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Audi A1 prices start at £13,145 in UK

Audi’s new A1 supermini has gone on UK sale today, priced from £13,145 for a 1.2 TFSI SE trim model to £18,280 for a range-topping 1.4 TFSI auto. That pitches the A1 slightly above the Mini, whose boggo First three-door kicks off at £12,620. But study the two rival supermini ranges from Audi and  BMW more closely and you’ll see they’re quite evenly matched.

97% of UK Lexus sold in 2014 will be hybrids

Speaking during the European launch of the new Lexus GS300h – the new entry-level hybrid in the executive GS range – Lexus UK director, Richard Balshaw, revealed that 97% of all Lexus sold in the UK next year are likely to be hybrids. The GS300h’s deputy chief engineer, Yukihiro Kito, als confirmed to MSN Cars that the return of diesel-powered Lexus vehicles is unlikely to happen any time soon – if at all. On Bing: see pictures of Lexus hybrids Find out how much a used Lexus costs on Auto Trader According to Kito-san, diesel just does not make sense for Lexus given the markets the company is chiefly competitive in, which is to say the USA and Asia.

Report: Interior Motives China Conference 2009 - Day 1

Interior Motives returned once more to the exciting city of Shanghai for its second China design conference, themed ‘China: Changing the landscape of car design'. Held straight after the first Shanghai auto show press day - a day topped off by the Car Design Night, attended by some 300 or so designers - this two-day event saw 27 of the world's foremost car design experts and nearly 250 delegates gather together to debate the future of Chinese car design. Session 1 - Harnessing design awareness Tony Williams, UK design director of China's biggest carmaker, SAIC, kicked off the session by explaining how trend research was finding more savvy and confident Chinese consumers who want their character reflected in the products they buy and "cars they want rather than just need".