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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.

Citroen C-Zero (2010) first picture

Citroen has revealed the C-Zero, an electric city car based on Mitsubishi's i-MiEV, and a sibling to Peugeot's iOn. Well, Citroen and Peugeot are both now taken care of - Citroen's PSA partner Peugeot unveiled the iOn earlier this year - but the rebadged i-MiEV is an easy way for Citroen to add a zero-emissions vehicle to its range. The C-Zero is powered by a 47kW (64bhp) motor that also produces 133lb ft and sends the drive to the rear wheels.

Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen TDI 4Motion concept: First look

The 2015 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen gets a North American preview at the New York auto show next week as a very lightly disguised TDI 4Motion concept. The production Golf station wagon will get either a 2.0-liter TDI turbocharged diesel or 1.8-liter turbocharged gasoline engine when it goes on sale in the U.S. in early 2015, but VW representatives wouldn't confirm whether a production 4Motion Golf Sportwagen would be offered.