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News in brief
publication date: Jul 2, 2009
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author/source: Robin Roberts
Ford confirmed it has decided to single source European production of its all-new Ford Focus, which will be launched in 2010, from its Saarlouis Plant in Germany. The next-generation Ford C-MAX, which goes into production in 2010, will be single sourced from Ford's plant in Valencia, Spain for all European markets and potentially for markets outside Europe. "We announced last March that Saarlouis would be the lead plant for the next-generation Ford Focus - just as it is for the current Ford Focus - but also we said we were looking at a possible opportunity for a second production plant for a derivative of the vehicle," said John Fleming, Ford of Europe Chairman and CEO. Workers at Jaguar Land Rover have been asked to have their salaries delayed to help the firm's cashflow. The carmaker wants to push payments from the usual pay day on the fifteenth of the month, to the end of the month, the Works Management publication said. Staff who accepted the revised salary date will get a one-off £200 payment. Both General Motors and Ford have suspended production in Russia as the recession continues to take its toll on the car industry. Following a sharp fall in demand from Russian consumers GM will halt work at its brand new plant outside St. Petersburg until the end of August, but no job cuts will be made. Chris Gubbey, GM Russia's president, said, "Having carefully studied the state of the Russian car market and the extent of reduction in the demand from the creditworthy population, we have decided not to force a production increase at our Russian plant this year." Meanwhile, US car giant Ford will also stop work at its St. Petersburg plant, but only until July 13. The Government is giving £30 million for low emission new generation "green" buses. The fund is part of the Department for Transport's wider strategy to encourage a radical shift to low carbon transport and improve air quality in our cities. Bus operators and councils will be able to bid for the money which they can then use towards the additional upfront cost of buying low carbon buses. Suzuki GB says its 0% APR finance offers available on Swift, Splash, SX4 and Grand Vitara models will be continuing until the end of September 2009 meaning customers can benefit from the scorching deals available. Suzuki has seen early success with the scrappage scheme and the continuation of the summer offers looks set to see this continue with over 3,500 orders taken to date and more than 1,500 already delivered to customers. The government body responsible for the MOT Scheme in Great Britain, the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency, has backed the new Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair, designed to raise the reputation of the motor industry. "The 19,600 garages authorised to issue MOT certificates have already demonstrated their competence in order to fulfil VOSA's own accreditation process but through subscribing to schemes such as the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair, they can also demonstrate their commitment to customer service," said VOSA chief operating officer, Alex Fiddes. Former Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen is to compete in the World Rally Championship in his native Finland at the end of the July. Ferrari's Raikkonen has appeared in three non-championship rallies this season and will be behind the wheel of a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto. His co-driver, Kaj Lindstrom, said: "The roads used for this rally are so fast but he's very talented." |
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