Car industry investment grinds to a halt as Brexit uncertainty cripples sector July 31, 2019 Investment into Britain’s car manufacturing industry has come to a near-standstill, as companies divert hundreds-of-millions of pounds towards mitigating a potential no-deal Brexit which they fear will plunge the sector into chaos. Inward investment into the sector plummeted more than 70 per cent to just £90m in the first six months of the year, according [...]
Shareholders rebel at Homeserve over ex-director payouts July 19, 2019 Shareholders dealt home repairs company Homeserve a bloody nose today as 30 per cent voted against the directors’ pay report. Read more: Homeserve maintains strong outlook as investors toast success across the pond Advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) had recommended Homeserve shareholders vote against the remuneration report – which lays out directors’ pay – [...]
European car sales suffer steep June drop July 17, 2019 European car sales slumped 7.8 per cent last month as Nissan, Fiat Chrysler and Volvo suffered the biggest revenue losses. Read more: Volkswagen and Ford team up on driverless cars Registrations dropped to 1.45m units in June, according to the Association of European Carmakers (AEC), the worst decline since December. The AEC blamed two fewer [...]
The new A35 isn’t Mercedes-AMG’s hottest hatchback, but it certainly isn’t tepid July 16, 2019 The hot hatch has reached boiling point. Very soon, Mercedes will reveal a new AMG A45, with the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever. Its scorching 416hp bests a 288 GTO – Ferrari’s mid-1980s poster car – in a game of Top Trumps, and may well get from 0-62mph in less than four seconds. A supercar-slaying [...]
Volkswagen and Ford strengthen ties by teaming up on electric and self-driving cars July 12, 2019 Two of the world’s biggest car makers, Volkswagen and Ford, have moved their existing commercial partnership up a gear this afternoon to collaborate on electric cars and self-driving cars. Read more: Ford gears up to announce up to 550 job losses for UK office workers amid turnaround efforts The firms are looking to pull ahead [...]
WPP sells 60 per cent stake in Kantar to value it at $4bn July 12, 2019 Advertising giant WPP is set to sell 60 per cent of its stake in analytics division Kantar to a private equity house as it raises cash for a turnaround strategy. Read more: WPP loses big name clients, sending sales on a steep decline Bain Capital has agreed to snap up the stake in a deal [...]
BMW reveals it will build electric Mini in Oxford in boost for UK’s car industry July 9, 2019 In the summer of 1959, the first Mini rolled off the production line in Oxford and hit Britain’s streets. While initially a response to the Suez crisis fuel shortage, its diminutive size made it a style icon, helped it symbolise the swinging sixties and shook up Britain’s car industry for good. Fast forward 60 years, [...]
Aston Martin’s biggest shareholder to make £68m bid to increase its stake July 1, 2019 Aston Martin’s largest shareholder, Investindustrial, is looking to increase its stake in the carmaker by a further three per cent. It comes nine months after the luxury brand saw its shares crash by almost 50 per cent following its initial public offering. Read more: Ford to cut 12,000 jobs across Europe and close down five [...]
Jaguar to announce huge investment in UK electric car manufacturing June 30, 2019 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will plough hundreds of millions of pounds into the British car industry by preparing one of its factories to build electric cars, in a much-needed boost for the sector. JLR will modify its Castle Bromwich plant to build a series of three all-electric models, starting with an electric version of its [...]
UK readies for no-deal Brexit with fresh freight plans June 29, 2019 The government is asking transport firms to make an offer to provide extra freight capacity that would be used in the event of a no-deal Brexit at the end of October. More than £85m was wasted in the lead up to the initial date the UK was due to leave the EU following a rushed [...]