BMW to invest £500m in UK factories
9 June 2011 Last updated at 06:25

BMW is pouring fresh cash into its Mini factory in the UK

BMW has announced a plan to invest £500m in UK car production over the next three years.

The money will help fund the production of the next generation Mini in the UK, safeguarding more than 5,000 jobs.

BMW's investment plan is the second major boost to the UK's motor manufacturing industry this week.

Its announcement came the day after Nissan said it would invest £192m and safeguard 6,000 jobs by building its next generation Qashqai here.

BMW's main facilities are its vehicle assembly plant in Oxford, the pressings plant in Swindon and the company's engine plant at Hams Hall near Birmingham.

The motor industry produces the country's most valuable manufactured exports, with £27bn worth of vehicles and parts going overseas in 2010.

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FSA warns comparison websites over unfair treatment of customers
The Financial Services Authority has found that 19 comparison websites are treating customers unfairly after flouting rules.

By Emma Wall
6:15AM BST 09 Jun 2011

Betton was director of agency-only stockbroker SP Bell, along with Simon Eagle, who himself was banned and fined £2.8m by the FSA in May this year Photo: Peter Payne
Comparison websites have made bumper profits in recent years as families have looked to save money during the economic downturn.

The FSA has written to the websites highlighting concerns over fair treatment of customers, following a review that found the websites were offering advice without the proper licence.

The letter called into question how the comparison websites were selling insurance and asked that the websites 'think carefully' about whether they are introducing or recommending certain policies without proper authorisation to provide financial advice.

James Daley, editor of Which? Money magazine said that the FSA action was long overdue.

"It is great that the FSA is finally holding the comparison websites to account. In the last couple of years the number of people buying insurance from these sites has risen exponentially. We raised concerns about the exclusions these websites' policies have and the prominence they put on price. Read full story

Electric cars now on sale could plummet in value by two-thirds when they reach the second-hand market in a few years time, predicts a major used car retailer.

At five years old, says ACF Car Finance, such vehicles could fetch just ten percent of their new price.

The shock drop is due to the cost of replacing the electric batteries around the car's eighth birthday - which could cost the owner up to £8000.

The company, which specialises in mid-range family cars, says that many customers are likely to steer clear of buying electric models more than a couple of years old.

Leyton Cooper, ACF's group buying manager, believes that the widespread usage of electric cars will depend on a flourishing second-hand market.

New Study Reveals Most Likely MOT Failures

Cars most likely to fail the MOT are revealed in a comprehensive study of top selling motors. Should you be thinking of buying a new car any time soon, think about getting a gap insurance quote and if the car is a few years old find out if the car you are about to buy has a car warranty as extended car warranties are an essential part of todays motoring costs.

Halfords-owned Nationwide Autocentres, which performs more MOTs than any other garage group, has undertaken research which details the how cars perform when it comes to the annual road worthiness test.

It found that three year old Renault Meganes examined in 2009 had a one in four chance of failing, while similarly aged Vauxhall Corsas had a one in five chance.

For five year old cars, the Corsa had the biggest number of failures, 39%, while over a third (35%) of Meganes failed. This compared with 1 in 5 Ford Fiestas, which was shown to be the best performer of the top 10 selling model of that year.