The Fiesta sold 68,630 units in Europe last month, a 25.8 per cent increase from March 2009 and almost 11,800 units ahead of its nearest rival  (JATO Dynamics figures)

Fiesta sales in March were the highest for any Ford model on record in a single month in Europe

Sales of the Fiesta in the first quarter totaled 140,496 units – over 5,400 units more than the VW Golf (JATO Dynamics figures)

Since the latest-generation Ford Fiesta went on sale 18 months ago, over 750,000 have been sold globally (Ford figure)

JATO Dynamics confirms Ford to be best-selling brand in Europe in March

Jaguar Mille Miglia Entry

Jaguar is continuing the celebration of its 75^th anniversary with a strong entry at the 2010 Mille Miglia revival event.  The company is represented by a total of 27 vehicles from around the world, including an impressive ‘works team’ of classic XK120, C-type and D-type models supported by Jaguar Cars and the Jaguar Heritage Trust.

Jaguar’s strong representation at the 2010 Mille Miglia builds on a long connection with the race.  Back in 1950, the company fielded a four-strong team of XK120s, and a young Stirling Moss took the wheel of a works car the following year.

“The Mille Miglia is one of the world’s premier driving events, and one where Jaguar has always felt very much at home,” said Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars, who will be piloting one of the famous C-type racers in this year’s competition.

“Our association stretches back to the 1950s, when XK120 and XK140s were a regular sight and C-types and even a D-type also competed.  This year I am proud to see another very strong contingent of classic Jaguars.” he added.

The 2010 Mille Miglia takes place over a 1000-mile course starting from Brescia in northern Italy, mirroring the classic event which became synonymous with legendary displays of driving skill and bravery between 1927 and 1957.

The current retrospective format offers an ideal opportunity to showcase some of Jaguar’s most famous vehicles where they really belong: competing with other classic sports cars on the open road.  This year’s full representation also provides a fitting way to celebrate an important milestone for the marque. Furthermore, Jaguar is proud to be a joint sponsor of the Mille Miglia 2010 with heritage vehicle displays along the route.

“2010 marks the 75th anniversary of the Jaguar name, and 75 years of looking forward, designing and building cars that represent the very best of technical innovation, design leadership and sporting success,” explained O’Driscoll.

“Since our earliest days, we have been inspired to design and develop beautiful fast cars; cars that stand out and stand apart.  I can think of nowhere better to continue our 75 year celebrations than at the legendary Mille Miglia, and I look forward to experiencing the unrivalled glamour, passion and motoring heritage that the event is certain to offer all competitors and spectators again this year.”

Famous Jaguars Competing in the 2010 Event

Among the six vehicles entered as the Jaguar Cars ‘works team’ are three particularly noteworthy historic cars from the Jaguar Heritage collection:

1950 JAGUAR XK120 OPEN TWO-SEATER (Registration NUB 120)

NUB 120 was by far the most successful of the competition XK120s which, more than any other model, was the car that established Jaguar’s motor sport credentials.  The vehicle was privately owned and campaigned by Ian Appleyard, with his wife Patricia (Sir William Lyons’ daughter) acting as navigator.  After narrowly coming second in the first event he entered, the 1950 Tulip Rally in Holland, Appleyard then strung together an impressive run of victories including the Alpine Rally in 1950 and 1951, the 1951 RAC Rally, and the 1951 Tulip Rally.  Despite failing to win the Alpine Rally outright in 1952, the third consecutive run without incurring a single penalty point earned the first ever Gold Cup for the car!

1953 JAGUAR C-TYPE (Registration NDU 289)

With its handsome wind-cheating aluminium body, the C-type brought Jaguar its first victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1951.  Two years later, the three factory cars finished first, second and fourth, with the winning vehicle driven by Rolt and Hamilton being the first ever to average over 100mph.  One of 43 C-types sold to private owners, NDU 289 was a production car built in 1953.  It competed in the 1953 Mille Miglia driven by its owner, the Italian driver Tadini, but retired during the race.

1956 JAGUAR D-TYPE ‘LONG NOSE’ (Registration 393 RW)

This vehicle was the penultimate D-type produced by Jaguar, built in March 1956 for the works racing team.  That year, it won the Reims 12-hour race, driven by Duncan Hamilton and Ivor Bueb, before encountering technical problems during the 24-hour race at Le Mans, where it ultimately finished sixth (behind the winners Flockhart and Sanderson in another D-type entered by Ecurie Ecosse).  Although Jaguar withdrew from racing later that year, the vehicle lived on in America with the Cunningham/Momo team, and finished third in the 12-hour race at Sebring in 1957.  This vehicle remains one of the most original D-types in preservation, and still has the 1956 Le Mans windscreen, passenger seat and door, and even sports the original trade plate registration 393 RW.

The 1940 Mille Miglia was the climax of a journey that had begun with the design and presentation of the BMW 328. The BMW 328 was not only one of the most beautiful sports cars of the prewar era, it was also the most successful sports car on the race tracks of Europe in the 1930s. A combination of outstanding roadholding and impressive engine power made it an object of desire for many racing drivers and offered private customers a taste of what undiluted roadster driving was all about.

A car for the friends of the company

A small brochure circulated among a select group of people in late 1935 revealed the existence of a new 2-litre sports car to be known as the “Typ 328”. The description of the car was deliberately low-key and avoided giving any performance or speed figures. The brochure was intended purely as an appetiser for “friends of the company”; there was no announcement in the press.

Journalists were left open-mouthed when they set eyes on the car for the first time in the Nürburgring paddock on 13 June 1936. There, Ernst Henne was preparing to race the 328 in the International Eifel Race the following day. The motorcycle world record holder roared away from his rivals off the start line and soon left the rest of the field trailing in his wake with a phenomenal average speed of 101.5 km/h. This show of strength from the 328 had commentators purring about the future of the German sports car. However, few could have guessed that they were witnessing the dawn of a new era.

Few observers are likely to have fully grasped what was unfolding in front of them that day. In an earlier press release BMW had itself downplayed the new model as a “2-litre sports car with a slightly more streamlined body”, lulling some journalists – who referred only to its “2-litre V engine with twin camshafts” – into a misplaced sense of the ordinary. The understated approach might well have been a tactic on BMW’s part to avoid raising hopes too high, too quickly; after all, by that point only three prototypes had been built.

The wins keep coming

The second victory for the 328 arrived in August, with British BMW importer H.J. Aldington sweeping all before him in the Schleißheimer Dreiecksrennen race. Aldington then persuaded the powers-that-be at BMW to give the car another run outside Germany. The three prototypes duly made their way to Ireland for the Tourist Trophy sporting green Frazer-Nash-BMW livery – and cantered to a 1-2-3. The 328 had got the ball rolling and several more victories followed over the ensuing months. However, it was still the three pre-production cars taking it in turns to rack up the wins, with various drivers at the wheel.

Private customers were forced to play the waiting game, as production was slow to get off the ground; the first cars were not delivered to customers until late April 1937. And so it was exactly a year since Henne’s debut outing before the first private owner of a BMW 328 had the chance to test his new purchase in race action.

At the 1937 Eifel Race it was left to the nine BMW 328 racers on the grid to fight it out for victory. Over the years that followed only a handful of cowed attempts were made by other cars to take on the hot-heeled BMWs. These intrepid lone rangers were doomed to failure as the BMW 328 quickly took Germany’s race tracks by storm.

Reports of victories continued to rain into Munich from every corner of Europe. And it wasn’t only class wins that the car was amassing so effortlessly, as much more powerfully-engined cars also succumbed to its irresistible will. The small 2-litre sports car was building a handsome collection of overall victories over once superior rivals.

1. 2. Dress rehearsal – the 1938 Mille Miglia

1937 had been a hugely successful year for BMW and its new sports car. The BMW 328 had run out of rivals in the 2-litre class in Germany, and it had also put itself on the radar of sports car drivers in other countries with a string of successes abroad, mostly with Ernst Henne at the wheel. Now BMW needed the big international breakthrough, a triumph on foreign soil that would make headlines far and wide.

While central Europe remained firmly in winter’s grip, south of the Alps the motor sports community was priming itself for a race which had, over many years, become one of the most famous on the calendar: the Mille Miglia. On 3 April 1938 this legendary road race, starting for the 12th time from Brescia and leading through half of Italy, would send a whole nation into an unimaginable frenzy of enthusiasm. Preparations had been under way for months already, garages humming to the sound of racing cars flexing their muscles. At the Munich racing department, too, the engineers were hard at work, readying a brace of works cars for action.

The race organisers had revised the class boundaries for the 1938 event. The national sports car class was joined by categories for international sports cars with and without a supercharger. Of the 155 drivers entered for the race, 119 lined up in the national class, highlighting the Mille Miglia’s status as first and foremost an Italian national event. The smallest class in which international drivers could compete was therefore the 2-litre sports car class.

In 1938 the organisers set out to encourage more foreign, i.e. German, drivers to take part. However, only four drivers responded to the appeal, all entering BMW 328 racers. The NSKK (National Socialist Motoring Corps) registered Prince Max zu Schaumburg-Lippe as its driver and – as a manifestation of the German-Italian friendship – the experienced Mille Miglia campaigner Count Giovanni Lurani as co-driver. BMW sent two works cars to the race, one manned by privateer drivers Uli Richter and Dr Fritz Werneck, the other piloted by Britain’s A.F.P. Fane with William James alongside as his mechanic and navigator.

These three cars made up a team managed by Ernst Loof, head of the BMW racing department, and they were joined by the privately-entered driver/mechanic pairing of Heinrich Graf von der Mühle-Eckart and Theodor Holzschuh, an employee at the BMW sports car repairs department. Also on the start list were a Fiat, a Riley and an Aston Martin.

Top of the class

The weather for the race could hardly have been more perfect. Brescia had been basking in spring warmth for several days already, and only at the start of the race was there a slight chill in the air.

The centre of Brescia was alive with anticipation over the night from 2–3 April. Thousands of excited onlookers had gathered at the start and lined the roads leading into the city to witness the unfolding of this extraordinary event. At 2.00 a.m. the first cars in the smallest-capacity section of the national class were waved on their way. The cars started at 30-second or one-minute intervals, according to the class. The long list of entrants meant that the first test for the drivers of the larger cars was one of patience. At least they could relax in the knowledge that they would be driving in daylight, although that also meant they would have a lot of overtaking to do.

By contrast, darkness had yet to yield when the cars in the 2-litre class were called to the starting line. Prince Schaumburg was the first to set off into the Italian night, on the stroke of 4.30 a.m., followed by Uli Richter, the three non-BMW cars, Fane and von der Mühle-Eckart. The BMW racers wasted no time in setting a withering pace, showing enviable confidence in the durability of their beautifully prepared race engines. By the time they reached Rome they had already seen off the challenge of two of the other manufacturers in their category, and the third was forced to retire shortly afterwards. But the BMWs were not about to slow down to celebrate. Quite the opposite, in fact. With their class rivals out of the picture, they were free to launch an attack on the more powerful cars. The Germans were driving with clockwork precision, and only a few minutes separated them at any one time.

The fastest drivers arrived back in Brescia in the late afternoon. Less than 12 hours after crossing the start line, the powerful supercharged Alfa Romeos, the Delahayes and the Talbots were back at base, as expected. The big surprise, though, was still to come; Fane steered his BMW 328 to eighth place in the overall classification, winning the 2-litre class and leaving a considerable number of supercharged cars in his wake in the process. Fane’s fellow-BMW 328s followed him home in 10th, 11th and 12th overall, securing 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in their class and rounding off a spectacular race for BMW. Added to which, they also won the team prize for consistency and the award for the best foreign entrant.

BMW’s pride in claiming the biggest win in the company’s history was obvious. The 328 had proved that it was capable of sustaining incredibly high speeds over long distances without complaint. The car’s combination of impressive output and flawless roadholding had shown that it was possible to defeat the challenge of far more powerful rivals. For BMW this success represented the international breakthrough in European motor sport.

1. 3. Streamlined design to boost efficiency – the BMW racing saloons

In the 1930s the regulations governing motor sport in Germany decreed that a racing sports car had to be open-topped. The BMW 328 was a roadster in the classical mould, but there were also a few hard-top examples of the 328 in circulation, and for a short while two of these found themselves very much in the public glare.

Since its maiden outing in the 1936 Eifel Race, the BMW 328 had quickly established an iron grip over Europe’s race tracks. For the engineers in Munich, however, this was no reason to rest on their laurels. Instead, they were working flat out on increasing the car’s original output of 80 hp. Rival manufacturers had already boosted their engines to something close to 110 hp, but a significant rise from that level was not expected. There was certainly little scope to further reduce the weight of what was hardly a heavy car in standard production form. The only way to increase its speed was to reduce drag. The curvaceous form of the 328, with its prominent front wings, may have been a masterstroke of engineering and design, but it was less than ideal aerodynamically. The BMW engineers were therefore charged with designing a totally new body based on the latest knowledge from aerodynamics research.

Closed beats open

Tests had shown that an enclosed saloon, despite its larger cross-sectional area, could outperform an open sports car using airflow optimisation measures. Convincing performances in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1937 and 1938 allowed the Frankfurt-based firm Adler, who introduced the first “racing saloons” to competitive action, to demonstrate clearly how streamlined bodies could balance out a deficit in engine power.

BMW had been investigating this area of car development at the same time, but it was Professor Wunibald Kamm, head of the Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart (FKFS), who conducted the first wind tunnel tests with BMW models.

The BMW engineers were now working under considerable pressure. As a celebration of the Berlin-Rome Axis, the German and Italian racing authorities had decided to organise a high-speed race in October 1938 on the newly built motorways between the two capitals of fascism. For BMW and the other manufacturers involved, this meant developing a high-performance sports car in double-quick time, one which could not only hold its own in race competition, but also had a realistic chance of overall victory.

High speed, low stability

Rudolf Flemming, who had played a major role in the design of the 328, was instructed to make the car with a closed roof in order to use all the benefits of streamlined design. However, this ruled it out of sports car races in Germany as closed cars were not permitted. Guided squarely by the principles of lightweight design, Flemming designed an intricate space frame for the 328 chassis and covered it in a thin aluminium skin.

However, the car known internally as Project AM 1007 was far from convincing. The Eisenach-built body fell short of the mark in terms of workmanship, and the car’s handling left a great deal to be desired. While the car achieved previously undreamt-of speeds on test runs, it was so unstable that it needed the full width of the motorway to do so. A huge amount of development work was still required to turn this into a racing car worthy of the name.

The efforts of BMW to get a fast car up and running had not gone unnoticed outside the company. Back in the spring of 1938 the NSKK had founded its own racing operation, a self-styled German national team for sports car racing. Its aim was to fly the German flag at events abroad with its own trio of BMW 328 racing cars. The BMW factory had a contractual obligation to keep the NSKK cars up to the latest stage of development, but its new racing saloon represented a potential rival to the NSKK team – one that had to be taken seriously. Under no circumstances could a works driver be allowed to jeopardise the victory the NSKK team had set its sights on. However, when Prince Max zu Schaumburg-Lippe, the team’s leading driver, demanded he also be given a racing saloon, BMW responded that they had no spare capacity to built one.

The Touring Coupé

Schaumburg-Lippe was therefore left with no other option than to shop around among his allies. The Mille Miglia had offered clear evidence that smaller-engined cars could achieve extremely high speeds through the use of lightweight, streamlined bodies. Now, a year later, Germany’s good relations with Italy helped to prompt an offer from Carrozzeria Touring to produce a streamlined body. The Milan-based coachbuilder was already working on a similar project for Alfa Romeo and could call on previous experience for the job, having built a body of the same type a year previously. This streamlined construction in patented superleggera form could be adapted to the standard 328 chassis with no great trouble, and the Italian craftsmen came up with the finished article in just four weeks.

With no wind tunnel testing available at Touring, the engineers successfully relied on instincts and empirical methods to give the car the right form. The Coupé weighed in at just 780 kg and looked resplendent in German racing white, but it was far more than just a pretty face. Test runs had shown that it was capable of exceeding the 200 km/h mark – and holding a relatively straight line in the process. The Touring Coupé lined up for its debut race at Le Mans on 17 June 1939 with Prince Schaumburg and BMW engineer Hans Wencher entrusted with the driving duties. After 24 hours and 3,188 kilometres, the pairing emerged triumphant in the 2-litre class with a sensational average speed of 132.8 km/h. They even managed an outstanding fifth position in the overall classification, getting the better of much larger-engined cars along the way.

The Kamm Coupé

The success of the “Cinderella” Touring Coupé was greeted with mixed feelings at BMW. However, the engineers at the development department had not been idle themselves. Extensive wind tunnel testing had revealed that the Project AM 1007 streamlined body did not fit the chassis. The newly formed “Künstlerische Gestaltung” design department headed by Wilhelm Meyerhuber was therefore asked to draw up a new streamlined body under project number AM 1008.

In order to improve the car’s straightline stability, the chassis was extended by 20 centimetres. The newly developed space frame, made from Elektron, weighed just 30 kilograms. Taken as a whole with the aluminium outer skin, this meant BMW now also had a “superlight” body in its arsenal.

The Kamm Coupé was significantly larger than the comparable Touring variant, but a rigorous adherence to lightweight design principles meant it was also 20 kilos lighter. It took several months to put the car together due to restricted capacity in the prototype construction department. But, in contrast to their Italian counterparts, BMW engineers were able to put their works racing saloon through extensive testing. In late summer 1939 the car was given a thorough examination on the Munich to Salzburg autobahn and further improvements were made to a host of details.

The investment of time and effort was to pay dividends. The Kamm Coupé had much better directional stability and proved to be far less sensitive to side winds. A Cd of approximately 0.25 (measured using a model) was well below the Touring Coupé’s figure of approx. 0.35. The works car also set a new benchmark in terms of speed, hitting a maximum 230 km/h. However, with the outbreak of war nobody knew whether it would ever get the chance to show off its talents.

The Roadster

There were also advances in streamlined design to report in open car construction. The design team headed by Wilhelm Meyerhuber tabled designs for a streamlined Roadster whose sweeping body created the impression of dynamic performance and speed even before a wheel was turned. Models were also made of the Roadster and subjected to intensive testing in the Stuttgart wind tunnel. Then, in autumn 1939, a space frame was fixed to the standard chassis of the previous year’s Mille Miglia class winner and covered with a thin aluminium skin. The prominent edging of its front wings soon earned the car its nickname: the “Trouser Crease” Roadster.

The next step was to optimise the car’s chassis tuning. To this end, Munich-based racing driver Uli Richter was handed the task of taking the finished car out in the icy cold for a series of high-speed runs along the autobahns outside Munich. However, the streamlined roadster required only minimal improvements. Another two space frames had already been mounted to the requisite chassis, but the clock was starting to tick. The body department in Munich was understaffed for the job in hand, as BMW only built cars in Eisenach at the time, and there were fears that the two racers would not be ready to meet the spring deadline. If ever there was a time to tap into those good relations with Milan again, this was it. The two half-finished racing cars were duly transported over to Touring, and the experienced Italian coachbuilder had no problem in finishing off the cars in a short space of time. Willy Huber, the racing department’s very own master of all trades and a gifted metalworker, travelled with the cars to Milan and was on hand to advise his Italian colleagues when it came to working with the aluminium sheeting.

1. 4. BMW reaches its zenith – the 1940 Mille Miglia

Spring 1940. In Italy all attentions are focused on bringing the Mille Miglia back to life. The legendary race had last been run over the historic course in 1938. However, after a rash of accidents it had been temporarily suspended. Now, two years later, the Mille Miglia was back in business, but the original route had been dropped in favour of a 167 km triangular course between Brescia, Cremona and Mantua. The drivers would complete nine laps of the new circuit, a move warmly welcomed by the watching pubic, who only saw the cars fly by once when the race followed its original route.

The new route was not as spectacular, though. It followed well-surfaced roads through flat countryside and included a lot of long straight sections which were expected to lead to high average speeds. In a nod to tradition, the race was once again billed the 1st Gran Premio Brescia delle Mille Miglia.

Planning for the German entry got under way with military precision in March 1940. BMW racing boss Ernst Loof travelled to Italy with a group of drivers, the two Coupés and a single Roadster to familiarise themselves with the route, work out a race strategy and organise the building of their garage. Working according to average fuel consumption of 20 litres per 100 km, the course was split into three 500 km sections. On this basis, the ideal location for a garage turned out to be Castiglione, some 25 km outside Brescia. This would be the topping-up point for fuel and oil, and Loof could take the opportunity to pass on any necessary instructions to his drivers here.

Silver, red and blue

In the final three days before the race the drivers gathered with their cars for technical inspection at the Piazza della Vittoria in the centre of Brescia. Among them were the five German BMWs with their silver paintwork. The starting field was dominated in traditional fashion by the red cars of the local contenders. 70 Italian driver teams would line up for the race in FIATs, Lancias and Alfa Romeos. They would be joined by two blue cars from French manufacturer Delage, also with Italian drivers at the wheel.

The members of the NSKK team were entered to drive the three streamlined Roadsters, having represented Germany with great success in races abroad over the previous two years. Car number 71, the first streamlined Roadster, was piloted by Hans Wencher and Rudolf Scholz, the two other Roadsters – car numbers 72 and 74 – were crewed by Willi Briem/Uli Richter and Adolph Brudes/Ralph Roese respectively. The three teams were under instructions not to push too hard, but to maintain a good speed and look after their machinery. Although the aim was to finish as high up the standings as possible, the main priority was to complete the race and win the team prize.

The two Coupés, meanwhile, were entered by the ONS (the highest-ranking national sports authority in Germany at the time). Fritz Huschke von Hanstein and Walter Bäumer would drive the Touring Coupé, while two outstanding Italian drivers – Count Giovanni Lurani Cernuschi and Franco Cortese – had been recruited to pilot the works Kamm Coupé. While the target for these two Coupés was overall victory, tradition suggested that the Alfa Romeo team was a far more likely winner. BMW’s Italian driver pairing were certainly in with a chance, though, the Kamm Coupé having displayed superior handling in testing and reached much higher speeds than the Touring Coupé.

Set out as you mean to go on

28 April, 4.00 a.m. The cars are sent on their way at one-minute intervals. Von Hanstein/Bäumer – in the first BMW – entered the fray at 6.40 a.m., followed by their team-mates and the Italian drivers in the largest-capacity class. The youngster von Hanstein set out his stall from the off, covering the first lap at a speed nobody present had thought possible. Already, the gap between the BMW driver and his closest pursuer in a Delage was one and a half minutes. Lurani/Cortese, meanwhile, were lying third in the second BMW Coupé, followed by one of the highly fancied Alfa Romeos. The three Roadsters were biding their time in seventh, eighth and ninth positions.

On the second lap the two BMW Coupés led the way, with the Italians locked in a battle with the charging streamlined Roadsters. However, the Kamm Coupé could not keep up such a breakneck pace for long. It was hit by problems first with the carburettor, then with the oil supply, and on lap 7 the hugely disappointed driver pairing were forced to retire from the race.

The Touring Coupé, meanwhile, was continuing to reel off the fast laps undeterred. Indeed, von Hanstein set the fastest time ever recorded in a sports car race with an average speed of 174 km/h. However, there was the odd difference of opinion between von Hanstein and his co-driver Bäumer, as the ambitious baron was determined to win the race and ignored the pre-arranged driver changeover. In the end, Bäumer had to be persuaded to settle for the role of co-driver in order to make sure of the win. The Coupé was gradually building up an unassailable advantage over the chasing pack, though, and the two men finally swapped seats a few kilometres from the finish. In the end, it was Walter Bäumer who had the privilege of driving the Touring Coupé across the line to claim overall victory.

Munich celebrates

Unsurprisingly, celebrations were decidedly muted among the Italian crowd. Instead, the packed stands were immersed in a collective sense of bewilderment. What had happened to the red cars? Over 15 minutes passed before the Alfa Romeo of Farina/Mambelli came home in second place, followed by Brudes/Roese in third, Biondetti/Stefani in fourth, Briem/Richter in fifth and Wencher/Scholz in sixth place. BMW had topped both the team and overall standings, and great shows of excitement awaited the crew on their return to Munich. Odeonsplatz and the Residenz (Royal Palace) provided an impressive setting in which to display the winning car to the people of Munich.

“The UK motor industry has managed to sustain vital industrial capability through the recession and is now looking to exploit a strengthening economic recovery,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.  “The UK has a great opportunity to strengthen its automotive supply base and capitalise on the transition to ultra-low carbon vehicle technologies.  The next government must commit to continuing the work of the Automotive Council and actively support measures to improve skills, encourage more investment in R&D and re-build business and consumer confidence.”

Directing its manifesto at the next government, SMMT outlines the key issues that will affect the UK motor industry in the near future and advises on policy direction to maximise the industry’s potential. The automotive sector is a vital part of the UK economy with a turnover of £52 billion, exports amounting to 10% of the UK total and supporting over 800,000 jobs and is at the forefront of low-carbon technology.

Key measures highlighted in the SMMT manifesto include: 

Champion automotive manufacturing in the UK

Government policy that supports growth and continued partnership through the Automotive Council will help the industry play a vital role in the UK economy.

Proactive engagement from government and continued investment from industry will ensure that home-grown suppliers are strengthened and internationally competitive.

Create a transformed business environment

A longer term attitude towards vehicle taxation and demand-led incentives must be pursued to enable business confidence and an internationally competitive business environment.

Government must use available funding more effectively, providing support towards the economic recovery.

Support research, design and development

The automotive sector invests over £1 billion in R&D each year in the UK, and is the largest investor in R&D in Europe.  Government should support this investment through clear and targeted incentives to attract further investment.

Government should make the UK R&D tax credit system more flexible by providing immediately payable credit on a temporary basis.
 
Close the skills gap

A refreshed and more focused approach to skills and training is essential to ensuring the UK remains globally competitive.

An increase in investment for science, technology, engineering and maths is necessary to open up employment opportunities within the automotive sector.

Jaguar XF Sales Climb

Jaguar’s UK sales success has helped to boost the luxury car sector throughout the first quarter with a year on year improvement for both XF and XK.

In the UK, 2522 XF were sold in March 2010 compared to 1294 the previous year, up 94.6 per cent. XK sales improved by 36.3 per cent, with 383 cars sold compared with 281 last March. For the first quarter, 3514 XF were sold in the UK up 67.2 per cent from 2102 sales. XK sales improved 25.4 per cent with 509 cars sold compared to 406 in 2009.

Overall Jaguar performance in the UK is up 1.1 per cent, with total sales of 3056 compared with 3024 last March; all the more impressive considering the X-Type was discontinued at the end of 2009 and sales of the all-new new XJ are due to commence from May.

Geoff Cousins, Managing Director, Jaguar UK said: “With more than 22,000 XFs now on the road in the UK, the growing popularity of the XF speaks for itself. The second half of 2009 saw consecutive sales growth for the XF and at the end of the year our order book was nearly full with customers wanting an XF. We have kept this momentum going in a challenging market during the first quarter with a very successful TV, print and web advertising campaign, and this has helped us nearly double our sales of XF in March.”

Already critically acclaimed by the world’s media and winner of more than 60 international awards, a number of enhancements announced for the XF diesel earlier this year has made the XF even more popular. The Diesel S model now features some of the unique sporting character of the high performance XFR, while revised pricing for the entry-level 3.0-litre V6 petrol, with prices starting at a highly competitive £29,900, has also boosted demand, winning some buyers from the now discontinued X-Type.

Geoff Cousins added: “Our XK models continue to perform well and despite the poor weather at the start of the year, we have caught up and exceeded our expectations with both the coupe and convertible versions.”

In the UK, retail pricing of the XF range now starts at £29,900 for the 3.0-litre petrol. The 3.0-litre diesel model is available from £34,900 for the 240 PS engine while the 275 PS 3.0-litre Diesel S starts at £38,600. The top of the range XFR is available from £62,055. The XK range starts at £62,500 for the 5.0 n/a V8 petrol and the XKR starts at £75,500. For more information go to www.jaguar.co.uk.

The three year deal sees Nissan become The O2’s exclusive automotive partner with extensive branding rights across the whole of the 20 acre site and will include the creation of a Nissan Brand Centre, opening July 2010.

Heralding a new automotive era, the brand centre will be used as the communications hub for the launch of the Nissan Leaf, the world’s first affordable, mass produced pure electric family car.  Leaf embodies Nissan’s vision for an environmentally sustainable future for road transport and goes on sale in the UK during March 2011.

Paul Willcox, Managing Director, Nissan GB comments: “This O2 partnership is a first for Nissan in the UK. The O2 offers us the space, support and exposure to showcase the brand to over 7.5 million people every year and will become a focal point for an innovative and integrated strategy which will span the entire sales & marketing operation.

“Nissan is a brand on the move.  We are the biggest vehicle manufacturer in the UK; 80% of all the cars we sell are built in our factory in Sunderland.  We have an enviable model range spanning from compact city cars to legendary sports cars such as Z and GT-R.  We created and dominate the Crossover segment with the British-built Qashqai and we’re an industry leader in zero emission mobility with the launch, early next year, of the first mass-market, family electric vehicle. The O2 will give us the platform to engage with consumers on all of this activity and much more.”

Branding and advertising across the interior and exterior of The O2 will initially focus on the new Qashqai and will move to include Nissan’s much-anticipated small crossover, Juke, in advance of its September launch. From its July opening, the Nissan Brand Centre will focus on zero emission mobility, the launch of Leaf and will showcase innovation, running interactive programmes and activities designed to attract and engage consumers.

Paul Samuels, Executive Director of Sponsorship at AEG Europe, added: “We’re thrilled that Nissan has become a major commercial partner of The O2. Its forward thinking brand values are aligned with ours and our 7.5 million visitors a year will offer them unrivalled exposure across the site.”

The three year deal will see Nissan join a host of other major brands who have a founding partnership with The O2.

The O2 finished the decade as the world’s number one music venue for the third year running, selling over 2.3 million tickets to events in the arena – a record breaking figure.

The O2 deal was brokered by Manning Gottlieb OMD’s branded content division Fuse on behalf of Nissan Motors (GB) Ltd.

With new highs for the number of cars sold in the month and the quarter and best-ever retail market share figures set, March saw records tumbling like dominos for Kia.

With 12,277 new cars sold across the country Kia recorded not just its best-ever March but its best-ever month in the UK new-car market. And that helped Kia to a record first quarter with 20,673 vehicles sold during the first three months of 2010 – almost as many as in the whole of 2003!

Kia’s retail segment share in March was 4.45 per cent and for the year to date the share has been 5.17 per cent – both cases up by more than two percentage points compared to the performance in 2009.

The March performance showed a 93.5 per cent increase over March 2009 – prior to the introduction of the joint Government-industry funded scrappage scheme – when the new car market was suffering from the global economic crisis.

Kia’s first quarter performance was even more impressive, showing a dramatic increase of 140 per cent compared to the dramatically-hit first quarter last year. Rio sales were 16 per cent up, cee’d sales were 22 per cent up and Sportage was up by 62 per cent – reflecting the demand for occasional-use four-wheel-drive vehicles following the harsh winter conditions.

Yaser Shabsogh, Sales Director at Kia Motors (UK) Ltd., said: “The industry as a whole is showing how the market has recovered from the dark depths of economic gloom at this time last year.

“But what is heartening is that whilst scrappage has undoubtedly helped new car volumes since May of last year the general retail marketing is currently very strong and dealers are reporting good levels of showroom footfall and healthy orders going forward even without scrappage. In fact our Quarter 1 non-scrappage sales were up by 22 per cent against last year.

“The success of Kia in the first quarter shows that the brand has become a true mainstream competitor amongst retail customers and that is a tribute to the efforts of our dealers over the past year and more,” he added.

Shabsogh also pointed to the strong individual model performances as evidence that the brand was finding growing mainstream acceptance with 1,683 Sportage models being delivered during the first quarter and 5,187 cee’d variants being sold in the same period. Rio sales hit 3,586 and Picanto continued as best-seller with 7,720 units being delivered.

Full details of Kia’s current range including the new Venga and Sorento can be found at www.kia.co.uk

“This month concludes a very positive first quarter for BMW Group in the UK,” said Tim Abbott, Managing Director of BMW Group UK.  “Following the successful market introduction of our new 5 Series towards the end of March, we have already received over 3,300 advance orders of which nearly half are for the new 520d which goes on sales in June. The BMW 320d EfficientDynamics Saloon, launched in March, has already proved very popular with customers with around 50 per cent of our 2010 sales volume sold. This underlines the continuing strength of the BMW brand and the desirability of not only the new models we are launching in the premium sector such as the X1, but also in our used car values which are showing encouraging signs of recovery.  MINI has also had a good start to the year, led by a particularly strong performance from our MINI Convertible models.”

BMW Brand Sales

Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased five per cent in March with a total of 16,478 vehicles, mainly driven by BMW’s 1 Series (5,325 units; +33%), the BMW 3 Series Saloon and Touring (4,595; +36%) and the BMW 7 Series which saw sales more than double compared to March last year. From January to March, BMW brand sales were up 12 per cent to

24,837 vehicles compared to 22, 144 vehicles sold in the same period of 2009.

MINI Brand Sales

With a record March market share of 1.99 per cent, MINI UK’s sales volume increased by

33 per cent in March compared to the 5,976 vehicles reported in the same month a year ago.  Year-to-date, MINI UK also reported sales of 11,027 vehicles, an increase of 30 per cent.

Fiat 500C

Fiat have just announced the prices and specification for the new Fiat 500C Convertible.

Whilst the official launch isn’t until June, ordering opens this Friday so that the vehicles will be available during the important Spring market.  It also means that buyers will be able to enjoy open-top motoring throughout the summer months.

In response to market needs, Fiat have also made air conditioning standard across the range.  Upgrade to the Fiat 500C Lounge and you’ll also get front fog lights, automatic climate control and rear parking sensors.

The Fiat 500C is generally priced £3,000 more than the hatchback version and is available in 2 trim levels.

Fiat 500C Versions and Specification

Fiat 500C Pop

• 7 Airbags (driver, passenger, windows, side and knee);
• Air conditioning;
• Height adjustable steering wheel;
• Radio CD/MP3 player;
• Remote central locking;
• Electric front windows;
• Black electric door mirrors;
• Vintage wheel covers
• 1.4 16v 100hp engine comes with ESP as standard and 15″ wheel covers.

Fiat 500C Lounge

• As the POP above plus;
• Automatic climate control;
• ESP;
• Rear parking sensors;
• Foglights;
• Specific trim with black or brown sides;
• 15″ Alloy wheels;
• Leather steering wheel with Blue&Me controls;
• Body coloured electric door mirrors;
• 50/50 split folding rear seat;
• Chrome kit.

There are three engines available:  1.2 8v 69hp petrol, 1.4 16v 100hp petrol and a multijet diesel 1.3 16v 75hp.  All the engines are Euro V compliant.

Fiat 500C Features

The Fiat 500C has all the strong points of the 500 hatchback plus it will offer:

• 3 new body colours (Pearl Red, Dark Metallic Grey, Pastel Blu);
• 3 Soft top colours match with the body colour: black, ivory, red;
• 2 new alloy wheels (15″ and 16″);
• new sticker sets.

The Fiat 500C also comes with a glass rear window in the electrically operated roof. The roof can be operated with the remote control and takes 16 seconds to open and 17 seconds to close. In addition, the Fiat 500C seats 4 people and has only 3 litres less boot space than the hatchback.

Fiat 500C Prices

The Fiat 500C range starts at £11,300 OTR for a 1.2 Pop with air conditioning. Below is the price list for the full Fiat 500C range:-

Model	RRP
1.2 POP	£11,300
1.4 POP	£12,500
1.3 POP	£12,700
1.2 LOUNGE	£12,700
1.4 LOUNGE	£13,900
1.3 LOUNGE	£14,100

Fiat 500C Colours

Fiat 500C Interior Trims

The Fiat 500C Pop has cloth seats in red or grey with the ivory or black interior colour.

The Fiat 500c Lounge has black or brown cloth seats with black or brown and the choice of black or ivory interior colour.

The Fiat 500C has a choice of three leather interiors: vintage, black and red.

Fiat 500C Alloy Wheels and Wheel Trim Designs

Fiat 500 Technical Specifications

The Fiat 500C maintains the same technical specifications as the hatchback model. The fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and top speeds are the same as the standard Fiat 500. only the weights are slightly higher on the soft-top.

Fiat 500c Fuel Consumption Figures

Fiat 500C Insurance Groups

Fiat 500C Convertible

Fiat previewed the new Fiat 500C at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. It’s due to launch throughout Europe in the spring. The open-top 1957 model was the design cue for this gorgeous new state-of-the-art model.

The new Fiat 500C is the same size as the standard model (3.55 m x 1.65 m x 1.49 m), and is powered by the 1.3 litre 75 hp MultiJet Turbodiesel coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission, and the two 1.2 litre 69 hp and 1.4 litre 100 hp petrol engines, available with either manual or robotised Dualogic transmission.

Furthermore, as proof of Fiat’s credentials in market-leading environmentally friendly motoring, the new 500C has the Start&Stop system which saves fuel, reduces noise pollution and cuts down on CO2 emissions.

The Fiat Styling Centre designed the new Fiat 500C in Turin. The Tichy plant in Poland will be manufacturing the new model. The Fiat 500C has segment-leading safety features, seats four adults, has generous luggage space combined with easy loading potential, even with the soft top fully open, thanks to a clever parallelogram hinge system.

The Fiat 500C will be available in three colours (ivory, red and black), this original soft top will be matched with several body colours, two of which have been conceived specifically for the new car in a brilliant Pearl Red and a special Warm Grey.

The Fiat 500C offers excitement and sustained driving pleasure, combining captivating lines with the performance of flexible, environment-friendly, low consumption engines.

Fiat 500C on YouTube