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New car sales soar to 10-year high

NEW CAR sales soared in March, with the new 14 number plate helping registrations reach their highest monthly total for 10 years. A total of 464,824 new cars were registered last month - a rise of 17.7% on the March 2013 figure and the best since 466,954 were registered in March 2004, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The March 2014 and March 2004 figures represent the best two months for new sales since 1999 when the motor industry abandoned the August once-a-year number plate change in favour of twice-a-year changes in March and September.

Gilles Vidal: innovative materials key to Peugeot's future

Future Peugeots will be defined by their use of materials in a bid to shift the brand upmarket, according to design director Gilles Vidal. Raw, unprocessed materials, he says, will not only prove more ecologically sound, but also more engaging. And his plans don't stop there.

First Sight: Volkswagen Iroc concept

The Iroc is a show car preview of a production coupe to be launched next year that will fill a gap in the Volkswagen model line up left by the demise of the Corrado 11 years ago. Volkswagen describe the Iroc as "transferring the globally successful Scirocco idea into the future" - the Scirocco Mk1 by Giugiaro being produced from 1974-1982, the Mk2 from 1982-1992. Like the Scirocco, the Iroc is a front wheel drive coupe with four seats - as opposed to the 2+2 seating arrangement of the only other sports coupe from Volkswagen Group: the Audi TT.