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Ryland has sold the business and certain assets of its Mercedes-Benz Manchester dealership to DaimlerChrysler UK Retail for £3.9m. 31-Dec-2001 Clean Diesel Technologies has raised £3.6m in a flotation on Aim, and the proceeds will be spent on marketing and the commercial development of new technology to reduce emissions from diesel engines. 31-Dec-2001 Capita has been selected as preferred bidder for a £230m contract to run London's proposed road congestion charging scheme, which if approved will involve the introduction of customer service centres and payment systems in shops and kiosks. 21-Dec-2001 Honda Motor has started recruiting 300 additional workers for its Swindon car plant, in preparation for the launch of a second shift on the new £130m assembly line. 21-Dec-2001 MG Rover is in negotiations with China Brilliance about forming an alliance to produce new car models in the UK and China, and the two companies are also planning a joint engine strategy and a new research centre. 21-Dec-2001 Alfred Englemann, the manufacturer of automotive mirrors, is to close its factory in Corby in March with the loss of 62 jobs, in order to transfer production to continental Europe. 19-Dec-2001 TRW is to invest £7m at its vehicle airbags and steering equipment plant at Rainton Bridge near Houghton, with the creation of 150 jobs. 18-Dec-2001 Ford is planning to double the dealer network for its Aston Martin cars to 200 over the next two years. 17-Dec-2001 KTH is planning to close its automotive aluminium castings foundry in Nuneaton in March with the loss of more than 200 jobs. 13-Dec-2001 Tomkins is to create 200 jobs at its Schraders Electronics operation in Northern Ireland over the next three years, having won a £50m contract to supply remote tyre pressure monitoring systems hardware to General Motors. 13-Dec-2001 Inchcape is acquiring the remaining 51% of Eurofleet, the vehicle preparation business, for £13m, as part of a strategy to expand its fleet management and business services operation. 12-Dec-2001 JL French is creating up to 100 new jobs at its automotive aluminium castings plant in Witham over the next two years, following the recent £15m investment in new production facilities. 11-Dec-2001 Ford has announced plans to invest £2.5bn in its Land Rover subsidiary over the next five years, including the development of a new Discovery model that will be produced in Solihull from 2004. 11-Dec-2001 GKN Technology is to close its automotive engineering research centre in Wolverhampton next year with the loss of 85 jobs, in order to transfer the work to Germany, Japan and the US. 10-Dec-2001 Ford is to consider the future of its Kwik-Fit chain of car repair outlets, which could lead to a sale or joint venture. 10-Dec-2001 Mitsubishi is planning to expand its car dealership network from 130 to 140 in 2002. 07-Dec-2001 Avon Rubber is considering plans to close its car components factory in Trowbridge with the loss of up to 285 jobs, in order to relocate production to eastern Europe. 07-Dec-2001 Wagon has won contracts worth £400m to manufacture lightweight body shells for two new car models, which is expected to lead to the development of new factories in the West Midlands and eastern France. 06-Dec-2001 Inchcape and the AA are to invest £4m in the creation of a new and used car sales joint venture early next year. 04-Dec-2001 TRW Valves is to shed 90 of the 330 jobs at its automotive valves plant in Wednesbury. 30-Nov-2001 Collins & Aikman Automotive Systems is creating 42 new jobs at its vehicle carpets factory in Newcastle-under-Lyme. 30-Nov-2001 MG Rover is linking up with Unipart and Caterpillar Logistics to form a new car parts supply subsidiary called MG Rover Parts. 29-Nov-2001 NSK is creating 50 jobs in a £11m expansion at its automotive bearings plant in Peterlee, but 16 jobs will be lost through the closure of its steering column division. 23-Nov-2001 Ford is planning to bring its Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar brands under the control of a joint strategy board, in order to improve co-operation in purchasing, logistics and finance. 23-Nov-2001 Caddick has won a £1.5m contract from Perrys Motor Sales to build two car dealerships in Rotherham. 22-Nov-2001 Autologic is to acquire the remaining 50% stakes in Autocar Logistics and ANSA Logistics from Allied Holding of the US in a £14m deal. 21-Nov-2001 MG Rover is planning to invest £300m in the development of a new medium-sized car to be launched in 2004, as part of a £600m investment in new models over the next five years. 16-Nov-2001 Ford is said to be considering plans to invest more than £100m at its Castle Bromwich plant to produce the new Jaguar F-type sports car, securing the future of many of the site's 2,000 jobs. 14-Nov-2001 Ryland Group is planning a £0.5m expansion at its Rybrook Jaguar car dealership in Chester, with the creation of 20 jobs. 09-Nov-2001 Pilkington is to close one of its automotive glass production lines in St Helens in March 2002, with the loss of 80 jobs. 09-Nov-2001 Hyundai Motor is considering plans to set up a car manufacturing plant in Europe, prompting speculation that the LG Semicon site in Newport could be a suitable site. 08-Nov-2001 Dixon Motors is reviving plans for the development of a new Ford dealership in Bury next year, which will involve the relocation of its existing Derby Street operation and the creation of up to 100 jobs. 06-Nov-2001 Wabco Automotive is to close its vehicle braking components plant in Portsmouth next year, with the loss of 135 jobs. 06-Nov-2001 Cummins is planning to shed 95 jobs at its heavy vehicle diesel engines factory in Darlington. 05-Nov-2001 BMW is moving to seven-day working at its Mini plant in Oxford, and 500 temporary workers are being converted to permanent staff taking the total workforce to almost 4,000. 05-Nov-2001 Ford is planning to form a partnership with the Warwick Manufacturing Group at Warwick University to collaborate in training and research for its luxury car brands. 05-Nov-2001 Ilkeston Co-op Motor Group is to create 150 new jobs having won the franchise to sell Renault and Nissan cars from its forecourts across the East Midlands, and will invest £3m in new premises. 02-Nov-2001 Goodyear is considering plans to shed up to 460 of the 1,780 jobs at a truck tyre factory in Wolverhampton. 02-Nov-2001 UYT is to invest £20m at its automotive pressings plant in Coventry, with the creation of 120 jobs. 31-Oct-2001 Bristol Street Stafford has submitted plans for a new Ford car showroom, health club, car wash and restaurant on its 3-acre site in Stafford, which will create up to 100 jobs. 30-Oct-2001 Hooleys, the Nottingham-based Ford car dealer, is to close at the end of the year with the loss of 36 jobs. 26-Oct-2001 Lloyds TSB is launching a new service to sell cars via the internet and telephone, and hopes to sell 3,000 vehicles in the first year. 25-Oct-2001 CityFleet is to invest £1m in its Comcab taxi business in Scotland, as part of an expansion plan that will involve 250 new jobs and a call centre in Musselburgh. 24-Oct-2001 Exel has won a £5m contract from Peugeot to manage the conversion of cars and commercial vehicles for the emergency services, and will set up a dedicated centre at Alconbury in Cambridgeshire. 23-Oct-2001 Reynard Motorsport of Brackley has won a multi-million pound contract to manufacture the car chassis for the Premier1 Grand Prix racing championship, which is due to launch next year. 19-Oct-2001 GMF Motor Factors, the car parts supplier, is planning to create up to 100 jobs at a new head office in Ystalyfera over the next two years. 19-Oct-2001 European Motor Holdings has announced plans to create a Volkswagen "superdealership" in south-west London, expand its Perodua dealer network from 36 to 50 and install car-wash centres at 30 Sainsbury and Asda supermarkets. 19-Oct-2001 The Welsh Development Agency is to help Bluebird Electric Vehicles set up an electric car factory at the former BAW factory at Pontardawe, with the creation of 100 jobs. 18-Oct-2001 Michelin is to close its truck tyre plant in Burnley in March and stop producing steel cord in Stoke in September, with the loss of 732 jobs in total. 17-Oct-2001 Continental Teves is planning a £18m expansion at its auto components factory in Ebbw Vale, with the creation of 116 jobs over four years. 15-Oct-2001 Trico is planning to expand its windscreen wipers factory in Pontypool with the creation of 200 jobs, having secured a Regional Selective Assistance grant from the National Assembly for Wales. 05-Oct-2001 Mayflower is paying £6m for a 33% stake in PHL, a new joint venture company formed for the commercial development of the e3 Variable Motion Engine. 02-Oct-2001 Federal Mogul, the US automotive parts company, has gone into voluntary administration, creating uncertainty over the future of up to 5,000 jobs in the UK. 02-Oct-2001 Mercedes and McLaren are said to be planning to build a new supercar at a 40,000 sq ft factory in Portsmouth. 01-Oct-2001 The Driver & Vehicle Testing Agency is to invest £57m upgrading facilities at the 15 MOT test centres in Northern Ireland over the next two years. 28-Sep-2001 Sytner has been nominated by BMW to represent the Rolls Royce marque in the Northwest and East Midlands, and cars from the new Goodwood plant will start arriving in showrooms in January 2003. 28-Sep-2001 Lotus is looking to sell its Coventry-based engineering consultancy, which employs 35 staff and produces prototype models for the automotive and aerospace industries. 26-Sep-2001 Daewoo is to recruit about 80 independent dealers having dropped plans to own all its UK car retail outlets, and at least three of its existing sites are being taken over by Arnold Clark, Roadworthy and Millennium Group. 17-Sep-2001 Reg Vardy, the car dealer, is planning to set up a new call centre with 40 staff next summer, which will replace the current customer care department at its Tyne & Wear head office. 14-Sep-2001 ERF is planning to shed 370 jobs in its Cheshire-based truck manufacturing business, as part of a cost-cutting campaign by parent company MAN. 12-Sep-2001 MG Rover is said to be planning to transfer some production facilities from the recently-acquired Qvale business in Italy to Longbridge, in order to manufacture a new "supercar". 12-Sep-2001 Ford is planning to invest more than £3bn in the expansion of its Jaguar range, which will involve an overhaul of its UK plants and the introduction of aluminium-body assembly over the next three years. 10-Sep-2001 Nissan is seeking 300 temporary workers to start next month at its Sunderland plant, in order to gear up for production of the new Primera model. 07-Sep-2001 Avis Europe and Inchcape are forming a £3m joint venture called Auto-Cascade, in order to sell vehicles nearing the end of their rental life to dealers. 07-Sep-2001 Calcast is to shed 97 jobs at its automotive cylinder heads factory in Londonderry, following a £20m investment in automation. 06-Sep-2001 BMW is to recruit an additional 500 workers at its Mini plant in Oxford, in order to set up a new weekend shift. 06-Sep-2001 FMG Group, the vehicle management company, is moving to larger offices in Huddersfield later this year, with the creation of up to 20 new jobs. 05-Sep-2001 Ford's Jaguar division is planning up to 200 redundancies at Halewood next month, when production of the Escort van ceases. 03-Sep-2001 Vauxhall and Ryder are starting work on the construction of a car components warehouse at Ellesmere Port to supply parts for the new Vauxhall Vectra, which will create 350 jobs. 30-Aug-2001 British Telecom is considering plans to open up its BT Fleet Partners garage network to offer servicing and fleet management to other companies, and is seeking a partner to help with vehicle sourcing and disposals. 28-Aug-2001 The Welsh Development Agency is helping UK Euro Developments find a suitable headquarters in Swansea to develop a new filter device that reduces pollution levels from car exhausts, and a manufacturing base may also be set up. 27-Aug-2001 Pendragon, the car dealership, is to expand its headquarters at the Sherwood Business Park in Annesley with the creation of up to 160 jobs over the next few years. 27-Aug-2001 Yes Car Credit, the supplier of used cars to people with low credit ratings, has been put up for sale by Candover, and is expected to fetch up to £250m. 27-Aug-2001 MG Rover and St Modwen are discussing plans for the redevelopment of a 50-acre site at the Longbridge car plant. 23-Aug-2001 Ford has announced plans to invest up to $2bn in the development of five new Land Rover models, as part of a strategy to increase its share of the North American market over the next six years. 21-Aug-2001 Harley-Davidson of the US is planning to expand its European network of 375 dealerships to more than 450, in an attempt to double its share of the motorcycle market. 20-Aug-2001 JD Cleverly has bought the Ford car dealerships in Newport and Chepstow through its Mon Motors subsidiary, creating a combined group with 220 staff. 16-Aug-2001 Dixon Motors is looking to raise up to £25m from the sale of properties, in order to fund acquisitions for its vehicle distribution business. 16-Aug-2001 Squire Furneaux Group has acquired the Kingscroft Motor Company Volvo dealership in Leatherhead. 14-Aug-2001 GKN is to shed a third of its 300 head office staff in Birmingham and London following the demerger of its industrial services business. 10-Aug-2001 MG Rover is in talks with a number of component suppliers about sharing the £350m development cost of a new mid-size car, and they would be given their own manufacturing space at the Longbridge factory. 09-Aug-2001 Inchcape is planning to spend an additional £60m on the expansion of its automotive retail business, and may also invest £100m in its motor services business. 07-Aug-2001 Startin is planning to invest £1m in a new Peugeot dealership in Redditch, and is currently negotiating the freehold purchase of the Regal Garage site. 03-Aug-2001 Calsonic International is to invest £15m in new machinery and other improvements at its car radiators factory in Llanelli. 01-Aug-2001 DVLA, the Swansea-based Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency, is re-tendering a key IT contract to introduce new communications technology involving the internet and interactive TV. 31-Jul-2001 TRW is to invest £17m at its automotive electronics factory in Birmingham over the nest two years, creating 150 jobs. 25-Jul-2001 The Welsh Development Agency is in discussions with an unnamed company, thought to be Rally Sport Development, about setting up a motor sports component-manufacturing plant in Llandrindod Wells, with the creation of 50 jobs. 20-Jul-2001 Smiths Group is to shed up to 95 of the 520 jobs at its Dowty Engineered Seals factory in Ashchurch. 20-Jul-2001 Ford is to create 150 new jobs at its Land Rover subsidiary in Solihull, in order to increase production of the Freelander model. 19-Jul-2001 Carcraft is to set up a car supermarket in Wednesbury with the creation of about 200 jobs. 17-Jul-2001 Ford has outlined plans for a £355m five-year investment programme at Dagenham, which will create 500 jobs and transform the site into a global centre for diesel engineering. 16-Jul-2001 Ford's Land Rover division is planning to set up a £0.5m off-road demonstration centre next to the Bluewater shopping centre in Dartford, the first of a network of sites around the country. 13-Jul-2001 EasyRentaCar has raised £26m from Bank of Scotland and NBGI Private Equity to expand its European network of car hire outlets from 14 to 19 cities over the next 12 months, reaching 60 sites by 2005. 12-Jul-2001 Low & Bonar is considering plans to shed up to 100 jobs at its Sheffield plant, in order to transfer production of plastic parts for off-road vehicles to continental Europe. 11-Jul-2001 Tom Gallagher Group is planning to set up a new van sales supercentre, and is seeking a suitable site between Swindon and the M4. 11-Jul-2001 Bertrandt UK is looking to recruit about 25 graduate engineers and designers at its Warwickshire-based automotive engineering business. 10-Jul-2001 Perry Group is to sell its car fleet to Lombard Vehicle Leasing for £3.4m, and change its name to Nationwide Accident Repair Services. 10-Jul-2001 Ilkeston Co-op Group Motor Group is setting up a new headquarters at a former police station in Ilkeston, where it will create 15 jobs. 06-Jul-2001 Freudenberg Nonwovens is to shed 60 jobs at its car filters factory in Greetland, Yorkshire, in order to transfer some production to Germany. 06-Jul-2001 Reg Vardy has earmarked £50m to expand its chain of car dealerships by 33% to 100 within two years. 06-Jul-2001 Dixon Motors has bought the Eastgate Motor Renault dealership in Lincoln, and will relocate the business to a new £5m site in Tritton Road in October. 05-Jul-2001 Sytner is in negotiations to relocate its Nottingham car dealership and 100 staff to the Lenton site of the Macpherson textile machinery company. 05-Jul-2001 MG Rover is considering plans to recruit a further 100 production employees at its Longbridge plant. 04-Jul-2001 Auto Trail is to build a new factory in Grimsby to manufacture luxury motor homes, which will involve the transfer of 90 jobs from Immingham and the creation of at least 40 new jobs. 04-Jul-2001 BorgWarner has dropped plans to close its Port Talbot automotive products factory, which employs 200 people, having won a new contract from Kia Motor of Korea. 04-Jul-2001 MG Rover is considering plans to set up a car assembly plant in the Sistan Baluchestan province of Iran. 29-Jun-2001 Lancaster Group is to close its City Motors Vauxhall dealership in Bicester in July with the loss of about 25 jobs. 29-Jun-2001 KTH has agreed a rescue plan for its automotive components foundry in Llanidloes, which should save 120 of the 150 jobs under threat. 29-Jun-2001 TransBus International is planning a £20m investment package at its Plaxtons coachbuilding factory in Scarborough, which would save 200 of the 700 jobs currently under threat. 29-Jun-2001 Arvin Replacement Products is planning to expand its exhausts factory in Cheadle with the creation of 50 new jobs. 28-Jun-2001 Ford has awarded a £10m contract to Vanbots of Canada to build a Jaguar engine plant at its site in Bridgend. 28-Jun-2001 Shell is said to be planning to launch a new vehicle leasing company in the UK, which would involve sales channels based around dealerships. 26-Jun-2001 Maier UK is planning to create a further 100 jobs at its new automotive trimming components plant at Chasewater Heaths in Staffordshire. 21-Jun-2001 Lookers has acquired the Broadfields Land Rover business in Bishops Stortford, in order to strengthen its network of car dealerships in the south east. 19-Jun-2001 Delphi Automotive Systems is looking to sell off its diesel fuel injectors plant in Cheltenham, which has 216 employees, as part of an international reorganisation programme. 15-Jun-2001 Wilson Bowden has awarded a £20m contract to Galliford to build three car warehouses at Honda's South Marston plant in Swindon. 14-Jun-2001 Omnia Driving is seeking funding from Advantage West Midlands to develop a £2m haulage industry training centre in Burton, which would help to ease the shortage of qualified lorry drivers in the UK. 12-Jun-2001 Lexus Cardiff is to relocate its Cardiff car dealership to a new £1.5m site in Hadfield Road in October. 08-Jun-2001 Rochford District Council is considering plans from Essex Ford for the development of a multi-million business park in Cherry Orchard Way, which would include six multi-franchise car showrooms and various complementary businesses. 08-Jun-2001 Cleave Motor Salvage is relocating its Gloucester-based motor salvage and recycling business to a larger site in Empire Way this month, with the creation of 10 new jobs. 08-Jun-2001 Prentice Motors has bought Causeway House in Belfast city centre for £6.6m, and will refurbish the 64,000 sq ft of floor space to provide office accommodation and an extensive retail area. 07-Jun-2001 Wagon is considering plans to build an aluminium car parts factory in the West Midlands, with the creation of hundreds of jobs. 07-Jun-2001 Bosal Industries Tredegar is to close its exhaust systems factory in south Wales with the loss of 153 jobs. 05-Jun-2001 Nissan is to cut output at its Sunderland car plant by reducing the speed of the production lines, with the loss of 30 temporary jobs. 29-May-2001 BMW has won planning permission from Chichester District Council for the construction of a £60m Rolls-Royce factory, which could create more than 400 jobs. 24-May-2001 Federal Mogul TP Sunderland is to shed 60 of the 450 jobs at its automotive piston rings factory in Sunderland. 24-May-2001 Unipart has won a contract to provide parts warehousing services to MG Rover's 350 dealers until June 2004. 23-May-2001 Honda Motor has announced changes at its Swindon car plant that will involve greater focus on the Civic and CRV off-road model, while production of the Accord will be transferred to Japan. 21-May-2001 BMW has agreed to transfer the Midland Powertrain plant near Longbridge to MG Rover, giving MG Rover an additional 1,300 employees and control over its own engine supply. 21-May-2001 Inchcape has acquired two Volkswagen dealers, formerly known as Enterprise, in Telford and Bridgenorth. 18-May-2001 TMD Friction is to close its brake linings factory in Manchester with the loss of 200 jobs, in order to move production to Germany and Sweden. 17-May-2001 Volvo Truck is to shed 48 of the 135 jobs at its Warwick headquarters, in order to improve efficiency and create a new organisational structure. 15-May-2001 Trafficmaster is linking up with Motorola to supply navigation services to private motorists across Europe, with information provided through mobile phones and telematics units. 15-May-2001 AP Group is to shed 86 of the 293 jobs at its automotive brakes factory in Leamington, due to falling demand. 11-May-2001 H&R Wernick, the Salford-based Mazda and Suzuki dealership, has gone into liquidation. 10-May-2001 The RAC is planning to set up a motoring call centre at Cussons House in Cheadle, which will eventually house up to 350 staff. 09-May-2001 Lex Service has launched a nationwide recruitment drive for its recently-acquired Auto Windscreens business, and is looking for at least 100 extra mobile fitters. 09-May-2001 Lotus is to cancel next year's launch of a new sports car and restructure its business into three divisions - car manufacturing, consultancy engineering and a new commercial operation to create dealer networks. 09-May-2001 Thrifty Car Rental is planning to expand its nationwide network from 75 locations to 100 over the next three years, and parent company Flightform is also looking to develop its other franchise brand - Vehicle Rental Services. 08-May-2001 Rotary Group is forming a £57m joint venture with Maha of Germany to refurbish test facilities at 15 MOT centres around the country. 07-May-2001 Mayflower is to close its TransBus bus-building plant in Scarborough with the loss of 700 jobs. 04-May-2001 Ricardo is looking to recruit 30 graduates at its automotive engineering business in Sussex and Warwickshire. 03-May-2001 Associated British Ports is to start work on the development of a £3m multi-deck car terminal at Southampton Docks, in partnership with leading vehicle shippers Wallenius Wilhelmsen. 02-May-2001 Gilbran is to set up a new 10,000 sq ft car dealership for Clarks Honda in Halesowen. 27-Apr-2001 Hartland Renault, the Gloucester-based car dealership, has gone into voluntary liquidation with the loss of 39 jobs. 24-Apr-2001 Daewoo Cars is to close 32 of its 74 sales and service centres in Halfords stores. 24-Apr-2001 Zytek is planning to set up a research headquarters for its electric vehicle division at the Centrum 100 Business Park in Burton, with the creation of 40 jobs. 20-Apr-2001 Specialist Sports Cars is planning to expand production at its self-assembly car plant in Llanidloes from 20 to 50 cars a year, with the creation of about 18 jobs. 18-Apr-2001 Daewoo has sold its technical centre in Worthing to TWR, the racing car group, which will involve the transfer of 160 engineering and design staff. 18-Apr-2001 Nissan is to recruit a further 500 staff at its Sunderland factory through the government's New Deal scheme for the long-term unemployed. 12-Apr-2001 British Telecom is considering plans to sell up to 58,000 vehicles to a fleet leasing operator, in order to accelerate its break-up strategy and focus on its core telecoms business. 11-Apr-2001 Goodyear is planning to relocate up to 200 staff from Wolverhampton to a new administration centre in Birmingham, probably located at the Fort Dunlop site. 09-Apr-2001 Carmarthenshire County Council is to consider plans for the £18m development of a motor sports centre and a horse racing course on Pembrey Peninsula, which could lead to the creation of 600 jobs. 05-Apr-2001 BMW has announced plans to split its Powertrain engine and gearbox subsidiary into two, with 200 of the Longbridge-based employees joining a new company to manufacture gearboxes. 05-Apr-2001 Ford is linking up with other leading European carmakers - including Fiat, BMW, DaimlerChrysler and Renault - to prepare for the launch of a rival motor racing championship to Formula One by 2008. 05-Apr-2001 Ryland is looking to sell five Vauxhall dealerships in the West Midlands, including sites in Birmingham, Coventry, Warwick and Rugby. 02-Apr-2001 BMW is preparing to recruit an additional 1,800 workers to produce the new Mini at the former Rover plant in Oxford. 02-Apr-2001 Yes Car Credit, the supplier of motor finance to people with low credit ratings, has secured £128m in financing from Royal Bank of Scotland to expand its network of branches from 12 to 20. 27-Mar-2001 Marcos Sales has closed its sports car manufacturing business in Westbury with the loss of eight jobs. 26-Mar-2001 TMD Friction is planning to create 100 new jobs at its car brake pads factory in Hartlepool. 26-Mar-2001 Delphi is considering the possibility of closing its automotive chassis plant in Luton, which employs almost 200 people. 23-Mar-2001 Inchcape has acquired the Toyota franchise on the Banbury Road in Oxford from the Sytner Group. 23-Mar-2001 Sytner Group has opened a BMW Store at Cheapside in London, which will stock BMW clothing and accessories and exhibit just one car. 23-Mar-2001 Ford is seeking 15 London businesses to run a fleet of electric Think cars in a pilot scheme this summer. 21-Mar-2001 LDV is to shed 130 jobs in its van manufacturing operation in order to reduce costs and improve competitiveness. 20-Mar-2001 Perry Group has sold its Perrys Motor Sales car dealership business to management for £26m, in order to focus on crash repair centres and parts distribution. 20-Mar-2001 Lola Cars is forming a joint venture with Mayflower to manufacture sports cars at Longbridge, and negotiations are taking place with MG Rover to lease some of the land. 19-Mar-2001 Mercedes-Benz has confirmed plans to replace its network of 156 dealers with 35 new groups that combine dealerships with service stations and high street outlets. 19-Mar-2001 Pirelli is to resume tyre production at a plant in Burton-on-Trent using a new highly automated manufacturing system, seven years after the operation was closed down. 19-Mar-2001 Birmingham International Airport has become the country's first airport to open a car showroom, and it will be operated by Saab of Great Britain. 19-Mar-2001 Daewoo is to shed a further 90 jobs at its technical centre in Worthing, leaving a workforce of 160. 19-Mar-2001 Littlewoods is considering plans to sell cars through its catalogue, following an in-store trial at its Liverpool store. 19-Mar-2001 Northgate is to relocate its East Midlands Vehicle Hire business and 55 staff to larger premises at Alfreton Road in Derby over the next few months. 16-Mar-2001 Lookers has announced plans to invest £20m in new car showrooms in Oldham, Chester and Liverpool with the creation of 200 jobs. 15-Mar-2001 Smiths has announced plans to demerge the automotive division inherited from TI, having failed to find a buyer. 15-Mar-2001 Montupet, the Dunmurry-based car components company, is to invest £6m in the development and manufacture of a new 16-valve engine cylinder head for Ford, with the creation of 100 jobs. 14-Mar-2001 Cleveland Citroen, the Grimsby Citroen dealership, has been bought by the Barker Motor Group of Malton and will undergo a £3m investment programme with the creation of more than 20 jobs. 14-Mar-2001 Infast is creating 50 jobs at a new £1.8m factory in Speke, in order to supply fastenings to the Jaguar Halewood car plant. 12-Mar-2001 DC Cook has sold its Fiat and Alpha car dealership in Rochdale to Bolton's Lythgoe Motor Group, saving 25 jobs. 12-Mar-2001 Ilkeston Co-op Motor Group has bought the former DC Cook motor village in Derby, and plans to refurbish the premises and add three further franchises. 09-Mar-2001 Lotus is to shed up to 300 jobs at its sports car operations near Norwich and Coventry, due to a downturn in demand and production delays. 09-Mar-2001 EMTEC, the technical support company for the motor industry, is expanding its Ruddington Fields site near Nottingham, which will involve a new body repair and paint facility and the creation of 30 jobs. 09-Mar-2001 TRB is creating 50 new jobs at its automotive switches factory in St Asaph, with vacancies in engineering, production and administration. 08-Mar-2001 Toyota has announced plans to increase output by 40% at its north Wales engine plant this year, as a result of the additional 60,000 engines required for the new Yaris model being produced in France. 07-Mar-2001 The Welsh Development Agency has allocated £1m of funding for the development of the Auto Technium motor sport innovation centre at Pembrey, which could create hundreds of jobs. 07-Mar-2001 Northgate has opened a new Mercia Vehicle Hire depot at the Grovelands Industrial Estate in Coventry, and expects to create about 20 jobs at the site over the next two years. 07-Mar-2001 JL French is looking to recruit up to 30 people at its new foundry in Witham, which will manufacture diecast components for the motor industry. 05-Mar-2001 Ford is seeking 90 voluntary redundancies among the 950 staff at its Halewood transmission plant, in order to improve efficiency. 02-Mar-2001 Sytner has sold its BMW franchise in Warwick to a new company called Damon Hill Ltd, which will involve the transfer of 65 staff. 02-Mar-2001 BMW is expected to transfer the Midland Powertrain engine factory to MG Rover, as Ford is said to be prepared to drop its veto over any change of control at the Longbridge site. 02-Mar-2001 Vodafone has announced a deal to provide in-car telematics to Ford in Europe, which will give drivers access to emergency services, traffic information and route details. 26-Feb-2001 Caffyns has acquired the Ridleys Volvo car dealership in Eastbourne and St Leonard's for undisclosed terms. 23-Feb-2001 Lex Service is planning to invest up to £250m in motoring-related services, including the RAC breakdown service, the BSM driving school and Lex Autocentres. 23-Feb-2001 Holmes Hall Tanners is planning to shed up to 100 jobs at its car upholstery plant in Hull, and negotiations are taking place about the site's future. 22-Feb-2001 KTH, the manufacturer of diecast products for the motor industry, is to close its factory in Llanidloes with the loss of 203 jobs, due to a shortage of orders. 20-Feb-2001 ERF has opened its new truck building facility in Cheshire, which will produce 3,000 units a year on a single shift. 19-Feb-2001 TMD Friction is to close its brake linings factory in Birstall with the loss of about 80 jobs, in order to transfer production to Spain. 16-Feb-2001 Inchcape, the automotive services group, could be broken up under plans being put forward by its largest shareholder Guinness Peat. 16-Feb-2001 McKechnie Vehicle Components is to shed 150 jobs at its plant in Pickering, following the loss of a contract to supply plastic moulded components to Volkswagen. 09-Feb-2001 Ford is to shed 200 jobs and reduce output at its Land Rover factory in Solihull, due to a shortage of diesel engines supplied by BMW. 09-Feb-2001 Vauxhall has confirmed plans to invest £200m at Ellesmere Port to build the new Vectra model, securing the future of 700 jobs. 06-Feb-2001 Mitsui is to create 100 new jobs at its motor components factory in Capel Hendre this year. 06-Feb-2001 Walter C Brigg is planning to relocate its Vauxhall dealership and 30 jobs from Cowling in Yorkshire to the new Crossings Business Park in Cross Hills. 05-Feb-2001 Ford is planning to invest £236m at its Bridgend plant to produce engines for Jaguar and its other premium brands, with the creation of 600 jobs. 05-Feb-2001 Lookers is planning to relocate its Vauxhall car dealership in Chester to a new site on Sealand Road in November. 02-Feb-2001 Lex Service is selling 41 Lex Autocentres to Nationwide Autocentres, a new company based in Solihull. 01-Feb-2001 Airbags International has started work on a £1.8m extension at its automotive safety devices factory in Congleton. 30-Jan-2001 Hartwell is to close its Charles Clark Nissan outlet in Shrewsbury with the loss of about 30 jobs. 26-Jan-2001 Marshall Motor Group has acquired Tim Brinton Cars, the operator of six Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall dealerships in East Anglia. 26-Jan-2001 Valeo, the French automotive engineering company, is to close two factories at Worksop and Gorseinon, South Wales, with the loss of 580 jobs. 26-Jan-2001 Huco Lightronic is planning a £3m expansion at its automotive lighting components factory in Limavady, which will create 25 new jobs. 25-Jan-2001 Autologic is in negotiations to acquire a 40% stake in Renault's transport logistics business, as part of a strategy to create an international car distribution network. 25-Jan-2001 Nissan has announced plans to build the new Micra model at its Sunderland plant, in a £230m investment that will create several hundred jobs and increase output from 330,000 cars a year to 500,000. 25-Jan-2001 Jensen Motors has received a £1m cash injection from the Brown Trust to support plans for the launch of a new sports car. 24-Jan-2001 Volkswagen is considering plans to further expand production of Bentley luxury cars in Crewe, on top of previously-announced plans to invest £600m to increase output from 2,000 to 9,000 vehicles a year. 23-Jan-2001 Leyland is to increase output by 30% at its Lancashire truck plant this year, with the site becoming the production centre for parent company Paccar's DAF brand. 22-Jan-2001 Daewoo has appointed provisional liquidators at its technical centre in Worthing, in an attempt to save 400 design and engineering jobs and prepare for a trade sale of the site. 22-Jan-2001 Seat Comfort is to expand its car seats factory in Burton with the creation of 30 jobs, following a management buy-out from parent company Textron Automotive. 18-Jan-2001 Dura Cables is planning to expand its car components factory in Bynea in South Wales, with the creation of 250 jobs by 2003. 17-Jan-2001 The British Racing Drivers Club has outlined plans for the £80m transformation of the Silverstone circuit, including a new pit complex and a learning centre to train mechanics. 17-Jan-2001 M-Sport is to create a further 50 jobs at its Ford World Rally base in Cockermouth, having won the contract to run two cars in this year's British Rally Championship. 16-Jan-2001 Goodyear is to shed about 560 jobs at its tyre factory in Wolverhampton in order to cut costs and improve productivity. 09-Jan-2001 BMW is to start engine production at the £400m Hams Hall engine plant near Birmingham, where it will eventually employ 1,500. 09-Jan-2001 Breckland Council is to consider plans from Lanesra Racing for the development of a workshop and offices on behalf of a new US motor racing team. 08-Jan-2001 Mercedes-Benz is said to be planning to reduce its UK dealer network by 40%, which could lead to the loss of up to 2,000 jobs. 08-Jan-2001 Toyota is planning to increase output at its Derbyshire car plant by 30% to 220,000 vehicles a year, which will create 300 jobs at Burnaston and at its Deeside engine plant. 04-Jan-2001 Carcraft, the used car dealership, has been put up for sale with a valuation of about £200m. 03-Jan-2001 Textron Automotive is to shed 95 jobs at its automotive plastics factory in Stourport, due to declining sales and changes in working patterns at major customers. 02-Jan-2001
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