1966 Mustang License Plate Frame Scott Drake on 2040-parts.com

News watch April 2012: 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-hourMonday 30 April 2012• Kia posted global first quarter 2012 profits up 26%, with sales up 12% worldwide. 635000 new Kias found homes, 79000 in Europe (up 24.6% on 2011 in a total market which contracted 7.1%), with the USA now Kia's largest market ahead of Korea.

Top Gear blamed for Iceland Volcano eruption

A smug James May – pictured at the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano – has caused travel chaos in Europe The skies above our heads are beautifully quiet. The vapour trails are no more and the sky is pure azure. The UK has wound back 50 years and the sun is shining.

Gordon Murray's electric city car gets green light

The UK Government tonight announced a major investment in Gordon Murray's radical new city car project. A £9 million grant will fund development of the T27, an electric city car successor to the original T25 being designed in the UK by the maverick engineer behind the McLaren F1 and numerous racing cars. The money will be spent designing and producing four prototypes over a 16-month period, with the eventual aim of putting an electric car with sustainable manufacturing processes into full production here in the UK.  The T27 will be the follow-up to the petrol-powered T25, a small city car designed by jointly by Gordon Murray Design and Zytek Automotive technology.