On 17 May 2006, following several months of speculation, Vauxhall announced that the night shift at its Ellesmere Port car factory is to be axed. As a result, around 900 jobs will go from the end of this summer. Chair of Vauxhall, Jon Browning, stated that the company aims to achieve the job cuts
On 22 July 2005, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced the sale of the assets of both the MG Rover Group and its engine producer, Powertrain, to the Nanjing Automobile Corporation (NAC) for the sum of GBP 53 million. The sale by the administrators concluded a three-month process following the
On 8 April 2005, MG Rover, the UK’s last volume car manufacturer, and Powertrain, the engines business, went into administration following months of speculation over a proposed deal with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) (UK0502104F [1]). PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PcW) was appointed
The number of cars produced in the UK for export reached record levels in 2004. However, a fall of 9.1% in the number built for the home market meant that car production was lower than the 2003 total. The Office for National Statistics reported that 1,179,753 cars were made for export in 2004, 3.1%
Despite strong output figures, the UK automotive sector faces increased competitive pressures and the prospect of continued restructuring (UK0012104F [1] and UK0205104F [2]). With 60% of the UK’s total automotive production going for export in 2003, the UK’s continued absence from the 'euro-zone'
The announcement on 12 December 2000 by General Motors, the USA-based parent company of Vauxhall Motors, that it is to shut its Luton plant dealt another blow to an already beleaguered UK car industry. BMW's shock break-up of the troubled Rover Group started the ball rolling in March (UK0004164F [1]
On 9 May, the immediate future of the Longbridge car plant was secured when the Phoenix consortium bought Rover from the German-based BMW for GBP 10. The final 12 days leading up to the signing of the deal had been fraught with uncertainty after venture capitalists Alchemy Partners withdrew suddenly
On 16 March 2000, BMW Group AG made the surprise announcement that it was to sell the Longbridge car plant and that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK-based venture capitalists Alchemy Partners over the sale. The following day BMW confirmed that it had also signed a memorandum