NEWS

TOP Midlands businessmen Tim and Richard Hill have saved the jobs of more than 40 Ford car dealer staff. The Hills have brought the assets and business of two former Brooklyn Ford car dealerships. The Kidderminster and Malvern car retailers are now to be branded Hills Ford. It’s been a smooth transition too, said Tim [...]

FORD has posted its first year-on-year sales increase in almost a year, thanks to the scrappage scheme. The long-awaited sales turnaround saw Ford dealers sell 29,8000 cars in June. In the same period back in 2008, they sold 28,657 motors. As the overall new car market is down, this means Ford’s market share has rocketed [...]

FORD dealers are taking 300 orders every single day for new cars under the scrappage scheme. Since the scheme started, Ford has taken firm orders for 12,000 cars – making it the number 1 scrap scheme brand in the UK. Which means the number 1 scrappage dealer could well be Dagenham Motors Alperton’s Sumit Kanwar. [...]

PRICE increases across the entire Ford UK line-up of new cars is being blamed on the weak Pound. A hefty price increase that averages 4 percent will apply to all new orders from 30 June. That equates to £600 on a Fiesta, £700 on an S-Max and £800 on a Galaxy. This is the latest [...]

VOLKSWAGEN’S continued van success has seen investment in the UK van dealer network swell. Greenhous Group has acquired the Volkswagen Van Centre in Shrewsbury, meaning Greenhous now has seven VW van outlets. Greenhous’ Ray Coates said the company was ‘in a strong position to move the business forward, because of the relationships we have spent [...]

FORD small car sales have recovered to the level they were at a year ago, lifting gloom at car dealers. The blue oval also continued its 1-2 stranglehold on the UK car market. This month, it was the Fiesta that led the Focus. Indeed, the Fiesta leads for 2009 year-to-date. And the Focus? That’s in [...]

FORD will tomorrow start delivering cars under the scrappage scheme, after finally resolving issues. Yesterday, we reported that Ford had suspended deliveries of cars, due to ‘outstanding’ issues in a number of areas. The UK’s largest car brand was seeking urgent clarification with Government over these details. Now, it seems they’ve finally been cleared up, [...]

FORD cars sold so far in 2009 have recorded the biggest fall in CO2 emissions, report latest statistics. Eco website Clean Green Cars has looked at sales of all makes up to April 2009, and discovered that Ford car sales show the biggest drop in CO2 output. That’s 10,000 fewer tonnes of CO2 a year. [...]

COMMERCIAL vehicle dealers were given a welcome boost by the inclusion of CVs in the new car scrap scheme, too. Vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes will be eligible for the £2k discount, which could provide a much-needed boost to a sector facing severe pressure. Van production in the UK has declined by nearly two-thirds, and [...]

FORD has timed it to perfection – the maker has just announced its first ever Econetic green Transit. The eco new commercial vehicle promises over 39mpg when it is launched in the autumn – and, as the vans range comes in at below 3.5 tonnes, it’s also eligible for the Government’s new car scrap sales [...]

ONE argument against the Government car scrappage scheme has been that it’s just as green to drive old cars. Not so! To prove it, Ford has released a set of statistics. Car Dealer Magazine has been able to scoop these. And they provide car dealers with serious ammo for customers! Take the Fiesta, the nation’s [...]

FORD has welcomed the new car scrappage scheme – by supplementing it with additional discounts of up to £4500! This huge cash sum will be off all its larger cars, and will sit separately to the Government’s own scheme which best incentivises smaller, cheaper cars. Ford calls it ‘Scrappage Plus’, which will be over and [...]

FORD has said the new car scrappage scheme is ‘good news for consumers,’ – but is saying no more than that yet! ‘Until we receive further details of the government proposal we suggest you contact the SMMT for further comment.’ This is because the scheme does not match that much-mooted by the car industry. Car [...]

FORD’S all-new Fiesta has just been launched to the BCA used car auction halls – with its baby sibling, the new Ka. BCA Nottingham handled the sale, which Ford said generated ‘excellent’ results. 15 new Ford Fiestas averaged 85 percent of list – and BCA claimed there were some highlights from the sale: •    Fiesta [...]

FORD’S Fiesta has just taken the overall European sales number one slot from the Volkswagen Golf. A massive March sales increase of over 15 per cent has seen the Ford supermini conquer in an otherwise depressed market. First quarter European sales are down by 16.9 percent, reports JATO Dynamics, as the recession bites further into [...]

GROWING market share is a priority for car makers, in the face of slowing sales – and none has more than Ford. The blue oval’s market leading position GREW in March, too, as the company extended its total UK market share to 16.7 per cent. This is up from 15 per cent in March 2008. [...]

FORD has confirmed there are a number of interested parties looking to buy its loss-making Swedish arm Volvo. The car giant has said it is pleased with the amount of interest and the quality of the bidders – but hasn’t said who they are. The carmaker is looking to sell loss-making Volvo in bid to [...]

It’s not only used car prices on the up – BCA reports that the van market is enjoying similar gains to the used car market. Values in February rose by nearly £200 – an increase of 6.6 percent. Overall, this means used LCVs today are worth over 12 percent more than they were in December. [...]

CAR manufacturer top brass from Ford and Renault have backed our Scrap Scheme Now campaign. Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer Magazine, Ford of Britain managing director Nigel Sharp told us he believed such a scheme is just what the industry needs. ‘Ford supports a UK scrappage incentive scheme,’ he told us. ‘Like those successfully introduced [...]