Industry News

The once-almighty car giant, General Motors has announced further job cuts in the UK.  According to the times "General Motors is to cut a further 154 administrative jobs from Vauxhall UK around the country on top of previously announced job cuts at its Luton plant."

The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has revealed that 11,546 vans were registered during January, totalling  219,450 registrations for the rolling 12 months.  Whilst this represents a fall against previous years, it would seem that the market has stabilised.

The demand for used vans is outstripping supply according to Glass.  The result, higher prices.  The vehicle information and price experts expects this trend to continue well into 2010, and predict that the scarcity of late-plates could prove problematic for van dealers up and down the country.

Following the sale of its assets to Eco Concept Limited, LDV may start van production again within the next 24 months.  The new LDV company will begin pre-production development of the new LDV Maxus van with van trials beginning within 18 months.

Whilst LDV is unlikely to be the force it once was in the van market, the new company will employee approximately 200 people.  In addition, the new venture will move to new premises, somewhere in the West Midlands, reinforcing the van marquee's commitment to British van production.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SSMT), new van sales still languish in the shadow of pre-recission figures and a full recovery is years away. 

Following months of negotiations and turmoil for those at the heart of LDV, PricewaterhouseCoopers has finally announced that the assets of van maker LDV have been sold to the Chinese owned company, Eco Concept Ltd.

According to Clive Griffiths, CEO of Eco Concept, the new LDV will become a manufacturer of specialist LCVs at low volumes.  Mr. Griffiths stated that “Vehicle trials should start within the next 18 months with projected sales rising to initially 2,000 units per year and employing in the order of 200 staff."

Private equity group, Ripplewood, today publicly confirmed their interest in buying GM Europe, the European arm of US car and van giant General Motors.  The euro-division of GM is on the market in response to the US parent company filing for bankruptcy in a bid to avoid complete collapse.  It includes the recognised brands of Opel and

General Motors, the name behind the likes of Vauxhall and Saab, will be reborn later today, merely 40 days after filing for bankruptcy in the United States.  The giant car and van maker rising from the ashes will be "a new concern that is majority-owned by the US government" (Guardian.co.uk, 10/7/09)

Car and cheap van making giant PSA Peugeot Citroën expects to post operating losses of between €1 billion (£855 million) and €2 billion this year as it continues to suffer falling car and van sales during the current economic recession.

Despite marketing and promotional spend, PSA Peugeot Citroën report that customers are buying fewer cars and vans.  However, PSA Peugeot Citroën expect the European car and van markets to decline less than previously feared and anticipated.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released figures last week showing that only 4,692 commercial vehicles (vans and lorries) were built in Britain last month; the lowest level ever recorded.  The production of vans and lorries has plunged by nearly 40% since April 2009 level and an amazing 73.5% since May 2008.  During the first five months of 2009, only 34,642 vans have been built.  This represents a fall in van production of some 65% from the same period last year.