Trouble keeping track of changes in the car industry

This business remains one of the biggest in the world and you could (if you really wanted) do a whole Business course just looking at the automotive industry. The problem for me is keeping up with the current rate of change – I still can’t quite believe that General Motors (GM) has gone bankrupt.

Today I was alerted to a surprise - Ford is to raise its UK prices by an average of 4%, blaming the move on the weakness of the pound against the euro. According to the BBC, Ford conceded that raising prices, in a recession with a scrappage scheme in place, “may seem counter-intuitive”.

“With so many of our costs priced in euros, there is no choice if we are to maintain a viable business,” said Nigel Sharp, managing director of Ford in the UK. Many of the Ford cars sold in the UK are assembled in Germany and Spain.

The three price rises will cancel out most of the savings from the government’s scrappage scheme, which gives customers £2,000 off a new car if they trade in a vehicle that is more than 10 years old.

The main purpose of this blog is to guide you to this link which is an excellent resource from the BBC guiding you through an industry in crisis.