East Anglia and London are named as the worst regions for stolen cars being made for sale.

• HPI urges used car buyers to protect themselves from losing the car and the money they paid for it
• www.hpicheck.com

Nearly 15,000 stolen cars being offered for sale were uncovered by vehicle history check expert, HPI, in 2015.  The latest figures from HPI reveal that East Anglia and London were the two regions where the greatest number of stolen cars were discovered by buyers who conducted an HPI Check®.  Scotland, North East England and Northern Ireland are where the least stolen cars were offered for sale.

Within East Anglia, Norfolk and Suffolk harboured the most stolen vehicles for sale, with South West London and Middlesex, being London’s hotspots.  Cambridge and Essex, both in East Anglia, also showed a higher propensity of stolen vehicles for sale than other areas across the UK.  Interestingly, Cambridge did not appear as an area of concern in 2014, but replaces Avon in HPI’s 2015 analysis.

“Consumers simply do not realise that if they unwittingly buy a stolen car that is later proven to be recorded as stolen with the police, they stand to lose both the car and their money,” says Philip Nothard, cap hpi consumer and retail editor.  “Once a vehicle is revealed as stolen, it will be returned to its rightful owner, whether that’s the previous owner or the insurance company that paid out a claim on it, leaving the victim with no car and, potentially, thousands of pounds out of pocket.”

HPI’s analysis of 76 areas across the UK (where the majority of vehicle history checks were conducted in 2015*) reports that Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Midlands, Tyne & Wear, Belfast, Wiltshire and Devon had the least number of stolen cars advertised for sale.

To help buyers radically reduce the risk of falling foul of car thieves, HPI offers four simple, but highly effective rules consumers should apply when buying privately.

One… Buyers must always make sure they view the car at the registered keepers address (as shown on the V5C/logbook). Buyers should ensure all the VIN/chassis numbers on the vehicle match each other and then use the HPI Check to ensure they tally with the details as recorded with the DVLA.

Two…Know the car’s market value. If they are paying less than 70% of the market price for a vehicle, then they should be on their guard. There is rarely such a thing as a bargain and no genuine seller will want to lose money on their sale.

Three…Don’t pay with cash, particularly if the car is costing more than £3,000. Some criminals will take a bankers draft as part payment, because the cash part is sufficient profit without ever cashing the bankers draft.  Most crooks selling stolen cars would rather walk away from a sale than take a payment that could be traced back to them. Despite strong advice to buyers to pay via the banking system, HPI still hears of many buyers who go on to pay in cash and subsequently find out that the car is stolen, and that they’ve lost both their money and the vehicle.

Four...Check the vehicle’s V5C/logbook. Stolen V5C documents are still being used to accompany stolen vehicles.  As an added security measure, the HPI Check continues to include a unique stolen V5C document check as standard.  This will confirm whether or not the document is one that the DVLA have recorded as stolen.

Philip Nothard concludes, “Our analysis shows where in the UK used car buyers should take extra care, however, we’d recommend a vehicle history check before you buy, wherever you are in the UK. By visitingwww.hpicheck.com, buyers can find out if that dream machine has something to hide, including whether it’s been recorded as stolen. There is no way to detect a stolen car with the naked eye and buying blind just isn’t worth the risk.”

The HPI Check also includes a mileage check against the National Mileage Register as standard, with over 200 million mileage readings. HPI also confirms whether a vehicle has outstanding finance against it or has been written off by an insurer.  With more than 80 valuable data points, the HPI Check the best way for consumers to protect themselves from fraudsters looking to make a fast profit.  

2015 Regions

East Anglia London North West England Midlands South East England Wales South West England South Central England Scotland North East England Northern Ireland

2015 Top 6 Sub-Regions  (76 sub-regions analysed)

Norfolk, East Anglia South West London, London = Suffolk, East Anglia = Middlesex, London = Cambridge East Anglia = Essex, East Anglia Sub-regions where the fewest stolen cars were offered for sale include: Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire in the Midlands Tyne & Wear in the North East Belfast, Northern Ireland Wiltshire, South Central Devon, South West

The Ford Kuga has it's best year ever beating 2014 by 35%, and three times as many as five years ago.

Over 30,000 Ford Kugas have been snapped up by customers this year, pushing the medium SUV to a new sales record. UK sales of the Kuga have increased by 35 per cent versus the same period in 2014, with three times as many sold compared with five years ago.

Ford data shows that 36 per cent of Kuga models were bought in the South of England across Essex, East Anglia, London, Southern counties and the M4 corridor*. Customers in the North of England bought 17 per cent while 5.5 per cent sold in Wales, 4.5 per cent across Scotland and 2 per cent in Northern Ireland.

The news comes as Ford increases the breadth of the Kuga range, including a new colour, Green Instinct, a new 120PS derivative of the 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine and new Kuga Titanium Sport model offering 18 inch alloy wheels, full body styling kit, rear spoiler and Active Park Assist.  The lead-in price for Kuga is now £19,995.

Kevin Griffin, Ford UK sales director, said: “Ford’s SUV line-up is going from strength-to-strength with a positive impact on Ford’s UK sales. With the new EcoSport reaching 10,000 orders so far this year and the range expanding to include the all-new Ford Edge, we expect SUV sales to treble by the end of 2016, compared with 2013.”

The Ford Kuga was first introduced in 2008 and since then 115,000 have been bought by UK customers.

Year	Number of Kuga Sales
2008	3,887
2009	10,173
2010	11,527
2011	10,496
2012	10,570
2013	13,904
2014	24,353
2015 (28th Nov)	30,156

They Liked the new MG6 so much they purchased one each.

One very happy couple from North Essex is now driving around in style after they decided to treat themselves to a brand new MG6 – each!

Mr and Mrs MG, previously known as Paul and Ann, bought their new MG6s from their local dealer, Roy Tolley MG in Colchester, Essex, after seeing them on display in July at the local Tendring Show in Manningtree. 

Both he and Ann were really impressed with the car’s appearance, handling and comfort. The only thing they couldn’t agree on was the colour, so they got one each!

Paul and Ann have always been keen car enthusiasts. Paul said: “We’ve owned many cars over the years, including premium models from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz. We’re particularly enthusiastic about the MG brand and love what the company has done with its most recent models.

“MG offers a superb overall package and great value for money, and when you add in the fact that the latest MG6 is a fine-looking, generously-equipped car, we didn’t hesitate to buy another one!”

The couple picked up their cars earlier this month from Roy Tolley MG’s Sales Executive Jack Kendrick. Paul added: “When it comes to buying an MG we couldn’t have done better than to visit Roy Tolley MG. Jack and Sales Coordinator Darren Chisnall have been excellent and the whole friendly team gave us exceptional customer service.”

The new MG6, which was launched earlier this year, now offers customers much higher levels of specification. 

The entry-level model, from £13,995, boasts features such as heated seats, front LED daytime running lamps (DRL) and an electronic parking brake. The top spec still comes well under £20,000 at £17,995 and offers customers a touch infotainment system as well as a rear parking camera.

The MG6, along with the MG3, are both currently available on 0% finance and, with the growing network of dealers, it’s the perfect time to book in for a test drive and see for yourself why the car is worthy of being bought twice.

Ssangyong announces five more new dealers - that's 10 this year.

• Five new SsangYong sales & service dealerships for Bicester, Carmarthen, St Austell, Sheffield & Witham
• Includes two more former Chevrolet dealers

A further five new dealers have signed-up to represent SsangYong, Korea’s oldest car brand, bringing to 10 the number of new dealers appointed since January.

SsangYong Korando	SsangYong Rexton W
SsangYong Korando Sports pick-up	SsangYong Turismo MPV

For a selection of other shots go to the SsangYong online image gallery: SsangYong Image Gallery

The new appointments are:

• County Specialist Vehicles, Bicester, Oxfordshire
• Grant & McAllin, Holbrook, Sheffield
• Howards of Carmarthen, Carmarthen, South Wales
• Mid Cornwall Cars, Roche, St Austell
• Witham Vehicle Solutions, Witham, Essex

“We warmly welcome these five new dealers to the SsangYong franchise, two of whom - County Specialist Vehicles and Howards of Carmarthen - formerly represented Chevrolet," said Paul Williams, CEO of SsangYong Motor UK.  “Confidence in the SsangYong brand is unquestionably growing, and our business proposition for dealers is increasingly being recognised as the 10 new appointments so far this year testify.

“Every car in our four model range has been refreshed for 2014: face-lifted Korando, new Rexton W, improved Korando Sports pick-up and the recently launched Turismo, the most competitively priced MPV on the market.  Never before have we had such a complete range - a line-up of SUV and 4x4 vehicles that no other value-brand comes anywhere close to offering their dealer network and customers.

“That confidence is also being shared by customers as our sales figures so far this year would indicate.  And while one swallow doesn't make a summer, we are quietly optimistic about the rest of the year.”

SsangYong is actively looking for the right quality dealers to represent the brand in a number of locations.  There are a number of open points across England, Scotland and Wales including Aberdeen, Borders, Bradford, Greater Manchester, Leicester, Liverpool, London & South East, Mid & North Wales, Newcastle, Reading, Southampton, Teesside and Watford.

Ford's Transit and Connect both win in gruelling Arctic testing

• Ford wins Arctic Van Test that puts vehicles through a series of challenges in severe winter driving conditions
• Punishing five-day ordeal in the frozen north of Finland includes slaloming on a frozen airfield, and a 700-kilometre endurance drive, as well as extreme cold starts
• Ford’s all-new Transit and all-new Transit Connect vans deliver the company’s first double victory in the 23-year history of the test

Ford has achieved a landmark double victory in the Arctic Van Test – one of the most gruelling tests of vehicle performance on the planet.

The all-new Ford Transit and the all-new Ford Transit Connect finished first in their respective classes after competing in the punishing five-day ordeal that subjects vehicles and drivers to extreme challenges in ice, cold and snow, in the frozen north of Finland – where temperatures can drop as low as -50 C.

For a video recap of the event, please click here.

From slaloming across a frozen airfield, to tackling a torturous 700 kilometre route of icy, rutted roads, the Ford Transit vans won for their overall performance across categories that included fuel efficiency, load carrying, and handling.

“Every one of our new Ford Transits is tested in the world’s toughest climates and driving conditions long before launch, so they are prepared for just this kind of challenge,” said Paul Randle, vehicle line director, global commercial vehicles, Ford of Europe. “Our customers depend on their Transits to get the job done, and we have made sure they are ready for work, whatever the weather.”

Expert drivers from six European commercial vehicle magazines drove all the vans taking part in the Arctic Van Test and rated the two Transits winners to deliver Ford’s first double victory in the event’s 23-year history. The challenge also tests engine starting, and heating and demister operation, after vehicles have been left outside overnight in sub-freezing conditions.

The all-new Ford Transit was rated top or joint-top in nine out of 13 categories against rival vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Vauxhall and Volkswagen. The smaller all-new Ford Transit Connect was ranked top or joint-top in seven categories, and particularly impressed for its handling and stability in icy conditions, against rivals from Citroen, Renault and Volkswagen.

“The Ford vans were clear winners in very slippery conditions – a great advantage when frozen roads can be found anywhere, and not just found on the test track,” said Heikki Laurell of Auto Tekniikka ja Kuljetus magazine in Finland, which organises the annual event. “Our tests push vans to the limit, and can be quite a shock if you are not used to a Scandinavian winter.”

The all-new Ford Transit is on sale now with over 7,500 orders already taken in the UK. The all-new Ford Transit Connect – the 2014 International Van of the Year – was launched last year and has amassed over 7,000 orders so far.

The all-new four-vehicle Ford Transit family was designed and engineered at the Ford Dunton Technical Centre, Essex – the global centre of excellence for the company’s commercial vehicles and powertrain development. All diesel engines powering Fords new commercial vehicles for Europe are built at the Ford Dagenham Engine plant, Essex, in the UK.