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Renault buys Caterham out of the joint Alpine sports car venture

Renault buys Caterham out of the joint Alpine sports car venture It’s more than eighteen months since Renault and Caterham joined forces to create a new breed of sports cars around the Alpine brand. Renault say the arrangement is a mutual one and officially brings to an end the joint venture, and that the business will be renamed Société des Automobiles Alpine this month, although Renault aren’t excluding further ventures with Caterham in the future. The split means that the Alpine project will now be a purely Renault one, and Renault are planning to get their Alpine to market by 2016.

European car sales show signs of resurgence

New car sales in both France and Spain have risen for the fifth month in a row to January 2014, showing signs the European car market is on the up. The news is positive for Europe’s automotive sector, which has been in decline for six years. On Bing: see pictures of new cars for 2014 Find out how much a used car costs on Auto Trader Alongside the relative success in France and Spain – two of the biggest hit regions for new car sales following the global economic downturn – Italy also recorded positive results for new vehicle registrations.

Toyota's global design chief Tokuo Fukuichi appointed president of Lexus

Toyota's global design chief Tokuo Fukuichi will be the first designer to sit on the company's board of directors when his appointment comes into effect on 1 April. Fukuichi will retain his position as global head of design for the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands and will join the board after the general shareholders' meeting. His influence on Toyota's design direction over the last few years has been noticeable, particularly with Lexus, as the company strives to make its traditionally very conservative products a little more exciting.