SCRAP SCHEME ACCELERATES FORD SALES July 2, 2009 CARMAKER Ford said yesterday it had taken orders for over 12,000 new vehicles under the UK government’s cash-for-bangers scheme. Ford said more than 75 per cent of its scrappage orders are for its small car range with the Fiesta, Ka and Fusion models all selling well under the plan.
Finsbury boss Rudd quits as WH Ireland director July 1, 2009 ROLAND Rudd, the boss of City PR outfit Finsbury, has resigned as a non-executive director of City stockbroker WH Ireland, citing “other work commitments”. Rudd joined the board last year as part of a consortium that bought a 26 per cent stake in WH Ireland. Former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Marland, Carphone Warehouse co-founder David [...]
US June car sales slide again but slump starts to stabilise July 1, 2009 US car sales tumbled in June as the economy remained a deep concern for consumers, but Ford posted far better results than other large carmakers and shot ahead of Detroit rivals passing through federally sponsored bankruptcies. Carmakers said the results pointed to more stability for the economy, but fell short of marking a turnaround for [...]
Keydata plot thickens as PwC discovers a 103m black hole June 30, 2009 ADMINISTRATORS of failed structured product firm Keydata have unearthed a £103m black hole in its assets, as it emerged two mysterious groups it was trading with have vanished along with customers’ money. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has involved the Serious Fraud Office as it believes the funds may have been “misappropriated”. PwC is trying to ascertain why [...]
Tata to sell Jaguar cars in India June 28, 2009 Tata Motors, India’s largest carmaker, last night said it will start selling luxury Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in India. Tata chairman Ratan Tata described the launch of the brands, which it bought from Ford Motors last year, as a “momentous occasion”. Jaguars’ XF and XK cars are to be rolled out, starting at a [...]
McGeechan hands Shaw Test chance June 25, 2009 THE BRITISH and Irish Lions face South Africa tomorrow in Pretoria, 4,500 feet above sea level – and head coach Ian McGeechan has told his players to set their expectations just as high. McGeechan’s beefed-up side head into the second Test at Loftus Versfeld trailing 1-0, after being overpowered in last weekend’s 26-21 defeat in [...]
FORD DRIVES HARDER BARGAIN June 24, 2009 FORD will be putting up the price of cars across its UK range by four per cent, it said yesterday, blaming the sustained weakness of the pound against the Euro. The price increases will begin on 1 July. “The total revenue impact of the currencies has been huge — well into nine figures — on [...]
Tanfield gets green car funding June 24, 2009 Electric carmaker Tanfield said yesterday it will develop and trial 16 new green vehicles after being deemed eligible for half the funding total allocated by the government to the Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme. Tanfield will receive half of the projected total project cost of £3.2m. It will develop five people carriers and one [...]
US in green boost for Ford and Nissan June 23, 2009 FORD, Nissan and start-up company Tesla will reap the benefits of a $25bn (£15bn) loan programme from the Obama administration, designed to help them overhaul their US factories and make more eco-friendly cars, it emerged yesterday. The news came as Nissan unveiled plans to mass-produce electric vehicles at its Tennessee plant. Chief executive Carlos Ghosn [...]
Williams not ready to end Lions career June 22, 2009 BRITISH and Irish Lions winger Shane Williams has admitted that tonight’s game against the Emerging Springboks could be his last in a Lions shirt. Williams has failed to live up to his IRB player of the year accolade in South Africa and insists he needs a big performance if he is to force his way [...]