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

Electric cars get a £500 million government cash boost – but will it get spent?

The new BMW i3 EV (pictured) will be subsidised until 2017. The subsidy of up to £5000 paid to buyers of electric cars has been with us for three years, but it hasn’t had much impact on EV sales and it did look like the government had decided to scrap it all together. But it looks like the coalition has allowed Nick Clegg to have his way with EV subsides in a move that will see £500 million injected in to promoting and supporting electric cars in the UK in the next few years.

Toyota Prius recalled for two fixes

Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 2.77 million vehicles worldwide--including 670,000 Prius hybrids in the United States--to fix a possible water pump problem and steering defect. The electric water pump recall covers five models globally for a tally of 630,000 vehicles.

Mini aims to add 3 models by decade's end

BMW's Mini brand will add three models by the end of the decade, said Kay Segler, Mini's global boss. Segler would not disclose details about the models but said they will likely use an all-new BMW Group front-wheel-drive platform that debuts with the second-generation Mini Cooper hardtop in 2014. The added vehicles will bring the number of Mini models to 10.