Automakers should use ‘circular economy’ - report

Makers of luxury cars, including Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, could benefit from a ‘circular economy’ and thereby engaging in more closed-loop recycling, adopting a ‘rent instead of sell’ business model, and by lengthening product usability.

5 Series reigns supreme – BMW

BMW claims that with over two million vehicles sold, the current 5 Series sets new benchmarks in the premium business segment.

Battle tank application surfaces for CGI

For the first time, a diesel engine in a main battle tank (MBT) is using a compacted graphite iron (CGI) vee cylinder block.

Car exports to China rise five-fold

Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that exports of cars to China from the UK have increased five-fold since 2009.

The big just get bigger

As Rolls-Royce unveils its 4x4 off-road luxury car Mercedes-Benz lifts the veil on its  latest  version of the legendary 600 Pullman saloon.

Envisage touts private client work

The £3 million investment in new manufacturing technologies has enabled the return of the bespoke automotive coachbuilder, it is claimed.

Envisage Group, which builds show cars for many of the most prestigious European vehicle manufacturers, will launch the new private client service at the Top Marques show in Monaco next month.

Rolls-Royce adopts CGI for engine heads

Further evidence of the growing acceptance of the transition towards compacted graphite iron (CGI) as a material of choice of engine makers can be found in the decision by Rolls-Royce AG subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen to use CGI for the cylinder heads of an upgrade of its class-leading Series 2000 industrial engine.

The CGI cylinder head upgrade, compared to the previous generation head, was specified to enable increased power and to ensure durability in the demanding duty cycles experienced by marine, mining, construction and stationary power generating engines.

Record sales for BMW

BMW Group sold 191, 269 BMW, mini and Rolls-Royce cars in March - more than in any month in its history.

The previous all-time high occurred last March when 185,741 cars were sold – a rise of three per cent.

Retail sales to the end of March also reached a new high. Sales increased 5.3 per cent to 448,200, compared with 425,543 units previously.

Rolls-Royce considers hybrids

Rolls-Royce will not be able to continue growing once capacity is reached at its factory at Goodwood.

Chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: "We made more than 3,500 cars last year but eventually we will be restricted in expansion because the factory is in a conservation area.”

He said there were “no plans” to open another plant in the UK so ultimately volume will be determined by the size of the plant.

“There is no chance that we will build the cars anywhere else because it is not what our customers expect," he said.

Müller-Ötvös became head of Rolls-Royce in April 2010 and admitted the job has been “quite a challenge” being the custodian of a brand that has become a generic term for quality and luxury. The best of almost anything is referred to as being "the Rolls-Royce".

Müller-Ötvös has been with parent group BMW since 1988.

He said the added expense of making a Rolls-Royce motor car, besides meeting customers’ bespoke needs, came from the bespoke, hand-made craftsmanship that went into the cars at Goodwood. Each car takes 450-500 hours to make and with bespoke work this can grow to 800 hours.

Finding workers with the ability for fine craftsmanship is becoming increasingly difficult.

He said: "When we first started at Goodwood we were lucky that we were able to call on some very talented people who had been involved in boat and yacht-building or furniture making but these are becoming harder to find. Whoever we take on spends a minimum three months training before they can touch one of our cars. We do offer apprenticeships and we currently have 40 at the factory."

Hybrid power trains are on the agenda although Müller-Ötvös claimed that a Rolls-Royce does have best-in segment emissions, a segment in which he includes the likes of Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini.

"We have to be mindful of legal and emissions requirements around the world, particularly in China, now our biggest market and where the rules are getting tougher all the time.

"A plug-in hybrid would be a sensible solution but once again, whatever we do with powertrains, there can be no compromise - the customers simply would not accept it."∎