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Crunch watch Sept 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 30 September 2009 11:30 Welcome to CAR's news aggregator as we round up the seismic change in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour  Wednesday 30 September 2009• Mitsubishi's global production in August was 62,924 units, a decline of 32.1% compared to August 2008. It was also the 18th consecutive monthly decrease for the Japanese car company (Mitsubishi)• Fernando Alonso has signed a three-year deal to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team.

VW Golf R 400 could get more than 400PS – which makes a bit of a nonsense of its name

The VW Golf R 400 (pictured) may not actually be an R 400 The Beijing Motor Show last month saw the debut of the VW Golf R 400, an extreme take on the VW Golf R with a full 400 PS (395bhp) at its disposal. When Volkswagen revealed the R 400 as a concept we did note that it looked more production-ready than concept, and it took VW less than a week to confirm that the Golf R 400 was indeed heading for production. Now, just to muddy the waters a bit (or raise expectations), VW’s R&D chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser has said that when the Golf R 400 does arrive it could well be with more than 400PS.

BMW to expand Mini lineup, looks at second assembly plant

BMW said it will increase Mini's model lineup to up to 10 vehicles while boosting the brand's production capacity in the U.K. and at a new contract manufacturing site, likely to be in the Netherlands. BMW will invest $388 million in its U.K.