Aston Martin St Athan plant will play a crucial role in the company's recovery and future plans. The luxury car maker will almost double production at St Athan and its Garden, Warwickshire sites this year after working through stock it's held and which has plagued them since its 2018 shares floatation. The British company plans to make 6,000 vehicles this year compared to 3,394 last year, … [Read more...]
Retail
Plea for Welsh filling stations
Welsh Government will be asked to help struggling rural fuel stations. Brian Madderson, Chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association says they are often a hub of a community life, provide more than just fuel and are a village shop or post office. He has already written again to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling for an extension to business rates relief in the Spring Budget in Engand due next … [Read more...]
Apprentices drive by garages
Franchised dealers have been promoting apprenticeships. Drive My Career is the employment platform launched by the National Franchised Dealers Association in February 2018 to make the motor retail sector more attractive to jobseekers and connect potential candidates with their local retailers. As part of the #DMCApprenticeTakeover campaign, Drive My Career members promoted across their social … [Read more...]
Budget needs to tackle help for car sector and buyers
Changes to VAT around compensation payments, strategic support for the UK motor industry, and the future of road charging are key subjects that should be tackled by the Chancellor in March’s Budget, says the Vehicle Remarketing Association. All three issues are likely to impact on the remarketing sector either in the short, medium or longer-term, believes the industry organisation, and its … [Read more...]
Newslines 23 February
British Gas is going all-electric with its vehicle fleet after announcing it’s not buying another petrol or diesel engined vehicle. It has placed an order for 2,000 Vauxhall Vivaro-e vans in the largest commercial fleet order ever in the UK for BEVs and follows 1,000 ordered last summer. Volkswagen is struggling to obtain enough battery cells for its hybrid Golf models. The success of the car … [Read more...]
Lockdown laziness leads to larger payments
Lazy drivers are paying through their noses for car insurance during lockdown. GoCompare Car Insurance has reminded drivers of the need to shop around for the best insurance deals as new research reveals a sharp increase in number of policies being automatically renewed in the last 12 months. The website, found that 7.6m motorists paid a ‘loyalty tax’ to their insurer for allowing their policy … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 February
Fred Rees Garages Haverfordwest has won the best customer experience award from Skoda UK. The family business was founded in 1925 and represented Skoda since 2001. Commuters to Cardiff have saved over £107M in fuel bills in the last 12 months of lockdowns, calculates GoCompare. Working from home by non-essential travellers has also seen savings in parking charges and maintenance of vehicles as … [Read more...]
Newslines 19 February
Ford will sell only pure electric vehicles in Europe by 2030. In five years it will offer hybrid cars across its range as it transforms, two years after its vans, and it will use Volkswagen platforms but assemble models in Cologne. MG electric car owners can subscribe to a £6 monthly service plan if they do under 10,000 miles annually. Petrol models cost from £14 and selected used models can … [Read more...]
Debut of McLaren Artura supercar
The super-lightweight McLaren Artura sports car has been unveiled from £185,000. With a 680ps 3.0V8 petrol engine and E-motor it hits 62mph in 3secs, has a 205mph maximum and yet can achieve over 50mpg cruising, weighing in at under 1.4 tonnes. … [Read more...]
Range Rovers are tops with thieves
Analysis by Tracker reveals that Range Rovers and Land Rovers take six of the ten places in the 2020 list of Tracker’s most commonly stolen and recovered vehicles. The three top spots in the 2020 league table are all Range Rover models - the Sport, the Vogue and the Autobiography. The Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Defender also make the top ten. These six models alone … [Read more...]