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Dacia Sandero: Price from £5,995

The new 2013 Dacia Sandero – revealed at Paris 2012 – is to cost from just £5,995 when it arrives in the UK in January 2013. The Sandero joins the Dacia Duster SUV in an attack on the burgeoning ‘Budget’ market in the UK and stands out as a Fiesta rival at almost half the price you’d pay for entry in to Ford’s evergreen supermini (£9,795). The Sandero’s styling isn’t cutting edge, but nor does it shriek ‘Cheap’ at first glance.

Volkswagen plans 4 million cars from one platform

Volkswagen is pushing the global-platform concept to a level unprecedented in the auto industry, introducing a modular platform this summer that eventually will be the basis of microcars, sedans, crossovers and SUVs for its four largest brands. While automakers now share platforms across brands and sometimes even segments, the VW initiative that starts this summer is far more ambitious than anything seen so far. By 2017, some analysts estimate, the MQB platform that debuts with the Audi A3 eventually will be used in 4 million units a year--close to half of VW's annual production.

BMW i3 spied

BMW i3 caught playing in the snow. Just a few weeks on from the launch of BMW’s new “i” sub-brand, and we have the first spy photo of the BMW i3 out and about in the Scandinavian snow. It seems BMW were busy filming this quite heavily camouflaged i3 for BMW TV when it was snapped, so it seems likely we may be seeing some video soon.