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News watch August 2010: today's industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hourTuesday 31 August 2010• HSBC has sold its US car loan business to Spanish bank Santander, for an estimated £2.6bn in cash and assumed debt. The move sees the bank further distance itself from the collapsed US sub-prime market (Financial Times, subsription required) • Toll roads do not improve congestion, according to the Campaign For Better Transport. Its claims M6 toll road operator Midland Expressway Ltd is losing ‘tens of millions of pounds’ each year, while conditions on the original M6 have failed to improve (Campaign for Better Transport) Friday 27 August 2010• Spyker, which bought Saab earlier this year, has posted a €139m loss after tax in the first half of 2010 it announced today (Financial Times)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says the business is performing strongly in the third quarter – and has ruled out selling Alfa Romeo.

New Peugeot 308 production increased to meet demand

Peugeot are increasing production of the new 308 to meet demand The new Peugeot 308 arrived in the UK in January – although it’s been on sale in Europe since last year – and it’s a decent effort from Peugeot. In fact, even though we didn’t think it was the best choice, the new 308 took the European Car of the Year Award at the Geneva Motor Show last week, a decision that’s probably been credibility by the apparent popularity of the new 308. Since the 308 went on sale late last year, Peugeot has managed to shift more than 60,000, so with the new 308 SW (Estate) about to go on sale Peugeot is ramping up production to meet current and expected demand by adding a third shift at its Sochaux Plant, creating 600 new jobs in the process.

Carbon-fiber parts and a software fix help create a lighter, faster Fiat

Chrysler Group's Mopar parts brand and Italian supplier Magneti Marelli have teamed up on a design exercise based on the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth that shaved weight and added horsepower. The vehicle, called the Venom, has a number of carbon fiber components -- hood and side mirrors, for example -- that makes it about 200 pounds lighter than the 2,512-pound Abarth. The Venom uses software updates and additional exhaust components to boost the Abarth's standard 160-hp 1.4-liter turbocharged engine's output by as much as 25 percent.