NEWS

Renault up but EU down

RENAULT is the big winner in European car sales, but the market overall is down by more than 8 percent. JATO Dynamics blames poor sales in Germany, which means the year-to-date EU market improvement has fallen to below 3 percent. The UK market was up, though, and Spain offered encouragement by bucking the recession in [...]

	New car CO2 plunge
NEW car CO2 emissions are falling faster than ever before reveals JATO in a new European report. They have fallen by nearly 20g/km since 2003, and 2009 was the single biggest yearly reduction on record. The average new car sold in Europe now emits 145.9g/km CO2. This means brands are well on target to meet [...]

	Finance rules revised
GOVERNMENT ministers have laid out new rules in Parliament which give more finance power to consumers. The new rules implement the European Consumer Credit Directive and come into force on 1 February 2011. They are focused on unsecured credit agreements, and new rules include: • 14-day window for consumers to cancel agreements without penalty • [...]

	43mpg target for vans
NEW vans sold from 2014 will have to meet tough green rules demanding a fleet average of 42.8mpg. The EC proposals are part of wider laws to reduce the environmental impact of vans. This will also cut the average CO2 from van makers’ fleet average to 175g/km – tough enough to be met with resistance [...]

	Big sellers behind EU rise
VOLKSWAGEN, Ford, Fiat and Renault are the makers behind a big European recovery in new car sales. The market rose 7.5 percent in September 2009, with massive sellers such as the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Grande Punto and Renault Megane leading the charge. They alone saw sales rise by 50 percent over September 2008! [...]

		Vauxhall still in doubt
		EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes is looking into the proposed sale of Vauxhall/Opel to Magna. After a meeting in the European Parliament, Vicky Ford MEP said the commissioner was to seek more information, on: • Relative efficiencies of Opel/Vauxhall plants • Further details on possible implications of the proposed deal This is to address concerns [...]
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		EU rules for 2013
		EU ministers have announced the current Block Exemption Regulation should be extended until 2013. The current deal runs out in May next year. But, so pleased is the EU with how things are running at the moment, it sees no need to change anything surrounding the sale of new cars. Levels of car dealer competition, [...]
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		VW Golf tops Euro sales
		VOLKSWAGEN’S new Golf 6 hatch has stolen the European best-seller crown back from the Ford Fiesta. And it’s a double win for Volkswagen. The brand is also Europe’s best-seller overall, too. Ford didn’t cede the title without a fight, though. Year to date sales are up nearly 20 percent, and an exceptional April saw them [...]
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		SCRAP: UK to make 12?
		SO far, 11 EU countries have launched ‘fleet renewal’ schemes – widely called new car scrappage schemes. The results have been startling. German new car registrations have improved by 30 percent – and new car orders rose by a staggering 70 percent! Findings announced by the European automobile manufacturers association ACEA says that this could [...]
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