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£4.5m for Lichfield firm to build best electric car yet

A West Midland firm has been awarded £4.5 million by the Government to help produce the “world’s most efficient electric car”.Read

Land Rover sales soaring amid threat of factory axe

Land Rover is helping spearhead the UK’s fightback from the recession – after nearly doubling its sales in the 4x4 specialist’s best showroom performance for months.Read

Ernst & Young reports doubling of insolvencies among franchished car dealerships

Insolvencies among UK franchised car dealers have doubled this year, according to a report out today.Read

Toyota cuts loss forecast but fails to win over analysts

A surprise quarterly profit from Toyota – which also halved its annual loss forecast – failed to convince investors that the world’s biggest car-maker is back on track, as government subsidies peter out and a strong yen takes its toll.Read

Land Rover doubles October sales

Land Rover has doubled its UK October sales in just a year in the 4x4 specialist’s best showroom performance for months, it was revealed today.Read

Jaguar Land Rover must regain trust of workforce, says MP Richard Burden

Jaguar Land Rover has been urged to repair workforce trust “damaged” by its new plan to close a factory at Solihull or Castle Bromwich as a campaign to protect thousands of Midland jobs went to Westminster.Read

Toyota pulls out of Formula One

Toyota has confirmed it will be pulling out of Formula One immediately for financial reasons.Read

U-turn on Vauxhall sale welcomed

General Motors’ surprise last minute U-turn on the sale of its European Opel-Vauxhall operations was hailed as welcome news for hundreds of workers in the West Midlands.Read

MG Rover's Phoenix Four facing legal action to pay out £22m

The Government has offered to back legal action forcing former Rover directors to hand over up to £22 million to former employees and community projects.Read

Unions demand Government action over Jaguar Land Rover job threats

Unions have called a high level summit of MPs to an emergency meeting at the House of Commons to preserve thousands of West Midland jobs feared under threat at Jaguar Land Rover.Read

Birmingham’s Bristol Street Motors acquires Vauxhall outlet in Lichfield

Birmingham’s Bristol Street Motors car dealership group has added a Vauxhall outlet in Lichfield to its growing portfolio.Read

Tata Motors sales rise by 34 per cent

Jaguar Land Rover parent group Tata Motors showed it was recovering from the global automotive crisis with a 34 per cent growth in sales in October.Read

Automotive supply chain aid scheme gets under way

A £400,000 drive to help automotive supply chain companies is under way in the West Midlands.Read

Jaguar Land Rover chief executive David Smith to discuss plans to drive firm forward

Jaguar Land Rover chief executive David Smith will talk to business people about his plans to drive the firm forward at an event this month.Read

Van makers struggling to meet Brussels CO2 targets

Automotive industry leaders have called on the European Commission to make new emission levels for vans “more realistic”.Read

Honda triples profit forcasts

Profits more than halved at Japanese automotive giant Honda in the last quarter after car sales continued to fall during the global economic downturn.Read

Sales up for Tata as Indian buyers welcome Jaguars and Land Rovers

Indian carbuyers have given Jaguar and Land Rover an “encouraging response” since the two brands went on sale recently on the sub-continent, parent group Tata Motors said last night.Read

'Gloom will last beyond 2011' for European carmakers

European car manufacturers and their component suppliers are braced for a bumpy road to recovery, which could last until 2011 and beyond.Read

Land Rover teams up for latest Premiership Rugby news

Rugby stars Pat Sanderson (Worcester), Geordan Murphy (Leicester) and Tom Rees (Wasps) check out the Guinness Premiership iPhone application. Land Rover and Guinness have joined forces to bring iPhone users up-to-the-minute rugby news. The application, developed by the Solihull off-road specialist and Premier Rugby, will provide details about fixtures, scores and results in the Guinness Premiership. Players who have seen the application, called Guinness Premiership Rugby, say they are impressed. “This is exactly what Premiership supporters need,” said London Wasps captain and flanker Tom Rees. “It makes rugby accessible to all its followers, which is great for the game.” The application is free and can be downloaded at www.guinnesspremiership.com/iphoneapp.phpRead

Japanese carmakers to reduce reliance on the now-faltering US market

Japanese carmakers such as Honda and Nissan are looking to reduce their reliance on the US market, where weak demand and a falling dollar have slashed profits.Read

Coventry council leaders in key talks over job fears at automotive firms

Coventry council leaders have held meetings with black cab maker Manganese Bronze as fears grow over potential job losses.Read