Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Renault unveils four electric concepts at 2009 Frankfurt motor show

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 15 September 2009 12:00 Renault has unveiled four incredible electric concept cars at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, and all four will be in production by the end of 2012. The maddest of all is the tiny Twizy ZE concept, a 1+1 city car that Renault sources have revealed to CAR will go into production in 2011 relatively unchanged. Also on sale in 2011 will be an electric van for commercial buyers, based on the Kangoo ZE concept and mechanically identical to the Be Bop ZE Ben Oliver drove earlier in 2009.

UK car sales reach six-year high

Ford New car sales have reached their highest level since 2007, says the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Figures for 2013 show an increase in registrations of 10.8% compared with the previous year, to 2,264,737 - most of which was driven by growth in the private car market. Ford dominated the best-seller list, with the Fiesta and Focus winning 200,000 sales between them The UK market’s performance easily outstripped that of the European Union as a whole, with an increase of 9.9% for the 11 months to November compared with a drop of 2.7% for the EU region.

News watch March 2010: today's auto industry news

Tuesday 30 March 2010• Mercedes has dismissed claims that its Maybach brand is for sale, after reports in the Chinese media claimed Chinese car company BYD was considering a bid for the upmarket offshoot. BYD has also denied the claims (Reuters)• Toyota president Akio Toyoda has promised his company will listen more carefully to customers and react faster in a bid to regain credibility after the Japanese car manufacturer was forced to recall millions of vehilces over safety fears (BBC)• The Obama administration is expected to unveil its finalised fuel economy and tailpipe emissions through to 2016 this week, to coincide with the opening of the 2010 New York auto show (Detroit News)  Monday 29 March 2010• Toyota has agreed to licence the hybrid technology in the Prius to Mazda, which will combine the electric system with its next-gen Sky engines. It’s part of Mazda’s plans to increase the average fuel economy of its vehicles by 30% by 2015 (compared to 2008 levels) and it hopes to have its first hybrid vehicle on sale in Japan by 2013 (Mazda)• Ford and Chinese car company Geely have signed a stock purchase agreement that will allow the latter to acquire 100% of Volvo (along with related assets including intellectual property rights).