Holman/kargomaster Bottle Restraint - Large 40201 on 2040-parts.com

Volvo makes breakthrough in battery tech

Volvo has developed a new way of ‘storing’ energy for its future electric vehicles. The Swedish firm is exploring the concept of lightweight structural energy storage components made from carbonfibre, containing “nano structured batteries and super capacitors.” This technology is said to offer a lighter, more compact solution to the problem of energy storage, potentially removing the need for the heavy, bulky batteries used in current electric vehicles. On Bing: see pictures of the Volvo S80 Find out how much a used Volvo S80 costs on Auto Trader The investigation into the new technology is part of an EU-funded research project, undertaken by Volvo – the only major car manufacturer involved – and nine other organisations.

Meet the Porsche Macan small SUV

The small Porsche SUV that goes on sale about 18 months will wear the Macan nameplate, the German automaker said on Thursday. Until now, the SUV project had been known by the code name Cajun, created from the concept of “Cayenne Junior.” Porsche says Macan is “derived from the Indonesian word for tiger and combines suppleness, power, fascination and dynamics.” The Porsche Macan will share a platform with the Audi Q5 and will be built at the Porsche plant in Leipzig, Germany, that now builds the Cayenne. Porsche is spending $650 million to expand the Leipzig plant, adding a body shop and a paint shop.

Hyundai ix35 – UK details

The Hyundai ix35 will launch at the Frankfurt Motor Show But now we have more Euro details from Hyundai on the ix35 which will officially launch at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week. The new ix35 is longer and wider than the outgoing Tucson but is actually 20mm lower, although headroom is unaffected. As we already know, the ix35 is a pretty close call for the ix-onic concept we saw at Geneva, and features Hyundai’s new hexagonal grill.