Hyundai increasing European production to 500,000 a year

Hyundai are upping production in Europe to 500,000 per annum There’s an awful lot of sense in car makers designing and building cars for the markets they serve locally, and it’s a route Hyundai has followed in Europe, where the majority of their sales are of European built models, not imports. With Hyundai sales still growing despite the European car market meltdown, Hyundai are increasing capacity in Europe to keep up with demand with further investment in their plant in Ízmit, Turkey. Originally, the Ízmit plant produced just 60,000 cars a year, but in 2007 that was increased to 125,000 and now it is being increased to 200,000 so the new i10 can be built there as well as the latest i20.

2013 Toyota RAV4 leaks ahead of LA debut

The 2013 Toyota RAV4 is due to be unveiled at the 2012 Los Angeles Motor Show tomorrow, but thanks to a leak of photos we already know how it looks. The photos show a new RAV4 that is less boxy and sleeker, taking some styling cues from the new Auris, and looks fit to take the battle to cars like the new Ford Kuga and new Subaru Forester. It may not quite look a “…new generation rewriting the rules in style” as Toyota told us, but it does look more contemporary.

ArchDaily Buildings of the Year Awards 2011 winners announced

ArchDaily, the most visited architecture site on the net, has announced the winning designs in its Building of the Year Awards 2011. After more than 65,000 votes, the website's readership has decided the winners in 14 categories ranging from sports architecture to offices. Here at Car Design News we're constantly looking for inspiration both inside the automotive world and out – we know you're on the look-out too.