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Toyota Yaris Hybrid joins the Europocar fleet

The Toyota Yaris Hybrid – Europe’s answer to the Prius C – joins Europcar Car Hire as the perfect choice for visiting London. Perhaps Europcar should have got the Toyota Yaris Hybrid on to their fleet a little earlier considering the number of visitors in London at the moment? But in future, visitors to London wanting a hire car will be able to opt for the Yaris Hybrid and save themselves London Congestion Charging.

New Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive goes in to production

The first Mercedes B-Class ED (pictured) rolls off the production line in Rastatt With the BMW i3 grabbing headlines – and flying out of showrooms – as BMW’s first electric car, Mercedes need to play catch-up with a convincing EV of their own, and that’s the new B-Class Electric Drive – an EV version of the regular B-Class – which has now gone in to production in Germany. Built alongside regular ICE versions of the B-Class at Mercedes’ Rastatt Plant, the B-Class ED (Electric Drive) looks practically the same as its more conventionally powered siblings – although the front bumper does look a bit different – and has an electric motor good for 177 bhp and 250 lb/ft of torque, can manage a scoot to 62 mph in 7.9 seconds and has a range of up to 124 miles. The range – at least the quoted range – is a chunk better than the BMW i3′s and on a par with the latest Nissan LEAF, thanks to EV technology provided by Tesla, and the wrapping of an EV drivetrain in a conventional series production car could appeal to more buyers than the ‘statement’ design of the BMW i3.

Nissan will move Rogue output to U.S. plant

Nissan Motor Co. will shift production of one of its highest-volume vehicles, the Rogue crossover, from Japan to an American factory in a bid to cut its exposure to the high Japanese yen. Following the move, Nissan will build more than 100,000 Rogues a year at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant in 2013, when the vehicle is scheduled for a redesign.