Ford Bridgend Engine Plant will close from wednesday for at least a month due to the coronavirus with employees getting basic pay.
“Due to the dramatic impact this ongoing crisis is having on the European market and the supplier industry, we have decided to bring forward part of the summer shutdown period for our UK operations to the Easter period,” said a Ford statement.
Car dealers want manufacturers to suspend payment terms, give lenient time to repay accounts and support struggling outlets.
The Coronavirus has badly dented sales, production and used business and there is no let up in sight but some service operations continue and a move to more on-line sales is expected, with some difficulties to be ironed out.
Lotus has slashed the price of servicing an Elise, Exige or Evora, with annual maintenance work now starting from just £270 depending on the model and across the ranges it amounts to a cut of 37%.
Coupled with improved residual values, it means lower running costs and improved value for money for current and future Lotus customers with the price of the first service (9,000 miles or one year) on a Lotus Elise Sport 220 – the best-selling version – has been cut from £554 to just £270.
Motorpoint has launched a free daily home delivery service with immediate effect.
The UK’s largest independent car retailer has a network of thirteen branches across England, Scotland and Wales is offering the facility to all customers unable to visit in person in light of the current coronavirus situation and within 100 miles of a branch.
Toyota will develop a heavy-duty fuel-cell truck with its subsidiary Hino Motor Co. as it sees hydrogen technology as a zero-emissions alternative to battery power for large commercial vehicles.
In a statement, Toyota said the truck based on Hino’s Profia model would be equipped with two fuel cell stacks developed for the next model of its Mirai fuel cell sedan with a range of 373 miles.