JustBritish

Land Rover enjoyed a massive UK sales surge last month – with more than 3,000 vehicles sold.

The Solihull-based 4×4 manufacturer sold 3,044 vehicles in October compared to 1,864 in October last year, an increase of more than 63 per cent, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed.

The sales rise followed a bumper September for Land Rover, with the company selling 6,230 vehicles compared to 5,788 in the corresponding month in 2010. October’s sales jump followed the success of the Range Rover Evoque and a general increase in the purchase of SUVs amid predictions of another harsh winter.

Jaguar saw sales dip slightly last month, with the Big Cat selling 713 cars in October compared to 806 in October last year. SMMT figures also showed that Longbridge-based MG Motor UK sold 15 sports cars last month against 16 in October 2010.

Bentley has secured the second grant from the British government’s Business Regional Growth Fund (RGF) this year. Earlier the company had received £ 1.68 m to create additional manufacturing jobs and training. Luxury car maker Bentley is one of the few automotive companies in the UK who undertakes all their activities in one site. Every Bentley in UK car is designed, engineered and built in their Crewe site in Cheshire. Bentley is the third largest investor in R&D in the UK.

The new grant will facilitate development of new powertrains so as to produce products to export to emerging export markets. Wolfgang Durheimer, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley spoke about the grant by saying, “This is a real boost for Bentley which has one of the most highly skilled automotive workforces in the country and, uniquely, has now been awarded two RGF grants. It shows that the Government recognizes the importance of Bentley and the contribution we make to high value manufacturing and UK exports. Our customers expect the very best in terms of exclusivity, technology, quality and engineering excellence which requires significant ongoing investment in R&D. This is why we retain such a strong engineering capability exclusively for Bentley here in the UK. This grant will help safeguard those operations as we look to develop new powertrains which appeal to new markets and new customers.”

The British automobile manufacturer Lotus is recalling its Elise and Exige models over potential fire risks or crashes, due to an oil leak issue. The models produced in 2005 and 2006 have been reportedly subjected to an immediate recall by the company.

As slated, in July, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had opened a probe into these Lotus cars to investigate oil cooler leaks for the Elise and Exige models that were manufactured between June 1, 2004 and November 30, 2006. With 17 complaints from the owners of the vehicles reporting oil leaks onto the right rear tires, which resulted into handling problems and a fire incidence as well, the investigation finally triggered a recall announcement from the company.

As per the NHTSA official site, the owners of the affected vehicles may contact Lotus at 1-800-245-6887 and get their cars repaired. For any further information, they may also contact the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236.

MG has exclusively revealed to Car Dealer Magazine the 10 most important towns and cities it wants to find new dealers for.

The UK car manufacturer, which was relaunched in 2008 with the backing of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, wants to establish showrooms in the following eight locations in England: Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Northampton, Swindon and South London.

The firm, which has recently launched a new range of models that have been designed and engineered at its 69-acre site in Longbridge, Birmingham, also wants to establish outlets in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

MG’s list of potential dealership locations also includes more than 20 medium-priority locations, including Brighton, Exeter and Guildford in the south of England, and Blackpool, Burnley and Carlisle further north.

And at the bottom of the list are six low-priority spots, including in England, Barnstaple; in Wales, Swansea; and in Scotland, Inverness.

MG recently opened a new sales centre onsite at the famous ‘Elephant House’ at Longbridge. Customers are able to test-drive vehicles from the new MG6 range there and can also buy vehicle from the home of MG.

China Knowledge reported that SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, China’s number one car maker and owner of the MG Motors brand, saw its net profit for the third quarter of this year increase 27%YoY from CNY 3.71 billion to CNY 4.72 billion.

In a statement, the Shanghai-listed firm said its revenue reached CNY 97.41 billion up by 19.4%YoY from CNY 81.61 billion. Earnings per share were CNY 0.51. In the first three quarters of 2011, the vehicle maker reaped CNY 13.29 billion in net profit reflecting increase of 38.69%YoY and its revenue grew 22.71%YoY to CNY 281.28 billion.

Total vehicle sales for the nine-month period increased 11.77%YoY to 2.98 million units including 722,000 units sold in the third quarter of 2011 up by 6.1%QoQ.

Of the total sales, 65,000 units were SAIC Motor self-branded models, which comprise the MG and the Roewe reflecting a YoY jump of 186%.

MG Motor UK Ltd has selected GMAC UK plc, a subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc., to be its preferred retail financing provider in the UK for manufacturer programmes and standard rate finance. GMAC UK will provide financing to MG customers under the MG Financial Services brand.

Guy Jones, sales and marketing director of MG Motor UK, said: “GMAC is a trusted financing source in the industry. As a company with extensive experience, resources and capabilities in the UK market, GMAC will support our brand and help us grow our business. This important development allows us to offer a competitive range of retail finance products for the new MG6 GT, Magnette and following models.”

“We are extremely pleased to enter this new retail relationship with MG in the UK,” commented Ed Paulat, GMAC UK managing director.  “We look forward to working with MG and supporting its dealers to maximise vehicle sales with competitive financing.”

GMAC and MG have entered into a multi-year agreement to finance new and used vehicle sales for customers through MG dealers.

GMAC is also the preferred financier for Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Saab dealers and their customers in the UK. This new relationship with MG represents another step in GMAC expanding its customer base and further leverages GMAC UK’s core competency in auto financing.