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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.

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-class arrives

Mercedes-Benz has pulled the wraps off of the 2014 S-class at a media presentation in Hamburg, Germany, revealing a technological tour de force that the firm hopes will continue the plush sedan’s traditional dominance at the top of the global luxury car market. Set to arrive in North American showrooms in September, the Mercedes-Benz flagship is charged with the task of replacing not one but two different model lines. On the one hand, it has been developed to fill the role of the previous generation S-class on sale since 2007.

Kiss and Mini team up to raise money for UNICEF

To help fund global relief efforts, Mini will auction four Countrymans emblazoned with the makeup likeness and autographs of Kiss band members. Just in time for Father’s Day, the eBay charity auction opens on May 29 and runs for 10 days. Funds will go to UNICEF to help children in Japan and to aid in other global emergencies.