Bosch El-51254 on 2040-parts.com

Japan hopes to make EV recharging technology the global standard

Japan's automakers aim to cement their lead in electric vehicles by making Japanese recharging technology the global standard and bringing it to the United States. A coalition of manufacturers, including Nissan and Toyota, is teaming with Japan's biggest electric company and the government to make it happen. They aim to corner the market on one of the technologies that will be key to the eventual acceptance of electric-powered cars: the high-speed charging points that will act like gasoline stations of the future and enable drivers to recharge and keep driving after their batteries run low.

Budget Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 SE introduced

Mitsubishi has released the Mitsubishi Lancer 1.5 SE 4 door saloon as an entry-level, budget model. The Lancer 1.5 SE has quite a reasonable spec for the price. Included are metallic paint, 16″ alloys, Bluetooth, AirCon, front fogs, a bunch of airbags and iPod connection.

Ford Fiesta Zetec S Red and Black Edition revealed – price from £15,995

The Fiesta Black and Red Editions arrive with a 138bhp 1.0 litre EcoBoost Everyone loves a sporty Fiesta – still a cracking little car in any guise – but it looks like Ford has spotted a gap in the market between the Zetec S with the 1.0 litre EcoBoost and the Fiesta ST. So we get the Ford Fiesta Zetec S Red and Black Editions to fill the gap we didn’t actually know was there. Ford has managed to squeeze even more power from their little 1.0 litre, 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine to give the Fiesta Red and Black Editions 138bhp, enough to crack 62mph in just 9.0 seconds.