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News watch March 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 30 March 2012• Fiat is suffering from its decision to suspend new product innovation during the recession, argues ANE. It is losing ground on account of delays to its Punto range, which won't be replaced until 2014, and the ageing Bravo, which was launched in 2007 and has no successor in sight (Automotive News Europe)• Mercedes plans to build the new four-door coupe spun off the A- and B-class architecture at its new Hungarian factory (Automotive News Europe)• Opel denies rumours it may sell the Eisenach factory in east Germany where it builds the Corsa supermini (Automotive News Europe)• Mercedes is cutting the time it takes to build a car from 43 hours in 2008 to nearer 30 hours by 2015, according to production boss Wolfgang Bernhard.

Audi Sportback unveiled at Detroit auto show 2009

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 12 January 2009 04:14 Audi dropped some strong hints about two forthcoming models with its new Sportback concept car. The show car hogged the limelight at the Detroit auto show 2009 – and the Audi group chairman Rupert Stadler confirmed to CAR Online that it previewed a Sportback verison of the A5 coupe. While Avant signifies, for Audi, the estate breed, Sportback indicates a more practical hatchback/fastback model.

Prime Minister visits Jaguar Land Rover

DAVID Cameron paid a visit to Jaguar Land Rover’s new Engine Manufacturing Centre at the weekend. The Prime Minister was given a tour of the new plant where he saw the on-going installation of the manufacturing equipment first hand. Based at the heart of the UK, it is ideally located between the company’s three other manufacturing sites at Halewood, Castle Bromwich and Solihull.