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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.

Chevrolet UK has its best ever year

Now admittedly, Chevrolet UK is not starting from a point of market dominance in the UK, but any manufacturer who has managed to increase sales in 2008 is obviously doing something right. Chevrolet UK has announced that in 2008 it managed to increase its market share in the UK by 12.5%, from 0.76% to 0.86%, with total sales for the year of 18,372 cars (which is only a smidge higher than 2007, but the lower total sales for the UK Car market in 2008 meant a significant increase in market share for Chevrolet). Chevrolet Cruze - Launches in the UK in 2009 These are not figures that are going to frighten the pants off Ford and Vauxhall, but they are an indication that a certain part of the car buying public in the UK are looking at price as a major factor, and are prepared to sacrifice a degree of driving joy to get in to a new car at a lower price.

Toyota RAV4 EV hits California roads this summer at $49,800

Toyota RAV4 EV The Toyota RAV4 EV – the electric version of the RAV4 – will hit the road in California in the summer. Costs $49,800. After a bit of confusion last year when spokesman for Toyota claimed the RAV4 EV wouldn’t be sold to the general public – a statement quickly corrected by Toyota – the Toyota RAV4 EV is now going on sale.