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Car-buying confidence hits new high

THE NUMBER of people who believe they will buy a new car in the next three years has jumped to 71%, according to the latest AA Car Purchase Index; up from 55% last year. Of the 19,786 survey respondents who said they were going to buy a new car, 42% said they would choose a petrol engine, with 38% saying definitely diesel. A further 13% don’t know what fuel type they will opt for, but 7% will choose some kind of hybrid and 1% will go fully electric – a total of exactly 100 respondents.

Ford B-Max set for Geneva 2011

The Ford B-Max crossover, based on the Iosis Concept (pictured), will debut at Geneva 2011 The Ford Fusion arrived in 2002 as a stretched version of the Ford Fiesta – a mini MPV. And for a while it did pretty well in the sales charts, reaching a peak in 2007 as second only to Vauxhall’s Meriva. But its slide since then has been significant and last year it languished in fifth place with sales of 30,000.

Fiat gets approval to purchase Bertone coachbuilding business

Fiat S.p.A.'s bid for Carrozzeria Bertone S.p.A. was approved Thursday by the Italian government. Fiat will invest $215.9 million (150 million euros) over three years in the struggling contract manufacturer that has produced models ranging from the Lamborghini Miura to the Volkswagen Polo during its 96 years in business.