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News watch May 2012: 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 Friday 1 June 2012• Peugeot-Citoren has been hit hardest by a 17% drop in overall domestic sales during May. PSA saw a 28% fall in sales, with Renault suffering a 14% decline, and Fiat 21%.

Rolls-Royce bolsters custom-car operation to meet higher demand

Rolls-Royce is expanding its "Bespoke" customization enterprise to keep up with an influx of buyers wishing to determine the final strokes on their vehicular masterpieces. The British luxury-car manufacturer will double the headcount for its Bespoke team by the end of the year. More than 50 designers, engineers and project managers will run the operation to meet growing customer demand.

Audi to buy Ducati – the four rings expands from four wheels

Audi has struck an exclusive deal giving it first rights to buy Italian superbike manufacturer Ducati, CAR can reveal.The exclusivity deal gives Audi until mid April when the deal will likely be finalised, according to high-ranking sources contacted by CAR. Ducati's liabilities are around €200 million [earlier report said €800 million, this has been corrected], and our sources suggest the total purchase price is about €250m-€300m. This is a bold move by Audi, which sees the long-term advantage in moving into two wheels as well as four.