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Crunch watch: the economic crisis and the auto industry

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel, 02 December 2008 12:49

Tuesday 2 December 2008Indian manufacturing giant Tata has had its credit rating dropped two levels to B1, as it asks members of the Indian public for cash investment (Financial Times). CAR understands that the UK car market is likely to be down by 37% in November when new-car registration figures are announced later this week, with private sales – to ...

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Crunch watch: the economic crisis and the auto industry

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel, 02 December 2008 12:49

Tuesday 2 December 2008Indian manufacturing giant Tata has had its credit rating dropped two levels to B1, as it asks members of the Indian public for cash investment (Financial Times). CAR understands that the UK car market is likely to be down by 37% in November when new-car registration figures are announced later this week, with private sales – to ...

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Real UK car sales ‘have halved’ in November 2008

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard, 02 December 2008 09:58

The United Kingdom’s car market is in freefall, CAR has learned. Although official registration figures won’t be released until later this week, we can reveal that retail sales slumped by 45% in November 2008. It’s a crucial metric, retail registrations being actual sales to real people – as opposed to bulk-buy fleet deals to businesses (which are also down). The ...

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Ford to sell off Volvo: newsflash

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard, 01 December 2008 15:18

Ford has just announced it is putting Volvo up for sale. The strategic review, announced today, is part of the Blue Oval’s rescue plan and, if it does sell its Swedish outpost, it could add hundreds of millions to Ford’s wonky balance sheet. The news underlines the collapse of Ford’s global ambitions. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it carefully built ...

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Aston Martin to axe a third of jobs

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard, 01 December 2008 14:00

Aston Martin announced at 2.00pm today that it is to cut a third of its UK workforce in a response to a slump in sales. The company, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, said it today launched a consultation with the unions to cut 300 permanent jobs and 300 temporary posts – out of a total of 1850 employees. The news is ...

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New Euro NCAP crash test results: Golf, Fiesta, Mito

Rated 2.5 out of 5

Simon Stiel, 26 November 2008 10:00

Euro NCAP today announced the last round of test results before it overhauls the crash test results in February 2009. Eight cars gained the maximum five stars under the current rating system, but NCAP bosses warn that they will raise the bar next year. Euro NCAP crash tests: winners and losers For full results, see our table below. Pick-ups again ...

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Europe inches towards CO2 deal

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Tim Pollard, 24 November 2008 17:29

The European Union is close to agreement on a radically lower CO2 limit to apply to all new cars, diplomats indicated today. The EU’s 27 governments are set to agree a Europe-wide limit of 130g/km as a new-car average by 2015, according to sources in Brussels. The deal is likely to start from 2012, with full compliance three years later. ...

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UK car production slumps, state help sought

Rated 4 out of 5

Digby Fullam, 21 November 2008 14:30

The full effect of the downturn in the global economy is being felt by the UK motor industry, new figures out today reveal. Car production at British factories fell by 29.5% from October 2007's figure.  That makes it the worst October production figures since 1991 which, if you’ll cast your mind back, was the last recession. The Society of Motor ...

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Fire sale continues: Ford cuts stake in Mazda

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard, 18 November 2008 16:09

Yesterday GM sold its stake in Suzuki; today Ford announced plans to slash its shareholding in Mazda. Previously the Blue Oval held a third of Mazda’s stock, but it has cut that to just 13%. Ford admitted the sale was purely to boost its balance sheet, as the Big Three continue to struggle with cashflow. It will raise around £360 ...

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GM sells Suzuki shares to raise emergency funds

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard, 17 November 2008 15:24

GM is flogging its entire stake in Suzuki to pump cash into its survival funds. The General owns a 3% holding in Suzuki Motor Corporation and will sell 16,413,000 shares on the open market tomorrow. GM to raise £154m Based on today’s values, GM will raise an estimated £154 million through the sale, although Suzuki will exercise an option to ...

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Vauxhall Insignia wins European Car of the Year

Rated 4 out of 5

Tim Pollard, 17 November 2008 11:32

Vauxhall/Opel has scooped the European Car of the Year gong – by a single point. The results, announced today, were another surprise in the 44-year history of CoTY, as the Insignia pipped the Ford Fiesta and pushed the VW Golf into third place. The full results for Car of the Year 2009 are: • 1st Vauxhall Insignia, 321 points• 2nd ...

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