NEWS

SEAT has signed a three-year deal to become the headline sponsor for football’s new Europa League. It’s an arrangement that’s solely to raise brand awareness, said a spokesman. The firm has conducted studies, showing that while SEAT is well recognised in Spain, brand awareness in the rest of Europe is not so good. ‘What’s the [...]

TOYOTA bosses say their premium-priced IQ city car may not have reached volume goals, but it’s still a hit. That’s because cars sold are going for a higher than expected transaction price. Senior sales and marketing vice president Andrea Formica admitted the recent environment is ‘harder for the IQ. ‘We’re selling fewer than we thought, [...]

KIA UK managing director has told Car Dealer he wants to add 30 new dealers to his UK retail network. He may only have been in the job just six weeks, but Michael Cole said there are some urgent open points that need filling as he moves to increase his 140 dealers to 170. In [...]

VAUXHALL’S new Astra will debut a host of clever technology when its hits the road later this year. The new car, unveiled officially at the Frankfurt Motor Show yesterday, will feature a clever ‘Opel Eye’ system that reads the road ahead. The camera, mounted on the front of the dashboard, can tell drivers when they [...]

PORSCHE is now able to review old customer prospects – and be rewarded with the sale of a brand-new car. This is because, said the firm’s man here at Frankfurt, its product line now includes the cars they want to buy. ‘Previously, car buyers may have been interested, but they were excluded because we, say, [...]

CITROEN dealers are getting a thrilling new rival to the premium-priced BMW MINI – next year! The French brand has launched the production DS3 here at Frankfurt. Based on the platform of the tidy-looking new C3 supermini, which it’s also showing, the DS3 is an exclusively-trimmed small-car with really stand-out styling and a posh air. [...]

VOLKSWAGEN certainly has been busy, with a whole host of exciting new models here at Frankfurt. The real headline-grabber is the 39g/km CO2 L1 Concept… a model that can average 189mpg! It’s a 380kg aluminium and carbonfibre special, similar in length to a VW Fox, but only as high as a Lamborghini Murcielago. It seats [...]

MERCEDES’ UK MD Dermot Kelly told Car Dealer the UK allocation of SLS Gullwings is nearly sold out… … MONTHS before it hits the road. Speaking moments after the wraps had been pulled off the new supercar, the UK chief told us: ‘We’ve already sold nearly all our allocation of cars and are working on [...]

SCRAP scheme big players Kia unveiled three new models at the Frankfurt Show, continuing its push for dominance. The manufacturer, which has taken a lion’s share of sales under the UK scrap scheme, showed an updated cee’d, a new Sorento SUV and an all-new compact MPV called the Venga. Kia president Hank Lee told press [...]

VAUXHALL’S soon to be under new ownership – and Magna’s getting a great new family hatch to sell. Here at Frankfurt is the all-new Vauxhall Astra, which has been shown to the public for the first time ever. And boy, does it look good… Vauxhall told is it’s been inspired by the Insignia, but has [...]

LEXUS dealers, stand by to hit the big time! By the looks of this cracking concept, it’s not far off… The firm has pulled the covers off its smallest, cheapest model yet – the LF-Ch five-door hatchback. It’s a model that’s taking on the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series head-on, and is doing so [...]

FORMULA 1 legend Michael Schumacher has revealed the 458 Italia is quicker around the Fiorano test track… … than the legendary Ferrari Enzo! The seven times World Champion was on the Ferrari stand to help unveil the 458 supercar at Frankfurt and told press he was ‘astonished’ at what had been achieved with the new [...]

LAMBORGHINI announced, back in 2007, that 20 Reventon Coupes would go on sale. They instantly sold out. Now, the Reventon Roadster is here – which is all set to sell out even more quickly! That’s because there are even fewer of them… yet, as the Roadster is already the most radical Lamborghini ever, demand is [...]

VOLVO has wowed the crowds here at Frankfurt, with a real show surprise – a C30 emitting just 99g/km of CO2! What’s more, it’s a fully production-ready vehicle, that will go on sale soon. The amazing achievement means this family-sized three-door hatchback now enjoys FREE road tax, plus lots of other tax benefits. Yet, prices [...]

AUDI has taken the wraps off its stunning R8 Spyder open-top here at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Powered by the firm’s mighty V10 engine, the £111,995 model will be available to order from November in the UK. The fully-automatic hood opens at speeds up to 31mph and has a lightweight construction to help keep the [...]

I QUITE like road trips. In the UK at least. But when you hit the continent they get a bit more complicated. Not only do you have to put up with driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, but there’s the foreign drivers to contend with too. Today I made the trip to the [...]