New Dii Battery Tray, D-1488m on 2040-parts.com

Nissan future products: Focus is on technology

Nissan Division will be focused for the next few years not just on how to move its product line forward but also how to produce it less expensively. As the company embarks on a multiyear wave of new technologies and a brand-marketing campaign focused on innovation, it also is looking to bring down manufacturing costs through platform sharing, modular components and common parts. The first example of this new process is the redesigned Versa sedan, which will be assembled in Mexico.

Wulin Gaowa on GM’s new Chinese Advanced Design Studio

Following on from our story in September about Wulin Gaowa's appointment to GM Design as Director of its China Advanced Design, the company has released more details about the new studio and an interview with the designer. The company's "future hub for automotive design in Asia" will move into its new home in July 2012. The studio will be located at GM's GMIO and GM China Headquarters in Shanghai.

Kia Niro concept (2013) first official pictures

Kia’s radical new concept car is the Niro crossover, complete with butterfly doors, two-tone tyres and a Blake 7 cockpit in the best show car tradition. Look past the design flourishes, though, and you’ll see this is a statement of intent for Kia’s next niche car: a supermini-sized crossover to fight the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur, and Vauxhall Mokka. Kia Niro: what’s in a name?