SsangYong Korando

SsangYong has announced it is sponsoring The National, The Caravan Club’s premier event of the year. The six-day celebration is open to all and offers a wide range of activities for everyone. The event has been timed to coincide with The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and is being staged at Eastnor Castle in Hertfordshire, from the 1st to the 6th June.

One Korando crossover is up for grabs as a competition prize for members and there should be a range of other SsangYong 4X4s on show. Steve Gray, marketing and communications director of SsangYong Motor UK, commented “This is a perfect fit for SsangYong. All three of our cars, the new Korando crossover, Rexton 4X4 and Rodius MPV make great tow cars, and represent a real value for money proposition for caravanners. We are very pleased to be teaming up with The Caravan Club on what we hope will be the first of many opportunities to partner the caravan community”.

Further information on the event can be found at The Caravan Club website and we also have SsangYong contract hire on the site now.

City Emergency Braking on the up!

The Volkswagen up! is not even on UK roads yet, but it has just been awarded the title of What Car? Car of the Year 2012, as well as Best City Car, at the What Car? Awards.

Volkswagen had a successful night at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The Golf was voted the top Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also won the coveted Safety Award.

Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen up! sets new standards for a car at £10,000.  It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up.  Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the up! is a worthy winner of the What Car? Car of the Year.’

Meanwhile the Safety Award was in large part the result of the availability of Volkswagen’s new City Emergency Braking system on the up!.  The What Car? judges were impressed by this particular example of ‘big car’ technology filtering down to a smaller model and the system uses sensors to scan the space ahead. It then applies the brakes automatically if it detects that the car is about to hit an object in front. 

Director of Volkswagen UK, Chris Craft, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted with the awards we have received from What Car? this year.  The magazine continues to be one of the most thorough and important sources of new car buying information for UK customers and winning the overall Car of the Year accolade gives our new city car, the up!, the best introduction to the UK market that we could have hoped for”.

First models should arrive in UK showrooms in March and Volkswagen contract hire on the up! range is on the site now.

The full list of category winners at the What Car? Awards 2012 is below.

Chrysler UK sponsors NFL

Chrysler UK has just annnounced their sponsorship deal with the National Football League which will see it become the Official Car Sponsor of the NFL. The new agreement give Chrysler exclusive rights to NFL’s assets and key events which will include the 2011 NFL International Series and the Super Bowl, plus exclusive broadcast sponsorship of Sky Sport’s live NFL coverage throughout the season.

Over the weekend Chrysler and the NFL joined forces at Wembley and the US car manufacturer had an opportunity to showcase some of its models including the new Ypsilon supermini and Delta hatchback. Chrysler also manufacturers the world’s best-selling MPV, the Grand Voyager. In 2009 they formed a strategic alliance with Fiat S.p.A which has already seen them benefit from Fiat’s world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for both small and medium sized cars.

Nigel Land, Chrysler UK brand director, said,”Chrysler shares similar brand values to the NFL and with both brands looking to strengthen their position in the UK, it’s a relationship we look forward to developing as the NFL season progresses”. If you are interested in leasing a new Chrysler car then Chrysler contract hire is on the site now.

Kia Soul 2012 model year

Kia has updated their Kia Soul urban crossover for the 2012 model year with the exterior and interior refreshed, upgrades in specification, lower fuel consumption, improved emissions, six-speed transmissions now standard on all models, plus a new 1.6-litre petrol engine in the range.

The revised 2012 model year has now gone on sale with a choice of two regular trim grades which are badged Soul 1 and Soul 2 and two “Soul Originals”, the Hunter and Quantum. The Soul is a five-door, five-seat, front-wheel-drive hatchback which also offers the flexibility of a medium sized MPV or SUV.

Standard specification now includes air-conditioning, all-round electric windows, remote cental locking six airbags, ESC, ABS, EBD plus Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) and Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) and all cars have a seven-year, 100,000 miles warranty.

Chrysler Delta

Chrysler’s new Delta has now gone on sale in the UK and offers the space of a family saloon in a compact hatchback body. The range starts from £16,695 OTR and there are four trim levels available – S, SE, SR and Limited.

In 2009, Chrysler formed their strategic alliance with Fiat and as such the new Delta has four Fiat fuel-efficient engines on offer. There is a 1.4-litre TurboJet petrol and a more powerful 140bhp version with MultiAir technology, plus a 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesel, which benefit from second-generation MultiJet technology. All the Delta models have six-speed gearboxes with a semi-automatic available on the 1.6 SE MultiJet.

Chrysler Delta

The Delta range has a high standard specification and even the S model comes with a radio/CD with MP3 compatibility, front fog lamps with cornering function, remote keyless entry, manual air-conditioning and power windows front and rear.

Standard safety features across the Delta range offer Daytime Running Lights (DRL), six airbags, three-point safety belts for five seats, ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Hill Holder and Anti Slip Regulation traction control.

The Chrysler range now consists of the Grand Voyager MPV and the smaller sister to the Delta, the Ypsilon. We have Chrysler car leasing on the Delta and the rest of the range on the site now if you are interested in leasing a new car.

New Korando crossover

SsangYong, the Korean manufacturer, is ready to return to the UK with the launch of their new Korando crossover which should be available in September. The brand’s relaunch into the UK follows a recent change to the importer and in addition, SsangYong will also be re-launching the updated versions of the Rexton (rugged 4×4), Rodius (seven-seat MPV) plus the Rexton CV (commercial version) as well.

The new Korando has been designed and styled in Europe by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design, has front-wheel and four-wheel drive models, plus it has a two-tonne towing capacity. It is being pitched against the Hyundai ix35, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi ASX and Nissan Qashqai and is keenly priced from only £16,995 on-the-road, making it highly competitive.

All models are powered by an advanced 173bhp 2.0-litre four cylinder turbo diesel engine with CO2 emissions from only 157g/km. The car has an “on demand” four wheel drive system and has a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The car trim levels are S or ES in their front wheel drive Korando, or the top of the range EX specification in four wheel drive.

All models comes equipped with cruise control, ESP with Hill Start Assist and reverse parking sensors as standard, which will be a great help when towing. The ES and EX come with the addition of a sunroof, climate control, leather upholstery and heated front and rear seats. SsangYong car leasing prices on all models are on the site.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the latest new car registrations for March, which saw 366,101 new 11-plate cars registered. Compared to the same period in 2010, this is a fall of 7.9%. However March did perform better than expected, with registrations up 5.9% on 2010, with car scrappage figures excluded.

Overall in the first quarter of 2011, new car registrations fell by 8.7% to 558,336 units and the SMMT is forecasting only 1.93 million new cars will be registered in the whole of 2011. However interestingly, average new car CO2 emissions dropped again for the first quarter by 3.4%, with an average CO2 figure of 140.3g/km being recorded.

Other headlines from the SMMT data;

• Fleet and business registrations saw a modest growth in the first quarter of the year, however private registrations fell post scrappage scheme.
• Diesel car volumes rose by 7.9% in Q1, with the diesel market share rising from 41.1% to 48.5%.
• The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model in the month and also in Q1.
• Supermini volumes fell in March, lower medium cars saw a drop in demand, whilst demand for luxury saloon, MPV and executive cars increased.

Full details of the SMMT new car registrations can be found at the SMMT website. If you are a small business (or a private individual) but you don’t want to spend your cash on a large asset like a car, then car leasing may be the answer for you, as the initial rental required is only three months in advance.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its 10th annual New Car CO2 Report, which shows that emissions of new cars have fallen by 3.5% in 2010 and by over 20% since 2000.

Other highlights of the reports are as follows;

• Sub 130g/km CO2 new cars now represent nearly 40% of the market (was less than 1% in 2000)
• Nearly 40,000 vehicles are now exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, with emissions under 100g/km.
• Luxury saloons and MPVs made the the biggest reduction in CO2 over the past year, falling by 6.4% and 6.0% respectively

The European fleet emissions target is set at 130g/km by 2015 and this report clearly demonstrates that many manufacturers are on track to achieve this target.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive,said,”New technology has delivered impressive reductions in CO2 emissions but coordinated action, to support research and development, new infrastructure and consumer incentives, is critical to securing significant future advances. The economical and political challenges of high fuel prices, energy security and climate change are shared issues that must be addressed at an international level”.

The full SMMT New Car CO2 Report 2011 is free to download off www.smmt.co.uk

There is a direct correlation between low CO2 emissions and good fuel economy, so if you are thinking of leasing your next car, the Vehicle Type leasing shopper enables you to select body type i.e. hatchback, then choose your CO2 ranges and also the combined mpg range you want to achieve. This way you can chose the lowest CO2 car, with the best combined mpg, for your next leased vehicle.

New car registrations fell by 11.5% in January to 128,811 units which was in line with the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturer’s and Traders) expectations. Interestingly the market share for cars with a CO2 figure of less than 100g/km increased again by 65% . Average new car CO2 emissions were 141.5g/km which compares favourably to the figure in 2010, which was 144.2g/km.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive commented,”New car registrations fell by 11.5% in January. This is in line with SMMT forecasts and marks the beginning of a challenging year for the UK motor industry. Consumer confidence is low and it is important that government uses the March budget to help relieve some of the financial pressure on motorists by freezing fuel duty,while providing stability and certainty on motoring taxes. Despite the challenging conditions, the demand for low CO2 emitting and highly fuel efficient cars continues to grow”.

Some other interesting facts;

• In terms of market sector, Private Registrations were down by 20.8% to 51,570, Fleet (25+fleets) is down by 3.1% to 70,448 and the Business sector (under 25 fleets) fell by 11.1% to  6,793.
• Diesel new car registrations continued to grow with 65,079 vehicles registered, an increase of 8.3% year on year.
• Petrol cars fell by 25.9% (61,932 units) and AFVs (alternatively fuelled vehicles) by 2.4% (1,800 vehicles).
• The top selling car in the UK was the Ford Focus, followed by the Ford Fiesta and then the Vauxhall Astra.
• Demand for the mini and supermini segments fell (following the loss of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme) however demand for executive, luxury, MPV and dual purpose segments cars recovered strongly.

Further details can be found at the SMMT website.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has published the December and full year car, van and truck registrations with 2010 new car registrations up 1.8% on 2009. The 2010 car market rose by 35,847 units to 2,030,846 with the fleet market (25+ vehicles) rising by over 10%. Registrations in December fell by 18% to 123,817 units.

Private volumes slipped however due to the end of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme (SIS). The 2011 market is expected to decline by around 5% with a forecasted UK car registrations figure of 1.93 million units.

Here are some other highlights from the SMMT about new car registrations in 2010;

• Diesel penetration rose to a record 46.1% which was helped by the increase in MPV and SUV sales, which are usually diesel, and also due to the fall in private retail car sales due to the Scrappage Scheme, which tended to be smaller petrol models.
• The Ford Fiesta was the biggest selling new car in the UK for the second successive year and Ford was the best selling brand.
• In December however, Vauxhall was the best selling brand with the new Astra the best selling model.

Van and truck registrations

Van and truck registrations climbed by 16.4% in 2010 with full year up to 257,373 units and in December there were 20,260 registrations, up 25.6%. Vans were up by 21.7% to 17,086 in December with the full year figures finishing at 222,915, up by 19.6%.

However truck registrations rose by 51.6% to 3,174 in December with the full year down by just 0.8% and 34,458 units registered. Further details about 2010 vehicle registrations can be found at the SMMT website.