October has seen UK car production strengthen, with output now passing the one million mark for the year. Car sales in September were also at their highest level for five years.
According to Polk, car giant General Motors has reported quarterly results exceeding forecasters’ expectations – thanks to strong trading in North America and reducing their loss in Europe. Chairman and chief executive Dan Akerson said: “We made gains in the third quarter as we improved our North American margins and increased our global share on the strength of our Chevrolet brand.”
The Volvo Group has cut 2000 jobs after a fall in profits. The largest private employer in Sweden has been hit by the recession and a reduction in the demand for commercial vehicles. However, the company plans to launch a new range in 2014.
A Ferrari 250 GTO has become the most expensive car ever, selling for $52 million. Meanwhile, a crashed Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 sold for $250,000 (£156,000) at the FIAC art fair in Paris.
In the UK, the Ford Focus was named the top-selling car of the first half of 2013, while the Ford Fiesta was the 4th best selling vehicle. “Fiesta and Focus just keep getting better,” said Jim Farley, Ford executive vice president, global marketing, sales and service. “This is Ford’s ‘One Ford’ global strategy at its best: great-looking vehicles with leading fuel economy, leading quality, technology and fun-to-drive personalities.”
The supermarket fuel wars are still grabbing headlines, with Asda cutting prices to 5p less than the national average, Sainsbury’s cutting its fuel prices by 3p, and Tesco dropping prices by 2p per litre.
The Scottish Car of the Year Awards took place in October, and saw the Volkswagen Golf take the proverbial crown. Renault took home three prizes and Ford won two, so they had pretty good nights as well.
Arnold Clark held a Preview Launch Event for the brand new BMW i3 at the Glasgow Science Centre, as our Harry Fairbairn BMW dealership in Giffnock will be one of the only dealerships in Scotland licensed to sell this groundbreaking electric car.
And finally... It was Halloween and of course the clocks went back – prompting a debate about the safety issues for drivers of commutes in darkness.
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