Fiat Chrysler-Peugeot merger: French shareholders look for board control December 15, 2019 French shareholders are looking for confirmation that they will keep a numerical advantage on the combined board of PSA and Fiat Chrysler if CEO Carlos Tavares leaves after the two companies merge. The two firms are putting the finishing touches to a $50bn merger plan announced in October, that would create the fourth largest car [...]
Car sales fall for 17th straight month in China, as global market suffers December 10, 2019 Chinese car sales fell for a 17th consecutive month in November, as electric and hybrid car demand contracted yet again. Total automotive sales from the world’s biggest market fell 3.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Read more: Car production falls again amid [...]
Jaguar Land Rover sales fall despite hopes for Chinese recovery December 9, 2019 Jaguar Land Rover sales fell last month, despite the car maker seeing “green shoots” of a recovery in the all-important struggling Chinese market. The manufacturer, which is owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, saw retail sales drop 3.4 per cent year-on-year in November. Read more: British car industry troubles run far deeper than Brexit But in [...]
Electric cars take record UK market share as battery-powered vehicle sales surge 228 per cent December 5, 2019 Britain’s drivers bought more electric vehicles last month than ever before, as demand for fully electric battery cars surged more than three-fold. In November, pure electric battery car sales rose 228 per cent compared to the same period last year, with 4,652 of the vehicles registered. Read more: Electric dreams: How long until electric cars [...]
Motorpoint takes hefty profit hit due to low consumer confidence November 28, 2019 Profit at Motorpoint, the UK’s largest independent vehicle retailer, fell nearly 20 per cent this morning as the company struggled with lower consumer confidence. Shares in Motorpoint were up 2.3 per cent this morning. Read more: Amigo shares jump as it boosts customer numbers and loan book The figures Profit at the car seller fell [...]
Car production falls again amid ‘worrying times’ for UK automotive industry November 28, 2019 Britain’s car manufacturing industry suffered another month of decline in October, with 5,000 fewer vehicles made than in the same period last year. Manufacturing output fell four per cent in October, as 134,752 cars rolled off production lines, driven largely by weak demand in the UK market, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and [...]
Car industry faces ‘fight of our generation’ to avoid breakdown, says trade group boss November 26, 2019 Britain’s car industry is locked in the “fight of our generation” to preserve the once-thriving sector, according to one of the UK’s most senior automotive bosses. George Gillespie, the president of influential trade group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), warned an annual gathering of industry chiefs that investment could dwindle to levels [...]
Electric dreams: How long until electric cars go mainstream in the UK? November 26, 2019 Visitors to the picturesque Whitby Bay beach in north Yorkshire were in for a shock earlier this month, when they encountered two giant footprints etched into the sand. The left was half the length of a football pitch, at 50 metres – the right was just 3.5 metres long. The reason? A publicity stunt by [...]
US car giant General Motors sues Fiat Chrysler over union ‘bribes’ November 20, 2019 Two giants of the global automotive industry have come to blows this afternoon, with General Motors suing Fiat Chrysler of bribing US automotive workers to get better terms in strike negotiations. The US firm has filed a racketeering lawsuit against Fiat and its former executives, “intended to hold FCA accountable for the harm its actions [...]
Daimler to cut thousands of managers to pay for electric cars November 14, 2019 Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, will cut a tenth of all its manager-level workers across the globe, in a bid to slash €1.4bn worth of personnel costs. The German manufacturer said this morning the cuts came as its profit would fall significantly over the next two years because of the shift to electric vehicles. [...]