Corporate Business

MG Motor UK has entered in the top 25 in the UK Car Dealer Power Survey, the annual round-up of the top performing automotive manufacturers as ranked by their own dealer network. Outperforming significantly larger and more established brands, such as Jaguar and MINI, MG Motor UK scored particularly well in terms of new car supply, warranties, bonus structure and dealer requirements. The debut ranking in the survey is further affirmation that MG is now one of the UK’s fastest-growing car brands. With a program of inspiring new model launches, investment in state-of-the-art vehicle and powertrain technology, and global design capability based in the UK, it’s easy to see why dealers rank the brand so highly.

In the year that sees TVR celebrate its 70th anniversary, the company will proudly reveal a new sports car that takes engineering excellence to a new level for the iconic manufacturer. The new TVR, to be unveiled to the public at the Goodwood Revival Earls Court Motor Show, delivers an all-British design with outstanding integrity, rigidity, reliability, and quality. Founded in 1947 by Trevor Wilkinson, the company first developed its own chassis in 1949. Various model launches followed, including the iconic Grantura and the legendary V8 Griffith, which won acclaim during the 1950s and 1960s. It was during this period that TVRs also first began to appear on track, starting a motorsport heritage that continued for several decades, including several factory entries at Le Mans. With too many iconic models to list and a genuinely dedicated following of enthusiasts, the […]

Renowned London specialist Fiskens is offering for sale two legendary Aston Martins that were built 50 years apart but which share an unrivaled competition pedigree – a 1955 DB3S and a 2005 DBR9. The beautiful DB3S was introduced in 1953 and scored victories in prestigious events such as the Tourist Trophy and Goodwood Nine Hours. It also finished second at Le Mans on three occasions and was raced by the greatest names of the era, including Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori.

Not a British car story, but perhaps some fair warning to the long dormant British marques out there. In what most car guys would consider staggering news, Ferrari has lost the trademark to the well known Testarossa name. At least in Germany. Whether this hold beyond those borders has yet to be seen. As Promarketing magazine describes in their article: When we hear “Testarossa” we immediately think of Ferrari. And we’re not exactly car buffs, so we would imagine that others do the same. Well, regardless of how common that word association is, a German court ruled that Ferrari has to relinquish its right to the name due to a lack of ongoing use. Remember what we said yesterday about needing to use a trademark in order to hold onto it? This is what happens when a trademark holder doesn’t use it […]

The most recent new car registration stats from the SMMT show a decline in passenger car registrations in July, but MG Motor UK is continuing to outperform the market. The Longbridge-based business not only registered a total of 305 new cars across July (an increase of more than 4% year-to-date compared to 2016), but an additional five new dealerships joined the network. The latest stats confirm MG’s strong year-to-date growth and can be attributed to network expansion and development. This stands in contrast to the subdued new-car market, which was down by over 2% in the first seven months of 2017 compared to 2016.

Aston Martin has announced local firm TRJ Ltd as the selected construction partner for ‘Phase 2’ of the conversion contract at the St Athan manufacturing facility. Work is already underway at St Athan and will focus on turning the three ‘Super Hangars’ into an Aston Martin manufacturing facility. This contract was formally advertised through the Welsh Government’s Sell 2 Wales site, receiving significant interest from firms across the UK.  But it was the local Ammanford based TRJ who were ultimately successful, following on from their award of Phase 1 in December 2016.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC today reported July 2017 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 3,166 units, a 7 percent decrease from 3,398 units in July 2016; Land Rover sales decreased slightly to 5,915 units, down 2.6 percent from 6,075 in July 2016; Jaguar Land Rover July U.S. sales for both brands hit 9,081 units, a 4 percent decrease from 9,473 units in July 2016. Year to date, Jaguar Land Rover is up 15 percent in the United States, ahead of 2016’s record sales year pace. We are pleased that despite a slowdown in the broader market, Jaguar and Land Rover just missed last year’s record July sales, and are up 15% over 2016’s record full year pace. With the first half of the year behind us, we are focused on launching three new vehicles, the Land Rover Discovery now in […]

Aston Martin has announced the appointment of Joerg Ross as Chief Engineer, Powertrain. Joerg will be responsible for the development of Aston Martin’s engines, transmissions, and electrification, reporting to Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Max Szwaj and will be based at the company’s headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire. Born in Remscheid, Germany, Joerg Ross holds a degree and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He speaks several languages including German, English, and Italian. Commenting on the new appointment: Max Szwaj said: We are delighted to welcome Joerg to the Aston Martin team. His considerable experience and knowledge will prove invaluable for the Engineering team as we prepare the business for the next generation of Aston Martin products. On his appointment, Joerg Ross said: I’m delighted to be joining Aston Martin at what is an exciting […]

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to support the Read to Succeed campaign, fronted by Nick Gibb, MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton and Minister of State for School Standards. The significant donation by Rolls-Royce concludes the campaign target to provide a book to every year 4 pupil – over 1000 children – in Mr. Gibb’s constituency, to enjoy over the summer holidays The books in the scheme have been specifically chosen by schools and libraries to appeal to year 4 students (8-9 years old), which is the age that most students start to read independently for the first time. The books selected cover a wide range of abilities and interests so all children can enjoy the magic of reading. Each book also includes a token for the child to take to their local library to sign up for the library’s Summer […]

Jaguar Land Rover has opened its Chinese engine plant as part of its RMB10.9 billion joint venture with Chery Automobile Ltd. The state-of-the-art facility will manufacture the all-new Ingenium 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine for future Chery Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. During the first six months of the year, Jaguar Land Rover sales have increased by 26 per cent in China. The new engine plant demonstrates Jaguar Land Rover’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market, providing customers with an exciting range of vehicles and powertrain options, as well as to its joint venture.

BMW’s Oxford factory in England is currently the favored location for building an electric version of the Mini despite Britain’s planned departure from the European Union, two sources familiar with the company’s thinking told Reuters on Wednesday. Any decision by the German carmaker to commit to further spending at Oxford would be a boost to the British government, which has been warned by businesses at home and abroad that Brexit will hit investment.

The Jaguar E-PACE is a five-seat compact SUV that packs the design and performance of a Jaguar sports car into a practical and connected all-wheel-drive vehicle. The newest member of the Jaguar family of SUVs, the E-PACE follows the brand’s first all-electric SUV, the I-PACE Concept, and the World Car of the Year-winning F-PACE performance SUV.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Britain’s biggest carmaker, said on Thursday it is to build its new E-PACE compact sports utility vehicle in Austria and China, the first of its cars only to be manufactured outside of its home market. JLR said its three British plants were either full or at near capacity but the decision will spark fears the firm is looking to boost its output by using overseas operations, rather than invest in greater capacity at home.

Ahead of the Range Rover Velar arriving in showrooms, retail sales for Jaguar Land Rover reached 51,591 vehicles this month, up 11.0% on June 2016. Retail sales for the quarter totaled 137,463 vehicles, up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Retail sales for June were up year-on-year in China (65.3%), the UK (3.8%), Europe (3.7%) and North America (3.2%) whilst sales in Overseas markets were down 8.5%, due to challenging conditions in emerging markets such as Brazil, the Middle East and Russia.

BMW will decide whether to build its new electric Mini car in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September, its board member for sales told Reuters, in a test of the country’s ability to continue to attract investment as it leaves the EU. Mini makes around 70 percent of its approximately 360,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit.

British sports car and supercar manufacturer, McLaren Automotive, today announces yet another record-breaking year in respect of vehicle sales, profitability, and financial performance. Profit before tax of £9.2M from an annual sales revenue of £649.8M in 2016 gave McLaren Automotive a fourth consecutive year of profitability in only six years, since the start of sales in 2011.  This was an increase in profitability before tax of 70% compared to the £5.4M reported in 2015.

The Jaguar XE has picked up its 60th major global award, winning the prestigious Auto Express Compact Executive Car of the Year title for the third year running. Before the XE’s arrival, the last time a non-German manufacturer won Auto Express’ Compact Executive title was more than a decade ago. Jaguar’s disruptive all-electric I-PACE, arriving in 2018, also picked up the Design Award, voted for by Auto Express readers.

Chinese auto maker SAIC Motor Corporation will enter the India market with its once British MG brand for which it plans to have its fully-owned car manufacturing plant in the country. The company expects to commence operations in the country by 2019 and is in the process of finalizing its manufacturing facility, SAIC Motor Corporation said in a statement. Besides, the company said, it is firming up product strategy for the market here, details of which will be announced later.