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Toyota revamps Yaris line-up for 2014

Toyota has revamped its Yaris line-up and announced that the 1.4-litre diesel now has lower emissions – meaning it gets free road tax. The Yaris will now also come in a choice of four new trim levels: Active, Icon, Icon Plus and Trend. The Active and Icon replace the T2 and Tr, while Trend becomes the new top-of-the-range model.

Exclusive: Laurens van den Acker to replace Patrick le Quément at Renault

The wheels of change are continuing to turn within the automotive design industry, with yet another new appointment being made at the director level. According to industry insiders, Laurens van den Acker is set become the new Design Director at Renault when Patrick le Quément retires later this year. One of the most pre-eminent car designers in the world, Patrick le Quément began his design career at Simca, worked at Ford for 17 years and did a brief stint at Volkswagen before taking the top design job at Renault.

BMW 9-series concept expected to debut in Beijing

BMW will be previewing the upcoming 9-series sedan at the 2014 China Auto Show, according to German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. The extra-long-wheelbase 9-series will take on the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S600 Maybach, which itself is production ready and is set to debut in a matter of months. The 9-series will be positioned alongside the Rolls-Royce Ghost in BMW's global lineup, and is expected to feature packaging and interior appointments similar to that of the S600 Maybach while building upon the design language recently seen in the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe.