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Crunch watch July 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard, Ben Pulman, Ben Whitworth and Alex Michaelides Motor Industry 31 July 2009 11:23 Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour  Friday 31 July 2009• Lamborghini today posted pre-tax profits of €5.4 million – despite a sales drop of 37% in the first six months of 2009. Sant'Agata said turnover hit €156.9m in the first half (down 43%) as it sold 825 cars globally (Lamborghini)• British motorists could have to pay £250 in tax to park at work from 2012.

Nissan stops taking Leaf reservations, has 20,000 on the books

Nissan has accepted 20,000 reservations for the Leaf electric car and said it has stopped taking orders until next year. Nissan began taking reservations for the Leaf in May. The Leaf, which is about the size of a Nissan Versa, is powered by an 80-kilowatt electric motor that produces 107 hp and 206 lb-ft of torque.

Audi to engineer next Porsche Cayenne

Audi will develop Volkswagen group's Porsche Cayenne, VW Touareg and Audi Q7 large SUVs in the future. Currently, Porsche has responsibility for engineering the three models, which share the same underpinnings. The decision to transfer developement to Audi comes after Porsche was chosen instead of Audi to be the lead developer for large luxury sedans and sports cars within VW group.