Jaguar & The Jockey Club

Jaguar has become the Official Partner of The Jockey Club which will see Jaguar showcasing its range of luxury cars and providing VIP transport at The Jockey Club’s racecourses at Aintree, Epsom Downs and Newmarket. The Jockey Club will now encourage race goers to get close up to the XF, XJ and XK.

Geoff Cousins,Managing Director of Jaguar, said,”We are very excited to become the first Official Partner of the Jockey Club, a group that boasts strong heritage and a bright future. Racing is something of a British institution that attracts attention from all areas of the country. This initial one year deal sits within our overall strategy to encourage reappraisal of Jaguar by new customer groups”.

Jaguar

The 2011 London Motorexpo is being held at Canary Wharf in London between the 6th and 12th of June with access free of charge to all members of the public. Many British car manufacturers will be showcasing their new models with Jaguar unveiling the 2012 model line-up to the public for the first time. They will have models of the new XF, XFR saloons, XK coupe and convertible and of course the new 2.2-litre diesel XF, which is bound to be popular with fleets.

Other car manufacturers on show include Bentley with the new Continental GT, Land Rover with their Range Rover Evoque, Group Lotus with the Elise Club Racer plus their Evora GT4, Saab with its all-new 9-5 Sportwagon and finally Skoda with its efficient Greenline II range.

The 2011 London Motorexpo show also has a “Drive the Future” feature where you can experience the latest electric cars and low-carbon vehicles plus the exciting purpose built off-road course gives you the chance to experience Land Rover’s off-road capabilities.

Audi A1

If you have decided on the model of car you want to order on contract hire leasing, then you do need to consider the vehicle stock lead times and availability of your model, especially if you also want to personalise it with any accessories and choose the colour.

For example, if you are thinking of leasing an Audi A1, the wait for your vehicle delivery may be long, as lead times are as high as 28 weeks. So order early to avoid disappointment and possibly a long wait for your new vehicle. If you do order early, you may find that the manufacturer will “price protect” the vehicle, from future manufacturer list price increases, (depending on the length of the factory order build time), however do check this with your chosen leasing company.

Here is the latest general update on car vehicle stock availability – data kindly supplied by Inchcape;

The above data is only a guide and you may well find a vehicle in stock at a local dealer.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz has been named as the UK’s number one Consumer Superbrand 2011, knocking Microsoft off the top perch, who fell to sixth position in the table. The annual Consumer Superbrands results were analysed independently by the Centre for Brand Analysis and the views of over 2,000 members of the British Public were taken into account. BMW was also ranked at seventh and Jaguar at tenth.

Wilfried Steffen, President and CEO Mercedes Benz UK, said,”Winning the Superbrands survey is very special for Mercedes-Benz, and I am delighted that we’ve achieved the coveted number one spot in our 125th year”. In addition to this survey, Superbrands also published the 2011 Business Superbrands listing which was topped by the Rolls-Royce Group.

BMW 3 Series diesel

Last year there were several makes and models of cars that were really popular on Comparecontracthire.com. Contract hire essentially provides you a fixed monthly rental to lease your car and can cover most of the costs of ownership, including vehicle depreciation. You may find therefore that cars that cost the same to buy, may have widely differing contract hire monthly rental costs as a result.

For example, an Audi 2.0 TDI 2.0 TDI 136bhp 4-door saloon (Start/Stop) has a manufacturer list price of  £24,485

The Alfa Romeo 159 diesel saloon 2.0 JTDM Lusso 4-door saloon has a manufacturer list price of £24,429.47

On a three year, non-maintained contract hire rental, on 10,000 miles per annum, payment profile 3+35 rentals, the Audi rental is £314 plus VAT and the Alfa Romeo is £339.32 plus VAT per month.

That’s just over a £25 per month difference for two cars that basically cost the same to buy. The best way to see what is the best car you can get for your money, is to use the contract hire vehicle shopper and select your body style (i.e. saloon car), favourite manufacturers and then how much you want to spend. You may be surprised by some of the results and could find a car that you never thought you could afford.

The 2010 list of top contract hire models is below

1. BMW 3 Series Diesel Saloon
2. Audi A3 Diesel Sportback
3. Volkswagen Golf Diesel Hatchback
4. Nissan Navara Diesel
5. BMW 5 Series Diesel Saloon
6. Audi A4 Diesel Saloon
7. Audi A3 Diesel Hatchback
8. BMW 1 Series Diesel Hatchback
9. Volkswagen Scirocco Diesel Coupe
10. Volkswagen Scirocco Coupe
11. Mercedes C Class Diesel Saloon
12. BMW 3 Series Diesel Touring
13. Volkswagen Golf Hatchback
14. BMW 1 Series Diesel Coupe
15. Audi A4 Diesel Avant
16. Jaguar XF Diesel Saloon
17. Mazda Mazda6 Diesel Hatchback
18. Audi A5 Diesel Coupe
19. Audi Q5 Diesel Estate
20. Nissan Qashqai Hatchback

The ACEA economic report has announced that European total vehicle production in the EU rose by 15% in the first nine months of 2010, when compared to the same period in 2009. Car production rose by 13%, with vans expanding in all segments, in all three quarters as well.

The ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association) was founded in 1991 and represents the interests of the sixteen European car, van, truck and bus manufacturers across Europe. The Association members include some of the major manufacturers, including the BMW Group, FIAT Group, Ford of Europe, Jaguar Land Rover, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group and Volvo Cars to name just a few.

These figures and other data can be found in the latest ACEA Economic Report published on the ACEA website.

Audi A1 - 28 weeks factory order

It can be an exciting time choosing your new car and after finally making up your mind which Audi, BMW or Volkswagen you want to contract hire lease, you then find out that the car you want, in your colour choice and your accessory specification is going to take 20 weeks to build it!

Vehicle lead times and availability for the most popular cars do vary and if you can be flexible on your colour choice or accessory options, you may well find a vehicle in stock at the dealer, or in pipeline (part-build). However when the dealer places a factory order, the car manufacturers will quote you approximate factory build times, based on their respective schedule build programmes.

The build programmes however can be quite structured i.e. BMW for example may be building BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series in November but the build programme for BMW 1 Series may not start until December for example (this is an illustration of the process and not fact). So when you are quoted 10 weeks for a factory order, it may also be 10 weeks from when the actual build programme for that model starts, so your wait may be longer. And if your vehicle has to be shipped from Germany or wherever, add another week or so to the expected delivery date.

So, in summary, if you know want to order an Audi, BMW, Volkswagen or Mercedes-Benz or indeed any other vehicle, whether that be on contract hire, dealer finance or whatever, it is always best to order sooner rather than later, to avoid disappointment.

We have summarised below the latest Vehicle Lead Time Availability on selected models – data is supplied courtesy of Inchcape, one of the UK’s largest dealer groups and is a guide only.

iPhone app

Available free in iTunes, Jaguar has launched two new iConfigurator apps to showcase the full Jaguar range of luxury cars to both UK and US market specification. The app also allows you to share the configuration on Twitter and Facebook and shows of the XJ, XK and XF models.

Jaguar iPhone app

The app can be used on both iPhones and iPads and also in conjunction with this, Jaguar is also making its Jaguar Magazine available on iPad as well. This 75th special-edition magazine highlights 75 fascinating facts about Jaguar and its racing heritage.

BMW 3 Series Diesel

The most popular model on Comparecontracthire.com for the month of September, was the BMW 3 Series diesel saloon in various model options, however the EffiicentDynamics model is proving particularly popular.

Year to date there are is one popular pick-up that has now entered our top five vehicles and that’s the Nissan Navara diesel. The full list of the Top 20 vehicles (where customers have contacted our contract leasing partners for more information) is below. It is clear that diesel is by far the most popular fuel with 18 out of the Top 20 models being a diesel option. Our Car leasing prices and data is updated daily and you will be able to find any new make or model of car on the site.

Top 20

1. BMW 3 Series Diesel Saloon
2. Audi A3 Diesel Sportback
3. Volkswagen Golf Diesel Hatchback
4. Nissan Navara Diesel Pick-up
5. Audi A4 Diesel saloon
6. Volkswagen Scirocco Coupe Petrol
7. Volkswagen Scirocco Coupe Diesel
8. BMW 1 Series Diesel Hatchback
9. Audi A3 Diesel Hatchback
10. BMW 5 Series Diesel Saloon
11. Mercedes C Class Diesel Saloon
12. Volkswagen Golf Hatchback Petrol
13. BMW 3 Series Diesel Touring
14. Jaguar XF Diesel Saloon
15. BMW 1 Series Diesel Coupe
16. Mazda6 Diesel Hatchback
17. Audi A4 Diesel Avant
18. Audi A5 Diesel Avant
19. Audi Q5 Diesel Coupe
20. Audi Q5 Diesel Estate

David Haye

WBA World Heavyweight Champion David Haye has joined the Jaguar Academy of Sport as an Ambassador. He has joined the exclusive list of stars who have already signed up to the Jaguar Academy. The Jaguar Academy of Sport aims to recognise, inspire and celebrate the very best of British sporting talent and achieves this goal using a Bursary Fund.

David Haye said, “I am thrilled to be working with the Jaguar Academy of Sport, it is a great initiative and one that could have a really positive affect on young atheletes at the beginning of their careers. I feel passionately about putting something back into British Sport and I look forward to supporting the next generation”.