Toyota Ractis 2006 Speedometer [7761400] on 2040-parts.com

Budget 2009 - UK gets £2000 scrappage scheme

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 22 April 2009 15:15 Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced a £2000 car-scrapping incentive, and a surprise 2p per litre increase in fuel tax in the latest budget. Darling delivered his Budget speech at 12.30pm GMT today. Scroll down the page to see our edited highlights of the 2009 Budget, read in-depth details of the scrappage scheme and see how the motor industry has responded.

Karmann files for insolvency

Karmann, the century-old German coachbuilder synonymous with cabrios and the famous 1950s Karmann Ghia, has filed for insolvency. The company made the move Wednesday in Germany in response to a dramatic decline in revenue, an inability to pay for its massive layoff plan and the worldwide economic crisis. The North American operations, which make convertible tops for Detroit car companies and Volkswagen, are not affected, a spokesman said.

Peugeot 208 GTi Concept (2012) first official pictures

This is the Peugeot GTi Concept, and it's a near-200bhp hot hatch that Peugeot will unveil at the Geneva motor show in March 2012. Unveiled alongside it will be the Peugeot 208 XY Concept.  The Peugeot 208 GTi Concept is technically still a concept, but the hottest Peugeot 208 already runs a THP 156 engine, so the mule our spies spotted cold weather testing is thought to be an early prototype for a production version of the GTi.