Motorpoint, one of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For, is set to open its tenth site in Castleford

Motorpoint, one of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For, is set to open its tenth site in Castleford in April.

The UK’s leading car supermarket has invested over £5m in recent months constructing the purpose-built nine-acre supersite in West Yorkshire – creating over 50 new jobs in the process.

Motorpoint Castleford will stock 600 new and low mileage nearly new vehicles from 35 different vehicle manufacturers together with instant access to a further 5,000 cars in group stock when it officially opens on Saturday, April 2.

The opening of Motorpoint Castleford will complement the company’s network of existing branches in Birmingham, Birtley, Burnley, Chingford, Derby, Glasgow, Newport, Peterborough and Widnes. It will be open seven days a week, including until 8pm weekdays. Motorpoint Castleford will also offer plenty of free parking as well as free Wi-Fi and a customer café serving a selection of hot and cold food and drinks.

Mark Carpenter, Managing Director of Motorpoint, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing the Motorpoint brand to West Yorkshire and look forward to giving customers throughout the region the opportunity to experience first hand our award-winning combination of choice, value and service.”

The opening of Motorpoint Castleford forms part of multi-million pound expansion programme by the UK’s largest independent car retailer. It also follows the news that Motorpoint was named one of the Top 100 Companies to Work For by the Sunday Times for a second successive year. Motorpoint, which employs over 600 people nationwide, was ranked 58th overall – up 34 places on last year.

Honda has been named in Thomson Reuters’ prestigious Top 100 Global Innovators report for the fifth year in a row.

Honda has been named in Thomson Reuters’ prestigious Top 100 Global Innovators report for the fifth year in a row.  The annual report identifies companies that discover new inventions and successfully patent them.

Describing itself as a list of the top 100 worldwide innovation power players, with winners identified as trendsetters that need to be watched, the report has recognised Honda’s innovation every year since its inception in 2011.

With automotive companies making up 10 per cent of this year’s list, Honda is one of only two car brands to have won a spot in the report for five consecutive years and more interestingly, eight of the 10 automotive brands on the list are Japanese.

Honda has a rich history of innovation.  In the 1970s the business created a Civic engine that hit air quality targets without a catalytic converter.  The 1980s saw Honda-powered F1 cars win the Constructors’ Championship six years in a row.  During the 1990s Honda became the first manufacturer to launch a full hybrid car in the UK, the Insight.  At the start of the 21^st century, the FCX Clarity ground-breaking fur-cell car revealed, while in 2015 the new NSX supercar showcased a twin-turbo engine and three electric motors and the new Clarity Fuel Cell was launched with a fuel stack that can provide electricity in emergency situations, and the new CR-V has the world’s first predictive cruise control.

Philip Crossman, Managing Director at Honda UK, commented: “This year marks our golden anniversary in the UK with 50 years of rich history in innovating in not just cars but bikes and power products.  The business has been built on a strong belief in innovation with our founder Soichiro Honda starting the company almost 70 years ago making low cost motorbikes to help get Japan back on its feet after the ravages of the Second World War.  

"That innate desire to progress society from an engineering and technology perspective continues throughout Honda today with the Tokyo Motor Show launching the Wander Walker and the Wander Stand, both aimed at aiding mobility.  Our continuing work with robotics, namely the ASIMO project, coupled with our constant world firsts in automotive, such as the i-ACC (intelligent adaptive cruise control) which predicts when a car is going to cut in front of you on the motorway, has ensured that we once again make the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators study."

A Thomson Reuters spokesman said: “Our philosophy is that a great idea without patent protection and commercialisation is nothing more than a great idea.”

MG Parent company moves back into Fortune 500 top 100 companies, beating Disney, Coke and Sony.

• MG Motor parent company, SAIC Motor placed 85^th in Global Fortune 500
• SAIC’s 2013 yearly sales revenue total of $92 billion
• MG Motor UK fastest growing automotive brand in the UK for seventh month running
• News announced as MG celebrates its 90^th anniversary and rapid expansion of retailer network in the UK

MG parent company, SAIC Motor, has entered the Global Fortune top 100 with the company’s tenth appearance in the annual Fortune 500 list, moving up 18 places from last year’s result to reach 85^th position, with 2013 yearly sales revenues of $92 billion.

The US based Fortune publication announced this year’s Global Fortune 500, with US giant Wal- Mart retaining the number one spot. SAIC’s 85^th position, saw the Chinese national placed ahead of many well known brands such as Microsoft (104^th), Sony (105^th), Amazon.com (112^th), Google (162^nd), Coca- Cola (224^th) and Walt Disney (232^nd).

SAIC Motor is the market leader for sales in China, last year achieving record global manufacturing and sales of over 5.1 million units, an increase of 13.71% on 2012 sales and the first Chinese automotive manufacturer to exceed five million units in a year. 230,000 units of this extraordinary end of year figure can be attributed to global sales of the MG and Roewe marques.

SAIC Motor continues to grow as a leader in independent technology innovation, with recently announced new powertrain developments and the industrialisation of new energies, as well as the launch of the first manufacturer-owned O2O commerce platform. SAIC has sought to strengthen overseas operation and expand distributions in developing markets like ASEAN, Middle East, South America, specifically with the opening of a SAIC manufacturing facility in Thailand this year, enabling the company to expand into South East Asia, with production capacity expected to be around 50,000 vehicles a year.

2014 celebrates the 90^th anniversary of the MG marque and the most successful year to date for MG Motor UK. Last month, MG announced that the Birmingham based manufacturer had exceeded 2013 total sales in just the first five months 2014. This exceptional growth is set to continue as SMMT figures for June show a 791 per cent month on month, and a phenomenal 833 per cent year to date increase.

The success of the iconic marque has been due to the September 2013 launch of the MG3 supermini and expansion of the MG6 diesel powertrain family, with a new 129g, 350 Nm performance diesel recently added.

The MG3 supermini is fun to buy, fun to drive and fun to own with over one million personalisation options, class leading chassis and driving dynamics, and exceptional value for money aftercare packages. The successful supermini is priced from only £8,399 to £9,999, or on PCP from only £99 a month or from zero deposits. The MG3 benefits from an ultra low 4E insurance group, strong residuals of up to 61 per cent, class leading interior and boot space, and high levels of equipment on all specifications as standard, as well as complete peace of mind with the three years fixed servicing package MG CARE3, the ultimate in carefree ownership.

Voted by customers as the winner of Best Handling and sixth overall Best Car to Own in the 2014 Auto Express Driver Power Awards, the MG6 is already a favourite with MG owners for its drivability, affordability and exceptionally high levels of equipment included as standard. Now the MG6 is even more appealing as all specifications are available from just £15,455 to £19,995, and with the current ‘High 5’ offer, MG6 customers can buy and drive away with complete peace of mind. With servicing, warranty and breakdown cover free for five years, as well as fuel subsidies and affordable finance deals.

Since the launch of the MG3, MG has become the fastest growing automotive brand in the UK with 50 retailers in total, 22 of which opened in 2014 including; Havant, Torquay, south Sheffield, Dudley, Gloucester, north Sheffield, Woking, Spalding, Barnes in West London, Newcastle, Leicester, Harrogate, Doncaster, Northampton, Swindon, Norwich, Falmouth, Brecon, Maidstone, Wareham on the Purbeck peninsula, Oxfordshire and Exeter. 

The Issigonis Mini named as best British car ever built.

• Lotus is most successful manufacturer, with seven models in top 100
• Special 220-page edition of magazine celebrates buoyant British industry  

The original Mini is the best British car ever built, according to a survey of Autocar readers.

The world’s oldest and most respected motoring title invited its readers to vote for the top 100 British cars as the publication celebrates the strength of the British car industry with a special 220-page issue.

Meanwhile, Lotus is revealed as Britain’s most popular manufacturer of all time, with seven models making the top 100 - more than any other. Hot on the Norfolk car maker’s heels are Jaguar and Ford, both with six models on the list. Aston Martin is up next with five.

Overall, the closest rivals to Sir Alec Issigonis’s original Mini are McLaren’s iconic F1 road car, which placed second on the list and the Jaguar E-type in third.

Autocar is unique in that it is the only motoring title to have covered the British industry since day one, having been established in 1895.

Autocar brand editor Chas Hallett commented: “It comes as little surprise that the original Mini has topped the list of all-time British greats. It’s such an iconic vehicle and represents a lot more than the British car industry; the Mini is associated with Great Britain around the world and, in many ways, it was ahead of its time.

“Everyone loved and still loves an original Mini; it ensured a fabulous drive every time, with a wheel literally at each corner and a low centre of gravity, plus it was cheap to own and run. Many a former owner will undoubtedly be wishing they had held on to theirs, as good examples are now worth tens of thousands of pounds.”

Autocar Top 100 - the top 25

1	Original Mini
2	McLaren F1
3	Jaguar E-type
4	Range Rover
5	Yamaha Motiv.E
6	McLaren P1
7	Jaguar XJ220
8	Aston Martin DB5
9	TVR Griffith
10	Ford Escort Mexico
11	Jensen FF
12	Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
13	Jaguar D-type
14	Lotus Elise
15	Rolls-Royce Phantom
16	Ford GT40
17	Jaguar XF
18	Bentley Blower
19	New Mini
20	TVR Chimaera
21	Rover SD1
22	TVR Speed 12
23	Lotus Elan
24	Morris Minor
25	McLaren 12C

The ‘Lotus seven’ – the models that made the top 100 as opposed to the classic model in its own right – are the Elise, Esprit, Elan, Cortina, Evora, Carlton and Sunbeam.

“Again, it’s no surprise that a manufacturer that is held in such high regard tops the list of manufacturers,” said Hallett. “Over the years, Lotus has produced some wonderful examples of British engineering, so it is a worthy winner of such a prized accolade.”

For the full 100 go to http://www.autocar.co.uk/britains-best-ever-cars