13 Chevy Impala Corner/park Light Fog/driving on 2040-parts.com

News watch March 2011: today's auto 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-hour Thursday 31 March 2011• US President Barack Obama has strated all US government cars and trucks purchased from 2015 must be alternative-fuel vehicles (Automotive News)• Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has denied a report in Japan's Nikkei newspaper that he is leaning towards a formal merger of Nissan and Renault (Reuters)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that Chrysler's share IPO may now take place in 2012, depending on financial progress this year (Bloomberg)Wednesday 30 March 2011• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called a report that the EV carmaker is a takeover target 'bad analysis' and remains confident the firm will stay independent (Bloomberg)• The BBC denies that it rigged a December 2008 Top Gear TV test of the Tesla Roadster, in response to being sued by the EV carmaker (BBC News)• First Group, the UK's largest public transport operator, has announced a £160m investment in new buses, ordering 955 new buses from UK manufacturers Wrightbus and Dennis over the next two years (BBC News)• Japanese production woes look set to continue into April. Toyota expects the majority of Toyota and Lexus production on 14 April (Automotive News)• Saab production has re-started again, following a half yesterday afternoon.

Qoros GQ3 (2013) first official pictures

New Chinese manufacturer Qoros has shown its new Focus and Golf rival - the GQ3 - ahead of its planned debut at the 2013 Geneva motor show. The first in a string of models planned for launch in China and Europe, the Qoros GQ3 is at first glance a reasonably accomplished design which should be able to compete for showroom appeal with the likes of Skoda and the Korean budget brands. Of course, what has held back Chinese car brands in the past is quality: we can't tell from these first official photos whether Qoros has cracked that or not.

Volvo Concept XC Coupé revealed. Previews 2015 Volvo XC90 Coupe (video)

Volvo Concept XC Coupé revealed. Previews 2015 Volvo XC90 Coupe Volvo gave us a tease for the Concept XC Coupe last month – ahead of its debut at the Detroit Auto Show next week – but now the XC Coupe gets a proper reveal. The Concept XC Coupe is clearly a very firm look at the 2015 Volvo XC90, but instead 0f previewing its as a seven-seat, five-door SUV, Volvo has chosen to deliver the Concept XC as a two-door, four-seat XC90 – think of it probably as Volvo’s X6 or an ‘Allroad’ version of the next XC90.