Industry News

• A1GP to debut biofuel in New Zealand
• Ford rally team principal to deliver 2008 Watkins Lecture
• Hybrids to represent 10% of Honda’s global sales in two years
• Hyundai celebrates 40th anniversary, aims to be one of top five OEMs by 2010
• Ricardo launches ‘Total Vehicle Fuel Economy Solution’ to help U.S. OEMs meet new CAFE standards
• Design competition launched for world’s first one-make EV race series
• Nissan takes steps to stop European grey imports of GT-R before UK launch
• Nissan to show FORUM ‘revolution’ in MPVs at Detroit show
• New president for Valmet Automotive
• PPG and Kansei Paint expand OE supply alliance into Hungary
• GKN selected by Airbus as preferred partner
• Tata to unveil 1-lakh car at New Delhi Auto Expo on 10th January
• Herbert Ungerer appointed EC’s Deputy Director-General for state aid policy
• Europeans interested in fuel economy but unwilling to pay for it
• U.S. Representatives vote for child safety features in SUVs and pickups
• FGA Dealer Datapen in use in nine franchises six months after launch
• RMIF announces member workshops for 2008
• FLA announces spring ’08 courses on finance & insurance

• Commission publishes Q&A on proposed car C02 regulation
• SMMT: Carbon in EC’s C02 proposals priced up to 14 times higher than ETS
• Penalties in EC’s proposed CO2 legislation plan disappoint ACEA
• Torotrak signs new licence agreement with unnamed bus and truck manufacturer
• German responses to EC’s CO2 limit implementation proposals
• EPA refuses California waiver from federal Clean Air Act
• Government launches consultation on battery recycling
• Freudenberg sells Flexitech brake hose business to Mitsubishi Corp.
• Mini SUV to be called ‘Crossman’
• Mitsubishi Service Plan wins 98% acceptance
• Visteon selected to help U.S. Department of Energy with E85 optimised engine development
• Mitsubishi forms JV with Yuasa on lithium-ion battery development
• LTI appoints new sales director
• Volvo invests in Australian driver fatigue alert system
• Korean Fair Trade Commission raids German and Japanese importers
• 7th International CTI auto transmissions symposium returns to Berlin next December
• Renault extends profit-sharing to overseas subsidiaries
• JATO: VW led European new car market down 0.6% in November
• Vehicle matching company wound up at behest of Companies Investigation Branch

• European Commission proposal to limit cars’ CO2 emissions published today
• Cellulosic E85 car finishes second in 25-hour race
• PRI Show to stay in Florida
• Commission adopts proposed directive to cut emissions of publicly procured vehicles
• Speakers added to roster for MIA conference
• UK vehicle production rose 12.3% in November
• Tata bid for Jaguar-Land Rover is worth over $2.05bn – Economic Times
• PPG to acquire Brown Brothers from Unipart Automotive
• President Bush expected to sign 35 mpg CAFE mandate
• Bayer raises prices for automotive polyurethane systems
• Automotive ad spend shifts further online in U.S.
• MAN drops ERF name for UK subsidiary
• epyx announces first winners of new ‘Excellence in e-commerce' awards
• ‘CAP Quote powered by Bynx’ delivers automated vehicle quotation-to-order process
• NFDA warns dealers of more paperwork from Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
• ibuyeco motor insurer offsets 35,000 tons of carbon in first six months

• Leaked EC policy document permits manufacturers to pool CO2 emissions
• Nissan launches world’s first distance control assist and navigation-enabled adaptive cruise control
• Coventry University wins Queen’s Prize for automotive design work
• Next Budget may contain new low carbon measures for cars
• Car manufacturers in U.S. support SIRIUS-XM satellite radio networks merger
• MEPs back 5-year transition to parts design protection liberalisation
• U.S. Web system allows customers to rate and resolve disputes with dealers
• Chang’an launches first Chinese hybrid production
• EC approves Leoni's acquisition of Valeo CSB
• Hyundai confirms St Petersburg site for first Russian plant
• MPs debate the future of UK car manufacturing
• British patent rules overhaul passes into law
• European Road Safety Observatory to be launched in April

• RMIF tells MOT stations: be prepared for risk assessments
• 5,090 workers have left PSA since June
• RMIF tells MOT stations: be prepared for risk assessments
• US Senate approves House of Representatives' amended energy billl
• Land Rover to launch lightweight compact 4x4 ‘cross-coupé’ at Detroit Show next month
• EC advocates new approach to investing public money in high risk, high-tech research
• Money markets delay DURA Automotive Chapter 11 exit financing
• Commons Transport Committee to hold new inquiry into road safety
• Events: ETTAR environmental transport technologies workshop 2, 24-25 January, Prague
• Events: 8th annual ENG Automotive Retailing & Distribution Summit

The A1 Grand Prix series, which styles itself as the World Cup of Motorsport, will switch to using biofuel at its next event which takes place at the Taupo circuit in New Zealand in January.

The series organisers had planned to use E30 - a blend of 30% bioethanol and gasoline - from the start of the current 2007-08 season in September but was forced to postpone its introduction due to concerns over the compatibility of the fuel with the fixed specification Zytek engines that are used in the A1GP series.

Malcolm Wilson, the founder of M-Sport, the Cockermouth, UK based organisation which runs the factory backed Ford team in the FIA World Rally Championship, will deliver the 2008 Motorsport Safety Fund ‘Watkins Lecture’ on January 11 at the Autosport International Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

This popular annual event is named after Professor Sid Watkins – F1’s safety pioneer – who made the very first presentation. The lecture is primarily for the benefit of those directly involved in the field of marshalling and entry is strictly by ticket only.

Honda's President Takeo Fukui has announced in a speech in Japan that hybrid cars will account for 10% of Honda's global car sales by 2010, 11 years after the launch of Honda’s two-seater Insight hybrid. Honda has committed to building two new hybrid models in addition to the existing Civic Hybrid:

- a Global Hybrid to go on sale in 2009, with a focus on making hybrid technology more 'affordable' and a worldwide sales plan of 200,000 units

- a sports hybrid based on the CR-Z concept revealed at Tokyo Motor Show and due to be displayed at the Detroit Show in January.

Mr Fukui Europe said Honda’s 2007 car sales sales forecast stood at 380,000 units (up 23% from 2006). For 2008, Honda expects to sell 420,000, 11% more that this year.

In February 2007, production at the Swindon plant reached 250,000 units annually, achieving 100% utilisation of the plant’s capacity. With completion of capacity expansion at the plant in Turkey from the previous 30,000 units to 50,000, Honda’s total annual car production capacity in Europe will be 300,000 units at the beginning of 2008.

An new Accord will be introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March, equipped with a new i-DTEC diesel engine, which complies with the Euro 5 emission standard expected to become effective in 2009.

The U.S. arm of the British automotive engineering consultancy Ricardo plc has unveiled a new engineering service designed to help OEMs in North America to address the 35 mpg CAFE standard signed into law by President Bush this week.

TVFE™ ('Total Vehicle Fuel Economy') is a systems approach that identifies, validates and implements the most cost-effective strategies to achieve light-vehicle fuel economy and CO2 goals. TVFE also can be applied to commercial vehicle and military sectors.

TVFE was developed to provide the industry with an independent, unbiased approach to maximize efficiencies, minimize energy losses and decrease loads on the vehicle. TVFE is based on comprehensive, system-level simulations, validated at the component level. The TVFE process integrates vehicle systems so they work together in a complementary manner to achieve the highest possible efficiency.

Sandy Stojkovski, Ricardo Inc. Director of Vehicle Engineering, will lead the TVFE service offering. “Achieving maximum fuel efficiency is not necessarily a matter of developing more advanced technologies,” Stojkovski says.

“To a large extent the technologies to meet the demand for higher fuel economy without compromising the performance and comfort that consumers demand are available to automakers right now. It’s really a question of cost and the relative commercial viability of these technologies, because consumers have not yet shown their willingness to pay the full price for them.”

Design students from universities, further education colleges and senior streams of secondary schools are invited to enter a competition to design the body for the world’s first one-make electric vehicle race series. The competition will be launched on press day at Autosport International on the Niche Vehicle Network Stand No. 6230 at the NEC on January 10th.

The prototype rolling chassis has already been developed by Westfield Sportscars Ltd., in collaboration with the Silverstone-based Delta Motorsport and Birmingham City University’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC). The design is intended to enclose the new rolling chassis. The resulting competition car will form the basis of Westfield’s forthcoming single-make Electric Race Car series.

The vehicle offers a predicted 0-60mph time of under 5 seconds. Lithium ion batteries provide the capability to complete a typical fifteen-lap club race, while maintaining a total vehicle weight of under 600kg.

The competition is being run in conjunction with TIC’s technology partner, PTC (Parametric Technologies Corporation), a US-based provider of new product development software. Students will be provided with data showing the packaging envelope for the body and detail such as pick-up points.

In addition to the opportunity for the winning design to be developed into a pre-production prototype which will be displayed at Autosport 2009, other prizes include the opportunity to visit Westfield Sportscars premises in the West Midlands. Westfield and TIC will also be organising a track day for the winners.

Dr. Paul Faithfull, Technical Director at Westfield Sportscars Ltd., said: “Westfield has chosen Autosport to launch the electric race car design competition because of the huge amount of visitors to this international show. It will give us access to the great design talents of students across the globe, bringing new concepts to complement our performance enhancing technology. We recognise that in order to differentiate our product, we need to pay significant attention to styling trends. What better opportunity than to appeal to the future great designers of the world?”

Westfield Sportscars is a member of the Niche Vehicle Network, an association of around twenty-five specialist car and chassis manufacturers which will have a presence at Autosport. With sponsorship from the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands, three of the region’s most innovative sports cars as well as the electric race car will be on display:

- Westfield Sportscars Ltd will be booking track time and taking orders for the company’s new AeroRace car which has a lightweight chassis based on the Westfield Sport S, and which achieves a dry weight of only 520kg and a 0-60mph time of 5 seconds.

- GTM Cars will be taking orders for its new ultra light track car. The GTM 40TR developed with Stadco Engineering features an exposed aluminium super-structure and is powered by a 2 litre Type R Honda engine which will produce 235bhp and is expected to reach 60mph in under 4 seconds and go on to a top speed of over 150mph.

- The Zolfe Orange car on show has an increased track and wheelbase, new bodywork by Stadco Engineering, and a Ford Duratec 2.3 litre engine replacing its former motorcycle power unit.

Radshape Sheet Metal Ltd., an integral component supplier for low volume niche market automotive companies will be displaying the bonded chassis for the Morgan Aero 8.

These businesses have been warned not to engage in these ‘infringing’ activities and, if this warning is ignored, Nissan says it will seek the support of the English courts in enforcing its legitimate rights against those businesses.

Nissan says the basis of this action is well established and has been confirmed in decisions of the European and English courts over a number of years. The company notes that it does not seek to prevent individual customers or businesses from buying Nissan vehicles intended for the UK or European markets.

Gary Frigo, Nissan Motor (GB) Limited’s Managing Director, said: “We have been made aware of a significant increase in activity in the import trade of certain vehicles, particularly the Nissan GT-R, which warrants immediate action.

“Nissan’s number one priority is to ensure that the GT-R and its dealer network are in optimal condition to facilitate and support our customers. It will take until start of sales in March 2009 to do this. Until that time the UK will have no GT-R trained technicians, no established GT-R parts supply and, most crucial of all, the GT-R will not be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty.”

The British Independent Motor Trade Association (BIMTA), which represents grey importers in the UK, has not responded officially to Nissan’s statement. A vendor’s risk or otherwise of infringeing the manufacturer’s trademark rights is not mentioned among the 21 questions included in the BIMTA website’s ‘Should I buy an import?’ Q&A feature.

- Nissan’s Oppama Plant reached a 15 millionth unit milestone on 19th December, 46 years after the plant’s inauguration. The 15 millionth vehicle – a Tiida hatchback – was bound for the African market.

The Nissan FORUM, an exploratory MPV design concept developed by Nissan Design America, Inc., which Nissan says represents ”the next revolution in family transportation”, will make its world debut at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

To make family passenger vehicles more appealing to both drivers and passengers, FORUM offers ideas including trackless sliding side doors and the elimination of traditional B-pillars, to an interior featuring a multi-position swivelling 2nd row seat rotates 90 degrees to either side to create ‘grandstand’ seating for watching sports or for picnicking.

The seat also rotates a full 180 degrees to face the three-passenger rear seat, creating family-style seating for up to five passengers. The 2nd row seat is operated by a small motor mounted in the vehicle floor. When it is time to rotate the seats, the centre console lifts up and the two seat halves come together. At the same time, the two front seats move forward to aid in clearance.

The driver can keep a check on rear cabin occupants via a ‘Kids Cam’ monitoring system, which uses 2nd and 3rd row cameras mounted in the headliner and connected to the main instrument panel LCD display monitor. Selectable camera control switches are mounted above the rear view mirror.

A one-button audio muting ‘Time Out’ system, with the controller located in the lower centre portion of the steering wheel, allows the driver to simultaneously mute all audio playing in the FORUM and broadcast his/her voice over all interior speakers – enabling quick and easy communication to both rows of rear seats.

The FORUM sports a Bose® Media System, with a single knob, proximity sensor-based controller helping the driver. Waving a hand near the controller triggers infrared sensors to bring up the initial system interface, providing access to features including XM® Satellite Radio, hard disc drive music storage, DVD, iPod® interface, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System and a navigation system.

Engineer Ilpo Korhonen has been appointed President of the Finnish contract assembly company Valmet Automotive as of January 1, 2008. He was previously Vice President of Production, and, since January 2007, has been Executive Vice President. Valmet Automotive's current President, Juhani Suvinen will retire on 31 December. Risto Hukkanen (M.Sc.) has been appointed Executive Vice President with responsibility for production and quality. Previously, he was Vice President of Quality.

Valmet Automotive's owner, Metso Corporation, will also appoint new members to the company's Board: Dr. Hans-Joachim Schopf and Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, both from Germany. Dr. Schopf was most recently an Executive Vice President and Member of the Board of Mercedes Car Group, responsible for R&D at DaimlerChrysler AG. Karl-Heinz Kalbfell has held Executive Director positions at BMW, responsible for BMW's marketing, brand and product strategy. He was most recently CEO of Maserati.

Valmet’s owner Metso is a global engineering and technology corporation with 2006 net sales of approximately €5 billion, with more than 26,000 employees in more than 50 countries in the pulp and paper industry, rock and minerals processing, the energy industry and selected other industries.

(www.metso.com)

Hyundai Motor will celebrate its 40th anniversary next week, and the sixth-largest global OEM now aims to displace a competitor to become one of the world’s top five, along with its affiliate Kia Motors, by 2010, with half its projected total 6m units/year capacity outside South Korea.

On 29th December, 1967, Hyundai Motor was capitalized at 100 million won, and now has with Kia an annual production volume of nearly 4 million vehicles, with plants in the U.S., China, India, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and other countries. Overseas production capacity is expected to top three million units per year from 2010.

(Korea Times, 20 December)

The American PPG Industries and the Japanese Kansai Paint have expanded their alliance, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes (PKAF), to include the sale of automotive coatings to Japanese-owned or operated OEMs in Hungar, notably Suzuki. The business in Hungary was transferred from a previous venture between Akzo Nobel and Kansai Paint. PKAF has been in operation since 2004.

GKN, the largest British Tier 1 automotive supplier, says it is delighted to have been selected by Airbus as the preferred partner for the acquisition of the Filton Airbus manufacturing site in Bristol, including the award of significant composite work packages for the A350 XWB wing.

The Filton plant manufactures and assembles Airbus wing components, and employs 1,800 people, about a quarter of the total Filton Airbus employees. The sale is not expected to lead to any compulsory redundancies, and the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) has welcomed the arrangement “giving GKN a major role in the future of the UK aerospace industry".

- The European Council reached an unanimous decision yesterday to include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, an achievement welcomed by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn.

Under the new agreement, emissions from aviation will be capped at 2004-06 levels so that any further growth in aviation emissions will need to be offset by emission reductions in other sectors. As with other industries in the Emissions Trading Scheme, airlines will be able to trade their emissions and be subject to a 'polluter pays' policy.

The proposal now goes to the European Parliament, the aim being to reach agreement in 2008.

Tata Motors, widely rumoured to be named the front runner to acquire Land Rover and Jaguar by Ford before or around the year-end, has committed to unveiling its Rs1-lakh (£1,250) car on 10th January at the New Delhi Auto Expo. The four-door, five seat, rear-engine budget car is not expected to be launched commercially before mid-2008, after monsoon flooding and other delays, including local opposition to land purchase for the car’s first plant in West Bengal, held up development plans.

In Wednesday 19th December’s Time newspaper, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata criticized the chairman of the American Jaguar dealers association and others who had vocally doubted the appeal of the brand under future Indian ownership earlier this week, suggesting such critics held outdated and stereotypical views of India as a 'land of tigers, jungles and cobras'.

Mr Tata also set out to reassure the PAG brands’ UK stakeholders, telling The Times, “We do not create a trauma within the company we take over. We do not slash costs or strip it.” The Unite union (formerly Amicus and the TGWU) has already voiced support for Tata's bid.

The European Commission has appointed the German Herbert Ungerer as Deputy Director-General for state aid policy in the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP).

The Directorate has recently investigated a number of cases where state subsidy to automotive manufacturers was judged to infringe EU rules.

Mr Ungerer is currently Director for energy and environment at the Competition DG. Since 1 September 2007 he has also been acting Deputy Director-General for state aid policy. Previously he was Director in charge of energy, basic industries, chemicals and pharmaceuticals in the Competition DG.

According to a new Harris Interactive AutoTECHCASTSM study of adults in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain, more than one-third (35%) are very or extremely likely to include enhanced fuel economy technologies on their next vehicle. Nearly one-third of all vehicle segment owners expressed the same sentiment, with SUV/4x4 owners expressing the highest initial consideration at 44%. Despite this, once respondents were made aware of a £650/€950 price tag, consideration dropped 24 percentage points to 11%.

Stephen Lovett, Director of Automotive & Transportation Research at Harris Interactive says, “We defined ‘enhanced fuel economy’ as technologies that improve overall fuel consumption by controlling valve timing, reducing engine friction, improving transmission efficiency and reducing other mechanical losses. It is interesting to note that while this data shows us that consumers are very interested in these fuel-saving technologies, it also indicates that they’re generally not willing to pay for them.”

Almost 2 out of 10 respondents (19%) indicated they were very or extremely likely to include hybrid electric technology in their next vehicle. Consideration dropped twelve percentage points to seven percent once respective market price of £3,000/€4,000 was revealed. Seven out of ten prepared to consider hybrid electric vehicles (70%) were at least likely to consider a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

Despite the numbers, majorities of the sample in each country were found only somewhat or not at all familiar with both enhanced fuel economy and hybrid electric vehicle technologies. Adults in the United Kingdom are the least familiar with enhance fuel economy (89%), followed by Germany (84%), France (81%), Italy (77%) and Spain (52%). When asked about hybrid electric vehicle technology, more adults in Germany (21%) are familiar with the technology, as opposed to those in Italy (15%), Spain (13%), the U.K. (12%) and France (7%).

Lovett concludes, “Consumers are less concerned with the technologies themselves than the benefit that they provide. In the end, what really matters is going farther on each litre of fuel, with a minimum upfront investment.”

This AutoTECHCAST survey was conducted online between August 8 and September by Harris Interactive among a total of 16,285 adults ages 18 and over who own or lease a vehicle, have a valid driver’s license, have at least once household vehicle, owns a listed manufacturer vehicle or listed European model 1998 or newer within the United Kingdom (3,271), France (3,532), Italy (3,751), Germany (3,308) and Spain (2,423).

Figures for age, gender, education, region and Internet usage were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

(www.harrisinteractive.com)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week which would require the U.S. Dept. of Transport to review vehicle safety problems affecting children and not reported in highway accident statistics, such as vehicles reversing over children, and child passengers hurting themselves when electric windows are closed.

If the bill becomes law, new regulations could be enacted to reduce blind spots in large SUVs and pickups, to prevent vehicles rolling away when parking brakes are accidentally released by children, and enforcing the fitment of electric window motor stop systems activated by obstructions.

An earlier version of the same bill had been opposed by the U.S. automotive industry since it would have made reversing video cameras obligatory for light trucks.

FGA Computer Systems' Dealer Datapen - designed to drive retail vehicle repair revenue - is now in use six months from launch by dealers from the BMW, Ford, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Skoda and Suzuki. Users are said to be achieving an overall increase in retail repair labour revenue of 50%, from an average of around 1.6 hours sold to 2.4 hours.

The Dealer Datapen - produced with the help of Destiny Wireless - lets workshop staff complete point-by-point check forms for every vehicle they see, the data being transferred in real time into FGA's Digital Vehicle Health Check (DVHC) software, letting aftersales staff more readily identify ‘upsell’ opportunities.

To help retail motor sector businesses deal with government regulation, growing consumer expectations, and increasing technical information demand, the Retail Motor Industry Federation has launched RMIF – IT WORKS FOR YOU, a series of motor sector workshops taking place across the country in 2008.

The programme is open to both existing RMIF members and prospective candidates.

Taking place across the country during February, March, and April, each day will cover individual trade association meetings, legal workshops, interactive technical sessions, industry issue workshops (MOT, Right2Repair, Industry Code), and exhibitions of industry goods and services.

The workshops will cover franchised car dealers, independent garages, bodyshops, cherished number dealers, motor auction houses, motorcycle retailers/motorcycle rider trainers and petrol retailers.

Dates and venues are to be confirmed shortly. To register attendance, traders are asked to email the RMIF at itworksforyou@rmif.co.uk.

The Finance & Leasing Association has announced dates for 2008 short courses for motor retailers and others on finance & insurance sales systems compliant with current legislation.

Full details are available at the web addresses below.

New Insurance conduct of business rules: 14 February (to be confirmed) and 12 March (confirmed)

The new insurance conduct of business rules will have to be enacted by July 6 2008, and the FLA's afternoon half-day training on these key regulations and related issues will include a case study and practical advice on developing new procedures for the sale of insurance products in line with new ICOB

Advertising and marketing of consumer credit product: 12-13 February 2008 and again 20-21 October 2008

The course will cover the legal constraints on advertising and promotion in all its forms in a practical context with examples and opportunity for discussion. The emphasis will be on the Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations 2004 and the Act itself; but the course will also consider distance selling, controls on misleading adverts, and the role of the OFT, the ASA and Codes of Practice

(www.fla.org.uk/multievents/displayEvent.asp?Type=Full&Code=AM0208)

Introduction to consumer credit: 10 April and again 26 June

This course covers an introduction to retail finance regulation, the foundations of consumer credit, agreements, advertising, charge for credit and APR, ongoing requirements and the consumer credit act 2006. Only five places remain on this course.

(www.fla.org.uk/multievents/displayEvent.asp?Type=Full&Code=IC0408)

Effective Risk Based Anti-money Laundering Controls: 4 March 2008

A one day training course on these new regulations and related issues.

(www.fla.org.uk/multievents/displayEvent.asp?Type=Full&Code=ML0308)

Introduction to motor finance: 15-16 April and again 8-9 July 2008

This is a two-day introduction to the motor finance industry. The course will cover the major motor finance products, their feature and benefits, the legal framework of the industry; the roles of finance houses and dealerships in motor finance transactions; and how the finance house and dealership make profits from finance sales

(www.fla.org.uk/multievents/displayEvent.asp?Type=Full&Code=MF0408)

To book courses, employers can email nicholas.stone@fla.org.uk or call 020 7420 9643.

The European Commission has today published a Q&A document on yesterday’s proposed regulation to implement a 130 g/km fleet CO2 emissions limit by 2012. It includes data on the actual average emissions of each of the major manufacturers present in the EU new car market, showing for example that PSA Peugeot Citroën has the smallest reductions to make to meet the 2012 target at 16 g/km, while Porsche has the greatest at 138 g/km – although Porsche will be permitted to pool its emissions with those of VW Group under the proposed new regulation.

Concerning the cost of the measures, the EC says, “Our investigations show that cars will rise in price by a certain amount - but this will be compensated by fuel savings. On average purchase prices may increase by up to 6%.

“It should be underlined that average CO2 emissions from new cars have been reduced by 12% since 1995 but over the same period the price of new cars has increased significantly less than inflation. This shows that CO2 can be reduced in an affordable way. There are already several cars on the market that have low CO2 emissions[4], and no major price differentials have been observed.”

The English-language document can be downloaded from the European Commission website, at:

http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/597&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

The UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) issued a release yesterday in response to the European Commission’s published proposal for implementing car tailpipe CO2 emissions, detailing concerns in particular about “unrealistic” lead-times and costs of non-compliance.

“We support challenging targets, and in Britain alone we have cut CO2 by an estimated one million tonnes per year since 1997 through cleaner car technologies,” said Christopher Macgowan, SMMT chief executive.

“However, manufacturers must not be penalised for past decisions on product development. Proposals must be achievable and cost-effective, implementation dates must be realistic and fines proportionate if we are to maintain the breadth and diversity of automotive manufacturing across the UK.”

The SMMT is encouraged to note that weight has been chosen as the parameter by which the Commission sets targets for individual manufacturers. This means that those making small city cars may face lower CO2 targets than manufacturers of heavier, luxury models.

Within the framework, the Commission must recognise and protect the UK's unique lead in making luxury, low volume and specialist sports cars. Low volume producers are estimated to deliver turnover of over £1bn to UK plc, employ almost 6,000 people and produce approx 15,000 cars per year. We look forward to working with policy makers to ensure appropriate parameters and exemptions are included in the rules to ensure jobs, skills and investment stay in the UK. (The proposed EU legislation exempts manufacturers building no more than 10,000 vehicles a year from the proposed CO2 limit.)

However, the SMMT notes that according to the Commission's own assessment, production costs could increase by 6% per car under the proposed regime, and believes the proposed fines per gram/car sold are inconsistent with the market price of carbon - as much as 14 times more onerous than under schemes like ETS – the European emission trading scheme.

“This is totally disproportionate,” says the SMMT, going on to echo the ACEA’s plea for a ‘a more integrated approach’, involving fuel companies and others more closely in achieving CO2 reduction targets.

Christopher Macgowan added, “There is no link between the penalties facing the car industry and the price of carbon facing other industries through the European emissions trading scheme. The proposed penalties price a tonne of carbon produced by cars at up to €475*, whereas the ETS market price will evolve towards about €33 per tonne, according to Commission estimates, from currently less than €5 per tonne."

*Based on the assumption that a car drives 200,000km over lifetime, one gram of CO2 corresponds to 200kg of emissions. Paying €95/£66 for 200kg equals €475/£330 (5x95) per tonne of excess CO2 emissions.

The legislative proposal on reducing CO2 emissions from cars adopted yesterday by the European Commission does not offer the proclaimed balanced framework to cut CO2 emissions and to safeguard EU competitiveness and growth, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, ACEA.

The ACEA says it fully supports the EU objective of reaching a level of 120 grammes CO2 per kilometre, but advocates an integrated approach, combining the efforts of all relevant parties involved: auto industry, fuel sector, policy makers and drivers. The ACEA claims the system proposed, if implemented, would effectively reduce the competitive strength of the European automobile sector and put car manufacturing in the European Union at risk. The proposal would also lead to disproportioned costs compared to the environmental gains and the costs of carbon reduction facing other sectors.

“The proposal is very disappointing and both its content and the way it was adopted are in stark contrast with the ‘better regulation’ principles of the European Commission”, said Sergio Marchionne, President of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and CEO of Fiat. He added: “The penalties being proposed are of an unprecedented high level. We are not looking to buy our way out; we invest €20 billion a year in R& D and want to continue doing so. If (imposed) at all, penalties should be reasonable and defined in relation to the market price of CO2 applied widely to other sectors.”

ACEA Secretary General Ivan Hodac told Automotive News Europe that the ACEA estimates that the average cost of compliance with the 130 g/km limit will be €1,500 per car. “Carmakers can’t pass all of this on to the customer,” said Hodac. “The cost to the industry will be €20 billion and the effect on sales will be negative.”

Hodac also complained that many of the CO2-saving technologies developed by ACEA members – such as cruise control, six-speed transmissions and gear-shift indicators – were not permitted in the official CO2 testing procedure; manufacturers, he said, should be allowed credits for such innovations.

“Whatever motive led a majority of commissioners to decide this, we consider the solution to be wrong, we consider the solution to be very harmful and will do everything to force changes," a German Government spokesman, Thomas Steg, told Automotive News Europe yesterday.

However, Prof. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, director of the CAR research centre at the University of Gelsenkirchen, described the new EC proposals to Autohaus magazine’s online edition as giving consumers the right price signals – fuel savings from clean cars had not hitherto been great enough to justify expenditure on clean car price premiums.

Opel supervisory board director Klaus Franz said the incentives to innovate on fuel economy could have a positive effect on automotive employment. Another German commentator, Ulrich Höpfner of the Institute for Energy and the Environment, (ifeu) said it seemed unlikely that even premium brand manufacturers would pay more than €500 per unit in phased-in penalties for not meeting the 2012 130 g/km CO2 limit.

Manufacturers had plenty of opportunities to avoid fines, the limits being constructed on a per-manufacturer rather than per-vehicle basis. (Manufacturers such as Porsche, according to the EC’s plan, will be entitled to pool their tailpipe emissions with fellow manufacturers such as VW, via a scheme so far not described by the EC in detail.)

- Kerstin Meyer, of the Brussels-based green lobby group Transport & Environment, said the EU’s proposals were lacking in three key areas: “There are no long-term targets, the CO2 targets are linked to weight rather than vehicle footprint, and the penalties are insufficient.”

(ANE, Autohaus, 19 December)

On 19th December the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied California and 17 other states the right to proceed with regulations to limit global warming gas emissions from new vehicles, on the grounds that the new 35 mpg-by-2020 CAFE standard in the newly approved federal energy bill would suffice to meet the states’ environmental objectives.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would appeal the decision and pursue every legal opportunity to obtain the waiver: "While the federal energy bill is a good step toward reducing dependence on foreign oil, the President's approval of it does not constitute grounds for denying our waiver. The energy bill does not reflect a vision, beyond 2020, to address climate change, while California's vehicle greenhouse gas standards are part of a carefully designed, comprehensive program to fight climate change through 2050," said Governor Schwarzenegger.

The EPA’s decision was greeted with relief by Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers' President and CEO Dave McCurdy: "By denying this waiver, EPA has not wavered in preserving a national program that raises fuel economy while reducing carbon dioxide. We commend EPA for protecting a national, 50-state program.

"Enhancing energy security and improving fuel economy are priorities to all automakers, but a patchwork quilt of inconsistent and competing fuel economy programs at the state level would only have created confusion, inefficiency, and uncertainty for automakers and consumers.

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales North America concurred: “It is important,” he said, “that the U.S. EPA has further clarified that the federal government is best suited to regulate fuel economy standards for the benefit of the entire nation."

New proposals are set out in a Government consultation which looks at the best way to improve the environmental performance of new batteries and ensure collection, treatment and recycling of waste batteries. They apply to batteries of all shapes, volumes, weights, types and uses including vehicle batteries, and, will help the UK implement the EU's Batteries and Accumulators Directive. Producer responsibilities include a ban on the disposal of industrial and automotive batteries in landfill or by incineration (in effect a 100% recycling target).

Further details are available at www.berr.gov.uk/innovation/sustainability/batteries/page30610.html

On 19th December Mitsubishi Corporation and Freudenberg signed a contract for the sale of the European and US Flexitech companies. It is planned to transfer the brake hose activities of the Flexitech companies to Mitsubishi Corporation and Meiji Flow Systems in January following approval by competition authorities. The parties agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

In a partnership which has lasted for more than 15 years, Freudenberg, together with Meiji Flow Systems, has become the market leader in the European brake hose segment. Meiji Flow Systems and Freudenberg have also cooperated in the USA since 1999. In the 2006 financial year, about 500 Flexitech employees in Europe and the USA recorded sales totalling about €80 million. Flexitech Europe SAS is located in Saint-André-le-Puy, France. It designs, manufactures, and markets automotive hydraulic brake hoses to European OEMs and runs a hose manufacturing plant and an assembly plant. Flexitech RO SRL Romania assembles hoses purchased from Flexitech Europe SAS.

Freudenberg is to concentrate on seal and vibration control technology as one of its core competences.

(www.freudenberg-nok.com/)

The 'R60' Mini crossover 4x4 derivative to be assembled for BMW Group by Magna Steyr is to be called ‘Crossman’, reports Channel 4’s automotive website. 4car. The model was formerly referred to within BMW as 'Colorado'. It will be based on the next-generation Mini platform, designed to be capable of forming the basis of a greater variety of vehicles than the current platform, and, says Channel 4/4car, these may include a BMW supermini smaller than the 1 Series, which would help BMW reduce its fleet CO2 emissions towards the EU target of 130 g/km by 2012.

(www.channel4.com/4car)

Following the statement on 27th November included in the UK toroidal automatic transmission developer Torotrak plc’s half-yearly results that it had signed a MOU with “a major European truck and bus manufacturer”, Torotrak has now signed licence and engineering development agreements relating to the use of its full-toroidal traction drive technology in this client’s commercial vehicle range. The total value of the licence fee and subsequent payments relating to the engineering development agreement is over £7.0m, with more than half of this sum being payable during this financial year.

Visteon Corporation will share some of its powertrain electronics technology with the U.S. Dept. of Energy as part of a project to help foster the use of E85 ethanol-optimised vehicles.

Visteon is part of a project that the Department of Energy has initiated for its High Efficiency Clean Combustion E85 Optimized Engine (HECCE) programme. The project involves fuel-efficiency research as part of the Bush administration's "20-in-10" initiative, which calls for displacing 20 percent of gasoline usage in the next 10 years by increasing the use of alternative fuels and boosting efficiency.

Visteon's participation is part of a joint collaboration, led by Mahle Powertrain, to develop the next generation of engines by optimizing operation to achieve petrol-like fuel economy when using E-85. Experts involved in the programme include representatives from Visteon, Mahle Powertrain, Argonne National Laboratory and Michigan State University.

Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation have created a “Lithium Energy Japan” joint venture with GS Yuasa Corporation to accelerate the development and production of lithium-ion batteries. MMC says lithium-ion production is the only constraining factor in the final development of the i-MiEV and other Mitsubishi ZEVs, which Mitsubishi is currently looking to sell in the UK in 2009.

GS Yuasa Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation began collaborating in May this year. "Lithium Energy Japan" was established on 12th December, with the intent to apply the partners’ strengths in vertical value chains, covering natural resources, materials, development, manufacturing, sales, and the identification of new applications,

The black cab maker LTI Vehicles has appointed Rob Laidler as Sales Director. Before joining the company he spent two years as Operations Director of SsangYong UK. His new job brings responsibility for developing close and effective relationships with LTI’s UK network of nine dealers.

Volvo Technology Transfer is investing in technology developed by an Australian university spin-off that detects and warns vehicle drivers in the event of tiredness.

Seeing Machines is a company spun off from research projects carried out at the Australian National University between 1997 and 2000. The company specializes in computerised technology that is able to track and follow head and eye movements and facial expressions. The technology is applicable for products within areas including vehicle safety, medical diagnosing, simulation, marketing and games.

For vehicles, Seeing Machines’ offers include a small camera that automatically detects signs of driver tiredness and distraction. A specific calculation program processes the information from images and measures the position of the head and rotation, eye movements and eyelid behaviour. The degree of tiredness in the driver is measured by registering how the eyes open and close and, should the driver close his/her eyes, this is registered directly. Distraction and work load are measured using head and eye movements.

- Further news concerning driver distration: The BBC has reported that the use of mobile telephones by drivers in the UK is now punishable as a dangerous driving offence in appropriate circumstances, bringing potential custodial sentences for offenders, who could previously only be charged with driving without due care and attention.

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission raided the offices of the Korea Automobile Importers’ and Distributors’ Association and the Seoul offices of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Lexus this week, seeking evidence of collusion against ‘grey’ or ‘parallel’ car importers.

A report by the FT said parallel importers to Korea are not required to meet the combination of Korean and EU homologation standards to which official car importers are subjected, which they consider a restraint of trade. The issue has proved a sticking point in bilateral trade negotiations between South Korea and the EU, and in the U.S. a free trade agreement with Korea has yet to be approved by Congress.

The date for the next 7th International CTI Symposium "Innovative Automotive Transmissions" meeting is already fixed: It will take place in the Maritim Hotel in Berlin from 1st to 5th December 2008. The symposium is organised by the Car Training Institute, a division of the conference and seminar provider IIR Deutschland GmbH.

Ricardo plc was one of the sponsors of the 6th International CTI Symposium Innovative Automotive Transmissions which took place at the Maritim Hotel in Berlin from 3rd to 7th December 2007. 1,000 participants from 18 countries heard 90 speakers from OEMs and suppliers, and 91 exhibitors showed their products and solutions in the adjoining "Transmission Expo".

Further information: www.transmission-symposium.com

Renault is implementing a new profit-sharing policy, broadening the scope of beneficiaries to the entire worldwide Renault group. Under the new policy, the sum paid to employees will be based on the relation between the Group’s actual and budgeted operating margin. In France, this policy takes the form of a Group agreement, which was signed on 18th December by four trade unions and will come into force on 1st January, for three years.

The system will apply to Renault s.a.s. and French subsidiaries in 2008, followed by all the world regions in 2009. Previously, only Renault s.a.s. employees were included in the incentive system.

In France, this policy is based on a Renault s.a.s. profit-sharing agreement extended to participating French subsidiaries. From 2008, the overall amount will be shared between Renault s.a.s. and all participating subsidiaries pro rata to their payroll costs, this principle applying to overseas subsidiaries the following year.

The new calculation method will be introduced in two steps. In 2008, the total profit percentage to be shared among employees will be based both on net income and operating margin. In 2009, this amount will be based purely on the relation between actual and budgeted operating margin. Previously incentive system totals were calculated in relation to net income.

JATO Dynamics reported yesterday that European new car sales fell by 0.6% (or 7,825 units) in November 2007 compared to the same month in 2006, providing a total of 1,240,548 units. Year-to-date the total market increased slightly, with growth of 0.7% (102,214 units) to 14,581,668 units. Volkswagen was once again Europe’s top-selling car brand in November, ahead of Opel/Vauxhall (up 0.4% YTD), Ford (up 1.2% YTD), Renault (up 4.6%) and Peugeot. This order also mirrors that of the YTD top five brands.

Individual brand performances worthy of JATO’s note included BMW which increased sales by 10.0% in November and 4.4% YTD, and MINI, which increased sales by 53.8% in November and by 26.9% YTD following the autumn introduction of the Clubman.

Renault’s Dacia budget brand increased sales by 137% in November and 77.7% YTD, and Nissan registrations increased by 18.9% in November, due to a strong performance by the Sunderland-built Qashqai cross-over. Smart registrations increased by 34.5% in November, as the introduction of the new fortwo model took effect while Mitsubishi also posted a 28.6% volume increase.

The Volkswagen Golf was Europe’s top-selling new model in November with 38,211 units sold (up 3.9%), ahead of the Peugeot 207 (up 8.1%), Ford Focus, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa (up 13.4%, new model), Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Renault Clio (up 0.3%), Volkswagen Passat, Ford Fiesta (24,608 units), Fiat Punto and Volkswagen Polo (23,017 units).

(www.jato.com)

A South Woodford-based "vehicle matching" company has been wound up in the High Court following an investigation by Companies Investigation Branch. Vehiclematch Services Limited claimed to operate a "vehicle matching" business, involving the matching of car sellers to prospective buyers. The company targeted sellers who had advertised their vehicles for sale in car magazines and websites.

A standard fee of £89.99 or a fee of £99.99 for the firm’s "gold" package was charged. The company maintained that it would start making calls to buyers as soon as the customer was registered, that it spoke to thousands of prospective buyers every week and that the buyers department would be "working for you round the clock aiming to sell your vehicle in no time at all getting you the best price possible". These assertions were found to be untrue. The company did not actively seek out buyers, and had only 3,432 buyers on its database compared with about 20,000 sellers.

The European Commission today proposed legislation on the implementation of its target to reduce the average CO2 emissions of new cars to 120 grams per kilometre by 2012. The proposal will seek to reduce the average emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars in the EU from around 160 grams per kilometre to 130 grams per kilometre in 2012 as part of the EU's integrated approach to achieve overall 120 grams per kilometre.

That will translate into a 19% reduction of CO2 emissions, and will "place the EU among the world leaders of fuel efficient cars".

The Commission says that as well as achieving environmental results, this proposal will also benefit consumers through important fuel savings. It will further improve energy security, promotes eco-innovations and high-quality jobs in the EU.

The proposal aims to safeguard the European automotive industry’s competitiveness through provisions which will stimulate the development and deployment of cutting edge automotive technologies. Under the legislation, several manufacturers will be able to group together to form a pool which can act jointly in meeting the specific emissions targets. Manufacturers in this pool will be required to abide by the rules of competition law.

Independent manufacturers who sell fewer than 10,000 vehicles per year and who cannot or do not wish to join a pool can apply to the Commission for an individual target. Special purpose vehicles such as those designed to accommodate wheelchair access are excluded from the scope of the legislation.

The review of the EU's CO2 and cars strategy also envisaged a number of complementary measures which would contribute to a further emissions cut of 10g/km or equivalent, thus reducing the overall average emissions of the new car fleet sufficiently to meet the EU objective of 120g/km. These complementary measures include efficiency improvements for car components with the highest impact on fuel consumption, such as tyres and air conditioning systems.

The Commission intends to come forward at a later date with proposals for efficiency requirements for such components and the carbon content of road fuels, notably through a greater use of biofuels. Both the fuel quality proposal being discussed by the EU institutions and the renewable energy directive due in January will help boost the use of biofuels in the transport sector.

The draft legislation defines a limit value curve of CO2 emissions allowed for new vehicles according to the mass of the vehicle. The curve is set in such a way that a fleet average of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre is achieved. A manufacturer must ensure that by 2012 measured fleet average emissions are below the limit value curve, when all vehicles manufactured and registered in a given year by the manufacturer in question are taken into account. This means that the level of emissions by heavier cars will have to be improved proportionately more than lighter cars compared to today.

Manufacturers will still be able to make cars with emissions above the limit value curve provided these are balanced by cars which are below the curve as long as the fleet average remains at 130 grams. Manufacturers' progress will be monitored each year by EU Member States on the basis of new car registration data.

The proposal will provide manufacturers with the necessary incentive to reduce the CO2 emissions of their vehicles by imposing an excess emissions premium if their average emission levels are above the limit value curve. This premium will be based on the number of grams per kilometre (g/km) that an average vehicle sold by the manufacturer is above the curve, multiplied by the number of vehicles sold by the manufacturer.

A premium of €20 per g/km has been proposed in the first year (2012), gradually rising to €35 in the second year (2013), €60 in the third year (2014) and €95 as of 2015. Most manufacturers are expected by the EC to meet the target set by the legislation, so significant penalties should be avoided.

The proposal will now be communicated to the Council and to the European Parliament as part of the co-decision legislative procedure.

(ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/co2_home.htm)

A Le Mans prototype racecar powered by engine using cellulosic E85 bio ethanol fuel finished second overall at the recent 25 Hours of Thunderhill in the USA, which claims to be the world’s longest race.

The second placed LMP3 Norma M20F car was one of two entered in the race by the Green Alternative Motorsports which was founded by Stephen Zadig, the VP of Operations at a Silicon Valley-based semiconductor company, with the aim of promoting E85 in both racing and consumer use as an alternative fuel to gasoline.

The fuel was supplied by the Ottawa, Canada based company Iogen which has built and operates a demonstration scale facility to convert biomass to cellulose ethanol using enzyme technology.

Although the fuel itself had a reduced environmental impact the method of its delivery to the team was another matter. Zadig said, "The de-natured ethanol was transported by FedEx Critical from Ottawa and paid for by our sponsor, JSI Shipping ... clearly this element of the process totally negated any environmental benefit by a huge margin.

"That, however, was not the point, but rather to demonstrate that E-85 and specifically cellulosic E85 could compete with high performance gas powered vehicles. This was our agenda and what we demonstrated."

A report in the US magazine Autoweek says that the Performance Racing Industry motorsport trade show is likely to continue to take place at the Orange County Convention Centre in Orlando, Flordia for the foreseeable future.

The Show which first took place in Louisville, Kentucky in 1988 was held in Cincinnati, Nashville, Columbus and Indianapolis before relocating to Orlando in 2005. According to Autoweek PRI Show organiser Steve Lewis has signed a contract that will keep the show in Orlando until 2011 and is in negotiation on a further 10 year contract.

The European Commission has adopted today a proposed Directive which introduces environmental criteria into the public procurement of vehicles and transport services. It covers vehicles procured by public authorities and by operators providing public transport services. When procuring vehicles, public authorities will use lifetime costs for CO2 and pollutant emissions as well as for fuel consumption as award criteria. The application of these criteria will first be optional, then mandatory from 2012.

Public procurement represents a key and visible market. The Directive therefore is expected, over the long term, to boost the use of clean and energy efficient vehicles and to reduce their costs through economies of scale. This will also improve energy efficiency and the reduction of CO2 and pollutant emissions from the whole vehicle fleet in Europe.

The proposal revises a previous Directive from December 2005 on the promotion of clean vehicles. The revised text covers not only the reduction of pollutant emissions but also CO2 reduction and improvement of energy efficiency. It focuses not only on heavy duty vehicles but applies to all vehicle categories.

The potential for energy saving and emissions reduction from clean and energy efficient vehicles through promotion by public procurement has been estimated in a study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) for the Commission by assuming all decisions would be based on the sum of vehicle price and lifetime costs.

The study indicates that an energy saving of 22% of the vehicles covered could be achieved, resulting in a total amount of 4.6 Terawatt-hours annually by 2017, by which year the maximum effect from this measure could be expected. This saving corresponds to about half the annual energy production of one large nuclear power station.

CO2 emissions from the vehicles covered by public procurement could be reduced by 29% by 2017, giving a total of 1.9 Mega-tonnes CO2 avoided annually. This represents of order 0.5 % of all transport CO2 emissions.

A cost-benefit analysis in the PWC study, weighing possible higher investment cost for the vehicles up-front against the saving from lower energy consumption and CO2 and pollutant emissions, shows potentially large economic gains for operators as well as for society.

Lifetime costs and vehicle prices (indicative example for illustrative purposes only) shown in the PwC study indicate that a bus costing €150,000 to acquire would give lifetime costs over 1 million miles of €313,500 in fuel, €30,210 in CO2 emissions, €87,780 in NOx emissions, €2,622 in NMHC emissions, €9,918 in particulates emissions, ergo a total lifetime cost including external pollution costs of €594,030.

Potentially higher cost for cleaner vehicles is largely compensated by the saving from lower fuel cost, which profits the operator directly. For the period up to 2017, possibly higher expenditures of €11.5 billion would be over-compensated by a saving of €21.3 billion from lower energy costs. An additional €2.5 billion saving can be expected due to lower CO2 emissions, and €9.4 billion saving due to lower pollutant emissions. The total net benefit over the period up to 2017 could amount to €21.5 billion Euro.

(http://ec.europa.eu/transport/clean/index_en.htm,

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/clean/promotion/index_en.htm)

The UK’s Motorsport Industry Association has announced two further speakers for its second European Cleaner Racing Conference which will take place on the eve of the 2008 Autosport International Show.

Herb Fishel, the former executive director of GM Racing, was one of the driving forces behind the Indy Racing League series that now runs on ethanol and was instrumental in the US manufacturer’s victories in the Daytona 500, the Indy 500 and in the GT1 class at Le Mans.

David Brabham, son of triple Formula One World Drivers Champion Sir Jack Brabham raced in Formula One, Formula 3000 and Formula Three before becoming one of the world's top sportscar racers. Brabham is a regular speaker on the subject of energy efficient motorsport, about which he is both passionate and eloquent.

The conference will be held at the UK’s National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on Wednesday, January 9. Other speakers include Alan Gow (Chairman of the MSA and Managing Director of TOCA, the organisers of the BTCC) and Audi Sport head of engine technology Ulrich Baretzky.

Total UK vehicle production rose 12.3% last month, to 168,264 units, while car production rose 13.7% to 146,236. The YTD figure for cars is now 1,431,976, a y/y increase of 5.5%. Commercial vehicle output in November reached 22,028 units, an increase year on year of 3.6%, which brought YTD CV output to 201,164 units, up 4.4% on January-November 2006.

Exports accounted for 81.2% of November cars built in the UK, and for 65.4% of vans and trucks.

“November has followed the 2007 trend of growth in production, which is a testament to the investment manufacturers have made in the British motor industry,” said Christopher Macgowan, SMMT chief executive, adding, “Although we aren't yet out of the woods, it is encouraging that volumes exported have remained stable.”

Mr Macgowan expects CV production to grow by a further 5% before the end of the year, which would take the volumes to the highest level since 1998.

The Indian business paper Economic Times yesterday reported that Tata Motors, widely reckoned to be the front runner, had bid over $2.05bn for Land Rover and Jaguar, while its Indian rival Mahindra had bid $1.9bn. Fortune magazine meanwhile reported that the head of Jaguar’s U.S. dealer council favoured the bid from One Equity Partners, led by former Ford CEO Jac Nasser, due to his concern that “the American public won’t accept a luxury-car brand such as Jaguar ‘out of India’.”

The Economic Times also suggested the prospective Jaguar-Land Rover sale agreement will involve as many as 30 side agreements, covering issues including staff retention and engine supply from Ford for up to five years.

The American group PPG Industries (through a European subsidiary), has agreed to purchase the bodyshop distribution business of Unipart Automotive. The transaction is expected to close on or about 31st January 2008. The business will operate as a subsidiary of PPG under the name Brown Brothers Distribution UK Ltd. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

The American group PPG Industries (through a European subsidiary), has agreed to purchase the bodyshop distribution business of Unipart Automotive. The transaction is expected to close on or about 31st January 2008. The business will operate as a subsidiary of PPG under the name Brown Brothers Distribution UK Ltd. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition includes 34 distribution branches that supply refinish paint to UK bodyshops. In addition, acquired assets are to include inventory, selected equipment, brand names and customer lists. Following the change of ownership, approximately 475 Unipart Automotive bodyshop employees will transfer with the business under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) regulations.

John McGowan, PPG market director, United Kingdom and Ireland, said that the acquisition offers PPG growth opportunities in adjacent markets, although third-party distributor relationships will still be a crucial part of its U.K. operations.

Dennis Henderson, managing director of Unipart Automotive, said, “This year, our strategic focus has been on developing and growing the business in our core propositions … We firmly believe this decision is in the best interests of all key stakeholders, and it will lead to a more profitable and secure future for the paint and refinish business.”

www.unipart.co.uk, www.ppg.com)

From January 1, 2008, Bayer MaterialScience is raising its sales prices for polyurethane systems for use in the automotive sector in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region by €0.15 per kilo. Besides this, prices for all Bayfill® systems for use in instrument panels are to be raised by €0.40 per kilo, “because these systems are highly development-intensive and require special technical support”.

Due to a steep rise in the price of a key raw material, prices for all Bayflex® 180/190 systems for automotive bodywork components are to be increased by €0.25 per kilo. Contractual obligations in existence at the time when the price increases come into effect are not affected.

Automotive advertising spending will continue an existing shift away from print towards digital media. The Kelsey Group predicts that annual ad global spending by vehicle manufacturers, their dealers and automotive services will hold steady at $40 billion through 2011, but online ad spending will grow to 13% of the total in 2011, from 5% in 2007.

Newspaper classifieds are likely to slip from 14% to 10%, with display ads falling from 17% to 14% during the same period. TV, direct mail and magazines are likely to see declines, according to Kelsey Group. Manufacturers have increased internet spending fourfold since 2002, excluding expenditure on search engines, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

(www.mediaplanner.com)

The German truck manufacturer MAN says that following the end of ERF production a few months ago, it has decided to change the name of its UK subsidiary from MAN ERF UK Ltd. to MAN Truck & Bus UK Limited. MAN says that as growing numbers of ERF customers switched to D20 and D26-engined MAN vehicles to meet Euro 4 emission levels, ERF sales had fallen to unsustainable levels.

The UK fleet maintenance e-commerce network operator epyx has announced the first winners of a new awards scheme for vehicle service suppliers using the 1link Service Network e-commerce platform. In first place is Nationwide Autocentre Torquay, second is Nationwide Autocentre Southampton Millbrook, while in third is the Polar Ford authorised repairer in Scarborough.

The top three service providers from the 11,000 franchise dealers, independent garages and fast-fits who use 1link Service Network will now be named in the ‘Excellence in e-commerce’ industry awards every quarter.

They are being judged on four criteria with the 1link system itself generating the results to ensure transparency:

- The average time it takes to respond to a service booking request received through 1link

- The percentage of online job sheets completed on the same day as service and maintenance work is finished

- The percentage of completed job sheets invoiced by suppliers within five days

- A general level of "good system housekeeping"

At the end of each year, the quarterly results from the 1link Service Network Supplier Awards will be aggregated and the annual winners recognised at a special event.

A single web-based system designed to completely automate the vehicle quotation to order process for contract hire and leasing operators has been announced by the automotive data publisher CAP, in partnership with flight system provider Bynx. The system promises to eliminate the possibility of vehicle configuration errors, which are said to need service staff intervention in one in five initial customer orders.

Vehicle dealers need to make sure they are ready for new consumer protection rules coming into force in 2008, says the RMI National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which has welcomed the legislation, admitting that current rules on consumer protection do not provide a full safeguard for customers.

The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), when it passes into law in 2008 will provide better protection for the consumer. The Directive will harmonise unfair trading laws in all EU Member States, and introduces a general prohibition on traders not to treat consumers unfairly. This prohibition is intended to act as safety-net consumer protection legislation.

Under the Directive businesses must not mislead consumers through acts or omissions, or use pressure-selling techniques.

According to NFDA Director Sue Robinson, this is good for motor retailers: "The implementation of the Directive will enable car dealers to focus their internal consumer relations monitoring, and provide even better service than they already do."

However, Robinson believes there are still some areas that will need further adjustment: "The new rules will mean more administration for dealers to deal with, and will add more work to the existing heavy load borne by Trading Standards officers. There are also some questions on where the burden of proof will lie in disputes."

Following the Senate’s vote last week, the U.S. Congress yesterday voted in by a large majority the U.S.A.’s first increase in automobile fuel economy rules in 32 years, and President Bush is expected to sign into law today Energy Bill H.R. 6’s mandated increase to a fleet minimum 35 mpg, and a renewable fuels mandate. The bill requires a six-fold increase in ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, and imposes new energy efficiency standards for appliances, lighting and commercial and government buildings.

The Bill can be inspected at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00006.

The Bill can be inspected at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR00006.

Dave McCurdy of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers had said of the bill on 1 December: "The Alliance commends Congressional leaders for reaching agreement on an aggressive, nationwide fuel economy program. This agreement reflects much hard work and tough negotiating by many parties.

"Importantly, this agreement establishes nationwide fuel economy requirements for the next 12 years and beyond. Upon adoption of this legislation, Congress will have established aggressive, nationwide fuel economy requirements, concluding a longstanding debate.

Phyllis Cuttino, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts Campaign for Fuel Efficiency, issued a statement noting that, “Just six months ago, the auto industry was saying 35 miles per gallon was 'unachievable.' Today, in a triumph of policy, process and politics, an energy bill has passed the House that will save 1.1 million barrels of oil a day, $25 billion for consumers annually at the pump in 2020. And, it makes the auto industry the first major sector of the American economy that will reduce its global warming pollution -- by the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. There's nothing underwhelming about that.

"Some may criticize this bill for falling short, but they fail to recognize this significant achievement, unimaginable just months ago, and ignore its implications for the larger climate change debate."

The online car insurance company ibuyeco, which offers packages which offset 100% of a vehicle's carbon emissions for the life of policies, via The Carbon Neutral Company, says it has since its launch in June this year offset more than 35,000 tons of carbon.

Car makers representing a combined 85% share of the U.S. market, including GM and Ford, have joined other bodies in urging the approval by U.S. competition authorities of the merger of XM Satellite Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio. SIRIUS delivers more than 130 channels, while the larger XM offers more than 170, and has 8.5 million subscribers. An approved merger would simplify matters for manufacturers for whom satellite radio fitment has become a significant product enhancement.

(www.SIRIUSmerger.com, www.XMmerger.com)

The European Parliament adopted last week a legislative report backing a European Commission proposal to end design protection for spare car parts and other machinery components. Members of the committee propose a five year transitional period before full liberalisation of the market takes effect.

In the first-reading report by MEP Klaus-Heiner Lehne (EPP-ED, DE), the Parliament agreed to open up to competition the secondary market in spare parts intended to restore the original appearance of complex products, e.g. cars and industrial machinery. If adopted, the directive will allow suppliers to produce vehicle components, e.g. collision repair parts, which are identical to the original parts without infringing design protection.

Most EU Member States currently have a design protection regime for spare parts. Under the draft directive, design protection would remain for spare parts purchased for decorative reasons, i.e. to change the original appearance.

MEPs amended the Commission's proposal, to grant Member States a five year transition period before implementing full liberalisation. This provision followed an agreement between all political groups to guarantee a smooth transition to the new regime.

The Parliament also proposed an amendment requiring consumers to be informed about the origin of the components by means of trade names or other appropriate forms. This would allow the public to make an informed choice between the available products.

Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden still have design protection for spare parts.

In the UK, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain, spare parts for repair or replacement are allowed in the after-sales market. Greece protects designs for five years.

Speaking in the debate on Tuesday 11 December in Strasbourg MEP Malcolm Harbour (EPP-ED, UK, West Midlands, Conservative) said:

"I think this is a historic day, as we are finally going to deal with this vexed question and this anomaly in the internal market. I think we should remember briefly how we come to be here.

"In a number of countries, particularly in the United Kingdom, where this movement started, it was quite clear to the Monopolies Commission at the time that the car manufacturers were abusing that monopoly, and that is why it was removed. Now, that does not in any way undermine the importance of intellectual property protection. I just want to make that clear to a number of colleagues who have made that point.

"The second point I want to make is to draw the attention of colleagues to an important measure that the Internal Market Committee introduced a few months ago – and I was privileged to be rapporteur – on motor vehicle type approval. For the first time, we now have a regime in which independently manufactured parts that are a critical part of the safety and environmental systems of vehicles have to be tested independently to the same standards as the vehicle manufacturer’s own parts."

(www.europarl.europa.eu/news)

Clear Intelligence Media Inc., an American automotive market intelligence company, has announced that its MyDealerReport.com site has introduced several free features aimed at helping consumers connect and improve their buying experience with vehicle dealerships: a online Dispute Resolution System (DSR), User-to-User email, a Dealer Rating Comparison box, DealerChat instant messaging, and Click-to-Call.

MyDealerReport.com's member-generated ratings service provides rankings, reviews and information on franchise and independent dealers based purely on analysis of online consumer reports and opinions.

Car manufacturers will be permitted to strike deals to share the cost of exceeding the 130 g/km CO2 tailpipe emissions limit from 2012, according to an apparently incomplete draft document leaked to the Reuters news agency, which it published on 14th December. The Commission has been expected to publish its CO2 policy implementation plans this week, on 19th December.

The paragraphs quoted by Reuters indicate that the average of such pooled emissions would need to meet the 130 g/km target, but did not clarify the mechanisms that would be permitted between manufacturers. Nor were penalties, last week rumoured to be as high as €95 per car per g/km over the limit, confirmed.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd will introduce two pioneering technologies with its new Fuga model, to be launched in Japan this month – the world’s first Distance Control Assist, and navigation-enabled Intelligent Cruise Control systems.

The Distance Control Assist system helps control the distance between two vehicles under various traffic conditions, from congested urban roads to high-speed expressways. The improved Intelligent Cruise Control system integrates route-information via the on-board navigation system to monitor the vehicle’s cruising speed to match actual road e.g. the sharpness of the next curve on the road. It determines the following distance of the driver’s vehicle, as well as the relative speed of both vehicles, using a radar sensor installed in the front bumper.

When a vehicle approaches close to the vehicle ahead and the accelerator is not engaged, the system activates the brakes to decelerate smoothly. Alternatively, if the accelerator is engaged, the acceleration actuator is activated through a “push back” mechanism to help the driver to release the pedal.

In a situation where the vehicle ahead slows down or brakes, requiring the driver to respond by braking, the system instantly alerts the driver through message and audio warnings.

The Intelligent Cruise Control system also operates using information from a radar sensor installed in the front bumper. When following a vehicle ahead, the system controls following distance appropriately, using the driver’s preset speed as the maximum limit. With no vehicle ahead, the vehicle cruises at the constant driver preset speed.

Previous systems functioned only within the range of approximately 3-62mph, whereas the new system functions across the vehicle’s full speed range, starting from zero. The system is capable of activating the brakes in order to stop the vehicle under certain traffic conditions.

Using route information fed through the on-board navigation system, the Intelligent Cruise Control system can modulate the vehicle-speed in anticipation of the next curve on the road. When approaching a curve, the system gradually decelerates, and as it clears the turn onto a straight road, the system seamlessly reverts to its original speed.

When both the Distance Control Assist and Intelligent Cruise Control are installed, the driver can select either function setting, using a wheel-mounted switch according to different driving conditions.

Coventry University’s Department of Industrial Design has won the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher & Further Education for its work in automotive design. The department is regarded as a Centre of Excellence by the Higher Education sector,

internationally, and by the automotive industry itself.

Earlier this year the Department was the recipient of the ‘Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education’, recently became the only “Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Product and Automotive Design” in the UK and is tasked with further developing a range of innovative teaching techniques for the wider benefit of higher education.

The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education sit alongside the Queen’s Awards for Industry in the nation’s honours system. The Prizes scheme was set up in 1993 by The Royal Anniversary Trust. The Prizes are awarded every two years to institutions of higher and further education for work of exceptional quality and of broad benefit either nationally or internationally.

In February 2008, the University will be formally presented with the Prize Medal and Certificate by Her Majesty the Queen at an honours ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The previous evening, the Trust hosts a banquet at Guildhall in the City of London which will bring together the Prize winners with leading figures in automotive design, economic, social and cultural life at home and overseas.

(www.coventry.ac.uk)

Chang'an Automobile, Ford and Mazda’s Chinese joint venture partner, has become the first Chinese manufacturer to start making its own hybrid cars after six years of R&D work, the Xinhua news agency has reported.

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Valeo CSB, the automotive wiring harness business of Valeo by Leoni, which the acquisition made Europe’s wiring harness market leader.

Leoni manufactures automotive cables and automotive electrical distribution systems (EDS), which consist of cables and passive components such as fuse and relay boxes. It also manufactures electronic electrical distribution systems (EEDS), which consist of EDS and more sophisticated components providing a platform for data exchange and communication between end units. Valeo CSB only produces EDS.

Hyundai confirmed yesterday plans to build a US$400-million, 100,000 unit-capacity assembly plant in St Petersburg. Construction will begin in the first half of next year and production, of so far unspecified models, is expected to begin in 2009. The St Petersburg factory will be Hyundai's sixth overseas plant, joining two factories in the US and one each in China, India and Turkey. A fifth plant is currently being built in the Czech Republic. Once the Russian factory is operational, Hyundai will have a total global annual production capacity of around two million units.

Russia, being the fastest-growing large-population market left to car makers outside China, has in recent months seen Renault forming a new alliance with Russia’s former market leader AvtoVAZ, while Volkswagen recently opened a new Russian factor for VW and Skoda, and PSA has said it may choose one of a few possible sites for a Russian plant before the year-end. Meanwhile,Associated Press reports that a month-long strike at Ford’s St. Petersburg plant ended yesterday, after the union and management agreed to resume talks on the union’s claim for a 30%-plus pay increase and a reduction in night shift hours to 6.5.

A Russian industry consultant reported in the last issue of Automotive News Europe suggested that the port and roads network of St. Petersburg were too congested to cope with any further car manufacturing output in the area without siginificant infrastructure investment.

(Globalinsight.com, 17 December)

At the launch of the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability conference on Wednesday last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said that Government is working to promote zero carbon homes and suggested similar measures could be adopted for cars in the next

Budget, coinciding with the expected publication of the King Review of low carbon car technologies and policies.

(www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2007/press_143_07.cfm)

On Wednesday 12th December, Lindsay Hoyle, Labour MP for Chorley introduced a debate on the future of UK car manufacturing in the House of Commons. Minister for Competitiveness Stephen Timms said the government will “work more widely to ensure that the automotive sector in the UK can sustain its competitiveness in the face of the twin challenges of low-cost competition and the transition to low-carbon technologies”.

(www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm071212/halltext/71212h0001.htm

#stpa_0)

A major overhaul of rules governing the UK patent system is set to make life a lot easier for British businesses, the Government announced yesterday. The new legislation, which came into force yesteday, 17 December, updates longstanding patent rules to offer customers a flexible system that allows for the greater use of e-business services. Firms in disputes are expected to find litigation at the UK-IPO much easier, with more opportunities for alternative dispute resolution. Guidance is available at www.ipo.gov.uk.

A new European Road Safety Observatory, being developed by 'SafetyNet', an integrated research project endorsed by the Directorate-General for Transport and Energy of the European Commission, is to provide a pan-European platform for the exchange of road safety data and knowledge and to support road safety policy and decision making at all levels across the 27 EU Member States and other European countries.

A conference in April 2008 in Rome will launch the Observatory (www.erso.eu) and the main results of the SafetyNet project. The detailed programme including the registration form will be available in the near future; to register an interest, e-mail safetynet@lboro.ac.uk.

The European Commission proposed on 14th December a new strategy for harnessing the potential of public spending in Europe in R&D, in which it says Europe lags considerably behind the US in terms of spending and has made catching up a priority of the renewed Lisbon strategy.

Where the Commission believes Europe could do substantially more than at present is at the pre-commercial stage, where products and services are not yet ripe for the market, and where investment is particularly risk-prone, but is key for research breakthroughs. The Commission has decided to advocate the procurement of public R&D spending in this pre-commercial phase, to tap unused potential, especially in high tech areas. The Commission noted that important technological innovations such as the Internet Protocol or the Global Positioning System (GPS) would have been unthinkable without combined spending by the public sector and private companies.

The Commission’s new policy may be welcomed by the European vehicle manufacturers’ association ACEA, whose members invested a total of some €20 billion in R&D, or 4% of turnover, both in collaborative programmes and technologies, and in company-specific proprietary activities in 2006, and are facing fresh R&D expenditure demands to meet the new EU fleet-average fleet CO2 emissions limit of 130 g/km.

Friday 14th December’s announcement was accompanied by the creation of two new agencies to manage research projects funded by the EU budget. The "European Research Council Executive Agency" will support the implementation of the Ideas Programme of the 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7), which supports frontier research. It will manage about €7 billion. The "Research Executive Agency" will administer the Marie Curie fellowships schemes, research for the benefit of SMEs and parts of the Space and Security research themes. It will manage research funding of €6.5b and provide evaluation and support services to all other parts of FP7.

MOT testing stations that fall short in risk assessments currently under way will be targeted for further investigation in 2008, the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) is warning its garage members. Inspectors from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) are visiting all UK testing stations, carrying out what is known as MOT Enforcement Transformation assessments (METs).

However, during the visit, the Vehicle Examiner will also inspect non-MOT areas to try to ascertain the likelihood of future non-compliance to the MOT regulations.

Elements that the RMIF advises assessors may look for include:

- Customer waiting areas, toilets, tea/coffee provision

- Health and Safety compliance (Risk Assessments)

- Building condition, maintenance, décor, tidiness and cleanliness

- Non-MOT equipment; maintenance, calibration, condition and availability

- Record keeping

- Staff training and retention

- Management knowledge and training

- Customer profile records

- Commercial factors including discounts, special offers, fast-fit.

VOSA has no power to take direct action against test stations for any perceived shortcomings in any of the above “risk assessment” areas, but according to Stephen Coles, from the RMIF MOT Operations Team, an adverse inspection finding may lead to a follow-on investigation: “VOSA can use this evidence to support a view that stations that fall short in these non-MOT areas lack a degree of professionalism in their approach to their staff and clients which may well be mirrored in the way that the MOT side of the business is run.

“Shortcomings noted during the Risk Assessment will be scored and if deemed significant, will lead to a higher than normal risk score. VOSA will then target stations that are viewed as High Risk with increased inspections, mystery shoppers and targeted enforcement.”

Coles concludes: “All garages should strive to meet the requirements laid down in the best practice guide, as they mirror the RMIF’s own code of practice. The process should be completed by the end of March 2008. Later in the year, testing stations will know how they have been graded.”

The U.S. automotive supplier DURA Automotive Systems, Inc. has elected to postpone its Chapter 11 exit financing process in light of abnormally challenging credit market conditions. As a consequence, the company has requested the Bankruptcy Court continue its confirmation hearing to early next year. DURA will re-evaluate its financing strategy early in 2008.

The House of Commons Transport Committee has minuted that it recognises that considerable progress has been made in reducing the scale of deaths and injuries on the roads of Britain since the publication of Tomorrow’s Roads – safer for everyone in March 2000, although a quarter of all accidental deaths are the result of road crashes; this figure rises to 80% of accidental deaths among young people aged 15–19.

In the light of this statistic the Committee has agreed to inquire into what further policies could be considered to reduce the risk of death and injury between now and 2010—when the current target period comes to an end—and beyond. In particular, the inquiry will address the following questions:

1. To what extent have targets for casualty reduction been a useful tool for focusing professional activity?

2. What further measures need to be adopted to reduce deaths and injuries arising from drinking and driving?

3. How does Great Britain compare with other EU countries in its approach to reducing deaths and injuries?

4. How do approaches in reductions in risk on the roads compare to those adopted in other modes of transport?

5. Are there specific blockages caused by shortages of appropriately trained and skilled staff?

6. What further policies, not already widely used, might be considered for adoption and what evidence there is for their success? And

7. What should be the priorities for government in considering further targets for casualty reduction beyond 2010?

Interested parties are invited to submit written evidence no later than Monday 18 February 2008. A programme of oral evidence will be held in March or April.

(www.parliament.uk/transcom)

On 12th December the Central Works Council of PSA Peugeot Citroën reviewed the measures taken last May under the Group’s jobs and capabilities redeployment plan, and heard Jean-Luc Vergne, Executive Vice President Human Resources and Chairman of the Council, say that in the last six months, 5,090 employees have opted to leacve the group on the terms available under the plan.

They include 1,010 people who volunteered to take retirement, 3,740 who left to pursue personal projects, and 340 who took out-placement leave. 590 further employees not affected by the plan also accepted incentives to retire, while others volunteered to take long-term leave or to benefit from other measures under the plan’s incentive schemes.

In all, 2,120 operators, 1,620 clerical employees, technicians and supervisors and 2,310 managers have benefited from the various plan measures.

Concerning the outlook for 2008, M. Vergne said, “While we have made good progress in cutting fixed and structural costs, we still need to go further. Workforce reduction will continue, mainly through natural wastage. However, we plan to continue to offer leaving incentives at five or six sites which show an excess of 1,000 skilled workers, and to limit new hiring on the basis of a very selective process.”

The second workshop of the EU-funded ETTAR (Environmental Technologies, Training and Awareness-Raising) programme, entitled "Barriers to the take-up of more efficient transport and logistics planning and training and awareness raising methods”, will take place in Prague from 24-25 January 2008. For details of the workshop and information about the ETTAR programme, visit www.ettar.eu or e-mail ettar@ecologic-events.de. To register for the Prague workshop, go to: www.ettar.eu/events/workshop2/registration.html); the closing date is 15 January 2008.

ETTAR was established to identify and assess training needs, methods and activities for the wider use of environmental technologies in the goods transport sector. The programme runs from April 2007 to September 2008 comprising three workshops and a final conference. ETTAR is a coordinated action plan under the 6th EU Framework Programme.

The Prague workshop will deal with the better use of intelligent logistics planning (information technologies) and management as a means to reduce the negative environmental impact of freight transport. The focus will be on awareness raising and training for and within the industries using and supplying freight/logistics services. Other stakeholders involved in the ETTAR programme include transport policy makers, technology developers and urban planners.

The activities of industrial networks gathering and diffusing knowledge/awareness of environmental best practice in logistics will be discussed as well as the potential establishment of a working group beyond ETTAR, intended to foster training training activities, joint projects and forums to help maintain and strengthen constructive dialogue on environmental impact reduction in freight transport.

MOT testing stations that fall short in risk assessments currently under way will be targeted for further investigation in 2008, the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) is warning its garage members. Inspectors from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) are visiting all UK testing stations, carrying out what is known as MOT Enforcement Transformation assessments (METs).

However, during the visit, the Vehicle Examiner will also inspect non-MOT areas to try to ascertain the likelihood of future non-compliance to the MOT regulations. Elements that the RMIF advises assessors may look for include:

- Customer waiting areas, toilets, tea/coffee provision

- Health and Safety compliance (Risk Assessments)

- Building condition, maintenance, décor, tidiness and cleanliness

- Non-MOT equipment; maintenance, calibration, condition and availability

- Record keeping

- Staff training and retention

- Management knowledge and training

- Customer profile records

- Commercial factors including discounts, special offers, fast-fit.

VOSA has no power to take direct action against test stations for any perceived shortcomings in any of the above “risk assessment” areas, but according to Stephen Coles, from the RMIF MOT Operations Team, an adverse inspection finding may lead to a follow-on investigation: “VOSA can use this evidence to support a view that stations that fall short in these non-MOT areas lack a degree of professionalism in their approach to their staff and clients which may well be mirrored in the way that the MOT side of the business is run.

“Shortcomings noted during the Risk Assessment will be scored and if deemed significant, will lead to a higher than normal risk score. VOSA will then target stations that are viewed as High Risk with increased inspections, mystery shoppers and targeted enforcement.”

Coles concludes: “All garages should strive to meet the requirements laid down in the best practice guide, as they mirror the RMIF’s own code of practice. The process should be completed by the end of March 2008. Later in the year, testing stations will know how they have been graded.”

Automotive News reported on 14 December that the U.S. Senate had approved by 86 to eight votes an energy bill that will among other measures raise U.S. CAFE fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks by 40% to 35 mpg, by 2020. The Senate voted 86-8 Thursday night for the measure.

Tougher fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks would begin with the 2011 model year and extend to 2019, and would be the first congressionally-mandated increase in the corporate average fuel economy programme, or CAFE, since its creation in 1975. It has been calculated that adherence to the limit would save the U.S. from importing over 1 million barrels of oil a day by 2020.

Senate voted in the bill after Democratic congressional leaders amended it in response to a threatened presidential veto, by removing clauses imposing tax increases and renewable fuel obligations for power generators.

The energy bill is expected to be passed in a final vote by the House of Representatives next week, and then signed by President Bush.

In view of litigation in progress by the state of California against the Federal Environment Protection Agency concerning the former’s right to set its own greenhouse gas emissions limits, Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and the main sponsor of the Senate fuel economy provision, noted during the Senate debate that the energy bill was not intended in any way to prevent state or federal administrations from passing their own greenhouse gas emissions legislaton in parallel with the Congress’s H.R.6 bill.

(www.senate.gov, Automotive News)

Following a press embargo leak in German media, Land Rover has provided some information on the LRX concept it will unveil at the NAIAS (Detroit Show) in January 2008. The three-door LRX, with its compact size, lighter weight and sustainability focused technologies, “delivers the powerful message that we are as serious about sustainability as we are confident about the continuing relevance and desirability of our vehicles," according to Phil Popham, Land Rover's managing director.

Popham added, “At this stage, LRX is purely a concept, designed to help us develop our thinking as well as gauge customer reaction – but this feels like a hugely exciting direction to take."

The LRX, the first all-new Land Rover revealed since Gerry McGovern became the company's design director, is described as a cross-coupé, and is smaller than Freelander 2, but designed to appeal to new customers in the luxury and executive sector.

Lower weight and the reduced aerodynamic drag resulting from a smaller frontal area give the LRX significant gains over the existing range in fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. It adopts intelligent power management systems and other technologies first shown by Land Rover in the Land_e concept in 2006. The structures of the seats and instrument panel are left exposed to reduce vehicle weight. Glass for side windows and roof is replaced with polycarbonate, which is around 40% lighter.

The choice of the trim materials reflects a concern about sustainability, with vegetable-tanned leather (chromium-free, so better for recycling), extensive use of aluminium, and carpeting made of felt from sustainable sources. 'Fine suede' on the door inserts and headliner is a 100% recycled material made from used plastic bottles.

Further details of the LRX's powertrain and sustainability technologies will be released at the Detroit Show.

- Reports in Indian, U.S. and British media including the Sunday Times all suggested at the weekend of 15-16 December, many not for the first time, that Ford is likely to announce before the year-end that Tata Motors is the lead bidder for Land Rover and Jaguar, and is likely to spend about £1 billion on acquiring the businesses, subject to detailed negotiations expected to begin in January. One factor quoted in Tata’s favour, besides the approval of the Unite trade union, is Tata joint venture partner Fiat’s promise of technical support for continued Jaguar/Land Rover technical development. Another is the importance of the Indian army as a potential customer for Land Rover’s Defender.

The eighth ENG automotive retailing and distribution conference in Brussels, 2-3 April 2008, will explore new business models, distribution channels and future growth opportunities in Europe and emerging markets. Details can be downloaded from

www.eng-nl.com/site_media/files/SP07/Automotive_Retailing_programme.pdf (registration form is on the 4th page).

Speakers will include ACEA’s director of legal affairs, Audi’s head of worldwide aftersales, the president of CECRA, a director of D’Ieteren, the president of the Dutch dealer association BOVAG, the EC’s Head of Motor Vehicles Transport Unit, Fiat Group Automobiles’ head of group strategic projects, Inchcape’s CEO, and representatives from Kroymans, the UK’s National Franchised Dealers Association, Nissan Europe, the Spanish dealers association, and the Professor Peter Cooke from the University of Buckingham.

Those pre-registering for this event before Monday 21st January obtain a 15% discount on the registration fee.