Jaguar Land Rover boss: Midlands fantastic region for cars
by Mark Gough
Jaguar Land Rover boss Dr Ralf Speth says he wants to compete with US car makers but says the expansion will be driven from the UK. He says the Midlands is a fantastic region to build cars.
He was speaking at the British American Business Council dinner in Birmingham yesterday evening.
British colleges produce the best designers and engineers and the UK has the best car craftsmen in the world, he said, and advanced manufacturing is the key to success.
Jaguar Land Rover boss Dr Ralf Speth says the Midlands is a fantastic region to build cars in. Credit: David Jones/PA Wire
Business secretary Vince Cable revealed at the dinner that Dr Speth lets him loose on the Jaguar Land Rover race tracks.
Both men are in Birmingham for a three day transatlantic conference organised by the British American Business Council.
Japanese airbag recall affects total of 3.4 million cars
Toyota has said the replacement of airbag inflators will take a few hours for each vehicle. Credit: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
The scope of the Japanese airbag problem is a little wider than first reported, with a total of around 3.4 million vehicles set to be recalled worldwide.
The recall includes 490,000 cars in Europe and 580,000 from North America.
The concern is that airbags in front of the vehicles' front passenger seat may not inflate when required, a spokesman for Toyota said.
He added that no injuries or deaths had been reported because of the fault.
The 'Back to the Future' car Credit: Marketing Aloud
The car which starred in the film 'Back to the Future' is going to be on display in Warwickshire this weekend.
The car has arrived at the Heritage Motor Centre complete with flux capacitor and dashboard signed by Christopher Lloyd, who played Dr Emmett Brown in the film.
Paul Everitt from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says the Midlands' car industry has done well over the last year with investment from Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota and Mini.
Jaguar Land Rover reports both the brands' performance is up 19% on 2011. Jaguar attributes its success to the strong performance of the XF model. For Range Rover the Evoque sold over 18,000 models in the UK.
Jaguar Land Rover figures out Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Archive/Press Association Images
Last year was the best ever for Land Rover sales, selling nearly 55,000 vehicles in the UK, and retail sales were up nearly 20% for the firm, with 68,586 cars sold in 2012.
The company is predicting a positive outlook for 2013, thanks to new products including Jaguar F-TYPE and All-New Range Rover.
