Following 2010's epic cycle, the Inch-by-Inch team were back in September 2011 to take on another incredible fundraising challenge - this time for Shooting Star Chase Hospice. 

The Inch by Inch team started their incredible journey on Monday 12 September, setting off from our retail centre Mercedes-Benz of North Wales in Llandudno.  The route took the team across the Peaks, swept them down through the midlands and into London, where they rode on to Kent, finishing at East Kent Audi in Canterbury on Saturday 17th September.

They’ve done so well and we are very pleased to announce the total raised was £9,345.  The total was matched by Inchcape plc, meaning that the team raised £18,690.  An  incredible amount of money - well done to the team.

Learn more about Shooting Star Chase by visiting http://www.shootingstarchase.org.uk/

The biggest earthquake to hit Japan since records began struck the northeast coast on March 11. The 9 magnitude quake generated a 10-metre tsunami that swept away everything in its path killing many thousands of people. Many more still remain missing while over 90,000 who lost their homes remain in crowded shelters.

The country is now busy rebuilding homes, infrastructure and businesses and has made incredible leaps forward over recent months thanks to the resilience of the Japanese people and the support of the international community, charity organisations and the outpouring of personal donations.

Inchcape has very close ties with Japan and given the scale and severity of the humanitarian disaster has made a donation of over £120,000 to the Red Cross ‘Japan Tsunami appeal’. This donation was funded in part by the Inchcape Group, but also by Inchcape people, franchised dealers and suppliers who gave generously and also arranged local fundraising events in support of the relief effort.

We thank everyone for their donations and know that this coordinated approach has worked best to disburse funds to those organisations that are providing much needed relief and emergency services.

In late 2010, Toyota Belgium, our distribution and retail business in Belgium produced an outstanding marketing campaign for the new Toyota Auris Hybrid.

Designed to change the way people perceive diesel vehicles as the cleanest cars on the market, the campaign prompted diesel vehicle owners to register their cars on a special website and promised to give a new Auris Hybrid to the person who took part and won a ‘Clean my Ride’ competition.

This fantastic and fun competition was promoted via the www.cleanmyride.be website where entrants completed a form to find Belgium’s ‘dirtiest car’. Over 6,000 people visited the site and 1,241 people entered their cars, with the top 20 ‘most polluting’ being invited to the special Clean my Ride event on 18th September 2010.

The top 20 dirtiest cars were all examined by a team of specialists from Antwerp University and their pollution levels were measured including Co2, Oxygen and soot emitted.

Once the top three were announced, the winner was selected with a crane that lifted the car into the crusher as the owner looked on. Not to worry though, he was more than compensated as he got to drive off in a brand new Toyota Auris Hybrid.

After the special event, the crushed car’s picture was included on the Clean my Ride website and everyone was invited to suggest innovative ways of recycling it!

The New Auris Hybrid, which continually recycles the energy it uses as you drive is an advanced, innovative, compact family car that brings low emissions (with zero road tax in some countries) and stunning fuel economy with over 700 miles on one tank of petrol.

The Tree of Life initiative is Inchcape’s local Corporate Responsibility (CR) project in Singapore. The project aims to plant 1,000 trees as part of a wider campaign to plant one million native trees in partnership with the region's SouthWest Community Development Council (SW-CDC) and National Parks Board.

As the leading car distributor in Singapore, Borneo Motors took the lead in being the first

Tree of Life is an initiative to create and restore the natural habitat that has been lost in the wake of rapid urbanisation in Singapore and to combat the effects of global warming. Under this campaign, Management and staff at Borneo Motors and Inchcape sister company Champion Motors will plant trees and shrubs in a designated location called Sungei Pandan.

Each member of staff is being given the opportunity to plant a tree at one of the planting sessions that take place during the first week of each month.

This is not only an internal initiative but also includes customers - a tree is planted on the behalf of each Lexus and Toyota Hybrid owner. Lexus and Toyota Hybrid Drive is a quantum leap in automotive technology, intelligently combining electric and petrol power. These full hybrid vehicles deliver breathtaking performance, improved fuel economy and significantly reduced emissions. In electric mode, progress is near silent, no fuel is burnt and zero emissions are produced.

In September 2010, Inchcape IT Team members Nigel Woodman and James Taylor set out on an incredible journey to raise money for Inchcape plc’s charity of the year, Havens Hospice. This fantastic charity provides respite breaks, symptom control and end-of-life care for adults and children living with serious illnesses or conditions.