Volvo Cars sold 44,830 cars in May, down 25.5 per cent compared with the same month last year, as sales and showroom traffic trends in Europe improved and sales in China continued to grow. In the US, sales recovered quicker than expected as more states loosened restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the January-to-May period, Volvo Cars’ global sales reached 208,479 cars, down 25.0 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The UK’s used car market declined by -8.3% in the first quarter of 2020, according to the latest figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Growth in January and February, up 2.9% and 4.0% respectively, was wiped out by a -30.7% fall in March, making it the lowest March on record as coronavirus lockdown measures that came into effect partway through the month closed retailers.

South West retailers have topped PEUGEOT’s Guild of Gold Lion programme, which recognises the best Retailers, Sales Managers and Aftersales personnel within the PEUGEOT Network in 2019, at an awards ceremony held at The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire. This year’s Guild of Gold Lion programme saw the top 25 Retailers in PEUGEOT’s 183- strong UK Retailer Network awarded the Guild of Gold Lion award – with each of the recognised Retailers picking up a plaque commemorating their achievement.

On its way to series maturity, the BMW iNEXT is completing a further chapter of its overall vehicle testing under particularly demanding conditions. Intensive test runs in the freezing cold at the polar circle are now being followed by a contrasting program in the Kalahari in Southern Africa, where in addition to extreme heat and solar radiation, permanent dust formation and off-road terrain with its sand, pebble and gravel tracks pose exceptional challenges for the BMW Group’s technology flagship. In this literally hot phase of the series development process, not only do the drive and suspension components of the BMW iNEXT, a car designed for all-electric mobility, provide proof of their functional safety, durability and reliability, but also the car’s bodywork, interior, driver assistance systems and digitalisation technology.

The Volkswagen Polo has been invigorated with the addition of a Match trim level, adding a host of extra equipment over the award-winning Polo SE which it replaces, with only a minor revision in price. Replacing the second-tier SE trim in the Polo range, Match adds 15-inch ‘Seyene’ alloy wheels, front fog lights, rear tinted-windows, and front and rear parking sensors – equipment which, if specified as options on the Polo SE, would cost £980.

Roads considered challenging enough to be a test of mettle for thoroughbred competition cars on the Azores rally have been chosen to provide a baptism of fire for the quattro system underpinning the all-new Audi A3. Journalists have been able to assess the dynamic capabilities of all-wheel-drive versions of the advanced new compact hatchback on these roads, which snake around the island of São Miguel in Portugal’s Azores archipelago, ahead of the car’s world public debut at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.

Volvo Cars today reports that revenue for 2019 rose by 8.5 per cent to SEK274.1 billion, compared with revenue of SEK252.7 billion in 2018. Operating profit for the full year 2019 improved to SEK14.3 billion, an 0.8 per cent increase compared with SEK14.2 billion in 2018. Cash flow more than doubled compared with 2018 to SEK11.6 billion. The result follows the company’s earlier announcement of a sixth consecutive global sales record in 2019, as it sold more than 700,000 cars for the first time in its history.

The Volkswagen Group and Microsoft Germany have agreed to work together on long-term sustainability and social initiatives. The aim is to promote and jointly implement projects in the context of social responsibility issues, such as sustainability, digital education and training, as well as corporate employee engagement for the common good. A framework agreement between the two companies has been signed.

Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has expanded its L200 Series 6 pick-up truck range with the addition of the new Mitsubishi L200 Trojan. Available from £24,699 CVOTR†, the Mitsubishi L200 Trojan features Mitsubishi Motors’ renowned Super Select 4WD system and the same striking exterior appearance of the L200 Warrior and Barbarian thanks to 18-inch alloy wheels and chrome styling which includes a chrome front grille, exterior door handles and door mirrors.

Despite shrinking overall markets, the Volkswagen Group grew its worldwide deliveries by 1.3 percent to 10,974,600 vehicles in 2019. Market shares were expanded in all regions, in some cases significantly. Volume growth was achieved in Europe (+3.9 percent) and South America (+3.2 percent) while there were slight falls in North America (-0.5 percent) and Asia-Pacific (-0.4 percent). Strong growth was recorded with electric vehicles. As a result of many new models within the framework of the Group’s electric offensive and growing interest on the part of customers, there was a rise of around 80 percent to more than 140,000 vehicles.