Renault Zoe EV production car at 2012 Geneva motor show

Renault had a surprise up its sleeve at the 2012 Geneva motor show – the new production version of the Zoe electric car will cost just £13,650 in the UK. That’s after the Government’s Plug-in Car grant which pays up to a quarter or £5000 of an electric car’s RRP, and makes the Zoe a more attractive proposition than other electric cars to date. Renault says the new Zoe is priced to be an equivalent to a diesel-powered supermini.

Hyundai goes K-Pop and releases an album

Hyundai has teamed up with Korean pop stars to create an album of music inspired by the new i40, New Generation i30 and Veloster. We’ve loved the way Hyundai has moved its products on from  Halford’s special to mainstream credible in quick sticks, and their PR teams have been on the ball too with good initiatives and a willingness to make things happen. But we’re not too sure how effective a new album of music by Korea’s K-Pop stars – inspired, we’re told, by the new i40, New Generation i30 and Veloster – is as a marketing tool.

Civic hybrid tests Honda's new strategy

Despite being the first to sell an electric-gasoline car in the United States and making hybrid technology a centerpiece of its fuel economy push, Honda Motor Co. has yet to have a hybrid hit. But the redesigned Civic Hybrid, launched April 20, is the first test of whether Honda's new strategy of tapping lithium ion batteries and, later, two-motor systems can break the streak.