Auto News 5

Saab has unveiled a new organisational structure for its engineering department following its independence from GM last year. Full story...

Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be a keynote speaker at the CeBIT information technology fair in Germany. Ford plans to offer its Sync in-car communications and entertainment system in Europe next year, a Ford spokesman told Automotive News Europe. Full story...

Daimler predicts a big decline in the costs for EV batteries and fuel cell cars. "A few years ago, the price was at about 1,500 euros per kilowatt hour [for a lithium ion battery]. Full story...

Toyota today recalled nearly 1.7 million vehicles for a variety of fuel system related problems, including 245,000 Lexus IS and Lexus GS sedans in the United States. Full story...

Volkswagen has unveiled its new XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle (SEV) concept at the Qatar motor show. Full story...

Volkswagen has unveiled its new XL1 Super Efficient Vehicle (SEV) concept at the Qatar motor show. Full story...

Magna Steyr, which manufactures the Mini Countryman, will build BMW's new Mini Paceman, the newspaper Kleine Zeitung reported, quoting BMW development head Klaus Draeger. Full story...

Ashok Leyland has reported a 22.5% increase in its revenue for the third quarter of the current fiscal at Rs. 2,227.25 crores as against Rs. 1,817.49 crores for the corresponding quarter of 2009-10. Full story...

Volkswagen will begin production of its new ultra fuel-efficient car, the XL1, in two years, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech said. Europe, the United States and China are potential markets for the two-seat car. Full story...

The Gulf Arab state of Qatar is unlikely to raise its 10 percent stake in Porsche, though it is in talks on potential cooperation in several areas, Wolfgang Porsche, Porsche supervisory board chairman, said in Doha. Full story...

VW will decide within weeks on expanding production in Russia after sales in the country increased 40 percent last year. A decision on cooperation with GAZ will be made in the coming weeks. Full story...

Volkswagen will begin selling its new VW Golf hatchback at the "end of 2012 or early 2013," a company spokesman said. Full story...

Following weeks of speculation, the Force India F1 Team confirmed its driver line-up for the 2011 season at a whiskey sponsor's Glasgow headquarters. Full story...

2011 has gotten off to a very rocky start for Toyota, who was just forced to recall 1.7 million vehicles around the world nearly one year later to the day of a similar episode that had seriously undermined the automaker's credibility in the eyes of the public. Full story...

Lamborghini chose the 2011 Qatar Motor Show to host the world premiere of the Gallardo LP 560-4 Bicolore, a special edition of the ultra-high-performance car. Full story...

We know we're currently playing the word game and we promise that it will end sooner rather than later... maybe. A few days back, we posted a story on the visual differences between certain specific cars. A few short days later, Ferrari announced to the World details on their new FF, the latest supercar from Maranello aimed at the affluent, scratch that, mega-loaded family of four. Full story...

'Simulator sickness' does not explain Michael Schumacher's disappointing return to F1 alongside Nico Rosberg in 2010. Full story...

Rally fans are set for an exciting season, according to the seven-time world champion Sebastien Loeb. Full story...

Technical director Geoff Willis is currently designing the Hispania Racing Team F111, which will be ready in March for the final test in Bahrain, ahead of the start of the season. Full story...

At the dawn of the new millennium, Volkswagen and Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch formulated the visionary goal of bringing to the market a production car that was practical for everyday use with a fuel consumption of 1.0 litre per 100 kilometres. Crazy, don't you think? But try to wrap your head around this: the VW Formula XL1 plug-in hybrid concept soon to be unveiled at the Qatar Motor Show burns as little as 0.9 L/100 km! Full story...