Corporate Business

Aston Martin is today revealing full details of its new global certified pre-owned sports car programme: Timeless. Established to offer customers of pre-owned Aston Martin sports cars the very highest levels of quality, assurance and confidence, the new programme is being launched internationally across the brand’s 164-strong dealer network.

Tata Sons, the holding company for JLR parent company, Tata Motors, has ousted its CEO, Cyrus Mistry. Temporarily taking the reins will be Tata family insider, and former CEO Ratan Tata. The Indian conglomerate is conducting a four-month search to determine who will be next at the helm. Mistry, 48, was the sixth chairman in Tata’s 150-year history. The firm controls 100 companies worldwide, including Tetley Tea and Tata Steel. No information has been forthcoming as to the reason for Mistry’s exit, though rumors abound that there were questions regarding Mistry’s stewardship of the company. Some news outlets are reporting that Tata felt Mistry was selling off too much of he company holdings, and therefore not protecting the Tata “family jewels.” Mistry was also the first Tata CEO to not be a member of the Tata family.  

British luxury sports car maker Aston Martin plans to introduce one new super luxury car every year in the Indian market. While the company is now marketing the DB11, a new variant of Vantage model will also come soon.

Note: This is a guest post by Christopher Silvestri who is the owner of Christopher John, Ltd, in Daytona Beach, Florid. They are the newly designated US dealer for Raptor Sports Cars.  A question for automotive aficionados: What do you get when you combine the DNA of a Shelby Cobra with something Batman would unleash upon the roadways of Gotham? I give you, dear reader and fellow motoring enthusiast, the Raptor R165. It is yet another example of what I call “attainable luxury,” a sports car with an English pedigree and an international following, which has an unmistakable personality – and an undeniable degree of performance – at a reasonable price.

Jaguar Land Rover is set to shed more than 250 agency workers at its Solihull plant as part of plans to transfer production of the Jaguar XE saloon to Castle Bromwich. The Coventry car maker has confirmed the staff are set to see their temporary contracts come to an end. In all more 267 agency staff are set to leave the Lode Lane factory over the coming weeks. One employee revealed workers “had no idea” they would be laid off and assumed they were being transferred to other parts of the luxury car manufacturer. It is understood 67 agency staff have left the Solihull plant with a further 200 from the Manpower agency set to go in the coming weeks. Note: All or parts of this story come via the Coventry Telegraph – please check out their full story.  

The region’s next generation of engineers are set to benefit from an educational partnership between MG Motor UK, South and City College Birmingham and neighbouring Bournville College. The agreement will see the organisations work in close collaboration to inspire talent and deliver practical learning opportunities. Alongside providing four branded MG3 3Form Sport models for the Colleges’ use, MG will supply a number of surplus models for students studying motorsport and engineering qualifications. These cars will enable pupils to practice new skills learned in the classroom and improve their practical automotive knowledge. Matthew Cheyne, Head of Sales and Marketing for MG Motor UK, commented: “Partnering with two local colleges provides an excellent opportunity to identify and develop talented individuals and inspire them to consider a career in engineering.” Steve Dourass, Business and Community Manager for South and City College Birmingham, added: […]

The exemplary work of Liverpool-based Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) has been given the royal seal of approval by their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. At the University of Manchester’s National Graphene Institute (NGI) on Friday 14 October, BAC founders Neill and Ian Briggs showcased their highly acclaimed Mono supercar to Prince William and wife Kate Middleton.

Hallmark MINI driving fun combined with zero tailpipe emissions. With the introduction of the first plug-in hybrid model by the British premium brand, this will soon be a reality. The series development process for this car has almost been completed. It features a combustion engine and an electric motor enabling purely electric propulsion for the first time in a MINI. This marks the beginning of a new phase for MINI, and offers a glimpse into a future that is charged with excitement for MINI customers and those drivers yet to experience the thrill of a hybrid. Head of MINI brand management Sebastian Mackensen and Head of MINI series management Peter Wolf offer insight into this new near-series test vehicle, and explain how it retains go-kart feeling in the true spirit of a MINI during a test drive of this model.

The Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100, codenamed 103EX, today made its North American debut at the historic Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. 103EX is the marque’s first ever pure ‘Vision Vehicle’ and defines the future of luxury mobility. It presents an intriguing and aesthetically dynamic vision of the future of luxury mobility – a completely personal, effortless and autonomous Rolls-Royce experience, wrapped in a design that ensures a ‘Grand Sanctuary’ for its occupants and a ‘Grand Arrival’. 103EX is one of four visionary creations announced by the BMW Group in Munich on 7 March 2016, as it launched its centenary celebrations.

Jaguar Land Rover today announced its new global ambassador Noodle, Japanese guitarist and founder member of virtual British band Gorillaz. Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading investor in Research and Development and a leading global automotive manufacturer today also announced its commitment to addressing the skills gap that manufacturing, worldwide is facing.

British car manufacturer Caterham has launched its first personalisation programme – Caterham Signature – with a special edition Seven designed by world-famous department store, Harrods. The Harrods special edition car is now on sale exclusively in store and includes a host of special features which demonstrate the breadth of options new Caterham buyers can add to their vehicles.

Jaguar Land Rover today reported September 2016 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 2,662 units, a 168 percent increase from 995 units in September 2015; Land Rover sales reached 5,637 units, the 2nd highest September ever and down 4 percent from record sales of 5,855 units in September 2015; Jaguar Land Rover September U.S. sales for both brands hit 8,299 units, a 21 percent increase from 6,850 units in September 2015; making it the best JLR September sales month since 2003. Year-to-date, Jaguar Land Rover U.S. sales reached 74,740, up 25 percent from 59,619 units in 2015. “Jaguar Land Rover continues to increase its U.S. presence with a 21 percent increase this month and 25 percent for the year,” said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, North America, LLC. “We are thrilled that Jaguar is tracking to be the […]

Bentley today announced the opening of a new luxury personalisation studio in Westfield London, one of the capital’s premier shopping destinations. Bentley Studio London is located in The Village, Westfield’s home to leading fashion designers and luxury brands, and offers Bentley customers and fans alike a glimpse behind the walls of the British luxury car brand’s iconic factory in Crewe, Cheshire.

McLaren Special Operations (MSO), McLaren Automotive’s bespoke division, has been brought together with McLaren Motorsport under one management structure, headed by its new Managing Director, Ansar Ali. The new single department will combine the creation and marketing of McLaren’s rarest vehicles together with growing the MSO Defined portfolio aimed at series production cars. In a further change, the new single department will report into Jolyon Nash, Executive Director – Global Sales & Marketing. The integration of MSO into the Sales & Marketing department brings McLaren’s bespoke division even closer to retailers and customers and also brings all the revenue generating areas of the company together. 

Eight of the UK’s major car brands united today at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on the eve of the key international motor show to demonstrate the diversity and quality of cars currently produced in the UK. Senior executives from British-based manufacturers, including Aston Martin, BMW MINI, Honda, JaguarLand Rover, McLaren, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall, were joined by Mark Garnier MP, the British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade, to promote the strength of the UK automotive sector to a global audience. The UK automotive industry has undergone unprecedented growth in recent years – thanks to competitive business conditions, tariff-free trading and significant investment in new models and facilities. Car manufacturing achieved a 10-year high last year and British-built cars have never been so popular, with a record 1.2 million cars exported to more than 100 countries. Already in the first eight months of 2016, that total looks set to be beaten this year, with exports reaching almost 900,000 vehicles – 13% ahead of the same period in 2015.1

A rotary engine that is said to be more efficient and reliable than regular rotary units has been created by British firm Advanced Innovative Engineering (AIE). The Lichfield-based company demonstrated its 120bhp engine at the 2016 Low Carbon Vehicle event at Millbrook late last week in a custom-built open-top sports car. The 650S rotary engine is said to be half the size and half the weight of the equivalent four-cylinder piston engine, and benefits from patented technology including a so-called Self-Pressurising-Air Rotor Cooling System.

In very sad news, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation confirmed it was stopping the assembly of cars at Birmingham’s famous Longbridge plant. The owner of MG cars has been slammed for moving production to China – ending nearly 100 years of history. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which bought crippled MG Rover in 2005, confirmed it was stopping the assembly of cars at Birmingham’s famous Longbridge plant. The company insisted it was a “necessary business decision.” Yet it came as the day MG announced a 130% surge UK sales.

Marking the anniversary of its landmark lap times when testing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, two new videos of the Lotus 3-Eleven in full flight have been released, allowing enthusiasts to experience the car’s visceral, white-knuckle ride around the “Green Hell” for themselves. Offering never-seen-before views, the 60 second videos provide a car’s eye view of the facinating track, as it’s piloted by Nordschleife expert and professional racer Marc Basseng, during its Nürburgring testing and development programme. The videos not only show the car’s blistering straight-line speed, but also how fast and composed it is when cornering, thanks it to its advanced aerodynamics. At 150 mph (240 km/h) the Road version produces 150 kg of downforce, while Race version with its twin front canards and adjustable rear wing produces 215 kg. Since the car’s appearance at the Nürburgring, deliveries of the […]