Author: Tim Rose
The Seat Leon has now been on the brand’s front line for 25 years in various forms, and the present fourth generation automotive is probably the most technologically advanced Leon yet. Ever for the reason that first Seat Leon arrived, the motoring media and enlightened motorists have agreed that this can be a hatchback that provides superb value and is a reputable alternative to the mainstream Golf, Astra etc. The truth is the fourth generation Seat Leon has won five awards within the UK, including 2024’s Best Family Automobile for Value from What Automobile? Magazine. It’s an ideal proposition because…
Efforts to get the owners of British sports automobile brand TVR to base a brand new factory in Wales could have wasted hundreds of thousands of kilos. In 2021 the Welsh Government spent £4.75 million buying a brownfield site, home to an abandoned Techboard factory, plus one other £7.6m on refurbishment able to welcome TVR Automotive’s automobile production facility, and it also gave TVR a £2m loan and invested £500,000 in a stake within the business. The aim was for the automobile factory to create 150 jobs locally and produce as much as 2,000 sports cars. But TVR Automotive has…
Investors including Peter Vardy have pumped 10 million euros (£8.4m) into AI video tech firm Phyron in its latest fundraising round. Austria-based Round2 Capital, which made an initial revenue-based financing investment in Phyron in June 2023, has expanded its relationship by becoming a Phyron shareholder. And Phyron has also secured the financial backing of other investors, including AM100 motor retailer Peter Vardy, an investment which Phyron says demonstrates its strategic give attention to the UK automobile market. The Series B funding will enable Phyron, which has grown its revenue rapidly and recently opened a UK head office, to speed up development of its AI and…
BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK and Arval UK have won a competitive tender process to assist Britain’s drivers with their purchases from the Chinese automotive brands Omoda and Jaecoo. Their agreement with Chery International, the owner of the Omoda and Jaecoo brands, will support UK franchised dealers with a full range of finance solutions for the purpose of sale. Chery International is the most important automotive exporter in China, and collectively Jaecoo and Omoda are considered one of the fastest growing automotive brands on this planet. The collaboration will support their further expansion into Europe, launching within the UK automotive market, with each…
A brand new Highlight digital report for automobile dealers, focused on developments and best practice within the used automobile market, has just been launched by AM. The Highlight on Used Automotive Retailing is free to read here, and the 27-page issue includes features on used automobile market trends, vehicle sourcing advice, improving stock turn and the most popular used cars to stock. It recognises the shift within the used automobile market to more usual dynamics after the high margins and restricted supply characteristics that emerged within the aftermath of the 2020 and 2021 pandemic. Contained in the report are insights and expertise…
Stellantis has appointed a brand new managing director for Peugeot UK as Adam Wood has resigned after nearly two years within the role.Wood, who was previously Vauxhall’s marketing director before he was promoted to go Peugeot in January 2023, thanked his Stellantis UK colleagues and said “a brand new adventure awaits” while mentioning that Peugeot has grow to be the UK’s leader in electric LCVs in 2024.Eurig Druce is the brand new face at the top of Peugeot UK. Druce has worked inside Stellantis since 2001, and commenced his profession with Peugeot as a trainee.He’ll report into Stellantis UK managing director…
DM Keith’s humble beginnings belie the proven fact that the controlled increase in scale this dealer group has achieved is nothing wanting miraculous.Headed by managing director Dougal Keith and his brother Angus, the Škoda retailer has steadily expanded over the past decade through very selective acquisitions and latest brand relationships to now represent Seat, Honda, Ford, Kia and latest Chinese entrants corresponding to BYD.With its owners’ strong control of the financials, the business has been prudent yet progressive. Because of the support of its ‘Team Tartan’ workforce, the Keith brothers look set to go further still.It has managed to grow and gain…
Dealers will open order books next week for the UK’s most cost-effective electric recent automobile, the Dacia Spring, with a special reveal planned for London’s flagship Dacia dealership. The Dacia Spring can be priced from £14,995 and the five-door electric supermini can have a fully-charged range of as much as 137 miles (WLTP mixed cycle). Sales start on June 4, with Dacia UK brand director Luke Broad set to offer it the green flag on the launch of Dacia London West, the brand’s recent flagship dealership beside the A4 at Brentford which is being run by Renault Retail Group. As…
A police raid on an independent dealership and garage within the Midlands has led police to imagine they’ve disrupted a “serious organised crime group” which was ringing beneficial high performance cars.The raid was launched after officers traced a stolen Audi S3 hot hatch to the business in Coventry.The Audi and a BMW X3 and a Volkswagen California had all been stolen in a burglary of a premises greater than 100 miles away in Hullavington, Wiltshire.Although the thieves had crashed the Volkswagen nearby, the BMW and Audi disappeared without trace, until investigations led to the Coventry business, where the Audi was…
The brand new Volkswagen Tiguan is a well-rounded family SUV that excels in several key areas and its stylish design, comfortable and tech-heavy interior make it a compelling option in its segment. It’s good job too, because the Tiguan is certainly one of Volkswagen strongest sellers within the UK, each within the fleet and personal markets, only outsold by the Golf and the Polo. Last 12 months the Tiguan accounted for 25,000 of VW UK’s 162,000 recent automobile registrations, so the success of this recent automobile is important. Customers will find that the brand new Tiguan, which reached showrooms last month, delivers…
