Car production increases again

THE SOCIETY of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said UK manufacturers built 91,282 cars in August, up 16.2%, or 12,705, on the same period in 2012, leaving year-to-date volumes 3.1% ahead of 2012, at 984,545. The figures showed 20,298 cars were made for the home market this year, up 21.1%, while 70,984 were for export, up 14.8%. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "The past 12-months has been one of the most productive since late 2008." Samuel Tombs, of consultancy Capital Economics, said the CBI figures showed the manufacturing sector "continuing to go from strength to strength".

Jaguar F-Type Coupe by SVO for Tour de France – JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations creates F-Type support car for Sky Team

Jaguar F-Type Coupe by SVO for Tour de France support on time trials We’ve already had two new cars from JLR’s new Special Operations division ion the guise of the new Range Rover Sport SVR and Jaguar F-Type Project 7, and now we get another – the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe support car for Jaguar’s Team SKY Tour de France exploits. The support car SVO has created is the standard F-Type R Coupe with the 542bhp supercharged V8, painted in the SKY Team’s usual blue colours and fitted with a clever roof rack to carry a couple of bikes. Other updates include tech in the car to allow team officials to communicate with the tour organisers – including radio, TV and a power supply – and are designed to be used on the individual time trial runs.

Jaguar Land Rover U-turn: all three UK plants saved

Jaguar Land Rover today surprised us all by announcing that it wouldn't be closing any of its three UK plants. CEO of Tata Motors Carl-Peter Forster had told CAR as recently as the Paris motor show a few weeks ago that one plant would shut. Instead, today the unions and Jaguar Land Rover hailed a landmark deal to save jobs and all three plants at Castle Bromwich, Solihull and Halewood.