News in brief - Wheels Within Wales

More job cuts may be made at Jaguar Land Rover, after the carmaker reported a £280 million 10-month loss, owner Tata Motors has warned.
Tata also said that further shutdowns were likely at Jaguar Land Rover's factories in Castle Bromwich, Coventry, Solihull and Halewood on Merseyside.
Jaguar Land Rover currently employs 14,500 people, having made 450 redundancies at the start of the year.
Sales of Jaguar and Land Rover cars fell 32% in the 10 months to March 31. The number of vehicles sold fell to 167,000 from 246,000 a year earlier, as worldwide demand fell sharply due to the recession.
Tata said that while Jaguar Land Rover sales slumped ‘considerably' last year, one highlight had been ‘a very strong consumer response' to the Jaguar XF model.
Jaguar Land Rover said the firm was continuing talks with the UK Government about the possibility of some form of financial assistance.

Staff at BMW's Mini plant in Oxford will resume work today after being sent home early last week after a strike involving French suppliers.
BMW said a French firm which provides bearings for the cars' steering units is being hit by an industrial dispute. Close to 4,000 workers are employed at Mini's Cowley.

The four year inquiry into the collapse of MG Rover has finally been published after nearly £16m of taxpayers' money went on its research.
The business department confirmed Friday night that it had received the findings of the investigation into the demise of the carmaker and it is in the hands of Lord Mandelson, business secretary. The plans for its release have not been revealed.

Six-year-old company cars are likely to become the norm, according to the latest research seen exclusively by Fleet News.
The vast majority of fleet managers who buy their vehicles already keep them for at least four years with many now planning to extend their working lives past five years. Over 92% of diesel car fleets now run their cars for at least four years, with 54% running them for five years or more. For petrol fleets, the numbers are similar - 91% for four years or more and 51% for fives year or longer. Just 4% replace them after the typical three-year lifecycle, making the average working life of a company car now 4.6 years. In 2005, just 3.4% of fleets surveyed by Sewells for its ‘2009 Fleet Operator Attitude Survey' kept their vehicles for five years or more, this dropped to 1.4% in 2006, before rising sharply to 10% in 2007 and on to over 50% last year.

Peugeot plans to cut its 266-strong network, with around 26 dealers being given notice of termination.
Rod Philpott, director of network development, said Peugeot was looking to have 250 UK sites and with new dealerships and terminations, it would balance out to around that number. He added that it was impossible to pinpoint why dealers have been terminated.
"It could be they didn't sell enough cars, or they weren't good with customers or property issues. It's not fair to generalise," commented Mr Philpott.

A police force faces paying back £20 million in speeding fines after a blunder meant tickets were issued illegally.
Hundreds of thousands of drivers could receive refunds and have points taken off their licences as a result. They may even be entitled to compensation if penalty points cost their their job or if they took time off work to attend speed awareness courses.
The error involves part of the 1988 Road Traffic Offenders Act that says any civilian worker sending out penalty letters must have signed legal authority from the chief constable.
It has now emerged that an employee at Essex Police's envorcement office may never have received authoirisation from chief constable Roger Baker.
The mistake dates back four years, so could affect up to 300,000 motorists who have paid fines totalling around £20m

Could compressed natural gas be the next big thing in the battle to make commercial vehicles more environmentally-friendly?
Iveco and Mercedes-Benz certainly think so, as both manufacturers are launching CNG versions of the Daily and Sprinter this summer. As there is currently no infrastructure for refilling such vans at present, fleets buying them will be depot-based but both manufacturers offer to set up bunkering and refilling facilities for potential customers.

A study into the rise in the light commercial vehicle sector has been announced by the Commission for Integrated Transport (CfIT).
CfIT, which provides the Government with advice on policy issues, wants to explore the increase in van use over recent years, the impact of this increase on congestion and the environment and related issues such as safety. Van traffic has risen by some 40% during the last decade and there are now over three million registered LCVs.

About 5.5 million car commuters could save themselves money by switching to two wheels, according to the Motorcycle Industry Association survey for National Motorcycle Week 2009.
The survey demonstrates that riding a motorcycle is one of the most cost-effective ways to travel, which could help millions of commuters slash their weekly budgets, and employers would also benefit as staff would waste less time stuck in traffic and are less likely to be late for week. One quarter of bikers (24%) in the survey who rode their bike to work said they chose to commute on two wheels because it was cheaper. Only 2 per cent of motorists said that their car was the cheapest means of getting to work .