Chinese success propels Mercedes-Benz to record third-quarter sales October 7, 2019 Mercedes-Benz enjoyed record sales in the third quarter, despite a slowdown in the global automotive market, as a strong showing in China boosted the German luxury brand. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer sold 181,233 cars in China in the three months ending in September, a nearly 13 per cent increase. Read more: Daimler in fourth profit warning [...]
Aston Martin faces calls for board shake-up October 6, 2019 A year on from its disastrous stock market float, luxury car giant Aston Martin is facing calls to bring in new directors on its board. The British marquee brand has suffered a drop in shares of nearly 75 per cent since it floated in October this year. It has stalled in the face of mounting [...]
Aston Martin: The float that left the City shaken, not stirred October 2, 2019 Over the years, Aston Martin observers have watched the firm’s most famous client, James Bond, career into the river Tiber, skid across the polar ice caps and hurtle off an alpine road in its cars. Each time, ludicrously, he emerges alive. So when chief executive Andy Palmer told investors: “We don’t make cars, we make [...]
Jaguar Land Rover to shut factories for a week after Brexit September 26, 2019 Jaguar Land Rover’s factories will shut up shop for a week in November to deal with Brexit, its boss has said. Asked whether the firm was thinking about shutting the plants, chief executive Ralf Speth said: “We cannot think about it, we just have to do it.” Read more: Car production numbers post rise for [...]
Car production numbers post rise for the first time in 15 months September 26, 2019 Britain’s crisis-hit car manufacturing industry regained some speed in August, despite the threat of a “hammer blow” no-deal Brexit still looming. Car production rose 3.3 per cent in August to 92,152 units, the first increase in 15 months, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Read more: Car industry investment grinds to [...]
Labour plots further £5bn investment in electric car industry September 24, 2019 Labour has pledged to spend £2bn on the construction of three electric car battery factories in parts of the country which have lost thousands of car industry jobs in the last year. The plan would see a Labour government plough the money into so-called gigafactories in south Wales, Stoke and Swindon, with each site employing [...]
Labour hopes to lease 30,000 electric cars to public in climate drive September 23, 2019 Labour has unveiled plans to roll out a fleet of 30,000 electric hire cars onto Britain’s roads in a bid to help tackle climate change. Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey today said Labour would spend £300m to provide its so-called People’s Zipcars if it came to power, which people across the country could rent via [...]
Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos ‘nearing deal’ to build car in Bridgend September 16, 2019 Billionaire entrepreneur Jim Ratcliffe is said to be closing in on a deal to build a sport utility vehicle (SUV) in Bridgend, the town where Ford is bringing down the shutters on an engine factory which employs 1,700 people. Ineos, Ratcliffe’s chemicals firm, has been in negotiations for months over where to build the car, [...]
Engineering specialist Ricardo suffers amid global car industry downturn September 12, 2019 Engineering consultancy Ricardo’s shares fell seven per cent today after it reported that its automotive business struggled last year. The London-listed firm enjoyed a rise in revenue and growing order books in the year ending 30 June, but its division which serves the car industry was hit by a “pretty awful year” in the wider [...]
Frankfurt Motor Show: Car industry bosses warn against no-deal Brexit September 10, 2019 Bosses at car makers BMW and Vauxhall, which collectively employ more than 7,000 people in the UK, have warned about the destructive effects a no-deal Brexit could have on the automotive industry. Workers at BMW’s Mini factory in Oxford could face losing work in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to the car maker’s [...]