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Increase in crashes linked to mobile phone use

As many of us admit to taking selfies at the wheel, researchers have noticed a rise in the number of rear-end shunts on UK roads – despite many manufacturers now offering cars with collision avoidance systems that can brake automatically. According to new research by Accident Exchange, crashes involving one car hitting the back of another have increased by 7% in the last three years. Rated: self-braking cars that avoid a crash Nearly 1 in 10 admit to taking selfies at the wheel With each rear-end smash costing insurers £2,000 on average, premiums could rocket until driverless cars hit our streets.

UK car production down 20%

CAR PRODUCTION slowed a little last month, according to official figures. A total of 133,730 cars were made in the UK in February - 2.7% fewer than in February 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Cars made for the export market rose 3.5% last month, but manufacturing for the home market was down 20.8%.

News watch July 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 Tuesday 31 July 2012•Porsche SE recorded a first half profit of €1.15bn, in comparison with €149m for the same period in 2011. The enormous jump has come not from directly selling cars, but from the group's investments in Porsche Zwischenholding GmbH and Volkswagen AG (Porsche SE)•Reuters suggests Germany's car market is in recession, but few outside the industry would know it, thanks to a controversial sales practice that inflates official statistics and paints a flattering picture of demand.