14.3m vehicles have been recalled.
Reuters buys finance site in 13m deal October 14, 2009 THOMSON Reuters consolidated its expansion into the opinion business yesterday as it acquired the financial commentary business Breakingviews. Breakingviews was founded 10 years ago by Hugo Dixon, a former Financial Times journalist, who will make £2.6m from the deal. Dixon was backed by a number of well known City figures, including Roland Rudd, the Finsbury [...]
New cars to have digital radio installed from 2014 October 7, 2009 CAR makers have agreed to make digital radios standard in cars from the start of 2014, following the Digital Britain White Paper in June which anticipates FM stations being switched off after 2015. “We’re really encouraged that both industries are positive. It will be a big logistical challenge but we have finally take the first [...]
Jaguar gets 500m new bank funding October 7, 2009 BELEAGUERED carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) yesterday revealed it has secured £500m of new funding, easing the pressure on the company after a dramatic slump in car sales during the recession. JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, said the monies included a £175m loan from the State Bank of India and a new [...]
Mazda fundraising for green cars October 6, 2009 Japanese carmaker Mazda is planning to raise Y96bn (£680m) in a share sale to fund development of hybrid vehicles, as it tries to catch up with “greener” competitors like Toyota and Honda. It said it would offer 363m new shares to investors, equivalent to one-quarter of its outstanding stock, and sell an additional 97m existing [...]
Volvo approached by US group October 4, 2009 China’s Geely Automotive is thought to be readying itself for a takeover battle in the race to snap up Volvo, the loss making Swedish car manufacturer, from owner Ford. Geely, who has been in talks with Ford since September, is now facing competition from a US led consortium, fronted by Michael Dingman, a former Ford [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 1, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESFORD SELLS AUSTRALIAN LOAN BOOK TO MACQUARIEFord, the US carmaker that underwent a debt-for-equity swap this year to bolster its balance sheet, has quit Australia’s retail car finance market after selling a A$1bn (US$874m) motor loan portfolio to Macquarie Group. The Australian investment bank is expanding its presence in the sector as well as [...]
Vehicle sales at GM fell 45pc in September October 1, 2009 GENERAL Motors (GM) yesterday said its US September auto sales fell 45 per cent, pressured by weak consumer confidence, low inventory levels and the end of the US government “cash for clunkers” incentives. GM said sales fell to 156,673 vehicles in September, from 284,300 a year earlier when company discounts supported sales. But the carmaker [...]
CITY ON THE CUSP OF APPOINTING NICK ANSTEE AS NEXT LORD MAYOR September 23, 2009 UNDER a week to go until the appointment of the man who will replace Lord Mayor Ian Luder at the helm of the City of London. The new boss won’t officially take up residence in his swanky Mansion House digs until his official inauguration in November, though the election – if you can call it [...]
Geely sets sights on expansion September 23, 2009 Goldman Sachs’ $334m (£203m) investment in Geely Automobile will boost the Chinese carmaker’s global ambitions, including a potential bid by its parent for Ford’s Volvo brand it said yesterday. Shares in Hong Kong-listed Geely spiked 26 per cent yesterday after the company said it would issue convertible bonds and warrants to an affiliate of Goldman [...]