Bucking the UK trend in falling sales, the UK’s fastest-growing car brand shows no signs of slowing down as MG Motor gears up to increase its network to at least 130 dealers by the end of 2021. With a range now encompassing six models and a rapidly growing reputation for offering affordable EVs for everyone, the brand has seen 28 new sites join its network in the past 12 months. Bentley … [Read more...]
Newslines 25 January
DVLA Swansea office staff are too scared to work in the Government buildings, the PCS Union has said. Now Welsh Government has told officials in the Morriston and Llansamlet centres that staff must work from home unless essential for office duties after 500 people were found to have contracted Covid-19 and motorists are facing delays to documents’ processing. Ford is facing a $610 Million bill … [Read more...]
Britain’s out of WRC 2021 as NI bid fails
Britain has been dropped from this year’s WRC calendar after uncertainty over funding and the Coronavirus pandemic. Belgium will stage a round of the FIA World Rally Championship for the first time after Renties Ypres Rally Belgium was last week added to the 2021 calendar in August on a date to be confirmed. It will replace the UK’s proposed fixture in Northern Ireland, which has unfortunately … [Read more...]
Carshop Cardiff click & collect is Covid challenger
As First Minister, Mark Drakeford, warned that there is “not much headroom for change” around Wales’ Tier 4 lockdown restrictions many were panicking, but a few local businesses are feeling much calmer this time around. One is CarShop Cardiff, a used car store located on Penarth Road which has been operating for 15 years and reported positive annual sales figures despite the uncertainty … [Read more...]
Evans raises game and looks towards 2021
Elfyn Evans’ dream of becoming the first Welsh driver to win the FIA World Rally Championship were put on hold when he crashed out of this year's title-decider in northern Italy. The 31-year-old from Dolgellau arrived at the ACI Rally Monza holding a 14-point advantage over his Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Sébastien Ogier and, despite some atrocious weather conditions, at the mid-point seemed on … [Read more...]
Tradelines 9 December
Aston Martin is seeing “phenomenal” demand, with a rebound in China, said the company’s executive chairman and billionaire investor Lawrence Stroll. “Demand right now is phenomenal,” he told the Financial Times’ The Future of the Car digital conference, adding “China really returned first and strongest, and is gangbusters.” GKN Automotive is strengthening its eDrive technology leadership as 13 … [Read more...]
Covid-19 has failed to contain car auctions
UK motor auctions have told the National Association of Motor Auctions it is ‘business as usual’ despite the four-week lockdown in England and the additional restrictions across the country. NAMA has recently held a member meeting where auctioneers discussed the challenges facing their businesses due to COVID-19 and analysed the current and future state of the market. The majority of businesses … [Read more...]
Essential skills affected by coronavirus changes
Company reorganisations taking place in the wake of the coronavirus crisis are leading to a new shortage in essential fleet skills, reports FleetCheck. The fleet software specialist says that it is seeing growing instances of managers with fleet expertise being made redundant or moved into new roles, often leaving responsibility for cars and vans in the hands of people who have relatively … [Read more...]
Pressure mounts to help auto-sector
Leaders of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association want EU policy makers and national governments to raise support to the auto sector. It continues to grapple with the fallout of COVID-19 while already at a critical juncture on the road to carbon neutrality. Indeed, the corona crisis has rocked the EU auto industry, leading to production losses of more than 4 million motor vehicles to … [Read more...]
Newslines 16 October
Motorists from CV-19 hotspots in England will be stopped on Welsh roads from 6pm today, says the Welsh Government. FM Mark Drakeford has asked PM Boris Johnson to ban the move out of hotspots into other areas, including Wales, but so far the response has been only advisory and Wales will now introduce its own devolved legislation to stop transmission rates rising but police are not sure how they … [Read more...]