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News 17 Jan, 2013

Mystery photos have emerged showing how the Corvette convertible could look

Record exports last year lifted British car production to its highest level since 2007. Britain produced a total of 1.46 million vehicles in 2012, up 9 percent on 2011, with 1.21 million of those sold abroad.

Hindustan Motors (HM) is open to discussions with automakers regarding the use of excess capacity at its Chennai facility.

Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua (Perodua) aims to sell 194,000 units this year for a market share of 30%.

Japanese autoparts manufacturers are entering Russia one after another, hoping to tap a new car market seen growing to roughly 3m vehicles a year.

The GM-AvtoVAZ joint venture will more than triple its monthly output of Chevrolet Niva Limited Edition vehicles to 200 per month in 2013 to satisfy demand, business daily Vedomosti reported.

Output at Toyota's Russian assembly plant in St Petersburg rose to 28,441 cars in 2012 from about 14,000 units in 2011, the company said.

Data issued by LMC Automotive shows that the global light vehicle market expanded by 5.2% to an estimated 80.9m units in 2012.

Malaysia's DRB-Hicom Bhd has set its Proton subsidiary an annual production target of 500,000 units to be achieved in the next five years.

Aston Martin is in talks with potential partners to jointly develop high-end engines and electronic parts to strengthen its sports-car lineup.

Renewed confidence at GAZ Group sees the Russian automaker predicting a 10% hike in EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) this year.

The Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), an American supplier body, reckons uncertainty will continue to provide a backdrop to the US automotive industry despite a far healthier landscape compared to recent turbulent times.

Booming exports from Nissan's Sunderland plant in north east England are behind a supplier influx in response to the demand.

General Motors has mounted a robust defence of electric vehicles and of the US auto industry that is rapidly regaining confidence and sales as buyers return to the market.

The new CEO of electric car venture Better Place has stepped down just four months after a company shake-up put him in charge, officials said.

Renault's plan to cut 7,500 jobs in France to boost the competitiveness of its plants has had a better reception from the government than a similar move by rival PSA.

Daimler will sell a limited edition of its Smart ForTwo using a Twitter-like service in China as it tries to tap the country's 564 million Internet users.

Renault's plan to cut 7,500 jobs in France to boost the competitiveness of its plants has had a better reception from the government than a similar move by rival PSA/Peugeot-Citroen.

BMW Chairman Joachim Milberg will remain in his post until 2016, a source said, so he can be succeeded by current BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer during that year.

NASCAR's first test day at Charlotte Motor Speedway was called off at noon on Thursday due to steady rain.

The newly designed, newly named Gen 6 cars are allowed more downforce at tracks like the 1.5 mile track in Charlotte, which predominate the schedule, than the extra-high banked 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway and 2.66 mile Talladega Super Speedway which require restrictor plates to keep lap speeds under 200mph.

Testing will resume on Friday with two sessions: 9-12:30 practice, lunch break, then 1-5.

Photo: Motor Racing Network (from Facebook)