Britishvolt, the UK’s foremost investor in battery technologies, has announced the appointment of Ray Macera as Project Director for the construction and implementation of Britain’s first battery gigaplant at Bro Tathan, St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. Macera, who is reporting directly to Britishvolt CEO, Orral Nadjari, leads one of the largest industrial investments in British history. The … [Read more...]
JLR loose bid to protect Defender shape
One of the world's most distinctive shapes, the classic Land Rover Defender, is not unique enough an Appeal Court judge has decided. Jaguar Land Rover sought to get the trademark rights for the shape of the Defender SUV, but it failed and means billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group can go ahead with the Grenadier off-road vehicle, which he admits was inspired by Defender. A London court on … [Read more...]
Newslines 4 August
Ferrari earnings have skidded because of supply chain and coronavirus pandemic issues. Earnings fell 60% to £111,680,000 in Q2 but the full year sales are expected to dramatically pick up by spring 2021 and be at the lower end of their original forecast or about £30 Billion. Fuel price rises recorded by the RAC this week will wipe out savings from cheaper insurance premiums as a result of the … [Read more...]
Tradelines 17 June
Over 1,000 temporary contractor jobs are going at JLR as the executive car maker struggles to control losses as a result of the global pandemic hitting sales and it saw a downturn of £501 Million in the first quarter of the year. It has raised its cost cutting target by £1 Billion as it seeks to save £5 Billion by March including slashing capital spending by £500 Million. There were more … [Read more...]
Bentley cut jobs and JLR get massive Chinese loan
Bentley is cutting about 1,000 jobs, a quarter of its workforce at Crewe, due to a fall in sales for the 101 year old company. It had increased sales last year by 5% to 11,000 models but the pandemic fallout hit them hard and now it’s preparing to offer voluntary redundancy to many before making redundancies. Jaguar Land Rover has entered into agreements with lenders in China for a secured term … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road & in the news 30 May
Although the lockdown measures are easing it will take time for the wheels of society to return to something like normal life, writes David Miles. But from tomorrow, after the bank holiday week, English schools for certain age groups will open where they can and more employees should be returning to work and that includes the motoring industry. So hopefully it won’t be too long before we get back … [Read more...]
Newslines 26 May
British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will rescue companies seen as strategically important on a “last resort” basis after other options run out. The Treasury told Reuters late on Sunday it may try to save those companies whose failure will “disproportionately harm the economy” and that could include Jaguar Land Rover which has been reported as seeking massive assistance to offset losses due to … [Read more...]
Newslines 22 May
Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division sold more than 9,500 high-performance models last year, up 64% on the year before, despite the virus pandemic impacting sales. Extremely strong demand for all seven SV vehicles has driven this growth along with an expansion to 100 SV specialist dealers around the world. Shadow Transport Minister for Wales has questioned how Welsh … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: On the road & in the news 10 May
I’m still keeping calm and carrying on sifting through the latest automotive news items and press releases pinging into my Inbox, writes David Miles. Whilst the COVIC-19 news is not good there are some brighter worthwhile snippets of information worth passing on. New life goes on - Toyota Corolla proves reliant for Robins We motoring journalists during the lockdown period are without test cars … [Read more...]
Newslines 27 April
Russell George AM, the Shadow Minister for Transport, has called on the Welsh Government to provide support to Holyhead Port during the Covid-19 pandemic. While some freight services continue between Wales and Ireland, the reduction in the number of passenger services has led to calls for Welsh Government financial support to fill the gap between a reduced income and the running costs of … [Read more...]