1968-1974 Volkswagen Shop Manual / Vw Beetle & Karmann Ghia Repair Book 69 70 71 on 2040-parts.com

China to boost electric cars with 30% Government EV fleet

The BYD E6 EV (pictured) will benefit from China’s push on EVs The UK government has just announced its commitment to use electric cars for its own vehicles in an effort to boost the take-up of EVs, but China is going even further. China has ordered government officials to start buying electric cars (that means BEVs, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell cars) in a big way, with instructions that 30 per cent of government cars must fall in to the ‘New Energy’ category by 2017, and an even higher percentage going forward. The aim is to cut pollution, and China expects to have 5 million New Energy cars on the road by 2020 and it is urging it government agencies and some city governments to start buying New Energy vehicles from Chinese makers like BYD and SDAIC, but also instructing them to build more charging stations and supporting infrastructure.

New Toyota Auris starts rolling out at Burnaston

The new 2013 Toyota Auris – Toyota’s modern Corolla – has commenced production at the Toyota plant in Burnaston. Toyota revealed the new Auris back in August – ahead of a public debut at the Paris Motor Show – which, although pretty much the previous Auris when you dig deep, does offer a more dynamic look and the promise of better driving dynamics too. With the new Auris a big deal for Toyota in Europe, Toyota are trumpeting the start of Auris production in Burnaston and have rolled out Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, to mark the occasion.

Is the Volkswagen BlueSport Roadster back on?

There was talk that VW needed at least three of its brands to take the BlueSport project in to production, and there was talk not just of a VW Bluesport but also a SEAT BlueSport, one from Skoda, another from Audi and even a Porsche BlueSport. But in the end, not a single part of VW’s vast group seemed enamoured enough with the BlueSport to take the project forward. But it now looks as though the idea of the BlueSport is far from dead, with VW’s design boss, Walter de Silva, declaring that he’s a big fan of the BlueSport project, and he’s far from the only one in the VW Group who feels the same.