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Motor 2005
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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Toyota is considering plans to invest in the expansion of its engines plant on Deeside, which currently employs 728 staff. 27-Dec-2005 Ford has announced plans to invest £8m at its Halewood transmissions factory, in order to double production of the MT82 gearbox. 20-Dec-2005 Floform is to shed 60 of the 150 jobs at its motor components factory in Welshpool in January. 20-Dec-2005 John Clark Motor Group is to relocate its Audi car dealership in Dundee to a new £2.5m site next summer, with the creation of 15 jobs. 20-Dec-2005 Federal Mogul is planning to close its spark plugs factory in Wirral next spring, with the loss of about 350 jobs. 19-Dec-2005 Rockingham Motor Racing Circuit is to spend £10m building an indoor conference centre, a hotel, an all-weather outdoor exhibition area and new driving tracks, and the site will be renamed Rockingham Performance Park. 14-Dec-2005 Sytner is in negotiations to acquire the William Jacks chain of car dealerships for about £10m. 13-Dec-2005 TRW Automotive is to close its fastening components factory in Aylesbury by the end of the year, with the loss of 84 jobs. 08-Dec-2005 Virago Cars is looking to set up a new sports car factory in the Midlands next year, with the creation of up to 200 jobs, and is considering sites in Solihull, Birmingham and Coventry. 07-Dec-2005 Tata Group, the Indian car manufacturer, is considering plans to set up a European Technical Centre in the Coventry area next year, which could eventually lead to the creation of up to 1,000 research jobs. 06-Dec-2005 Hella is to shed 72 jobs at its two car parts factories in Banbury by the end of the year. 02-Dec-2005 Land Rover is to shed 550 temporary jobs at its car factory in Solihull, having established optimum production levels. 29-Nov-2005 Jaguar is considering plans to close its Browns Lane site in Coventry, and most of the remaining 500 staff are expected to relocate to other sites. 29-Nov-2005 Bentley is looking to recruit an unspecified number of assembly workers, paint shop workers and metal finishers at its luxury car factory in Crewe, in preparation for the production of two new models. 29-Nov-2005 DaimlerChrysler UK is looking to shed up to 130 of the 850 jobs at its Milton Keynes-based car import business. 29-Nov-2005 Stadco is to close its car pressings factory in Tipton next year, with the loss of up to 130 jibs. 25-Nov-2005 Reg Vardy, the Sunderland-based chain of 97 car dealerships, has received a £420m takeover approach from Pendragon. 17-Nov-2005 Alumasc is to close its Copal Casting automotive castings factory in Handsworth this month, with the loss of 75 jobs. 09-Nov-2005 Proton Cars is looking to double the size of its 73-strong car dealership network over the next two years. 08-Nov-2005 Holden Group is to reorganise its car dealerships in Norwich by expanding its Renault, Honda and Chrysler franchises, but its Saab and Mitsubishi franchises will be relinquished. 07-Nov-2005 Bell Truck Sales is to set up a £1.5m van dealership at the North Tees Industrial Estate in Stockton by autumn 2006. 04-Nov-2005 Rieter Automotive is recruiting 25 workers for a new vehicle soundproofing systems factory due to open at Trentham Lakes Business Park in Stoke-on-Trent in January, and the site will employ up to 180 staff by the end of 2006. 03-Nov-2005 Visteon is seeking up to 94 voluntary redundancies at its car parts factory in Belfast, while 100 staff will transfer from Swansea to Bridgend. 31-Oct-2005 Epm Technology is to set up a car body shells factory at the former MG Rover North Works site in Longbridge, with the creation of about 150 new jobs by the end of next year. 27-Oct-2005 Cannock Chase Council is considering plans from Renault UK for the development of a car dealership in Cannock, which would create up to 35 jobs. 27-Oct-2005 Carwashatwork of Llangollen has secured financial support from Wales Fund Managers to expand its car valeting service across the UK. 26-Oct-2005 Johnson Controls is to close its car parts factory in Telford with the loss of about 150 jobs, in order to transfer production to its site in Leamington Spa. 25-Oct-2005 RMB Automotive is planning to set up a £4m Toyota and Lexus car dealership at Bowesfield Farm, Stockton, in 2006, with the creation of 30 jobs. 24-Oct-2005 Peugeot is to set up a 226,000 sq ft distribution centre for its Gefco subsidiary at ProLogis Park in Coventry. 24-Oct-2005 Black Circles, the online tyre retailer, is planning to open a network of franchises across the country by signing up 700 garages next year. 24-Oct-2005 Aviva is looking to expand its recently-acquired RAC motoring business by adding 1.8m customers. 21-Oct-2005 Minorplanet has raised £10m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its Leeds-based vehicle fleet management systems business. 14-Oct-2005 MotorSport Vision is looking to transform the Snetterton circuit near Norwich into an international motor racing venue, including a hotel, business park and train station. 12-Oct-2005 Lear Corporation and Tachi-S are planning to set up a car parts factory at the former Lucas Sumitomo site in Sunderland, in order to make seat belts and air conditioning systems, with the creation of 250 jobs. 11-Oct-2005 Arvin Meritor is considering plans to close its automotive exhausts factory in Blackpool, with the loss of 232 jobs. 10-Oct-2005 Hutchinson UK is to close its car trim factory in Telford in January, with the loss of 130 jobs. 10-Oct-2005 Suzuki is to relocate its remaining operations in West Sussex to its new £15m distribution, training and office complex in Milton Keynes by mid-2006. 10-Oct-2005 Royal Bank of Scotland is to create 50 jobs at a new car repair centre due to open on a 1.5-acre site at the North Tees Industrial Estate in Stockton in January. 06-Oct-2005 Toyota is planning to set up a £10m automotive training centre in Nottingham, and expects to receive funding from the East Midlands Development Agency and the Learning & Skills Council. 06-Oct-2005 Ford is to invest £85m at its factory in Dagenham, in order to produce a new diesel engine for commercial vehicles. 06-Oct-2005 Dunlop is planning to shed up to 100 of the 600 jobs at its tyre factory in Washington, Tyne & Wear. 05-Oct-2005 Wrightbus is to invest £15m in the expansion of its bus manufacturing operation in Ballymena, with the creation of about 170 jobs over the next three years. 05-Oct-2005 The British Racing Drivers Club is planning a £600m overhaul of the Silverstone motor racing circuit, and a shortlist of bidders is being drawn up to redevelop and operate the site on a 25-year lease. 03-Oct-2005 The RAC motoring organisation is to shed 200 call centre jobs in Bristol, in order to transfer the work to India. 03-Oct-2005 Tanfield Group is set to win a £6m contract to maintain Dairy Crest's 2,200-strong household vehicle fleet, and up to 78 staff will transfer to Tanfield's Smith Electric Vehicles subsidiary. 30-Sep-2005 Krupp Camford is to shed up to 70 jobs at its car pressings factory in Llanelli, but there are no plans to close the site. 30-Sep-2005 Dixon Motors is planning to close its car inspection and delivery centre in Thorne in October, with the loss of up to 200 jobs, in order to transfer the work to its retail sites. 30-Sep-2005 East Anglian Motor Auctions is planning to relocate its 25 staff to a larger four-acre site on the Gateway 11 business park at Wymondham, and building work is due to start in October. 27-Sep-2005 Volkswagen is said to be considering plans to sell off its Europcar car rental business for up to £1.3bn, which includes a network of 125 offices in the UK. 26-Sep-2005 The Department of Trade & Industry is to be approached by Nanjing Automobile about the possibility of securing aid to restart production at the MG Rover factory in Longbridge, which is expected to create 1,200 jobs. 26-Sep-2005 JCT600 is planning to set up a new £5m Porsche centre at the junction of Gelderd Road and Wortley Ring Road in Leeds. 19-Sep-2005 Cannock Chase Council has approved plans for the extension of the ThyssenKrupp automotive panel pressing factory in Cannock, with the creation of up to 100 new jobs. 19-Sep-2005 Liningtons is to close its Renault dealership in Portsmouth in October with the loss of about 20 jobs, while a further 30 staff will transfer to nearby Seward. 14-Sep-2005 Bearmach is looking to expand its Land Rover accessories business in Caerphilly, which should involve the acquisition of adjacent land and an increase to the 130-strong workforce. 13-Sep-2005 Jaguar and Land Rover are looking to shed up to 300 office jobs in Castle Bromwich, Coventry, Gaydon and Halewood, as part of a global restructuring programme by parent company Ford. 08-Sep-2005 Arvin Meritor Trailer Systems is planning to relocate its trailer manufacturing operation from Wrexham to its braking systems plant in Cwmbran. 07-Sep-2005 Northgate, the Darlington-based van rental company with a market capitalisation of £788m, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company. 07-Sep-2005 TRW is considering plans to shed 156 of the 638 jobs at its car parts factory in Pontypool by the end of the year. 25-Aug-2005 Intier Automotive has won permission to build a 70,000 sq ft automotive mouldings factory at Barton-under-Needwood in Staffordshire by next spring, with the creation of up to 100 jobs. 25-Aug-2005 Ogihara Europe is to shed up to 90 jobs at its automotive body panels factory in Telford. 23-Aug-2005 Alumasc is looking to sell Copal Casting, the Handsworth-based manufacturer of aluminium castings for the automotive industry, which could affect up to 75 jobs. 17-Aug-2005 Ferrotech, the Tipton-based automotive castings manufacturer currently in administration, has shed more than 110 jobs. 17-Aug-2005 Ashford Construction has won a £3m contract from St Modwen Properties and Prologis Developments to build an automotive components factory in Burton upon Trent to supply Toyota's Burnaston plant. 04-Aug-2005 Inchcape is looking to expand its car dealership operations into Russia and China by setting up joint ventures. 02-Aug-2005 The Driving Standards Agency has awarded a £40m contract to Bluestone to build motorcycle test centres across the country. 28-Jul-2005 G Clancey, the Halesowen-based supplier of automotive parts, is to shed 107 jobs. 25-Jul-2005 RMB Automotive is to open a new £1.8m Toyota car and van dealership in Northallerton next month. 18-Jul-2005 Charvill Brothers is looking to sell its Citroen and Hyundai dealership in Hoddesdon, in order to secure the future of 23 jobs. 15-Jul-2005 Cat Logistics is to shed 65 of the 450 office jobs at its car parts distribution business in Leicestershire. 14-Jul-2005 Inchcape Automotive is creating up to 60 new driving jobs at its Autograph Inspect and Collect service. 05-Jul-2005 Concept Group, the developer of car design technology, is planning to raise up to £6m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its Coventry site and to provide additional working capital. 27-Jun-2005 The AA is to close its call centre in Maidstone with the loss of 150 jobs, in order to transfer the work Birmingham. 24-Jun-2005 Priory Motor Group, the Gateshead-based division of North Eastern Co-op, is looking to sell its 11 franchised car dealerships and four bodyshops. 23-Jun-2005 Autocare Group, the vehicle distribution company, is planning to open new depots in Glasgow, Avonmouth and Southampton, as part of an expansion programme that will also involve acquisitions and partnerships. 23-Jun-2005 Birkby's Plastics is to recruit up to 25 extra staff at its factory in West Yorkshire, having won a new contract to supply interior trim to Toyota and Honda. 21-Jun-2005 Avis Europe is to raise £110m in a share issue, in order to expand its car rental fleet and fund a restructuring programme. 20-Jun-2005 Charvill Brothers is shedding 24 jobs at its five car dealerships in Hertfordshire. 17-Jun-2005 Paccar is to increase production of DAF trucks at its factory in Leyland, with the creation of 300 new jobs by the end of the year. 16-Jun-2005 Aston Martin is recruiting a further 200 employees, in order to increase production at its two sports car factories in Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire, while the worldwide dealer network will reach about 140 by the end of the year. 16-Jun-2005 Manganese Bronze, the manufacturer of black taxi cabs, has acquired a further 72% stake in its US distributor London Taxis North America Holdings for £1m plus shares. 14-Jun-2005 Accident Exchange, the vehicle accident management company, has raised £15m in two share placings to fund the expansion of its car fleet and open new depots, and almost 200 additional staff will be recruited over the next 12 months. 14-Jun-2005 Wagon has shed 100 jobs at its automotive parts factories in Oxford and the West Midlands, due to the collapse of MG Rover. 09-Jun-2005 Pendragon, the chain of 250 car dealerships, is planning to expand the 550-strong workforce at its Nottinghamshire headquarters to 800 over the next two years, which will involve moving to a new building. 08-Jun-2005 CityCarClub is to raise £1m in a flotation on Ofex to fund the development of the country's first nationwide car-sharing service. 08-Jun-2005 Triplex Components Machining is to close its car parts factory in Peterborough next year, with the loss of 200 jobs. 01-Jun-2005 Lotus is to start manufacturing sports cars abroad for the first time, probably in Malaysia, but production of the Elise model will be increased in Norfolk with the creation of 200 jobs. 27-May-2005 Available Car is to expand its used car business in Castle Donington, with the creation of 30 jobs over the next year. 27-May-2005 Visteon is expected to shed up to 50 of the 350 jobs at its car components factory in west Belfast, in order to reduce its manufacturing capacity for oil and water pumps. 26-May-2005 Leoni Wiring Systems is to shed 95 of the 470 jobs at its car wiring systems factory in Newcastle-under-Lyme. 26-May-2005 Advantage West Midlands has awarded a £1.7m grant to Harley-Davidson, the US motorcycles company, to set up a training centre at Bromsgrove North East Worcestershire College. 18-May-2005 TRW Automotive is to shed 235 jobs at its car parts factories in Wednesbury, Aylesbury, Burnley, Frankley and Resolven. 17-May-2005 Audi has confirmed plans to open a £7.5m car dealership and museum at Cardiff Gate Business Park next spring, with the creation of up to 70 jobs. 16-May-2005 Sogefi UK is to invest £8m in the expansion of its car components factories in Llantrisant and Tredegar, with the creation of 125 jobs, in order to produce advanced air and oil filtration products. 13-May-2005 Ricardo has won a contract to provide automotive engineering research capabilities to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which could lead to the recruitment of up to 150 former MG Rover engineers and designers at Leamington Spa. 12-May-2005 Subaru UK is to create eight jobs at a new 28-acre car distribution centre being set up near the Port of Sheerness. 11-May-2005 Caffyns is to close its MG Rover car dealership in Seaford in May with the loss of 11 jobs, but its five other Sussex showrooms will remain open. 29-Apr-2005 SsangYong Cars UK is planning to double its dealer network by appointing 30 additional outlets, after Mitsui took a 20% stake in the business. 28-Apr-2005 CVC Capital Partners has started to auction the Kwik-Fit chain of 2,500 car repair centres, which is expected to fetch £800m. 27-Apr-2005 Hendy Group is planning to set up a car dealership on the former Manor Bakeries site in Eastleigh, Hampshire, by 2007. 26-Apr-2005 Stadco is to close its car parts factory in Halewood with the loss of 47 jobs, in order to transfer its work for Jaguar to its site in Shrewsbury. 26-Apr-2005 Soper BMW is seeking permission to build a new £2.5m car dealership in Lincoln, and hopes to relocate 50 staff from its existing site next March. 25-Apr-2005 Automotive Applied Technologies is to shed more than 100 jobs at its plastic car parts factory in Accrington. 21-Apr-2005 Triplex Components Machining is to shed 28 of the 200 jobs at its car parts factory in Peterborough. 20-Apr-2005 Honda Logistics is to relocate its Swindon-based parts distribution business to a new 350,000 sq ft warehouse on the South Marston industrial estate by September. 20-Apr-2005 Kia of South Korea is to set up a new £8m vehicle distribution centre near the Humber Sea Terminal at Killingholme, with the creation of up to 300 jobs, in order to relocate its current operation from Sheerness in Kent. 18-Apr-2005 Montupet is to shed up to 70 of the 865 jobs at its car parts factory in Dunmurry. 15-Apr-2005 Stadco is to shed 230 jobs at its Holbrooks automotive products factory in Coventry and 50 at Harlescott in Shrewsbury, due to the problems at MG Rover. 14-Apr-2005 WA Hills has won a £2m contract to build a car dealership for Mercedes-Benz in Chelmsford. 14-Apr-2005 Lexus is planning to expand its chain of car dealerships from 50 to 58 over the next few years. 11-Apr-2005 George White, the motorcycle retailer with six outlets, is planning to set up a new headquarters at the Elgin Industrial Estate in Swindon, with the creation of 15 jobs. 08-Apr-2005 Sumitomo is to shed 70 of the 113 jobs at its car parts factory at Chesterton in Newcastle-under-Lyme later this year, in order to transfer work to eastern Europe. 07-Apr-2005 Peugeot has unveiled plans for the £50m redevelopment of its 80-acre Stoke Aldermoor plant in Coventry, including new offices, housing, shops and restaurants. 06-Apr-2005 General Motors has secured a £1.9m government grant to fund the development of a new £15m press shop at its Vauxhall car factory in Ellesmere Port. 05-Apr-2005 Calsonic Kansei is to shed about 60 of the 1,000 jobs at its automotive components factory in Llanelli, and has warned that the site may close unless productivity improvements are made this year. 04-Apr-2005 Anglesey Council is considering plans for the £5m expansion of the Anglesey motor racing circuit, so that the track can host Formula 3 races. 01-Apr-2005 Mercedes-Benz is to relocate its Plymouth dealership from temporary premises to a new site in Derriford this June. 01-Apr-2005 PDR Construction has won a £2m contract to build a Toyota car dealership for Reeve Burrows in Doncaster. 31-Mar-2005 Toyota is planning to set up a £11m training centre at its main site in Derbyshire, in order to improve skill levels at its car factory. 31-Mar-2005 HR Owen is considering plans to put its car dealership business up for sale, having appointed Rothschild to conduct a strategic review. 29-Mar-2005 Williamson Motors is seeking a suitable site to set up a Peugeot car dealership in Hartlepool. 24-Mar-2005 Denso Marston is to shed 130 of the 1,000 jobs at its car parts factory in Bradford. 23-Mar-2005 Peugeot is to shed 850 of the 2,800 jobs at its car plant in Coventry, having decided to scrap one of its three production shifts. 22-Mar-2005 Autoliv is to close its automotive airbags factory in Havant by March 2006, with the loss of 520 jobs, in order to transfer production to Turkey and its other European plants. 18-Mar-2005 ThyssenKrupp Automotive Tallent Chassis is to invest £13m in the expansion of its car components factory in Newton Aycliffe over the next two years, with the creation of 120 jobs. 11-Mar-2005 John Clark Motor Group is to set up a new £1.5m Audi dealership in Aberdeen, with the creation of ten jobs. 11-Mar-2005 The Automotive Academy is to set up regional training centres in Swindon and Milton Keynes, in order to help improve productivity and skill levels in the motor industry. 11-Mar-2005 Jacksons Group is to invest £2m in the expansion of its Mercedes car dealership in Poole. 11-Mar-2005 Marshall Motor Group is to expand its Peterborough operation by opening Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo dealerships close to its existing site in Boongate by July. 08-Mar-2005 MG Rover is thought to be planning to shed up to a third of the 6,100 jobs at its Longbridge car factory and Birmingham headquarters, if its joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp receives approval from the Chinese government. 07-Mar-2005 TVR is to shed 90 jobs at its sports car manufacturing business in Blackpool. 01-Mar-2005 Elring Klinger is to shed 60 of the 200 jobs at its car components factory in Redcar in July, in order to transfer head gasket production to Germany. 25-Feb-2005 Ryland is planning to re-enter the contract hire market by setting up a nationwide operation offering specialist and luxury cars. 25-Feb-2005 CVC Capital is considering plans to sell the Kwik-Fit chain of car repair centres for up to £1bn. 21-Feb-2005 Storm of Leicester is to relocate its Lotus, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealership and 35 staff to Ravensbridge Drive next month. 21-Feb-2005 The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders is to move the British international motor show from Birmingham's NEC to the ExCel centre in London next year. 21-Feb-2005 Allenbuild has won a £2.5m contract from Audi to build a car showroom in Walton-on-Thames. 17-Feb-2005 Nova RentaCar Reservations is to close its car rental reservation call centre in County Down with the loss of eight jobs, in order to relocate the business to Co Kerry. 17-Feb-2005 BMW is to invest a further £100m at its Mini production plant in Oxford by 2007, with the creation of about 200 jobs. 17-Feb-2005 Donington Park, the Leicestershire-based motor racing circuit, is to undergo a £5m refurbishment this year, including new pits and paddock buildings. 16-Feb-2005 Budget Rent-A-Car is looking to expand its nationwide rental network with new sites in Scotland, Nottingham, Leicester and Portsmouth. 10-Feb-2005 Nationwide Autocentres, the chain of 220 car repair centres, has appointed KPMG to consider options for the sale or flotation of the £40m business. 07-Feb-2005 Nissan has confirmed plans to manufacture a new family car at its factory in Sunderland, which should create 200 new jobs and secure 1,000 existing jobs. 02-Feb-2005 Daihatsu is looking to open car dealerships in Edinburgh, Lancaster, Slough and west London this year, to add to the existing 126 sites. 31-Jan-2005 Ald Automotive is planning to add ten more outlets to its chain of 40 contract hire and leasing dealers. 28-Jan-2005 Chester City Council has appointed Barlows to redevelop the 7-acre Bumpers Lane site as a motor retail park with three car dealerships. 28-Jan-2005 Vanguard Rental has secured a financing arrangement worth more than £2.3bn to fund the expansion of its vehicle hire operations in the UK and Germany over the next three years. 27-Jan-2005 Adonis Construction has won a £3.2m contract to build the country's largest Porsche showroom in Hatfield. 26-Jan-2005 Sogefi Filtration is to close its automotive filters factory in Nottingham this year with the loss of up to 270 jobs, in order to transfer work to Wales, France and Italy. 21-Jan-2005 Ricardo is creating up to 20 new jobs at its car controls business in Cambridge, with the addition of new laboratory space and offices. 17-Jan-2005 Zytek has secured a £1m government grant to fund research into battery-powered cars. 17-Jan-2005 Futaba of Japan is in talks with Conder Developments about plans to set up a 225,000 sq ft automotive bodies factory at Dove Valley Park in south Derbyshire, with the creation of 200 jobs. 17-Jan-2005 Dales Central Motors of Cornwall has acquired Mitsubishi and Suzuki car franchises in Summercourt from Kessells. 14-Jan-2005 Northgate is planning to open 24 new van rental centres across the country over the next 15 months, taking the total to 100. 13-Jan-2005 Carter & Carter, the Peterborough-based car mechanic training firm with about 600 staff, is planning to raise about £20m in a flotation next month. 12-Jan-2005 Lear Corporation is to close its automotive interiors factory in Bicester in March, with the loss of 90 jobs, in order to transfer work to its site in Nottingham. 12-Jan-2005 Cobra Marche, the Welshpool-based manufacturer of automotive sound proofing and trim products, has gone into liquidation with the loss of 50 jobs. 11-Jan-2005 Stoneacre is to open a Suzuki car dealership alongside its Kia dealership in Middlesbrough with the creation of 20 jobs, to replace the former South Cleveland Garages site. 07-Jan-2005 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. Click here for further details Copyright UK Business Park 1995-2007