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News watch March 2011: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Thursday 31 March 2011• US President Barack Obama has strated all US government cars and trucks purchased from 2015 must be alternative-fuel vehicles (Automotive News)• Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has denied a report in Japan's Nikkei newspaper that he is leaning towards a formal merger of Nissan and Renault (Reuters)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that Chrysler's share IPO may now take place in 2012, depending on financial progress this year (Bloomberg)Wednesday 30 March 2011• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called a report that the EV carmaker is a takeover target 'bad analysis' and remains confident the firm will stay independent (Bloomberg)• The BBC denies that it rigged a December 2008 Top Gear TV test of the Tesla Roadster, in response to being sued by the EV carmaker (BBC News)• First Group, the UK's largest public transport operator, has announced a £160m investment in new buses, ordering 955 new buses from UK manufacturers Wrightbus and Dennis over the next two years (BBC News)• Japanese production woes look set to continue into April. Toyota expects the majority of Toyota and Lexus production on 14 April (Automotive News)• Saab production has re-started again, following a half yesterday afternoon.

2013 Ford Kuga: Price from £20,895

The 2013 Ford Kuga will cost from £20,895 for the entry-level Kuga 1.6T EcoBoost  150PS Zetec, rising to £29,545 for the Kuga 2.0TDCi  163PS AWD Titanium X. The starting point for entry in to the new Kuga is the  1.6T EcoBoost  150PS Zetec with FWD, which costs £1,000 less than the equivalent outgoing model, rising to the range-topping Kuga 2.0TDCi  163PS AWD Titanium X with all its bells and whistles for a shade under £30k. In fact, Ford say that all the like-for-like models in the new Kuga range actually come in at a lower price than the old model, citing the best-selling 2.0-litre TDCi 163PS model which, at £25,545, is £355 cheaper than in the current Kuga.

Toyota recalls more than 30,000 Prius hybrids in UK

Toyota Toyota is recalling 1.9 million Prius models worldwide as it seeks to correct a software fault in the control system for the hybrid drive system. That’s more than half the total number of Prius cars produced since the hybrid was introduced in 1997. The recall affects the current, third-generation Prius, which has been in production since March 2009.