Clive Goldthorp MG Motor UK Limited (MG UK) announced yesterday that the company will be participating in the Government’s new Car and Van Scrappage Scheme which starts on the 18th May, 2009. Customers who qualify for the Scrappage Scheme can expect a reduction of £2000 in the list price of a brand new MG TF [...]

Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post, 12th May, 2009 LDV staff began returning to work yesterday for the first time for months as hopes of a relaunch of production rose following the planned rescue by Far East group Weststar. A handful of support staff have been called back in on full pay to the Washwood Heath factory [...]

M V Ramsurya and Lijee Philip, BusinessWeek, 11th May, 2009 Faced with the tight prospect of meeting a $2-billion (about Rs 10,000-crore) bridge loan repayment by June, Tata Motors is currently exploring options, including an overseas bond issue, to partly repay the loan obligation as there is a reduced appetite for a local bond issue. [...]

The first Mini rolled off the production line at Cowley, now called Plant Oxford, fifty years ago today and, for the first time in half a century, one of the very cars is returning to its birthplace for a celebration of 50 years of production.  The Mini Minor, finished in Old English White and carrying [...]

Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post, 8th May, 2009 LDV bosses have set a target of less than a month to complete the Weststar take-over and save thousands of UK jobs. The vanmaker said the Malaysian group was “well advanced” on due diligence of LDV’s books, raising hopes an agreement could be struck within four weeks. The [...]

Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post, 8th May, 2009 Ministers have issued a blunt warning to Jaguar Land Rover owners Tata Motors to stop complaining about the terms of a deal to rescue the carmaker. Business Minister Ian Pearson said negotiations should be conducted professionally – and behind closed doors. Speaking in the House of Commons, he [...]

Alun Thorne, Head of Business, Birmingham Post, 7th May, 2009 Two Birmingham MPs with close links to the automotive industry have refused to blame the Government amid reports that talks over a rescue package for Jaguar Land Rover had broken down. Erdington MP Sion Simon (Lab), whose constituency includes JLR’s Castle Bromwich plant and Richard [...]

Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post, 7th May, 2009 Workers at van-maker LDV remain in the dark about their futures despite a last-minute £5 million loan from the Government. A court hearing originally expected to place the Washwood Heath firm into administration was adjourned for a week after the Judge was told Russian owners GAZ Group had agreed in principle [...]

Yang Jian, Automotive News China, 6th May, 2009 At this year’s Shanghai auto show a multitude of young carmakers – from the largest own-brand automaker Chery Automobile Co to the small player Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. - displayed their own-brand vehicles. Many were copycats of international brands. This is a shame because, for the most part, [...]

John Cranage, Birmingham Post, 6th May, 2009 Jaguar Land Rover is facing a fresh crisis amid accusations that the Government has turned its back on the luxury carmaker. Its Indian owner, Tata Motors, is understood to be refusing to accept tough conditions imposed by the Treasury on the loans it needs to stay on the [...]

Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Post, 6th May, 2009 Thousands of jobs have been saved after the Treasury stepped in to provide a last-minute £5 million loan for Birmingham van-maker LDV. The deal, announced only hours before a High Court was set to put the firm into administration, allows Malaysian firm Weststar to buy the business.   Gordon [...]

Clive Goldthorp  MG Motor UK Limited unveiled two new versions of the MG TF – the TF 135 and the TF 85th Anniversary limited edition – to the public at the Royal Windsor MG Heritage Festival last Saturday. However, MG UK also hosted a Dealer Conference near Windsor the day before the event and AROnline [...]

The town centre of Windsor was brought to a halt last Saturday when over 1000 MGs converged on Windsor Great Park to participate in the Royal Windsor MG Heritage Festival and celebrate the historic marque’s 85th anniversary. HRH Prince Philip reviewed a parade of some 220 cars which represented nearly every model manufactured by MG [...]

Being the Events Organiser for the Rover SD1 Owners Club, Sally Sheldon usually needs to transport boxes of club stuff, flags, gazebos, banners, scaffolding poles and all the other bits needed to set up a proper club-stand. Good call that the SD1 does not only look good, but offers a very practical, huge load space… [...]

Jaguar Land Rover has just confirmed that the two marques are to begin selling their range of premium performance saloon cars and sports utility vehicles in the Indian market later this year and has today reached agreement with Tata Motors Limited to be the exclusive importer. Jaguar Land Rover’s award-winning vehicles, including Jaguar’s XF and [...]