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Tsubakimoto UK is to invest £1m in the expansion of its automotive power transmission components factory in Nottingham over the next three years, with the creation of 21 jobs. 31-Dec-2003 RAC has won a £1bn contract to operate and expand the contract hire services of Ford Financial, which will initially involve the transfer of 20,000 car contracts to its Lex Vehicle Leasing division. 30-Dec-2003 Quaife, the manufacturer of parts for high performance cars, is investing £1m at the former Compair Holman site in Camborne, with the creation of 12 jobs, while OEM Fabrications is to employ 20 people at the site. 24-Dec-2003 LDV has announced a £90m expansion plan that will involve the launch of a new range of commercial vehicles, a new manufacturing facility in Birmingham and the creation of 1,000 jobs over the next five years. 24-Dec-2003 Triumph Motorcycles is looking to more than double production at its Leicestershire motorcycle factory over the next five years. 24-Dec-2003 Friarsgate Lichfield has acquired the Bolebridge Garage MG Rover dealership in Tamworth, which has 30 staff. 23-Dec-2003 Quest Motors has won permission to relocate its Vauxhall dealership in Maldon to a new site at Wycke Hill. 23-Dec-2003 Dixon Motors has acquired the Citroen Hope Street dealership in Halifax from Taylor Ackroyd. 19-Dec-2003 Knorr-Bremse, the manufacturer of brake systems for commercial vehicles, is to set up a new office headquarters and national distribution centre at Emersons Green in Bristol by June 2004. 15-Dec-2003 Reg Vardy is planning to expand its chain of car dealerships from 82 to 160 by 2007, and has also announced plans for a VW outlet in Redditch and two new sites in the west of Scotland. 12-Dec-2003 S MacNeillie & Son is to create 20 new jobs in Walsall, having won contracts worth £3m to equip vehicles for the Metropolitan Police and the Northern Ireland ambulance service. 11-Dec-2003 Carshock is to open a new car sales outlet in York in January, with the creation of 15 jobs, taking its chain to five. 10-Dec-2003 Nissan is to receive a £3.3m government grant to produce the new Micra coupe-cabriolet at its Sunderland plant, securing the future of 250 jobs. 05-Dec-2003 Visteon is to shed 71 jobs at its car components factory in Swansea before the end of the year. 02-Dec-2003 Five Oaks is closing its car dealerships in Guernsey and Jersey with the possible loss of up to 250 jobs, and negotiations are taking place for the sale of the business. 28-Nov-2003 Anglesey Council has allocated funding of £1.6m towards a £4m project to expand the Bodorgan Estate motor racing circuit, with the creation of 100 jobs. 28-Nov-2003 Cosworth Racing is planning to shed about 40 of the 600 jobs at its Northampton-based racing engine business, due to a change in Formula One rules that will limit the number of engines used by each team. 27-Nov-2003 Ford is to close its Ingeni global design centre in London, with the relocation of 30 jobs to other sites. 26-Nov-2003 Graypaul Ferrari & Maserati is planning to relocate its luxury car dealership and up to 40 jobs from Loughborough to Nottingham, but a date for the move has not been decided. 24-Nov-2003 The Vehicle & Operator Services Agency is seeking a contractor to build and refurbish testing stations for heavy goods vehicles, at a cost of between £10m and £30m. 20-Nov-2003 Listers has awarded a £5.5m contract to Pettifer to build car showrooms in Lincoln and Boston. 20-Nov-2003 Bristol & London is to open an accident management car hire centre in Warrington in partnership with BMW dealer Halliwell Jones, its first outside Bristol. 20-Nov-2003 Nissan is planning to relocate 60 purchasing jobs from its car plant in Sunderland to Cranfield in Bedfordshire by June next year. 19-Nov-2003 European Motor Holdings is to spend £3.2m relocating its Volvo franchise in Newcastle to a new site, and refurbishing the present location for a Bentley franchise. 18-Nov-2003 Lloyds TSB is setting up a chain of car supermarkets under the Black Horse Car Sales brand, and 50 jobs will be created when a new site opens in Oldbury in January. 17-Nov-2003 Faun Municipal Vehicles is to shed 30 of the 110 jobs at its refuse trucks factory on Anglesey. 12-Nov-2003 Farmer & Carlisle is creating 10 jobs at a new temporary site for its Toyota car dealership in Leicester, and up to 15 jobs will be created when it moves to a permanent site. 11-Nov-2003 Travelling Car Valeter is planning to expand its Derby-based car valeting business through a nationwide franchising programme, having just recruited its first franchisee in Yorkshire. 10-Nov-2003 Cybit is to raise £4.8m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its vehicle fleet management information business. 10-Nov-2003 The National Assembly for Wales is in private negotiations for the development of two car factories in Wales, with one said to involve the production of up to 500 luxury cars a year under the name of Zircon. 10-Nov-2003 The Welsh Development Agency is linking up with the Welsh Assembly and the University of Wales Swansea to build a £10m Technium business innovation centre for the automotive industry at Llanelli Gate. 07-Nov-2003 Telecom 4 is to create 150 jobs at a new installation centre for hands-free mobile phone kits for cars in Bushey. 06-Nov-2003 Ford has shed more than 200 contract jobs at its technical research plant near Basildon. 06-Nov-2003 Volkswagen has awarded its South East Wales franchise to David Jones Garages, and 100 jobs are being created at its new £4m dealership in Cardiff Bay. 05-Nov-2003 LDV has won a £40m contract to manufacture 2,000 new vans and trucks for rental company Sixt over the next two years. 03-Nov-2003 Hamlin Electronics has shed 25 of the 340 jobs at its automotive airbag shock sensors factory in Diss. 03-Nov-2003 Cherwell District Council is to consider plans from Kitewood Estates for the development of a 5-acre site on the edge of Banbury into a "Motor City" for the town's car dealers. 31-Oct-2003 Total Maintenance Solutions (TMS) is to create 50 new jobs at its automotive engineering business in Sunderland over the next year. 21-Oct-2003 Tenneco Automotive is to close its car components factory at Acock's Green in Birmingham by the end of 2004, with the loss of 127 jobs. 21-Oct-2003 MSX International is planning to close its automotive engineering operation in Basildon over the next six months, and some staff will relocate to Southend and Colchester. 17-Oct-2003 Lookers has agreed terms to acquire two Vauxhall dealerships in Lisburn and Portadown. 17-Oct-2003 Sytner is thought to be considering plans to set up a Ferrari showroom in Nottingham, following the purchase of the Beechdale garage site next to its existing BMW dealership. 10-Oct-2003 Honda is considering plans to manufacture a new design of diesel engine at its plant in Swindon, but a number of other European sites are also being considered. 10-Oct-2003 George Fischer is looking into the possibility of closing its automotive castings plant in Lincoln next year with the loss of up to 430 jobs. 09-Oct-2003 Takao is to expand its car components factory in Gloucestershire, with a 28,000 sq ft extension due for completion next January. 08-Oct-2003 The AA is launching a new leasing company called AA Vehicle Management, in order to offer contract hire and personal leasing to customers of AA Business Services. 07-Oct-2003 Desira Group is planning to create new jobs in its nine car dealerships across East Anglia and London, with vacancies in management, sales, administration and technical departments. 03-Oct-2003 Reg Vardy is planning to spend up to £10m opening branded car repair garages in cities such as Leeds, in response to new EU regulations that allow independent garages to compete with the major franchise groups. 02-Oct-2003 Schrader Electronics has announced plans to set up a new plant to manufacture tyre pressure monitoring systems in Carrickfergus, with the creation of 200 jobs. 01-Oct-2003 Automotive Products Driveline Technology has announced a £4m investment programme, in order to expand its clutch systems factory in Leamington and build a new factory in China. 01-Oct-2003 Swansea Council is to consider plans from Sinclair Motor Holdings for the development of two car dealerships in the east of the city. 01-Oct-2003 CD Bramall is to relocate its Reliance ERF commercial vehicle sales business from Brighouse to a new £1.5m site in Leeds next year, with the creation of 20 jobs. 26-Sep-2003 Windmill Hill Motor Company is to close its Citroen dealership at Great Western Way in Swindon with the loss of 25 jobs, and the premises will be acquired by the Fawcetts of Newbury Volvo dealership. 24-Sep-2003 Goodyear Dunlop has announced plans to shed 400 jobs at its tyre factory in Wolverhampton, in order to transfer production of car and light truck tyres to other sites. 24-Sep-2003 Maxsport Competition Tyres is creating 25 jobs at a new £1m sports car tyre retreading facility in Rhayader, Powys. 22-Sep-2003 Hydro Aluminium Motorcast is to close its car engine blocks factory in Leeds in 2005, with the loss of 600 jobs. 19-Sep-2003 Peugeot is considering plans to close its 85-acre Stoke Works site near Coventry, in order to transfer the office, warehouse and car storage operations to its other site nearby. 15-Sep-2003 Mayflower is planning to build a new £30m bus manufacturing plant in Falkirk by 2005, with the transfer of 1,000 staff from its existing TransBus site nearby. 12-Sep-2003 Adonis Construction has gained contracts worth £10m to build car dealerships for Reg Vardy in Nottingham, VW in Cardiff, Hartwells in Abingdon, Chester Meadow in Guildford, Aucott in Tamworth and J&P Arthurs in Shrewsbury. 10-Sep-2003 Bristol & London, the car hire company with 90 staff that specialises in supplying replacement cars to people involved in accidents, is planning a £30m flotation on Aim. 08-Sep-2003 Laddaw is to set up a new £10m vehicle glass distribution centre at the Interlink Business Park in Leicestershire, which will involve the relocation of 90 staff from Braunstone and 50 from Bedford. 05-Sep-2003 Kent Plastics is considering plans to close its car components plant in Enniskillen with the loss of 60 jobs, following the loss of a contract from Visteon. 04-Sep-2003 Cosworth Technology is to create up to 60 jobs in Wellingborough next February, having won a £100m contract to make cylinder heads for JCB's new diesel engine. 03-Sep-2003 Autologic, the vehicle logistics company, has received a £153m takeover approach from a private equity group. 03-Sep-2003 William Jacks, the car distributor, is to transfer its share listing to Aim. 01-Sep-2003 Bentley is to create 350 new jobs at its luxury car plant in Crewe, in order to increase production of the new Continental GT model. 29-Aug-2003 Uphill Motors is seeking permission to relocate its Vauxhall dealership and about 80 staff to a new site at the Aisecombe Way Business Park in Weston-super-Mare. 28-Aug-2003 Visteon is to shed 26 of the 400 jobs at its Belfast factory, and switch from the manufacture of oil and water pumps to the production of engine manifolds. 27-Aug-2003 Dundee City Council is considering plans from John R Weir to build a £3m Mercedes car dealership on Dunsinane industrial estate. 26-Aug-2003 Westdrive Kia is to relocate its car dealership and 12 jobs to a new £1.7m site at Galleys Corner in Braintree in January, with the creation of ten new jobs. 26-Aug-2003 South Cleveland Garages has bought the MPC Citroen car dealership in Hartlepool for undisclosed terms, taking its total workforce to about 320. 25-Aug-2003 Cooper Standard is planning to close its two automotive component factories in Plymouth in 2005, with the loss of 536 jobs. 25-Aug-2003 Mertrux is starting work on the development of a new £1m commercial vehicle servicing centre near Alfreton, which will create 30 jobs. 22-Aug-2003 Walon is to create 50 jobs at Portbury Docks to work on a new contract to repair and refurbish fleet cars for Toyota. 19-Aug-2003 Audi is to build a regional headquarters in Cardiff, including a museum, conference facilities, showroom and the creation of about 70 jobs. 05-Aug-2003 Inchcape has acquired six BMW dealerships from L&C Holdings and William Jacks for £19m, including sites in Banstead, Croydon, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Cobham and Wimbledon. 05-Aug-2003 Enterprise Rent-A-Car is planning to create more than 100 jobs in Scotland over the next two years, increasing its number of outlets from 20 to at least 30, while its UK network will grow from 220 to 350 outlets. 05-Aug-2003 Lookers has acquired the Savoy Honda car dealership in Warrington from Mainland Investments for £2m. 05-Aug-2003 Hodgson Toyota is creating 30 jobs at its new £5.5m car dealership site in Gateshead. 05-Aug-2003 Derek Slack Motors is to relocate its Skoda dealership and 17 staff to a new £1m site in Middlesbrough in October. 24-Jul-2003 Land Rover has announced plans to transfer some vehicle production and about 1,000 jobs from Solihull to the Jaguar factory on Merseyside. 21-Jul-2003 Arriva has completed its withdrawal from car retailing with the disposal of three sites in the West Country. 08-Jul-2003 Northgate is planning to increase its van rental fleet from 45,000 to 60,000 in the UK and 18,000 in Spain by April 2006, and the number of hire locations will rise from 70 to 100 in the UK and 20 in Spain. 03-Jul-2003 Cattles has launched a new direct distribution motor finance business under the name of Welcome Car Finance, operating from sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham. 02-Jul-2003 Pantech Vehicle Services is to shed 80 jobs at its car refurbishment business near Bedford, following a fall in demand from car rental companies. 02-Jul-2003 Reg Vardy is planning a multi-million-pound expansion drive in southern England, in order to grow its chain of car dealerships from 77 to 100 by April 2005. 02-Jul-2003 Dyson Group is to set up a £15m production line to manufacture fibres for automotive catalytic converters. 27-Jun-2003 Fiat of Italy is planning to shed 12,300 jobs throughout the world, prompting speculation about the future of its tractor factory in Basildon, its engine plant in Ellesmere Port and its UK car sales and marketing operations. 27-Jun-2003 The Department of Trade & Industry has announced plans to invest £15m in a new national training academy for the automotive sector, including a hub in the Midlands and nine regional centres throughout the country. 25-Jun-2003 Dixon Motors is to open three new Fiat and Alfa car showrooms at its site in Holbeck, Leeds, early next year, with the creation of 30 jobs. 24-Jun-2003 Nick Whale Group has been awarded the Saab concession in central Birmingham and will operate from the former Lexus site in Digbeth while a new showroom is built. 23-Jun-2003 Hill Hire is building a new £2m truck and trailer rental depot at the former Severn Valley Brick Company site in Avonmouth, taking its nationwide chain to ten. 19-Jun-2003 Tamworth & Lichfield College is opening a new £7m technologies centre that includes an automotive repair facility aimed at supporting car industry suppliers in the Midlands. 18-Jun-2003 ERF is to shed a further 67 jobs at its truck plant in Middlewich, Cheshire, following the previously-announced decision by parent company MAN to relocate production to Germany. 12-Jun-2003 Dixon Motors is planning to sell or close its chain of 20 motorcycle dealerships by the end of June. 09-Jun-2003 Volkswagen is to open a £7m flagship sales centre in Milton Keynes this year, displaying more than 200 new and used cars and with 19 workshop bays. 04-Jun-2003 William Jacks has paid £1.8m for a site in Portslade, Sussex, to set up a Volvo dealership. 03-Jun-2003 ISKY Europe is to create about 35 telephone-based jobs in Bristol, having won a new sales and marketing contract from motor retailer Reg Vardy. 02-Jun-2003 Virgin Cars has opened its first car showroom, enabling customers to compare various brands of cars on one site in Salford, Greater Manchester. 27-May-2003 Toyota is to add a third shift at its car factory near Derby, with the creation of 1,000 jobs by the middle of next year. 20-May-2003 Goodyear Dunlop is to shed up to 122 jobs at its tyre plant in Wolverhampton over the next three months. 13-May-2003 General Motors is planning to invest £80m at its Ellesmere Port plant to prepare for the production of the new Vauxhall Astra car. 12-May-2003 Arriva is to sell its Stockton-based Peugeot car dealership to Simon Bailes, securing work for 34 staff and creating 20 new jobs. 01-May-2003 The Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators is to establish a new headquarters at the offices of the GCA consultancy in Derby this summer. 01-May-2003 Goodyear Dunlop is to shed up to 116 jobs at its sales centre at Tyre-Fort, Birmingham, and about 100 jobs will go at Hi-Q Motorway tyre shops across the country. 22-Apr-2003 Rockingham Motor Speedway, the Corby-based motor racing complex, has been acquired by its chief executive for undisclosed terms. 22-Apr-2003 Traltec UK is to increase production at its automotive mouldings factory in Welshpool, with the creation of 20 jobs. 18-Apr-2003 Nissan has indicated that up to 400 new jobs could be created at its Sunderland car plant, if demand remains high for the Micra model. 18-Apr-2003 Zeus Aluminium Products is to create up to 80 jobs at its Brierley Hill-based automotive castings business, and hopes to move to a larger site in Stourbridge in the future. 18-Apr-2003 Unipres is to shed 50 of the 890 jobs at its car parts factory in Sunderland. 11-Apr-2003 Reg Vardy has bought three First Ford car dealerships in East Kilbride, Kirkintilloch and south Glasgow, taking its Scottish chain to seven sites. 11-Apr-2003 Benfield Motor Group has acquired the former Hartwell Toyota and Lexus dealerships in Leeds, taking its chain to 22 sites. 09-Apr-2003 TKA Tallent is to shed a further 90 jobs at its automotive chassis plant in Newton Aycliffe. 08-Apr-2003 Antonov has raised a further £1m in a share placing to provide sufficient working capital for the development of its new gearbox design over the next 18 months. 04-Apr-2003 North Kesteven District Council is to consider two applications from Soper of Lincoln for the development of a new BMW car dealership on the A46. 03-Apr-2003 RAC has won a £230m contract to operate the British Airways fleet of 6,300 ground vehicles, which will involve the transfer of 350 staff from existing operator Ryder. 03-Apr-2003 Warwick Manufacturing Group is linking up with Ford to set up a £70m automotive research centre near Coventry, in order to improve the performance of suppliers to Ford's Premier Automotive Group. 02-Apr-2003 BMW is to switch petrol engine production for the BMW Mini from Brazil to Hams Hall, with the creation of "several hundred" jobs over the next five years. 28-Mar-2003 TRW is to manufacture the next generation of car steering systems at its Resolven factory in Wales, with the creation of an unspecified number of jobs. 25-Mar-2003 Comau Estil is to shed 60 jobs at its robotic car-building equipment factory in Shrewsbury by the end of April. 20-Mar-2003 Keronite has raised a further £0.8m from investors to expand its Cambridge-based specialist coatings business, in order to develop a new corrosion prevention system for car manufacturers. 14-Mar-2003 Toyota is seeking permission to set up a national car distribution centre at its site in Burnaston, with the creation of 20 jobs, in order to store imports from France, Turkey and Japan. 13-Mar-2003 Lomond Audi has awarded a £6.3m contract to John Dickie to build a new car dealership in Glasgow. 13-Mar-2003 Stafford Borough Council is to consider plans from Audi for the development of a £1.5m car dealership just outside Stafford town centre, which would create up to 32 jobs. 11-Mar-2003 Octagon Motorsports, the operator of Brands Hatch and other motor racing circuits, is said to have been put up for sale by US parent Interpublic, with a valuation of about £70m. 10-Mar-2003 Breed UK's US parent company has been acquired by the Texas-based Key Automotive Group, securing the future of 350 jobs at its seat belt factory in Carlisle. 07-Mar-2003 TT Electronics is to shed 60 jobs at its TTems automotive electronics factory in Blyth by the end of the month. 06-Mar-2003 International Rectifier is to shed up to 50 jobs at its car parts factory in Swansea by April. 28-Feb-2003 Calsonic Kansei, the vehicle radiator manufacturer, is to shed 87 of the 1,100 jobs at its factory and technology centre in Llanelli, and a further 69 jobs will be lost at sites in Washington and Sunderland. 27-Feb-2003 Mayflower Corporation has announced plans to build a £23m car body pressings plant at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham by early 2004, having won a contract from Ford to supply the new Land Rover models. 27-Feb-2003 Octagon Motorsports is to invest £1.9m in a series of upgrades at the Oulton Park racing circuit in Cheshire this year, as part of a £7.5m investment across five sites. 26-Feb-2003 Pendragon is expanding its car dealerships in the US with the acquisition of two Land Rover outlets in California for £8.6m. 25-Feb-2003 Hella Manufacturing, the automotive electrical components company with a factory in Banbury, is to shed 100 jobs as part of a worldwide restructuring programme. 24-Feb-2003 Pendragon, the luxury car dealer, is planning to recruit 30 to 40 additional staff at its Nottinghamshire headquarters this year. 24-Feb-2003 Octagon Motorsports is planning a £4m upgrade of the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire. 19-Feb-2003 Uniloads, the commercial vehicle distribution company, is planning to create 40 new jobs this year by setting up a training programme with Sandwell and Dudley Jobcentre Plus in the West Midlands. 18-Feb-2003 Roulunds Codan, the Corby-based manufacturer of automotive rubber hoses, is to create 50 new jobs, having won a contract from Mexico. 18-Feb-2003 BMW is to close its Midland Gears gearbox factory in Birmingham with the loss of up to 300 jobs. 17-Feb-2003 Ballast is to build a £6.5m car showroom in Fazackerley, Liverpool, for Arrowcroft. 13-Feb-2003 KTH is to close its automotive aluminium castings plant in Llanidloes over the next three months, with the loss of 250 jobs. 12-Feb-2003 Carshock is planning to expand its car sales business with new outlets in Yorkshire, and the workforce is expected to rise from 31 to 50 this year. 11-Feb-2003 Reg Vardy has acquired the Clark's Volkswagen dealership in Stourbridge, and will retain the workforce of almost 40 people. 11-Feb-2003 Lotus is to shed up to 95 of the 1,400 jobs at its sports car plant in Hethel, Norfolk, over the next few months. 06-Feb-2003 R&AG Crossland, the Walsall-based car parts manufacturer, is to close with the loss of up to 100 jobs. 06-Feb-2003 Oshino Lamps is said to be considering the future of its automotive lamps factory in Newton Aycliffe, casting doubt on the future of 50 jobs. 04-Feb-2003 GKN Thompson Chassis is to close its vehicle chassis plant in Wolverhampton next year with the loss of 300 jobs, in order to transfer production to Telford. 29-Jan-2003 MG Rover has reached agreement with Welcome Break to sell cars at seven motorway service stations across the country, starting with Oxford Services on the M40. 24-Jan-2003 LDV is planning to develop its Drews Lane site in Birmingham into a European base for Stewart & Stevenson, the US military truck company. 24-Jan-2003 TKA Tallent is to shed 65 jobs at its automotive components factory in Newton Aycliffe. 24-Jan-2003 CD Bramall is creating about 30 jobs at a new Sanderson Motorhouse used car supermarket in Lincoln, due to open next month. 22-Jan-2003 European Components is to shed almost 300 of the 800 jobs at its seatbelt factory in east Belfast. 20-Jan-2003 Tyron Remoulds is to cease trading in March with the loss of 23 jobs in Lockerbie, due to increased foreign competition in the tyre market. 14-Jan-2003 Magna Kansei is to create 96 new jobs at its car components factory in Sunderland, in order to increase injection moulding output by 20%. 13-Jan-2003 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has approved plans from Porsche dealer Lindbrook for the development of a luxury car dealership in Tudeley. 13-Jan-2003 Manheim Auctions has won permission to expand its vehicle auction site in Colchester to over 50 acres. 10-Jan-2003 CCM Motorcycles is seeking a suitable site on Merseyside for a new factory, having raised £4m of venture capital from Aberdeen Murray Johnstone and the Merseyside Special Investment Fund. 10-Jan-2003 Asgard Volvo has acquired the Ring of Bells Garage in Solihull, taking its chain of Volvo car dealerships to four. 08-Jan-2003 Listers is to set up a new Chrysler and Jeep dealership in Boston, as local company Drayton Motors has ceased trading. 08-Jan-2003 Springfield Motor Group is looking to create up to 100 jobs at its new £1m car dealership, training and inspection centre on the Crowther Industrial Estate in Washington. 06-Jan-2003 CD Bramall has acquired the Mercedes-Benz Ciceley dealership in Ulverston, Cumbria, and the site will be rebranded as Mercedes-Benz South Lakes. 03-Jan-2003 Ian Forster Specialist Cars has acquired a one-acre site at East Boldon in South Tyneside to set up a car showroom and offices. 03-Jan-2003
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