NEWS

VERTU has acquired Ford and Mazda dealers in Scotland through the purchase of Shields Automobiles assets. The purchase of the dual car dealers in Glasgow and Hamilton is expected to take place on 30 June. The properties will be leasehold, with maximum consideration payable of £2.5m and this will be settled in cash from existing [...]

SMMT figures show May new car sales rose by 13.5 percent but the SMMT expects the market to now start declining. The May rise is the 11th successive one and saw the Ford Focus displace the Fiesta as the UK’s top car. However, now the scrappage boost has ended, the SMMT is predicting a modest [...]

EUROPEAN car sales fell 6.7 percent in April as scrappage schemes ended across many nations. Germany’s scrappage scheme ended a while back – Italy’s now has too, meaning both markets have actually started falling. After its recent success, JATO Dynamics says it is Ford that’s been hit. Sales of the blue oval have not only [...]

FORD says 15 percent of car owners admit to putting off car services – or even skip them completely – to save money. Younger drivers are the worst of all, adds the blue oval. Even worse, 1 in 5 UK drivers has no breakdown cover to cover them for any subsequent breakdowns – and for [...]

FORD has scooped two CAP used car of the decade prizes with the Focus and Ka both triumphing. The Ford Ka has been voted small car of the decade by CAP, while the Ford Focus has claimed the overall used car of the decade prize. It was a unanimous vote for the Focus too, says [...]

FORD is stretching its advantage over rival car brands with an even better performance in April. It boasts a 27,824-car lead over the next-best selling brand in the UK. This is nearly 6500 units more than the lead it had at the same time in 2009. It is strong sales across the range of cars [...]

FORD dealers are to receive yet another Fiesta boost with the news Ford has standardised ESP stability control. All Fiesta models now get ESP as standard – previously, it was a £300 option. The move will help Ford dealers promote the car’s safety aspects, particularly as not all rivals have ESP as standard on all [...]

FORD is offering 1 owner the chance to win a full refurb for their car in an innovative prize worth £10k. The firm is promoting car dealers’ free 29-point Health Check deal with the launch of the prize that runs until 19 June. It will be drawn by Ford WRC driver Mikko Hirvonen. Ford cars [...]

FORD has sold all 101 UK-bound Focus RS500 models – but dealers will still be able to capitalise. That’s because the blue oval is now offering the RS500 engine upgrade kits as part of a £2k dealer-fit kit. This will enable selected Ford car dealers to ‘create’ 350bhp Focus RS models, using parts developed by [...]

FORD’S Fiesta continues its market leading sales position by becoming Europe’s best-seller, too! March sales saw it take the slot from the Volkswagen Golf by a hefty 11,785 units. It’s also thus now ahead in the year-to-date sales, too – 140,496, compared to the Golf’s 135,048. This performance was aided by a near-26 percent jump [...]

FORD refuses to be budged from the new car best-seller chart with the Fiesta retaining its 2010 crown. 23,681 Ford Fiestas were sold, to give it the market-leading honours. What’s more, its margin of superiority over the 2nd-placed car was a staggering 5692 cars. And that runner-up car? Why, it was the Ford Focus… Vauxhall [...]

FORD has pulled the covers off a dramatic Focus RS special edition – finished in matt black wrap! The 350bhp 2.5-litre turbo RS500 will be limited to 500 units and UK car dealers have been allocated 101 of them. Brit buyers will get I in 5 of all new Focus RS500, then, despite the model [...]

FORD is introducing lower priced models in a confirmation of a story Car Dealer Magazine ran last week. Today, the blue oval has announced it is reducing list prices of the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy – with the MD ADMITTING that Ford’s approach up to now isn’t working! Current promotions, which have cut up to [...]

GLASS’S Guide believes car makers are set to slash prices as the scrappage scheme comes to an end. Following our story at the weekened that Ford is due to announce price cuts in the shape of new base models, the valuations experts have said they believe many more will follow suit. Glass’s says this is [...]

CAR DEALER understands Ford is to cut the prices of new cars next week in response to falling sales. As the scrappage scheme runs out and fears for 2010 become more apparent, the car giant is one of the first to slash prices. Car Dealer believes dealer principals have already been told, but sales staff [...]

FORD is getting ready invest to £1.5 billion in the UK thanks to a big £360 million Government grant. 4 UK locations should benefit over the next 5 years. They are: •    Dagenham •    Dunton •    Southampton •    Bridgend The investment is contingent on securing an European Investment Bank loan of £450 million – and [...]

FORD yet again leads the way for new car sales with latest February 2010 data giving it another 1-2. The Fiesta topped the new car sales charts with 3236 units sold. Ford’s Focus was 2nd with 3035 sales. In 3rd place, but more than 500 units behind, was the Volkswagen Golf with 2586 sales. That [...]

FORD is showing one of the most important new car ranges here at Geneva with the new Focus. It was unveiled at Detroit, to underline its world car status. Here at Geneva, it is making its European debut. Alongside the 5-door hatchback we’ve already seen, Ford is also revealing a new 5-door estate Focus. It [...]

SCRAPPAGE key car maker players have given Car Dealer Magazine their thoughts on the Exit Phase scheme. Ford, Kia and Toyota have all offered us their views. And it is Kia that is most outspoken! ‘KMUK is somewhat disappointed,’ said a spokesman, ‘that the scrappage scheme exit plan does not properly reflect the clear view [...]

BCA has just sold the first Ford Cortina through its car auction halls in years – and it made a 4 figure sum. The Ford Cortina 2000GT made £2200 in, fittingly, the Top Car Sale at Blackbushe. What’s more, Car Dealer Magazine has heard from the winning bidder! A Mk3 model, Car Dealer Magazine last [...]