Tata Motors accelerates to unexpected profit supported by JLR

Tata Motors, India’s largest vehicle manufacturer, has unexpectedly swung into profit in the second quarter, supported by domestic sales and reduced losses at its Jaguar Land Rover business.

JLR reported a net loss of £60 million in the quarter, £4m better than in the previous three months, and against a £240m loss in the period last year. The improved financial performance was on the back of a sales increase of 23% in the three months ending September 30.

Tata reported consolidated net profit of $4.7m for the quarter to the end of September.

Meanwhile, Tata has rejected a £10 million loan from the Government’s Automotive Assistance Programme for a technical centre in the Midlands.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced the loan last month, saying that Britain was backing Tata’s research into electric cars.

However, it has been reported that Tata can get better terms from commercial lenders so has rejected the loan. (Financial Times: November 28/Sunday Times: November 29).

Sweden rules out state rescue of Saab

Sweden’s prime minister has ruled out a government bail-out for Saab Automobile and warned that European leaders must not stand in the way of efforts to tackle over capacity in the car industry.

Fredrik Reinfeldt said his government would offer credit guarantees if Saab’s parent company General Motors could find a buyer.

But, he said the government would not intervene if GM chose to liquidate Saab after a deal to sell the company collapsed last week.

The prime minister said: “You cannot save jobs just by pushing in taxpayers’ money if you don’t have the competitiveness to survive in a tough industry with overcapacity.”

It is understood that GM has received a number of expressions of interest from companies interested in acquiring Saab.

It is believed that Beijing Automotive, which was to have taken a minority stake in Saab as part of the now defunct Koenigsegg deal, is in talks with GM abut the possibility of making a bid for the whole of the carmaker. In addition, Merbanco, a Wyoming-based merchant bank, has also expressed an interest.

GM’s board will meet tomorrow (Tuesday, December 1) to decide the future of Saab.

Volvo, Sweden’s other global car brand, also faces an uncertain future as Ford tries to offload the business to the Chinese motor manufacturer Geely.

Mr Reinfeldt said he was keen to preserve Swedish vehicle manufacturing, but urged politicians to face up to overcapacity. He said: “Politicians in Europe cannot all say, ‘We must keep our facilities exactly as they are.’” (Financial Times: November 28/Daily Telegraph: November 30).

Motorways could be left dark to help nature

Motorway lights should be turned off at night to protect the environment, according to the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution.

Light pollution stops people enjoying the night sky and could be disrupting the delicate lifecycles of birds, bats and other wildlife, according to the Commission.

They say that motorway lights, other than those at junctions, do little to prevent accidents, and that the benefits are likely to be too small to justify the costs. (Daily Mail: November 28).

Business rate hike threatens rural fuel stations

Fuel retailers are challenging business rate increases of up to 200%, saying that they threaten to put hundreds out of business.

The Retail Motor Industry’ Petrol Retailers’ Association said that the Valuation Office Agency’s calculation process means that mini-supermarkets could be paying lower rates than shops in forecourts , although they were often in competition.

Owners of the UK’s 6,000 independent fuel stations will this week launch a major MP-backed campaign to urge the VOA to rethink its ‘flawed’ methodology before rates are increased on April 1, 2010.

Fuel retailers say they are at a disadvantage because their rateable value is based on their relatively high turnover, while mini-supermarkets, such as Tesco Express, have their values calculated on square footage.

The PRA has forecast that the number of fuel stations forced to close could double to 500 a year after the increase, leading to ‘petrol deserts’ in rural areas.

There are 9,000 forecourts in the UK, of which 3,000 are owned by oil companies or supermarkets. The remaining 6,000 are classed as independents. (Sunday Telegraph: November 29/The Times: November 30).

Chorley Group lands Infiniti export deal

The Chorley Group has signed a deal to be the sole supplier of Infiniti to export markets outside the UK.

The group already runs its Nissan Export operation which supplies vehicles to a network of contacts in destinations as far afield as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Samoa.

Already a success in America, Infiniti is now hoping to crack the European market by taking on established prestige brands such as Audi and BMW.

Initially, the firm has a line-up of five models ranging from £30,300 to £53,800, including the G37 coupé, G37 convertible, G37 saloon, EX37 coupé crossover and the FX line of crossovers.

A sixth model, a larger saloon that will challenge the Jaguar XF and BMW 5-series, will follow next year.

Dave Hull, export director at The Chorley Group, said: “This is a very exciting move for us as a group. In the past, we have enjoyed a lot of success in the export market, and each deal we do is incremental to our normal dealership business.

“The Infiniti range is already creating a real buzz in the UK, and it will only be available through a specialist network of dealers. However, they decided to approach us about handling the export side and we were only too happy to help.” (AM-Online: November 30).

Tories oppose Workplace Parking Levy

The Conservatives have tabled a motion to annul Nottingham’s controversial Workplace Parking Levy, registering the party’s opposition to the scheme that’s due to launch in 2012.

“The Early Day Motion signed before the end of the last Parliament was a line in the sand,” said a Conservative spokesman. “We think the WPL is a bad idea and are concerned about the impact on jobs in the city and area.”

But the party wouldn’t be drawn on whether it would look to overturn the scheme should it win the next general election due to be held before June next year, with the spokesman refusing to comment on ‘hypotheticals’.

The Motion is only a ‘parliamentary procedure’, according to the spokesman, and didn’t yet signal a challenge to its introduction, but it does give a clear indication of the Conservative stance on the scheme that will charge businesses an initial £253 per space for employee parking per year, rising to £350 within two years. (BusinessCar: November 30).