Corporate Business

McLaren Automotive, the British creator of luxury sports cars and supercars, announces its newest retailer – McLaren Bellevue. Operated by OpenRoad Auto Group of Bellevue, Washington,  McLaren Bellevue provides the Pacific Northwest with a local touchpoint for sales and service operations, allowing clients and potential clients in the area easier access to McLaren’s renowned customer service experience. A new facility for McLaren Bellevue is under construction now and is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2019.  In the meantime, McLaren customers and fans in the region are welcome to visit a temporary showroom operating at 1882 136th Place Northeast, Bellevue, WA 98005.

Jaguar Land Rover Classic is accelerating its global expansion strategy with the opening of a brand-new Classic Centre in Germany – the first facility of its kind outside the UK. The new Classic Centre in Essen is directly operated by Jaguar Land Rover Classic, providing factory service in Germany. In addition, the company is also introducing a service to support classic car enthusiasts seeking pre-owned Jaguar Land Rover classic vehicles using the new ‘Works Legends’ online portal available at www.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/workslegends.

Aston Martin and Triton Submarines are pleased to announce the successful completion of the design phase for Project Neptune, and the commencement of the first production model ahead of its public unveiling later this year. Since the announcement of the creative collaboration in September 2017, Aston Martin and Triton have worked meticulously to refine the detailed design of the submersible’s hydrodynamics, body styling, and luxurious interior packaging. For a vehicle to wear the iconic Aston Martin wings, it must be equipped with all the performance, beauty and elegance one has come to expect from the British marque. To earn a signature trident, the submersible must be safe, reliable and offer its passengers near 360º visibility. The final design of the submersible is a testament to the extraordinary attention to detail of both design teams and reflects the complementary values of […]

McLaren North America is celebrating a significant milestone in the automotive sportscar and supercar brand’s short yet illustrious history, with the delivery of its 5,000th car in the North American market. The 5000th car, a Silica White 570S Spider, was delivered this week to California-based customer Dr. Gary Leach. McLaren Automotive retailed its first vehicle in North America in December 2011 and in less than seven years already represents more than a third of McLaren’s global sales tally. Debuting in the U.S. in 2011 with the McLaren MP4 12-C and followed soon after by the 650, 675LT and the iconic McLaren P1TM supercars, McLaren saw steady growth that doubled in 2016 following the introduction of the 570 Sports Series line up. 2017 was another very successful year for the brand, and the region, with the addition of the 570S Spider and the Super […]

Aston Martin’s ongoing expansion in the important China region continues to gather pace with the opening of the luxury British sports car brand’s second official dealership in the Chinese capital, Beijing. Operated by Wintop Group and known as Aston Martin Beijing the impressive new dealership comprises a 400-square metre showroom at No.99 Jinbao Street, Dongcheng District in Beijing.

Aston Martin has partnered with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) to promote career opportunities in the automotive industry for women. The Women in Engineering event, held at the SMMT showroom in London earlier this week, highlighted the importance women play in design and engineering and offered an insight into the variety of careers on offer at Aston Martin. 

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s biggest auto manufacturer, is cutting 1,000 jobs in the UK as the diesel scandal and slumping sales hit the beloved British brand. Now owned by India’s Tata Motors, JLR employs about 40,000 workers in the UK who produce over 500,000 vehicles a year. The company is cutting the jobs at the Birmingham factory that manufactures the Jaguar F-Pace, Land Rover Discovery, and various Range Rover models. Demand for Jaguar Land Rover cars has fallen in Europe due to fallout from the VW led diesel emissions scandal. Jaguar Land Rover pointed out that “the huge drop in demand in diesels” led to its decision not to renew the contracts of 1,000 workers. Partially behind the decision is also said to be a sharp decline in British car sales that seems to be caused by a loss […]

Following significant investment in its Longbridge Training Venue, MG Motor UK has announced that the Cecil Kimber College has now been accredited by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI). This highly-coveted industry recognition signifies that MG has the capacity and high-standard infrastructure to deliver technical training to repairers across the MG dealer network. MG has invested significantly in developing its courses, training equipment, and infrastructure earlier this year. Including some development of the parts warehouse, the company has invested £0.5 million on adding new features such as workshop space for up to 10 vehicles, twin fully equipped classrooms to accommodate up to 20 delegates, two post hoists to allow for raised vehicle work and insulated flooring to accommodate electric and hybrid vehicle training.

Morgan Motor Company has activated their first ever billboard campaign in and around London with two sites situated along prominent arterial routes. The Malvern-based company has seen a strong start to 2018 with record financial results of 19 percent revenue growth, pre-tax profits up by over 200 percent and global exports up by 10 percent. This year also saw two successful new model launches at the Geneva Motor Show and the reacquisition of the land on which the Morgan factory is built.

For the sixth year running, the parent company of MG has launched the SAIC Design Challenge for automotive design students. Following the competition’s success in China, a European based competition has been launched now running for its second year. This year, students are being challenged to develop a flagship electric vehicle for the iconic MG Motor brand that will meet 2025 transport requirements. The technical level of entries that students are required to produce is very demanding, with future automotive designers producing fully-developed concepts. Last year, two European finalists were sent to China to present final designs at SAIC Motor’s global headquarters to the board and international members of the press.

Bentley Motors today announces that construction has started on the UK’s largest ever solar-powered carport at Bentley’s factory headquarters in Crewe, UK. The installation of 10,000 solar panels, which has a capacity of 2.7MW, will take approximately six months to complete. Once completed, the carport – which covers Bentley’s colleague car park – will take Bentley’s energy system to 30,815 solar panels. This includes the 20,815-panel rooftop installation completed in 2013.

MG has achieved a record sales month, with March 2018 figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) confirming a 49% increase in registrations compared to the same month last year. MG sold more than 1,100 cars in March, marking it as the brand’s highest monthly performance since its return to the market in 2008. Year-to-date, MG is the fastest-growing car brand in the UK, with sales increasing by 67% versus the same period in 2017. MG is partly attributing this success to its new warranty programme. Since the start of the year, all new MGs are backed by a manufacturer’s warranty of at least five years, led by the all-new MG ZS Compact-SUV, which has a 7-year/80,000 miles warranty. Daniel Gregorious, Head of Sales & Marketing at MG Motor UK, said: Our strong growth figures show that the MG […]

Auto Class Cars, authorized distributor of MG in Qatar, has announced that the MG RX5 compact SUV will be available in the Qatari market by the end of April. MG Motor’s new ‘Hero SUV’ will be available at the MG showroom on Salwa Road, with prices starting at around QR54,000 (approximately $15K USD). The new MG RX5 will appeal to a range of customers, especially younger buyers looking for value for money in a stylish, technologically-advanced package that allows them to stand out from the crowd, according to a statement.

Jaguar Land Rover North America today announced the official opening of its new state-of-the-art North American Headquarters in Mahwah, New Jersey. Ahead of the 2018 New York International Auto Show, the opening was celebrated by three days of events, engaging employees, VIP guests, customers, retailers, students and local government officials. Activities included an Employee Open House for family and friends and an official Building Dedication Ceremony where Joe Eberhardt, President & CEO, Jaguar Land Rover North America, announced the official renaming of the street to Jaguar Land Rover Way—placing the new headquarters at 100 Jaguar Land Rover Way. Guests included Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, Olympic Gold Medalist Meghan Duggan and Mayor Bill Laforet of Mahwah, New Jersey, who presented Jaguar Land Rover with a key to the city.

Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo today announce a long-term strategic partnership. Together, the two companies will develop the world’s first premium self-driving electric vehicle for Waymo’s driverless transportation service. Jaguar Land Rover and Waymo (formerly Google self-driving car project) will work together to design and engineer self-driving Jaguar I-PACE vehicles. This long-term strategic collaboration will further Waymo and Jaguar Land Rover’s shared goals: to make cars safer, free up people’s valuable time and improve mobility for everyone.

William Medcalf continues to expand his vintage Bentley business beyond the realms of most classic car specialists. Not only is William Medcalf Vintage Bentley the world leader in the sales, service, restoration and rally preparation of any vintage Bentley model, the company also designs and manufactures hundreds of parts lines from its West Sussex HQ. Under the name of Benchmark Precision Engineering, Medcalf designs and fabricates a number of parts in-house using the latest CadCam technology and 3D printing methods. By doing this, William can personally engineer out known issues, making strong, usable components that follow the ethos of WO Bentley while ensuring modern tolerances and, crucially, retaining originality.

Aston Martin Holdings (UK) Ltd, the designer and manufacturer of luxury handcrafted sports cars, today welcomed the decision by S&P Global Ratings to upgrade its credit rating for the company. S&P has upgraded the company and its senior secured notes to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘, on the back of a consistent improvement in its operating and financial performance. In 2017, Aston Martin delivered record revenues, with profits growing by a quarter of a billion pounds as unit sales exceeded 5,000 for the first time since 2008. 

Jaguar Land Rover achieved its second-highest February sales performance with strong sales of the new Range Rover Velar and Land Rover Discovery and the new 18 model year Range Rover and Rover Sport as well as the new Jaguar E-PACE still ramping up, despite difficult trading conditions in key European markets, especially the UK. Retail sales of 39,911 Jaguars and Land Rovers in February were 2.6% down on the previous year’s all-time high. Solid demand in China (3.3% up) and other overseas markets (1.5% up) was offset by lower sales in the UK (15.2% down for the month) and Europe (6.9% down), where trading conditions remained challenging. Sales in North America were 2.2% down on the same month in the previous year. With the company’s sales up 2.9% in January, year-to-date sales are level with a year ago.