Renault's four electric Frankfurt stars: the teaser

Renault will show off four electric cars at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 10 September 2009 17:18 Renault today trailed its electric car debutants for next week's Frankfurt motor show – revealing the four battery cars that will hog the limelight in Germany. The Renault zero-emissions cars will be shown in full on Tuesday 15 September 2009, but this image gives us a taster for what's to come.Carlos Ghosn, Renault's chief exec, will unveil four new electric cars, seen here for the first time. This overhead shot confirms that Renault will unveil a range of EVs – from a tiny city car through a supermini and van all the way up to what looks like an electric saloon car.Electric cars: the theme of FrankfurtPlenty of manufacturers will be showing off electric or petrol-electric cars at Frankfurt's IAA this year: there's an electric Merc SLS and Hyundai i10, plus more hybrids than you could shake a socket at – including debuts from Lexus, Peugeot and BMW.

Part-worn tyre sales under the microscope again

SALES of part-worn tyres are about to hit the agenda again following a study from charity TyreSafe that found 98% of potentially dangerous part-worn tyres were being sold illegally. As a result the organisation has stepped up to take part in the forthcoming Trading Standards conference at the end of June, after a successful trial last year. Running for three days from 30th June at the Harrogate International Centre, the event is the biggest gathering of trading standards officers and enforcement professionals in the UK.

Volkswagen’s budget brand close to production (2013)

VW is approaching the critical phase of its plan to launch a range of aggressively priced base products. How aggressive? Well, we´re looking at €7000 for a four-door family saloon, €7500 for a boxy estate and about €8000 for a basic MPV.