Bridgend Engine Facility celebrates two significant milestones for Ford.

Ford’s Bridgend Engine Plant (BEP) in Wales has built its 19-millionth engine, 35 years after production began in May 1980. Earlier this year the Plant also produced its eight-millionth small capacity petrol “Duratec” engine, since ‘job one’ at Bridgend in May 1998.

These two significant landmarks were celebrated by Ford Bridgend’s 2,200-strong workforce, alongside Ford Glasgow 2014 Athlete Ambassador, Aled Davies, whose father has worked at the plant for 35 years. They were joined by Paralympic athlete Nathan Stephens, whose father, Barrie, is also a BEP employee.

Bridgend Engine Plant manager, Ian Pearson, said: “We have a proud record of high-volume engine production at Bridgend, and we’re delighted to celebrate two significant milestones with the team that builds them.

“The Duratec engine has been produced here for 17 years and is exported across the globe. This is built alongside Ford’s very latest technology – our EcoBoost products – which provide ultra-low emissions, excellent fuel economy, refinement and performance.”

Ford Bridgend supplies petrol engines for Ford vehicles around the world, including the new 1.5-litre EcoBoost, available on the new Ford Focus, Ford Kuga, Ford Mondeo, and Ford S-MAX models. The existing 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine used to power the multi-award-winning Ford Fiesta ST is also built at the Plant.

More than 700,000 engines were built at Bridgend last year alone, 80 per cent of which were exported. A large number of these engines are exported across the Atlantic; more than 620,000 engines produced at Bridgend have been exported to the United States and Mexico since production began, with more than 75,000 so far this year*.

Last year a wind turbine was installed at Ford Bridgend, supplying energy directly to the plant. The turbine is capable of supplying up to 1,700 megawatt hours (MWh) per annum.

*As of 30 April 2015

Ford is named "Most Innovative Volume Brand 2015" at AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards, Focus is class winner.

• Ford wins “Most Innovative Volume Brand 2015” at the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS awards.
• Ford Focus wins award in its class, all-new Mondeo in top three in its segment
• The Centre of Automotive Management announces the winners after considering 1,220 innovations from 53 auto brands across 18 global automotive companies
• Ford wins for safety and semi-autonomous driver assistance systems including Active Park Assist, and Active City Stop

Ford Motor Company has been named the “Most Innovative Volume Brand 2015” for its safety and semi-autonomous driver technologies at the tenth annual AutomotiveINNOVATIONS awards.

The Centre of Automotive Management based in Germany named Ford the category winner after considering innovations from 18 global automotive groups representing 53 brands. The new Ford Focus also won in its class, and the all-new Ford Mondeo was in the top three in its segment.

Ford won the awards for safety and driver assistance systems including Active Park Assist that helps drivers to park alongside other cars, and in parallel parking spaces; and automatic braking technology Active City Stop that operates at speeds of up to 30mph.

“Innovation has always been the lifeblood of Ford and it’s more vital with the automotive industry entering a period of rapid technological advancement,” said Joe Bakaj, vice president, Product Development, Ford of Europe. “The technologies we are introducing today are enabling a safer, more efficient and more connected journey.”  

The Centre of Automotive Management is an independent institute for automotive and mobility research and strategic consulting at the University of Applied Sciences, Bergisch Gladbach,in Germany. 

The Automotive INNOVATIONS awards recognises automotive engineering innovation. The judging panel, led by centre director Prof. Dr. Stefan Bratzel, in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, reported that driver assistance systems accounted for nearly 300 of the innovations submitted.

“AutomotiveINNOVATIONS identified the future trends in the automotive industry on the basis of more than 1,200 technical innovations,” Bratzel said. “The award for Ford as ‘Most Innovative Volume Manufacturer’ proves the innovative power of the brand. With Focus and Mondeo, many of the innovations have already found their way into production.”

Jurors also recognised Ford for the award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine that last year became the first engine to be named International Engine of the Year three years in a row, and the company’s Electronic Stability Programme technology.   

In a speech in Frankfurt on Wednesday, Bakaj outlined Ford Smart Mobility, the company’s plan to help protect the freedom of mobility and change the way the world moves as it becomes increasing more crowded and urbanized. In January, the company launched an initial 25 mobility pilot projects to foster innovation in the areas of connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, customer experience and big data.

Launched last year, the new Focus is sold in more than 140 markets worldwide and also offers voice-activated SYNC 2 technology that enables drivers simply to say “I’m hungry” to bring up a list of local restaurants, which they can then get directions to. The all-new Mondeo offers technologies includingInflatable Rear Seatbelt that combines airbag and seatbelt attributes, and Ford’s new Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection that can detect people in the road ahead – or that could cross the vehicle’s path – and automatically apply the brakes if the driver does not respond to warnings.

Auto Trader announces the UK's best selling second hand cars for March 2015.

Auto Trader, the UK’s largest digital marketplace for buying and selling new and used vehicles, has today revealed a list of the fastest selling used cars in March. Heading the top ten was the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso which took an average of 15 days to sell. That’s nearly a month and a half quicker than the industry average, which stands at 55 days.

Top ten fastest selling cars – March 2015

Rank	Make/Model	Variant	Average Days to Sell	Average Price Position
1	Citroen Grand C4 Picasso	2014 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso MPV Diesel Manual	15	100.3%
2	Ford C-Max	2012 Ford C-Max MPV Diesel Automatic	17	98.9%
3	Ford Focus	2014 Ford Focus Estate Petrol Manual	18	97.9%
4	Audi TT	2012 Audi TT Coupe Petrol Manual	20	99.1%
5	Nissan Qashqai	2012 Nissan Qashqai Hatchback Petrol Automatic	20	98.6%
6	Vauxhall GTC	2014 Vauxhall GTC Coupe Diesel Manual	21	94.7%
7	Vauxhall Mokka	2014 Vauxhall Mokka Hatchback Diesel Automatic	22	98.5%
8	Renault Grand Scenic	2012 Renault Grand Scenic MPV Diesel Manual	23	99.8%
9	Ford Mondeo	2014 Ford Mondeo Hatchback Diesel Manual	23	99.2%
10	Toyota Prius	2012 Toyota Prius Hatchback Electric Hybrid Automatic	24	100.7%

The data also reinforces the close correlation between pricing-to-market and speed-of-sale. On average each of the top ten fastest selling cars was 98.8% aligned with Auto Trader’s recommended retail price, based on valuations data underpinned by actual retail prices.

“The top ten is interesting for a number of reasons, not least because it provides clear evidence that pricing to market boosts speed of sale,” said Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader Trade Solutions Director. “Optimal pricing and careful stock management using products like Auto Trader i-Control can really help dealers, by cutting average days to sell and thereby boosting profits.”

Passat beats German rivals in the residual value fight.

PREMIUM CAR quality with a mainstream new vehicle price tag will spell success for the all new Volkswagen Passat in the battle of the ‘big five’ company cars, say independent experts CAP Automotive.

It’s a sector that is hotly contested by five giants of the company car world – Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Ford Mondeo, Mercedes C Class and Volkswagen Passat – which means every new launch is critical for a manufacturer.

Key to success in this market is driver appeal to attract company car choosers, together with competitive depreciation so that fleets can offer the best possible contract hire rates.

According to CAP the all new Passat wins on both counts, with premium car quality normally associated with prestige badges and lower cash depreciation forecast than for any of its German rivals.

CAP’s future used car value forecasting experts – whose ‘Gold Book’ residual value forecasting tool is the industry’s independent benchmark for tomorrow’s second hand prices – say new Passat will retain 37.4% of its value after three years and 60,000 miles.

It means the completely re-engineered Passat is expected to lose just over £13,400 over three years, compared with £15,880 for the equivalent Mercedes C-Class, £16,970 for the Audi A4 and £17,445 for the BMW 3 Series.

The strength of the Volkswagen brand – which is now knocking on the door of premium car status in the form of the new Passat – is revealed by the fact that CAP is forecasting a three year old car to be worth more than its BMW and Audi rivals at the same point.

CAP senior forecasting editor Dylan Setterfield said: “People might reasonably assume that a Volkswagen would generally be worth less as a used car than the equivalent models from more traditionally premium image manufacturers, like Audi and BMW.

“In reality, though, we are anticipating the new Passat to be worth £10,900 in the trade market, after three years, which is £325 more than our forecast for the Audi A4 and £725 above the BMW 3 Series.

“Volkswagen have kept to their ethos of evolution rather than revolution, with the new Passat. Even though everything has changed under the skin, there’ll be no question of unsettling the existing Passat fan because the outward changes remain quite subtle.

“It’s fair to say that this new model will keep the loyal Passat chooser happy while tempting those drivers who want a premium car without the premium new price tag to try a Volkswagen for the first time.”

WhatCar? announces the shortlist for 2015 Car Of The Year.

What Car? has revealed the shortlist for its prestigious 2015 Car of the Year Award.

The shortlist comprises 26 outstanding vehicles that went on sale for the first time in 2014. But it includes the Smart Fortwo, Volkswagen Golf SV,Nissan X-Trail, Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe, BMW i8, Porsche Macan and the Lamborghini Huracan.

The annual What Car? Awards are the most sought-after prizes for car manufacturers and the car-buying public alike. What Car? experts ensure that only the cars that deliver exceptionally against stringent criteria are shortlisted.

As well as the overall Car of the Year Award, the event celebrates the very best vehicles across 16 separate caterories, as chosen by the public and What Car? industry professionals.

For 2015, individual categories are: city car, small car, family car, electric car, coupé, estate car, mpv, hot hatch, convertible, small SUV, large SUV, executive car, sports car, luxury car, reader award and a safety award. This last award is sponsored by the Thatcham research centre and open only to vehicles that have achieved five Euro NCAP stars and come fitted with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB).

What Car? editor Jim Holder said: “The new car market has been buoyant in the UK during 2014 and the automotive industry in the UK has bloomed – that means there are a heap of exciting new cars that are all genuine contenders for our main COTY prize. No wonder the decision-making process around the shortlist was even more intense than usual.”

Awards are given to the cars that set the highest standards in their class and only the best is named What Car? Car of the Year. Last year, the Sunderland-built Nissan Qashqai was crowned the overall winner.

This year’s event takes place on January 7, 2015 at the Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.  

WHAT CAR? 2015 COTY AWARD SHORT LIST

City Car (sponsored by Warranty Direct)

Renault Twingo

Smart Fortwo

Small Car

Hyundai i20

Mazda 2

Mini 5dr

Skoda Fabia

Vauxhall Corsa

Family Car

Ford Mondeo

Nissan Pulsar

Electric car (sponsored by Hankook)

BMW i8

Coupe

Audi TT

Jaguar F-type Coupe

Mercedes S-Class Coupe

Estate Car

Ford Mondeo Estate

Volkswagen Passat Estate

MPV

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

Volkswagen Golf SV

Small SUV

Citroen C4 Cactus

Kia Soul

Large SUV

Land Rover Discovery Sport

Nissan X-Trail

Porsche Macan

Executive car (sponsored by Allianz Global Assistance)

Volkswagen Passat

Sports Car

BMW M3

Lamborghini Huracan

McLaren 650S Spider